For people on the go...

[vaporize me]

Just ran into this...

DealExtreme: $48.90 Dual Ports Solar Powered Self-Recharging USB Battery (with Cell Phone Adapters)

Good for emergencies..wonder if it would be a good alternative to a power pack.

 

[tlbeedy]

Hmmm.... that would be a great idea if out camping on a weekend trip...

 

[Flitzanu]

if i'm not mistaken, and i'm no expert...that looks like it might do the trick. claims 1A output which i think is right for a passthrough? and 5v?

someone will come along and correct me or something though i'm sure

2000mah capacity looks like it would be good for several hours at least.

 

[taz3cat]

The Kensington battery pack is supposed to be 1800mah so it should be strong enough. The kensington works real good with the usb pt without battery inline.

 

[vaporize me]

Hey taz.. That is what I thought. A bit more expensive than the Kensington but looks as though it deserves a look. To have it charged when there isn't a power source...priceless...and for it to have a switchable power output, that could be the ticket. Wish I would've seen this before I got my Kensington.

I hope somebody in the know checks this out to see if it is a viable source of power.

 

[trog100]

dont expect much from the sun.. unless you live in Arizona..

not enough to put in what the e cig takes out.. a liitle help at best.. dont go far away from your car... he he

trog

 

[vaporize me]

Oh well... It was a good thought while it lasted.

 

[Vapinginjapan]

Trog, even if you get half of the rated output power of 3 watts of this panel..

If i'm not mistaken, many people say that your screwdriver, which is a 1000mAH battery (At 4.2v, that's 4.2WH) is good for 8 hours of vaping. This would suggest that for every hour of vaping, you consume about 1/2 WH.

Now, if this panel is running at 50% power, it's still pumping out 1.5WH/h, or 1.5 watts. This is still 3x the average power consumption for vaping. I.E. 1 hour at half power will still give you 3 hours of vaping.

Even if it's running at 20% efficency, you're still getting more than enough power out of the panel for INDEFINATE vaping.

And well, if you're out in the park in a place close to the equator, the full rating of the panel is going to give you 6 hours of vaping out of 1 hour of sunlight.

Thus, I think that your assessment of this thing being no good for vaping is, by my calculations, absolute bunk.

To put this into perspective for everyone, the amount of energy generated by this panel at half efficiency for one hour is roughly equivalent to 1 1/2 pen style batteries.

 

[planetofthevapes]

But what will we do when the sun goes down? *turns on the lights* j/k

Awesome find! I thought it would be super awesome to put photo cells all over my mod, but I am not very tech savvy and have no idea how to wire it all together... I like your idea better!

*sings and dances*
"When the sun goes down, we won't be vapin'"
"When the sun goes down, won't be feelin' alright"
"When the sun goes down, over us vapers"
"Atty's won't get hotter when the sun goes down"

 

[vaporize me]

What caught my eye was the fact that it contains a built in 2000mah battery that can be charged with an a/c plug and not dependent on the sun for a recharge. The switchable power output is also a plus. Hooking it up to a passthrough would give you options.

 

[Vapinginjapan]

But what will we do when the sun goes down? *turns on the lights* j/k

Awesome find! I thought it would be super awesome to put photo cells all over my mod, but I am not very tech savvy and have no idea how to wire it all together... I like your idea better!

*sings and dances*
"When the sun goes down, we won't be vapin'"
"When the sun goes down, won't be feelin' alright"
"When the sun goes down, over us vapers"
"Atty's won't get hotter when the sun goes down"

Eh, when the sun goes down, your battery should still have enough juice for about 10 hours of vaping.

Enough to last you an allnighter of study.

 

[vaporize me]

How about this one...

3600mAH Multi-functio solar Mobile source charger USB - eBay (item 110386950686 end time Jun-06-09 02:01:28 PDT)

At 3600mah..that would last for quite some time.

 

[planetofthevapes]

Eh, when the sun goes down, your battery should still have enough juice for about 10 hours of vaping.

