Dynamo and battery use?

[Sore Thumb]

i have a SP Dynamo on my Bikepacking/Touring bike.

I have a top tube bag from alpkit where I keep my battery that I keep charged from the Dynamo.

I then use my iPhone in a hard waterproof case and the battery keeps this charged.

However I have one slight problem, is finding battery's that work in this way.

I have a 9000mah power monkey battery that works fine like this.
I have a number of Anker battery's that are great but I have found that once you turn the Dynamo they charge fine but cut the power to the iPhone. Looks like you cannot charge the battery and use it to charge device at the same time.

I'm looking for a lower capacity battery that the 9000mah.that will charge and be used for a device at the same time?

Any ideas?


Many thanks

 

[vernon]

Stick with what works.

 

[hamrack]

There's quite a few people on here that have worked with cache batteries, there's plenty of links to ones that will charge and discharge at the same time. It's a good way of charging a few things at once if needs be.
I have an Anker and was annoyed to find that it won't do as you (and I) was hoping.

 

[d70ar9]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005QI1A8C?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

This device works fine with pass through charging.

I have it connected to my dynamo and also to my Garmin. At the end of the days riding I have a 100% charged Garmin and a 100% charged anker battery.

 

[JimboJames1972]

Ever tried solar chargers?

I bought one from Cotswold Outdoors last year for hiking and when leading my DofE groups. If I can find a link I will post it.

The device folds out flat (approx 8cm x 30cm) and has an inbuilt LiPo cell. In 'normal' UK summer it will fully charge in about 8-10 hours when strapped to the outside of my rucksack. In other words, it charges in a day. A full charge will recharge both my Garmin and iPhone easily (the device has 2x USB outlets). Charging can be done either while the device is collecting sun, or at night when the device is off.

When I have cycled and camped I have it strapped flat to the top of my rear panier, rather than on my rucksack. It still seems to work great, although I have not used it for trips longer than three days.

Oh, and it also seems pretty weatherproof although I must admit that I have only let it collect power in the rain rather than risk plugging leads in to recharge devices while it is wet.

As a last resort it also has a USB 'inlet' port so that you can recharge the inbuilt battery from a car lighter socket, laptop or 3-pin wall plug.

Hope this helps,

J

 

[hamrack]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/producsaddQI1A8C?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

This device works fine with pass through charging.

I have it connected to my dynamo and also to my Garmin. At the end of the days riding I have a 100% charged Garmin and a 100% charged anker battery.

I didn't realise the newer Anker batteries allowed pass through, my older one sadly does not. They are very good though and they have some large capacity batteries which will do what you're looking for.

 

[JimboJames1972]

Here is a link for something similar to the solar charger I use:

http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/powertraveller-solarmonkey-adventurer-2015-e3712063?id_colour=122

Mine is a different spec to this though (I think only a 3200mAh battery and I know for sure that it only has two LED modes - red for charging and green for fully charged) so I am guessing that they changed the spec recently. I also seem to remember mine being £65? I know it is still a fair wedge of cash, but I find mine extremely useful and would not be without in on any length of cycle or hiking trip.

Hope this helps,

James

 

[andrew_s]

Charging a battery to charge another battery with isn't very efficient. You've got to pedal maybe 25% further to charge a phone if you use an intermediate battery than if you charge the phone's battery directly from the dynamo.
For just a phone, you've got enough spare capacity that it doesn't really matter, and there may be compatibility reasons for the intermediate battery, but it's something you've got to think about if you have a lot of things to charge. Buying a bigger cache battery doesn't help if you aren't riding far enough or fast enough to put more in than you take out.

 

[mjr]

Charging a battery to charge another battery with isn't very efficient. You've got to pedal maybe 25% further to charge a phone if you use an intermediate battery than if you charge the phone's battery directly from the dynamo.

Closer to 30% I'd say, but many phones cope badly with intermittent power supply and dynamos usually generate more electricity than needed, so it is worth it.

 

[Blue Hills]

Not knowing much about these things can i ask how folks lash these cache batteries to the bike while riding?