Tried a USB Hub for Internal Battery Mods, And...

[SilverBear]

... it KILLED two (admittedly old) smok R80 mods.

I was figuring I could do better than charging one internal battery mod at a time
off the desktop, so I bought a 4-port USB hub. This one:
4 Port Aluminum USB 2.0 HUB Splitter High Speed For PC Laptop Mac iMac MacBook | eBay

The first time I used it, I attached 2 Smok R80s and 2 Smok QBox mods.

The QBox mods charged and are fine.

BOTH R80s greeted me with a "High Input" error, and now nothing at all. Bricks.

I removed the hub and now just have the single cord Desktop>Mod. Even tried reconnecting
each of the R80s, but nothing happens, nothing lights up. "Oh well" re: the R80s. RIP.

The vendor refunded the cost, so that's fine. I'd have a HARD time using the hub for
anything REALLY important (ie: external hard drives, thumb drives, PC peripherals) knowing
what it did to the mods.

Only sharing what happened. Lesson learned: stick with what has worked in the past.

 

[Heartsdelight]

I'm no expert but I believe it's because it's rated USB 2.0 it's a faster speed, if you check the specs on the Smok R80 mods I believe they need to be charged at 1.0a. Phones, tablets, etc are ok to be charged at 2.0.

Which vendor? You're very lucky in that respect. That would be very helpful as not many would refund.

 

[r77r7r]

I've only ever used internal battery mods and use the USB hubs for computer only and multi port smart chargers for charging. They plug into the power strip so I feel better about that.
I think I'd get a data only cord for updating the firmware on mods.

 

[Heartsdelight]

I've only ever used internal battery mods and use the USB hubs for computer only and multi port smart chargers for charging. They plug into the power strip so I feel better about that.
I think I'd get a data only cord for updating the firmware on mods.

Internal battery mods that come with a cord that are updateable come with the USB cord that is also used for firmware upgrades, so you should be good.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

I have a Duracell wall adapter that does 0.5A output on two USB ports (1.0A total). I bought it way back in 2013 when I was only using eGo devices. Still one of the best $10 I ever spent and my iPhone lovin' off-spawn covet it.

I believe Samsung makes one, too.

 

[DaveP]

Wall charger USB hubs can have some variance in current distribution. The 4 port wall wart I use for charging phones mostly is 1A on port 1, 1.5A on port 2, and 2.4A on ports 3 and 4. Those are max loading levels. What your device draws depends on the design current specified by the vendor and whether they implemented the spec properly. Lots to think about.

A good implementation of USB for charging by the spec will have a current limiting resistor across the input to control how much current the device draws. Whether all Chinese USB multiport chargers abide by that spec is up for grabs.

This article talks about the multifaceted implementations of USB and all the accepted standards. It's worth a read.
How USB Charging Works, or How to Avoid Blowing Up Your Smartphone - ExtremeTech

 

[Barkuti]

Weird stuff. It is quite unlikely that the USB hub is to blame here, such thing just redistributes the power coming out of the computer USB port which, according to legacy USB specifications, is limited to 0.5A. I don't really know how do these mods behave with power negotiation, they should do nothing and the hub/computer will just leave the data lines floating, allowing a maximum of 500mA output current (or a little bit more).
Android phones, in my experience, restrict themselves to 0.5A input if the cable's data lines are left floating or unconnected. If the data lines are bridged (with a max 200Ω resistance), the devices assume being connected to a dedicated charging port (DCP) and may try to pull up to 1.8+A (or even more). It is relatively common nowadays to find a sort of bridged data lines dummy cables with certain devices (like the Lii-100/Lii-202/etc style chargers with powerbank feature), but please avoid using them for something different than linking a proper phone charger/supply to the battery charger or the battery charger to a phone tablet (powerbank role); the cable data lines are bridged and such, if you straight connect a phone/tablet to a computer USB port that way there won't be power negotiation, the device will pull 1+A and the computer will shut down the USB port due to overcurrent or the device will restrict itself to whatever the computer is able to offer before the voltage drops too much -this could work with a powered USB hub-.

In essence, I believe the R80s were faulty.

 

[Letitia]

Now I have another headache.

 

[Heartsdelight]

Now I have another headache.

I know right? I'm trying to understand the newer 20700 & 21700 batteries

 

[Letitia]

I've accepted the fact that I don't understand. Just can't stop myself from checking out these damn threads. Oh well, vape on & relax.

 

[DaveP]

Android phones, in my experience, restrict themselves to 0.5A input if the cable's data lines are left floating or unconnected. If the data lines are bridged (with a max 200Ω resistance), the devices assume being connected to a dedicated charging port (DCP) and may try to pull up to 1.8+A (or even more).

I agree that it's a gamble with specs implemented by world wide manufacturers. You have to wonder if UL and CE ride herd on the imported stuff like they do on stateside manufacturers. Some of the offshore manufacturers probably wouldn't blink an eye at stamping the regulator's seal of approval and hoping that it doesn't come back to bite them when it doesn't meet specs.

I've run some limited testing on some of my USB devices and my Android LG G2 (now replaced by a Samsung S7) used to pull about 980ma as read by the inline USB volt/amp tester I use. That was when plugged into a 2.4A port on a 4 port wall charger. I would have guessed half an amp or so, but not 1A +/-.