Enough to last you an allnighter of study.

I know, but I just had a stupid song come into my head when I thought about it. I did see there was a built in battery to hold charge. I think it's awesome! I don't have the knowledge to play with it, but I'm excited to see somebody take action and make something out of it. It's awesome. Once again, I was just joking with my little ditty! I love solar panels, I wish my house had them!

 

[trog100]

Trog, even if you get half of the rated output power of 3 watts of this panel..

If i'm not mistaken, many people say that your screwdriver, which is a 1000mAH battery (At 4.2v, that's 4.2WH) is good for 8 hours of vaping. This would suggest that for every hour of vaping, you consume about 1/2 WH.

Now, if this panel is running at 50% power, it's still pumping out 1.5WH/h, or 1.5 watts. This is still 3x the average power consumption for vaping. I.E. 1 hour at half power will still give you 3 hours of vaping.
do
Even if it's running at 20% efficency, you're still getting more than enough power out of the panel for INDEFINATE vaping.

And well, if you're out in the park in a place close to the equator, the full rating of the panel is going to give you 6 hours of vaping out of 1 hour of sunlight.

Thus, I think that your assessment of this thing being no good for vaping is, by my calculations, absolute bunk.

To put this into perspective for everyone, the amount of energy generated by this panel at half efficiency for one hour is roughly equivalent to 1 1/2 pen style batteries.

yes i was being a bit derisory.. probably because i live in the UK and whilst we do hear the odd rumour about a thing called the sun.. we never actually get to see it.. he he

the true mah of an SD battery is more like 700 mah the average voltage over a discharge cycle would be around 3.8.. which makes the panel sound even better.. relatively speaking..

trog

ps.. i just ordered one to have a play with... he he

i am a sucker for DX gizmos..

 

[vaporize me]

Hey trog, which one did you order? Did you see the one I posted that was 3600 mah? Either way, be a pal and post back what you think. I am really interested to see if this device will meet our needs.

 

[SannerSays]

That would be amazing if it worked!! Especially here in Arizona like Trog says. We wait all day for the sun to go away, so it can cool to a nice 92 degrees at midnight..... No lack of sunlight here. Let us know how it works Trog....and if it doesn't work out for you...you know someone in AZ that could put it to good use.

 

[vaporize me]

Hey sanner, the way I see it, it would be a good power pack to have, especially in AZ, being that it works that is. It does have a built in battery that can be recharged with an a/c though. The one that is 3600mah would be incredible.

 

[SannerSays]

Hey sanner, the way I see it, it would be a good power pack to have, especially in AZ, being that it works that is. It does have a built in battery that can be recharged with an a/c though. The one that is 3600mah would be incredible.

That is a good point. If you have sun or no sun, it is rechargeable regardless. I could lay it on the pool deck while I swim and my e-cig would never run out of power hahaha!!

 

[trog100]

the last fancy power pack i bought from DX was a very nice thing.. but it was designed to charge batteries as opposed to directly power things..

a clever auto voltage sensing thing but if it didnt sense a battery voltage to charge it didnt switch on...

the first one linked to seems to have a smaller battery.. but higher power solar cells than the second one.. kind of win some lose some..

it says waiting for supplier which in DX terms means it will take a couple of weeks on average for me to get it.. i will report back when i do...

trog

ps... i ordered the first one..

 

[Myshkin]

Can anyone give an estimate on how long it would take to charge the second one mentioned to full battery on a clear sunny day? hopefully someone more knowledgeable them me on the subject knows how to calculate that.
Here's the specs:
Solar panels:
PV peak power: 2.2W
Operating voltage: 5.5V (maximum)
Charge current: 400mA

Host:
Output voltage: 4.5 ~ 9V (adjustable)
Output current: 1A (maximum)
Output power: 5W (maximum)
Battery capacity: 3600mAh
Size: 132.5 × 90 × 28mm
Weight: 290g