Charging EVO 2 with external power bank?

[steve2497]

Sorry if this has been covered previously, I have searched here, but I wandered whether there exists a power bank that can charge the evo battery when you have no AC, or if there is a Evo battery connector cable that has been amended to suit USB / power bank charging?

I have seen a car cig adapter but that does not interest me as you are obviously limited to being in your car. I have also seen the multi battery charging hub accessory but that again does not do anything for me.

 

[RetArmy]

Sorry if this has been covered previously, I have searched here, but I wandered whether there exists a power bank that can charge the evo battery when you have no AC, or if there is a Evo battery connector cable that has been amended to suit USB / power bank charging?

I have seen a car cig adapter but that does not interest me as you are obviously limited to being in your car. I have also seen the multi battery charging hub accessory but that again does not do anything for me.

I have an Ecoflow River Pro that is a portable system. I live in FL so its useful for hurricane season as well as useful at the beach to keep my stuff powered including my laptop when I want to work from the beach .

 

[herein2021]

Sorry if this has been covered previously, I have searched here, but I wandered whether there exists a power bank that can charge the evo battery when you have no AC, or if there is a Evo battery connector cable that has been amended to suit USB / power bank charging?

I have seen a car cig adapter but that does not interest me as you are obviously limited to being in your car. I have also seen the multi battery charging hub accessory but that again does not do anything for me.

I did discuss the problems with the charging situation in my EVO II 6K Pro to DJI thread here. I had high hopes for the car charger because that would have been perfect to use with my Goal Zero battery bank. But as I discussed in that thread, the car charger is completely useless; it has undercurrent protection to keep your car's battery from dying and it is way too sensitive with no way to turn it off. So it kept shutting off when I tried to use it with the Goal Zero.

Yes the Goal Zero also has a DC inverter which you can use with the regular AC charger to charge the EVO's batteries and I have done this before but it is not ideal; you lose too much battery pack capacity when you do it this way. The DC inverter is so inefficient that I can only charge one EVO II battery from 20% back up to 100% when I do it that way. If the car charger worked as advertised I would be able to charge almost 5 EVO II batteries before the battery pack was depleted.

I have an Ecoflow River Pro that is a portable system. I live in FL so its useful for hurricane season as well as useful at the beach to keep my stuff powered including my laptop when I want to work from the beach .

That is similar to my Goal Zero battery pack. But as I mentioned, my biggest gripe with Autel is their car charger's undercurrent protection. It forces you to use the regular AC charger which is very inefficient; you have to convert from DC (battery pack) to AC (via DC inverter) then back to DC (charging adapter) and along the way you lose around 75% of your battery pack's charging capacity. If the car charger provided a way to disable the undercurrent protection you would go straight DC to DC and be able to charge 3x-4x as many batteries in a single battery pack.

 

[steve2497]

I've just ordered the below power bank which has an AC plug in. Will see how it performs:

Omars AC Power Bank, 146Wh 40200mAh Laptop Charger 2 USB Ports 5V/4.2A Portable Battery Pack, 90w 230V UK Plug Universal Travel Charger Compatible with MacBook: Amazon.co.uk: Garden

Omars AC Power Bank, 146Wh 40200mAh Laptop Charger 2 USB Ports 5V/4.2A Portable Battery Pack, 90w 230V UK Plug Universal Travel Charger Compatible with MacBook: Amazon.co.uk: Garden

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[herein2021]

I've just ordered the below power bank which has an AC plug in. Will see how it performs:

Omars AC Power Bank, 146Wh 40200mAh Laptop Charger 2 USB Ports 5V/4.2A Portable Battery Pack, 90w 230V UK Plug Universal Travel Charger Compatible with MacBook: Amazon.co.uk: Garden

Omars AC Power Bank, 146Wh 40200mAh Laptop Charger 2 USB Ports 5V/4.2A Portable Battery Pack, 90w 230V UK Plug Universal Travel Charger Compatible with MacBook: Amazon.co.uk: Garden

www.amazon.co.uk

Based on the specs, that charger theoretically could recharge 1.78 EVO II batteries from 0% to 100%. So since the batteries are usually around 20% when you land, it should be able to recharge around 2 EVO II batteries from 20% back to 100%. I will be curious to see how it performs when you use the AC plug since it then has to go through a DC inverter.

 

[PingSpike]

1.5KG?

How many times will it charge the Evo batteries @steve2497 ?

 

[herein2021]

1.5KG?

How many times will it charge the Evo batteries @steve2497 ?

Based on my math (146Wh / 82Wh) = ~2x if batteries are discharged to 20%. But I think in reality after going through the DC inverter he will be lucky to get 1 to fully recharge. Autel really needs to fix their car charger.

 

[PingSpike]

Interesting.

£110 for that charger, or £170 for a new battery (Amazon UK)

 

[herein2021]

Interesting.

£110 for that charger, or £170 for a new battery (Amazon UK)

Good point

 

[steve2497]

An update from me, I have been using this bank quite a lot over the last few weeks and am very glad I got it. Your calculations are roughly correct it will charge 2 evo batteries at 17~20% remaining back up to 100%.

What I find really useful is I tend to do long distance flights covering many Waypoints with mission specific variables that were programmed in the night before. The amount of times is countless I have noticed and have to return home after take off that I input a wrong variable or for some reason changed my mind on something, forgot an action or add a waypoint, etc. So I find it invaluable to top up batteries that have only used 10-20% power back up to 100. So this charging bank and my 4 batteries means I can spend many hours flying.

 

[herein2021]

An update from me, I have been using this bank quite a lot over the last few weeks and am very glad I got it. Your calculations are roughly correct it will charge 2 evo batteries at 17~20% remaining back up to 100%.