This is the one I use. It's cheap and seems to be reasonably accurate for the price.
https://www.amazon.com/X-DRAGON-Mul...1505434698&sr=8-2&keywords=usb+volt+amp+meter

 

[SilverBear]

Which vendor? You're very lucky in that respect. That would be very helpful as not many would refund.

The vendor which shows in the product link at the top ^^^^^. They said to don't bother
sending it back. Seeing it was only $7.28 with free shipping, I wasn't going to go nuts
and stomp-in-place for a refund. I just passed along what happened simply as an FYI
and they credited it back and essentially said "keep it".

 

[kross8]

Wall charger USB hubs can have some variance in current distribution. The 4 port wall wart I use for charging phones mostly is 1A on port 1, 1.5A on port 2, and 2.4A on ports 3 and 4. Those are max loading levels. What your device draws depends on the design current specified by the vendor and whether they implemented the spec properly. Lots to think about.

A good implementation of USB for charging by the spec will have a current limiting resistor across the input to control how much current the device draws. Whether all Chinese USB multiport chargers abide by that spec is up for grabs.

This article talks about the multifaceted implementations of USB and all the accepted standards. It's worth a read.
How USB Charging Works, or How to Avoid Blowing Up Your Smartphone - ExtremeTech

i was looking at usb c 3.2 generation items earlier this week,, laptop, tablet and whatever else....so i had to wonder if nextgen ecigs will also jump on the bandwagon.. what do you think?

 

[DaveP]

i was looking at usb c 3.2 generation items earlier this week,, laptop, tablet and whatever else....so i had to wonder if nextgen ecigs will also jump on the bandwagon.. what do you think?

I think we'll see chargers with USB C connectors before we see those on ecigs. Can't sell it if nobody can charge it! The down side of that would be if the manufacturer includes a dirt cheap charger with the new mod (Think early eGO). I don't need a mod that can only be charged by the maker's charger! I have enough things to keep up with already ...

USB 2.0 is fine with me.

 

[kross8]

I think we'll see chargers with USB C connectors before we see those on ecigs. Can't sell it if nobody can charge it! The down side of that would be if the manufacturer includes a dirt cheap charger with the new mod (Think early eGO). I don't need a mod that can only be charged by the maker's charger! I have enough things to keep up with already ...

USB 2.0 is fine with me.

i am with you on 'too many' power sources/bricks not being interchangeable,, my lamps, blowdryer, and toaster all just plug in and work ,,low power items should be the same .

if i understand usb-c 3.2 correctly.. any usb-c port can be powered by any matching valued cable... getting rid of the wallwart hopefully

also (possibly wrong) i am thinking usb-c 3.2 is all encompassing for data and power... it sees no dif.

 

[retired1]

Bad idea using a USB powered USB hub to charge multiple devices. Even though the description claims it prevents overload voltage, obviously this wasn't the case. Not to mention, trying to charge two mods that's being powered by your computer's USB port is a bad, bad, bad idea.

If you're going to use a multiport hub to charge devices, get one that has it's own power supply.

Amazon.com: Macally 4 Port Powered USB 2.0 Hub with 5V 2A Power Adapter & 5 foot long Cable (TriHub4): Electronics

 

[retired1]

Oh, and as for the "wish" for USB C, be careful what you wish for. Many USB C cables have the capacity to wreck havoc on your stuff.

This USB-C problem isn't going away anytime soon

Laptops are getting destroyed by cheap USB-C cables

USB-C compatibility problems are the worst! | Pocketnow

 

[Barkuti]

When in doubt with regards to the suitability of a given USB cable for proper power transmission between a computer and a device, or just in general, please first test data transmission. This is because power negotiation happens in the data lines (D-, D+), thus if these are in some way crippled it'd be best to dump the cable. Power lines' gauge matters also, but if these are flimsy and/or damaged this will only limit power delivery without further device havocs.
How can we do this with ease? Well, you can for example use the under testing USB-A to USB micro-B/USB-C cable to connect a computer to a USB hub, attach a pendrive to it and do some file transfers (probably the safest way without messing with electronic tools). Another way could be with a couple tablets/smartphones and an USB OTG adapter, available nearly everywhere but this is cheap; reason this works is when you connect devices this way, the master (the one with the OTG adapter) will provide power, while the other (which will only start with 100mA until power is negotiated) will be seen and act as an external USB mass storage by the master (the slave may need to be configured in some way for this to work correctly). I don't personally have one of those OTG adapters because I connect my smartphone to a USB hub with a homemade custom cable (4 simultaneous OTG ports LoL!).
Overall, it is very easy to get quality standard USB-A to USB micro-B cables for fairly cheap nowadays, just pay attention to the USB-C stuff. UGreen products, for example, have repeatedly proved quite good by reviewer HKJ while also inexpensive, so I bet their USB-C cables should prove nice. If willing to test unknown stuff, share!

 

[kross8]

Oh, and as for the "wish" for USB C, be careful what you wish for. Many USB C cables have the capacity to wreck havoc on your stuff.

This USB-C problem isn't going away anytime soon

Laptops are getting destroyed by cheap USB-C cables

USB-C compatibility problems are the worst! | Pocketnow

agree,, this is one of those cases you want lots of reviews and a major name brand. i like belkin items,, so i would likely go with them when the time comes. (for me that likely be next year)

 

[T0mmy1977]

Some USB hubs draw all of their power from the PC and some come with their own power cord for supplying the hub with power. I don't know how either configuration would affect charging mods, but thought I would mention it.