Today we will look at choosing a lightweight and handy powerbank for a short trip. All the models tested have the same capacity - 10 Ah - but differ in other features such as maximum charging power, the number and type of connectors available or the presence of built-in cables. We will also compare their prices. Finally, I will check the actual capacity of each device to see if it corresponds to the value declared by the manufacturer.
Let's start with the JR-L005 12W from the Jelly mini series, distinguished by its rather feminine design and the aesthetically concealed Lightning cable, suggesting use with Apple equipment. All for just £50.
On the back of the packaging, you can read that the capacity is 10 Ah at 3.7 V (on cells), so expect 37 Wh of energy there. At 5 V output, with a load of 2.4 A, it will only be 6 Ah. The powerbank only supports 5 V, there is no QC. It weighs 225 grams.
Nothing else is included, the cable is built into the powerbank.
There is also a manual available which talks about a charge indicator and includes some .... form of guarantee? I wonder who respects that.
And then there's the powerbank itself - you have to admit that it's not the cheapest plastic. The whole thing is pleasant to the touch, slim, and doesn't smell cheap like some products.
Up to 2.5 A can be drawn from the total, confirming the parameters:
Also according to the description, the powerbank does not offer QC:
The first test showed 7333 mAh at 5 V, the load was 1.5 A:
Out of curiosity, I also checked what the charge would be - at 5.1 V 8.9 Ah was drawn, one could estimate the efficiency of the converters here.
A second test confirmed the result:
The JR-L005 emerges from the tests defensively and fulfils what is on the label. Only that QC is missing...
The second player is the JR-PBF17, this time 22.5W and with a USB C cable. Also slightly traceably larger, well, and more expensive - £80. What are we paying extra for here? What does the higher number of watts mean?
Those 'Fast Charging' words in the title.... are often a misnomer, but probably not here! The powerbank is said to offer QC3.0 and PD support, allowing modern devices to charge faster. This standard is based on the hardware negotiating with the powerbank to provide a higher voltage.
I see that here separately is the bulk cable and separately the one built into the powerbank. The supported voltages are written on the powerbank itself:
It should be possible to get 12 volts.
Instructions:
According to the instructions, we can expect 37 Wh and 6 Ah at 5 V.
Indeed, Xiaomi includes that fastest charge, the Turbo, at 9 V reaches over 2 A:
Built-in cable also allows the powerbank to be charged. Can also draw higher voltage from a QC-compatible power supply.
But then I was tempted to try to charge the powerbank from the QC power supply and connect the phone to the powerbank at the same time. That's when the crunch happened - the power alternately switched on and off, the display reset:
This is the first major flaw detected, but we are looking further.
More than 1.5 A at 12 V can be drawn from USB A, which is in line with the announcement:
The whole thing heats up to 60 degrees outside, I wonder how much inside. You can even see on the thermal imaging traces of warm air ejected from the LD35 artificial load:
Time for proper capacity testing.
At 5 volts, I measured a good 7.4 Ah. The powerbank offers what it promised. Still the one in the other direction - I charged the powerbank at 12 V reaching 3.7 Ah.
No excessive heating when charging:
In summary, the JR-PBF17 is QC-compatible and this is 'both ways'. I have no major complaints, although I did not check the USB C cable with the QC trigger, I only checked the USB A port.
JR-PBF19 is the third powerbank tested today, also 10 Ah capacity and also 22.5 watts. It was, however, a dime more expensive, and now the question is, what are we paying extra for? Could it be for a set of built-in, aesthetically concealed cables with different terminals? This is undoubtedly convenient.
Here again we can expect (according to the manufacturer) 6 Ah at 5 V with a 3 A load. 37 Wh in total is to be had on the cells.
The cables are supposedly built in, and they still gave one USB C in bulk. Generous.
And here's the powerbank itself - everything you need, and output for iPhone, and USB C:
The USB C input is again bi-directional:
Instructions and parameters:
Time for testing.
Load at 5 V - fine, over 3.5 A:
With USB A, at 12 V it managed to draw over 1.5 A, and at 9 V as much as 2.1 A.
The powerbank also charges at a higher voltage. I recorded over 1.5 A at 12 volts.
Xiaomi also switches on a higher voltage:
Charging measurement:
I only noticed one downside - connecting the powerbank to charge momentarily disables the QC at its output, then the voltage of 5 V remains there.
Capacity tests:
Approximately 7.4 Ah at 5 V. This confirms the performance promised by the manufacturer.
In summary, here are three powerbanks with the same capacity, but with slightly different functionalities:
- JR-L005 is the cheapest, looks nice, but does not support QC and this is a fundamental problem
- JR-PBF17 is slightly more expensive, it already supports QC, so it is suitable for newer equipment and will provide faster charging for them
- JR-PBF19 is traceably more expensive, but offers up to two built-in cables for versatility in the face of unpredictable situations
Each of these powerbanks holds the promised capacity, no complaints here. Both copies with QC also manage to enable charging of the powerbank itself with a higher voltage. The only problematic issue is "series" charging, i.e. the phone connected to the powerbank connected to the power supply. Then the QC on the output either does not work at all or the powerbank resets.
Do you use powerbanks with QC? What models do you have tried and tested?
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