Portable Phone Chargers

[bigtiller]

I'm kicking around buying one but know nothing about them. Do you have any pointers to watch for when selecting one?
How long can they be left in the kitchen junk drawer and still be useful when the time comes?

 

[4570Man]

I’d buy a USB topper for one of my cordless tool batteries if I wanted one.

 

[OzarkChris]

Okay, before I actually opine on this, I have a question or two. First, what kind of charger are you talking about? There are so many different types I believe it might be useful for anyone responding to know. Some if the many types include: Standard charging cube - cube plugs into the wall, a phone specific cable attaches to phone. Wireless charger, a charging base that works on "some phones" (it still gets plugged into household or car power). Fast chargers, Super fast chargers, battery pack you can plug your phone into, etc, etc. Second, if this post isn't actually a joke, how are you currently charging your phone?

 

[bigtiller]

I think I can answer all your questions in one sentence...

I'm looking for a method to recharge a Samsung Galaxy S9 when we have no power to the house, the genny is out of gas and the car won't start.

 

[/pine]

Do a quick search for "4Patriot charger"... or 4patriots power cell or solar charger...

 

[oosik]

I have the standard "plug into the wall outlet - plug into the phone" thingy. It came with my iPhone. I can plug it into the 115V inverter in the Taco Wagon. OR I can use a USB cable at home or, again, in the Taco Wagon.

 

[Darryle]

Buy a USB power pack or a 12v battery jumper/starter pack and rock on. Just make sure the mah exceeds your needs.


I use a solar battery pack made for hunting cameras in the deer blind. It has 12v 35mah battery and a small solar panel. It is all self contained and all I did was splice in a 2 wire waterproof plug that plugs into the harness that runs down one of legs. I put a dual port USB plug inside the blind and it has powered a tablet and a phone with no issues.


I attached pictures of the battery pack I use and a plug that is similar to the one mounted in the blind.

 

[PuffyC]

If you’re talking about a portable battery pack that charges devices via USB, I’ve had a ton and they all work pretty great as long as you don’t go really small or really cheap. I keep one in my hunting pack and one in my golf bag and even after sitting all year they still have about 90% charge left which is good for about 2-3 full charges. I keep one in the car too since you never know. Another one I have has wireless charging which is really nice assuming your phone supports it. I think I maybe spent $30 on it.

 

[dodge man]

I have one, about the size of a smaller cell phone but half as thick. It would probably charge your phone twice, maybe a little more. It sito around a lot but doesn’t seem to drain down.

 

[oosik]

I would DEFINITELY be considering solar recharge. This would make you completely independent of the house, car or generator. This would put your situation into what is classed as - survival mode.

 

[woody]

I bought an adapter for my Milwaukee 18v battery pack, since I always have a battery charged then I'm always ready.

 

[TractorGuy]

Something like this will work for you but you have to keep them plugged in so they are charged when the power goes out.

Amazon.com

I have a couple of the solar gizmo types and the solar is not adequate to keep them charged. They work great as long as I plug them into the wall to charge them then use them on the phone. In my case I was charging my security cameras with them.

I plan to purchase one of these to fit my DeWalt batteries one of these days. Don't know why since I have a diesel generator on the house.

12V/20V Max USB Power Source

www.homedepot.com

 

[bigtiller]

Something like this will work for you but you have to keep them plugged in so they are charged when the power goes out.

Amazon.com

Do a quick search for "4Patriot charger"... or 4patriots power cell or solar charger...

These are the types I was thinking about. Light weight, pocket sized and powerful enough for a phone or tablet. I just don't know what brand is good enough or junk.

I have Makita tools and they have one that is powered by my battery but combination is not pocket size.

 

[oosik]

A suggestion. Google - "Fenix rechargeable flashlights". I have a Fenix LR50R. It has a massive 16,000 Mah battery that with it's USB port will charge other lights, cell phones, tablets, etc.

It's not cheap - $290 on sale - but you get a BEAST of a flash light plus a recharging station.

 

[ArlyA]

I'm kicking around buying one but know nothing about them. Do you have any pointers to watch for when selecting one?
How long can they be left in the kitchen junk drawer and still be useful when the time comes?

Good qestion. I use a medical device that is recharged via USB port. When we go camping for a few days, it needs to be recharged and the woods canopy here is not solar friendly. Using our truck to recharge it bits! So I bought one of those batteries made to recharge your phone. One from Wally World lasted one time. I kid you not! Got another off Amazon with good reviews and its gone for a few months but I rarly use it. Problem is the battery will run down on its own and there's not really a good way to see if its gone bad or not. Yes, you plug it in and top it off, but will it stay? Today now have one of those small sized battery's to jump start our truck and it has a USB changing port on it as well. So with two batteries along, have we doubled our chances one will work???

 

[LittleBill21]

lol, all you need is this, anker is a good brand, and it will last for years, if you plan on not using it much at all, leave it around 80% full to prolong the life of the battery.

Amazon.com: Anker Portable Charger, PowerCore Slim 10000 Power Bank, 10000mAh Battery Pack, High-Speed PowerIQ Charging Technology for iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and More

Buy Anker Portable Charger, PowerCore Slim 10000 Power Bank, 10000mAh Battery Pack, High-Speed PowerIQ Charging Technology for iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and More: Batteries - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[bigtiller]

lol, all you need is this, anker is a good brand, and it will last for years, if you plan on not using it much at all, leave it around 80% full to prolong the life of the battery.

Amazon.com: Anker Portable Charger, PowerCore Slim 10000 Power Bank, 10000mAh Battery Pack, High-Speed PowerIQ Charging Technology for iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and More

Buy Anker Portable Charger, PowerCore Slim 10000 Power Bank, 10000mAh Battery Pack, High-Speed PowerIQ Charging Technology for iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and More: Batteries - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Is this the voice of experience I am hearing?---Are you talking about the one you have?

I have never heard of any of the brands

 

[LittleBill21]

Is this the voice of experience I am hearing?---Are you talking about the one you have?

I have never heard of any of the brands

i own multiple power banks, anker is a good brand, you will be happy. should last multiple months between charges.

 

[bigtiller]

Good qestion. I use a medical device that is recharged via USB port. When we go camping for a few days, it needs to be recharged and the woods canopy here is not solar friendly. Using our truck to recharge it bits! So I bought one of those batteries made to recharge your phone. One from Wally World lasted one time. I kid you not! Got another off Amazon with good reviews and its gone for a few months but I rarly use it. Problem is the battery will run down on its own and there's not really a good way to see if its gone bad or not. Yes, you plug it in and top it off, but will it stay? Today now have one of those small sized battery's to jump start our truck and it has a USB changing port on it as well. So with two batteries along, have we doubled our chances one will work???

You mentioned medical device, that's what started this. Mrs.tiller spent a week or so in the hospital a while back and when her tablet ran out of juice, I brought in a 6' long 14 gauge power cord so she could charge it up.

The nurse suggested I take it back to my truck before someone from engineering sees it and confiscates it. They consider anything of mine plugged into their outlet is a fire hazard.

 

[bigtiller]

Are these chargers "all in one"? Nothing else to buy to make it work over & over again? Or do I need to buy a battery to make it work or a charger to charge up the phone-charger?