Which Powerbank ?

RavingMad

Our area lost power a few weeks ago and the 4g mast must have been affected as calling the kids, when they were at home and we were out was a bit of a mare. They must have been connecting to the nearest working mast as signal was shocking

I don't think WhatsApp messages were getting through either

MouldyOldDough

I've decided on : https://amzn.eu/d/02kNMYt2

MouldyOldDough

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82197986#Comment_82197986

Also - the 20,000mAh tablet battery can be used as a power bank - via "REVERSE CHARGING" to keep other things charged and I see no reason why it shouldn't be able to power lights etc

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82198117#Comment_82198117

Looks like a suitable bit of kit, not sure I'd be paying over 3 times the price of the Amazon Basics powerbank mentioned earlier just for an extra 5000mAh (and the Anker name).

Frozen_up_north

Our most recently purchased power bank is an Anker Zolo, 20,000 mAh, currently £26.99 on Amazon. That one linked above is more than double the cost.

Incidentally, the Govt suggestion to use your mobile phone in times of power outages ignores the basic fact the mobile network isn’t rated to keep going for 3 days. One of our local sites doesn’t even have a battery. There is an OFCOM document on the subject but it seems have the relevant tables deleted, search for OFCOM RAN. We are maybe slightly better than Spain was last year… the broadband and mobile networks there all failed when the mains failed, that was on the outskirts of Torrevieja.

Exodi

flaneurs_lobster

Looks like a suitable bit of kit, not sure I'd be paying over 3 times the price of the Amazon Basics powerbank mentioned earlier just for an extra 5000mAh (and the Anker name).

Frozen_up_north

Our most recently purchased power bank is an Anker Zolo, 20,000 mAh, currently £26.99 on Amazon. That one linked above is more than double the cost.

The Anker Zolo one is a fairer comparison to the Amazon Basics one.

The one OP bought isn't 3 times the price "just for an extra 5000mAh (and the Anker name)", it is because it outputs at 165W max (or 100W each) combined compared to 15W for the Amazon Basics one and 30W for the Anker Zolo one, which is enough to keep most laptops running (as seen in their marketing). Plus more ports, 2 built in cables and a display which tells you how long until the battery runs out at the current load, as well port demand, battery health and temperature (I have the cheaper version of it).

They do an even sillier version at 250W max: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BYP2F3SG which in their second image shows it charging two laptops simultaneously… for all the people that need to do that of course. Price doubles again, despite it 'only being another 2650mAh'. I presume the electronics required to reach these higher output wattages are expensive or at least complicated.

flaneurs_lobster

My laptop chargers run at 60W (both the brick on a kettle lead and an Amazon wall wart), not sure why you would need more?

But yes, take your point, Bell Whistle quota improved.

Exodi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82198223#Comment_82198223

My laptop comes with a 300W charger, and the biggest I've seen is 400W on models like the Legion Pro 7/9, though obviously you probably wouldn't use your power bank in an emergency to charge one of these laptops over your phone to check your emails!

It's also somewhat academic because most current USB-C PD devices top out at 100W (though you can find newer top of the range devices supporting more), so for laptops that need more than 100W (I think basically anything with a dedicated graphics card, but not necessary for something like a chromebook), you either charge them while they're off, or use the power bank to slow down the rate of discharge.

In a way I agree with you though, it's a niche use case - I think primarily marketed towards business people using laptops on flights. At least for the OP's purposes, they probably didn't need 100W output per port, which is what makes up a large part of the premium they paid. Most mobile devices/tablets can't even accept this charging speed (most charge around the 15W-45W mark). The paving slab of a tablet the OP owns tops out at 45W (I'm joking, I actually think for the specs the price is good, 24GB of RAM in this economy!)

QrizB

We are maybe slightly better than Spain was last year… the broadband and mobile networks there all failed when the mains failed, that was on the outskirts of Torrevieja.

I was in Barcelona for the Iberian blackout and the mobile networks stayed up. They were heavily oversubscribed so data throughput was minimal but SMS was getting through fairly reliably.

Also my hotel WiFi stayed online and functional, even though most of the hotel was without power.

Frozen_up_north

QrizB that was good. We were on the outskirts of Torrevieja (west side) and no mobile coverage. When the mains returned the fibre broadband at the villa didn’t work, neither did the telephone/TV via the same fibre.

I felt sorry for staff at the larger shops as they couldn’t close properly due to not being able to lower security shutters. Some small shops were letting customers in, but escorting them around the shop and only taking cash. The bars were all open!

The local English language radio stations were all off air, only Spanish ones were on air.

For the next visit I had purchased a Tecsun PL-330 transistor radio that runs 24 hours continuously on a charge and uses original “Nokia phone” style batteries (not sure they are exactly the same, look the same though).

The radio is quite sophisticated and not particularly cheap, but it is pocket size and works very well. While I don’t have a spare battery, it can be charged from a battery bank via USB.