Build a better solar mobile power bank - will it work?
By Julian
Youtuber, shed dweller, solar charge controller aficionado
Good morning all…
Youtuber, shed dweller, solar charge controller aficionado
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The black box might be OK – the white cable or the pins inside of it might be broken/bent.
Delete. This vidio
I think that BUK dc to dc converters struggle with voltage and current collapse with solar panels when they get covered by shade etc. I have 60w panel on simple pcb step down to 5v 2a and i find that it frequently looses the current and needs to be reset to bring it up to much higher level. It only happens when panels are covered. The cheap pwm controllers do recover. So i got a cheap pwm scc with usb outputs. There is a Utube on the above video from the guy who reviewed a simple dc dc step down usb pcb.
Do you think a 16 watts 6 v solar panel will be fine for charging the powerbanks?
Could you make a mppt charge controller for it with small components and that only comes on and draws power for the Arduino till there is solar
I purchased a solar power bank kit that I modified with a higher output solar cell that still fit the power bank, but has a bit more output than the one that comes with it. That way it will charge the batteries inside it and I put high quality Samsung batteries in the bank. I have been quite happy with it, only because I built it and tested it, so I know it works. Some of these power banks are very cheap and the cells in them are at best garbage or should I say rubbish.
I believe the amperage on the falsely advertised PWbanks solar cell is less than 100 Ma, which isn't suitable for any Lipo Batteries over 500ma capacity. Also the converter is using some of the limited power input from the solar cell as well.
had used a few but only 1 starting to be good, still fail big time after awhile
Hi Julian 🙂 sorry I know this is an old video but I was wondering if you could help? I got an old 6v 5w solar panel from a friend but what would I need to attach to it so I can charge usb devices? kinda new to this so totally stumped. was thinking a buck converter but I bet there's something better for the job. hope you can help! all the best with future solar vids! do you still use this set up?
I have made a power bank with six green batteries from an old laptop , I used an old Linksys wireless box for everything, I use a voltage regulator to charge the batteries which are put together parrelel , the regulator is set to Presis 4.1 volts of battery . battery is a contact and a voltage regulator up to 5 volts. two USB port with plus and minus on the sides and the middle two are put together for my phone will charge with 1A otherwise it is only with 450 mA. it takes about a day to charge my power bank and the best part is that the batteries will not heat up.
hey Julian, i'm working on a very similar project, 4x solar panels(5v- 0.8w-160 mah) , a lipo battery ( 3.7v-6000 mah) , a hub for connecting usb's and a wireless charger(i also bought a chip to keep everything cool by measuring the temp and turning on fans as needed ) . I plan to put it on a messenger bag for when I attend my classes at college. I think i'm gonna make a video tutorial on how to make it, I need help though. I need to know 2 things, If i can use solar panels of different specs together in parallel and different size batteries of the same voltage? Also i need to know if I need to put diodes for such small panels???
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I appreciate your videos and I learn something from each one. They are very Informative and you are the right guy and personality to be doing this type of presentation. I see so many I don't stay watching for more than a few minutes.