What I find really useful is I tend to do long distance flights covering many Waypoints with mission specific variables that were programmed in the night before. The amount of times is countless I have noticed and have to return home after take off that I input a wrong variable or for some reason changed my mind on something, forgot an action or add a waypoint, etc. So I find it invaluable to top up batteries that have only used 10-20% power back up to 100. So this charging bank and my 4 batteries means I can spend many hours flying.

Just keep in mind that Autel is very lenient on their battery temp restrictions but it does not mean that charging them while hot will not shorten their life. DJI uses a very conservative timer and flat out refuses to let you recharge their batteries for at least 2hrs after use; Autel goes to the other extreme and seems to let you do whatever you want.

 

[Eagle928]

A small marine deep cell battery like those used in small boats or powered wheel chairs and an inverter should give many recharges.

Not as small and convenient as a handheld power bank with AC plug but far more efficient. Just a thought.

Example: Amazon.com: Mighty Max Battery 12V 35AH Wilderness Tarpon 100 Kayak Trolling Motor Battery Brand Product: Electronics

Amazon.com: BESTEK 500W Power Inverter DC 12V to 110V AC Converter with Alligator Battery Clamp 4.8A Dual USB Car Charger ETL Listed: Electronics

Buy BESTEK 500W Power Inverter DC 12V to 110V AC Converter with Alligator Battery Clamp 4.8A Dual USB Car Charger ETL Listed: Power Inverters - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

smile.amazon.com

 

[PingSpike]

DJI uses a very conservative timer and flat out refuses to let you recharge their batteries for at least 2hrs after use

Where did you read that?

 

[herein2021]

A small marine deep cell battery like those used in small boats or powered wheel chairs and an inverter should give many recharges.

Not as small and convenient as a handheld power bank with AC plug but far more efficient. Just a thought.

Example: Amazon.com: Mighty Max Battery 12V 35AH Wilderness Tarpon 100 Kayak Trolling Motor Battery Brand Product: Electronics

Amazon.com: BESTEK 500W Power Inverter DC 12V to 110V AC Converter with Alligator Battery Clamp 4.8A Dual USB Car Charger ETL Listed: Electronics

Buy BESTEK 500W Power Inverter DC 12V to 110V AC Converter with Alligator Battery Clamp 4.8A Dual USB Car Charger ETL Listed: Power Inverters - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

smile.amazon.com

The referenced Mighty Max battery would let you recharge approximately 3-4 Autel flight batteries before it is fully drained.

Where did you read that?

I have experienced it first hand. Starting with the P4 batteries there's simply no way to recharge them while onsite because the cool down period is so long and the Mavic Pro's batteries were the same way. With the P3 and earlier batteries I could throw them on a car charger with my battery pack as soon as I landed.

For the Mavic Pro and P4 I had to buy more batteries and hope it was enough to complete the project for that day. DJI's newer batteries fast flash the first LED on the battery for hours after landing and when it displays that it means it is too warm. Personally I think they made it so conservative just to sell more batteries.

 

[PingSpike]

Thanks for the insight, I've never yet come across that in all my years (and models) of flying DJI.

It must just be that much colder here in the UK ?

 

[Josh1340]

I have an Ecoflow River Pro that is a portable system. I live in FL so its useful for hurricane season as well as useful at the beach to keep my stuff powered including my laptop when I want to work from the beach .

Own a river, river pro, river mini, and delta mini.. Love ecoflow.

 

[herein2021]

Own a river, river pro, river mini, and delta mini.. Love ecoflow.

My problem with companies like that is that their batteries are not replaceable. The internal LiPo batteries are rated to only about 500 cycles and once you hit that they degrade pretty quickly, Jackery products have the same problem. Vendors like those never talk about what happens when the battery stops holding a charge.

The Goal Zero products on the other hand use a normal high capacity sealed Lead Acid AGM battery which can be replaced within 10min for about $100 and the old battery can be dropped off at any battery recycling center vs ending up in a landfill. My first Goal Zero 400 battery lasted about 7yrs and I replaced it a few months ago for $100.

 

[Josh1340]

My problem with companies like that is that their batteries are not replaceable. The internal LiPo batteries are rated to only about 500 cycles and once you hit that they degrade pretty quickly, Jackery products have the same problem. Vendors like those never talk about what happens when the battery stops holding a charge.

The Goal Zero products on the other hand use a normal high capacity sealed Lead Acid AGM battery which can be replaced within 10min for about $100 and the old battery can be dropped off at any battery recycling center vs ending up in a landfill. My first Goal Zero 400 battery lasted about 7yrs and I replaced it a few months ago for $100.

True, mine have 800 cycles on them and I haven't even used them much.. I do love the idea of that replaceable battery with goal zero..

 

[herein2021]

True, mine have 800 cycles on them and I haven't even used them much.. I do love the idea of that replaceable battery with goal zero..

The only problem with the Goal Zero battery is the weight, LiPo batteries are a lot lighter, the Goal Zero 400 is almost 30lbs....so it's not the easiest thing to haul around.

I have had to bring it to beach shoots and there is nothing easy about carrying it in soft sand. But as long as they keep making the battery it should last forever. The battery is even a standard size and rating, I didn't even get my replacement from Yeti because I found a higher capacity one on Amazon.

 

[EarthImage]

I use my EVO II Pro for large mapping missions that sometimes require 4 or more flights. So I have 4 batteries. My rule of thumb is that I always try to have my bird back on the ground at 15-20% and I NEVER field recharge them until they cool, which takes 1-2 hours. When I recharge in the field I bring a small deep cycle battery (or two) used for electric wheel chairs (UN12350 and 75 ah). I just use a decent inverter and my Autel AC charger. Works great. Best solution - buy more batteries and never fly them below 15% and do not charge when they are hot or even warm.