Importing Powerbanks - any restrictions? advice?

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Importing Powerbanks - any restrictions? advice?

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Shadowfoot

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#2074518 16-Aug-2018 14:57

neb: For a quick reference, here's the fairly detailed AirNZ requirements for LiIon travel.

No batteries permitted in your checked baggage because the airlines don't want to have to take extra care with your bag. They don't want the plane to catch fire because they crushed your bag through careless handling.

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sbiddle

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#2074521 16-Aug-2018 15:07

wratterus:

I'd never considered a power bank not being allowed on a plane....

Looking at Air NZ's page above there, they say anything for personal use under 100Wh is allowed in carry on.

That covers basically all powerbanks, even (for example) a Makita 18v 5Ah battery is only 90Wh.

Or am I misunderstanding that?

Powerbanks are classed as loose lithium batteries so the same rules apply as a Makita battery. For the last ~2 years you've only been allowed to take these as carry on and not checked baggage.

If you pack "loose" lithium batteries in your checked baggage they will be removed by Avsec as part of baggage screening and confiscated.

The problem is large numbers of people are still taking powerbanks as checked luggage despite all the warnings.

wratterus

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#2074522 16-Aug-2018 15:09

OK, good to know. Seems a little odd that they are classed as loose, when they are certainly not - it's no different to a drill battery or a laptop battery.

So are you saying the rules in that link will be changing in Jan? Definitely worth being careful about it - last thing you want is an expensive battery getting confiscated.

dias87

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#2074536 16-Aug-2018 15:42

Thanks for all the comments.

I think the best bet is to buy local where possible i.e. JB.

The Cygnett ChargePro 20k PD is an (expensive) but viable option.

sbiddle

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#2074546 16-Aug-2018 16:00

wratterus:

OK, good to know. Seems a little odd that they are classed as loose, when they are certainly not - it's no different to a drill battery or a laptop battery.

So are you saying the rules in that link will be changing in Jan? Definitely worth being careful about it - last thing you want is an expensive battery getting confiscated.

Drill batteries are prohibited in checked luggage as well. Most lithium batteries are. I suggest you read up on the rules if you want to know more.

Laptop batteries are slightly different but there are also rules around them.

I assume you're referring to the link on the Air NZ page? If so nothing changes on the 1st Jan, but IATA rules regarding transportation of lithium batteries as cargo are changing further.

There have already been 2 x 747 freighters crash in recent years where the cause has been directly attributed to lithium battery fires, and I recall reading a couple of years ago something like 140 FAA reports since the '90s of lithium battery incidents either in cargo or in the cabin of planes.

nzkiwiman

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#2074550 16-Aug-2018 16:09

I purchased from Aliexpress "Anker Global Store" last year after having issues with my current Anker power bank with my LG G6; turns out that the Anker Global Store is NOT Anker at all.

Anker is on Aliexpress, under the name Anker Official Store. Sadly they do not have any available power banks that will ship to New Zealand

I've been able to ask Anker on eBay if they will ship direct to New Zealand; so far only had one refusal which was then reversed with a query

neb

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#2074564 16-Aug-2018 17:06

nzkiwiman:
I purchased from Aliexpress "Anker Global Store" last year after having issues with my current Anker power bank with my LG G6; turns out that the Anker Global Store is NOT Anker at all.

Huh, I had the same experience with a Twitter account recently, someone billing himself as realDonaldTrump, turned out it wasn't the US president at all but an improv comedian doing satire.

nzkiwiman

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#2074570 16-Aug-2018 17:17

To be fair, I did get the item I ordered and it seemed legit .. but I still went and purchased the exact same item from Anker on eBay

BlakJak

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#2075849 19-Aug-2018 16:20

neb:
sbiddle:
Having said that though, over the past year or so neither Anker or Ravpower have introduced a lot of innovation to the market. If you're a typical Android user (excluding some devices such as Huawei which have their own standard) you'll want something with QC3.0 support to deliver the fastest charging speeds. Likewise most new laptops from this year are now all USB-C PD and you need a minimum 30W PD to charge a laptop.

Even older chargers are often perfectly adequate, I have a several-year-old Xiaomi (thank you LCA, best conference swag ever!) that quick charges my phone without any problems.

If you mean the ones from LCA2015 - that'd be 3.5 years old now. Still got mine, still goes well, but am expecting it's performance to start sliding downward now as it ages.

No signature to see here, move along...

neb

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#2075882 19-Aug-2018 18:30

BlakJak:
neb: Even older chargers are often perfectly adequate, I have a several-year-old Xiaomi (thank you LCA, best conference swag ever!) that quick charges my phone without any problems.

If you mean the ones from LCA2015 - that'd be 3.5 years old now. Still got mine, still goes well, but am expecting it's performance to start sliding downward now as it ages.

I haven't used mine that much, but the performance is still close to as-new, I got three full phone charges out of it before it went down to one LED lit for charge level. I'm pretty impressed by it.

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