External Power For Garmin.

[bikeman66]

Hi all,

I'm in the early stages of planning a marathon sponsored cycle ride to hopefully raise funds to buy equipment for the junior section of a rowing club where I coach.

I've come up with a 300km route, covering a good proportion of the wonderful Isle of Wight, where I am lucky enough to live. At an average of 18km/h it's going to take me around 16-17 hours. My Garmin Edge 510 has a claimed maximum battery life of 20 hours, which I think is probably a bit optimistic, but obviously I'd like to make sure the whole ride is recorded as proof of completion for sponsors etc.

I might be barking up the wrong tree here, but I'm almost certain I saw a thread on here a while ago about external power sources for Garmin devices. Is anyone able to point me in the direction of one of these or perhaps recommend one please?

The internal battery on the 510 might well last the distance I guess, but an extra few hours of juice wouldn't go amiss.

Any advice gladly received. Thanks.

 

[steve50]

This could be the sort of thing you are looking for, I have one which I use for my helmet cam and back up power for my lights, ime it has never run flat whilst in use, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50000mAh-Dual-USB-Power-Bank-LED-LCD-Cell-Phone-External-Battery-Charger-Mobile/201638085257?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=2&asc=38661&meid=0a577b12cdfe4b4a835bc4823796c446&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&mehot=ag&sd=162242520238

 

[Ajax Bay]

The 510 will very probably not last 17 hours. But provided that, at each stop, you bang the 510 onto charge using a simple power bank (2000mAh capacity would be more than enough and is much smaller than the link steve has offered above) it will last the time you need. You should get 14 hours (but worth confirming this for your instrument) without charge - that's my experience and that's with an HRM and cadence but not power meter. You need to get the button order right when you stop the timer (so you can charge it) or you may end up with several tracks as opposed to an integral one.

 

[Rustybucket]

You could also charge it on the go, There are loads of threads on various forums about this. I was just looking at the same topic this week.

I just googled:charging garmin 1000 while riding

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/randon/NfUpmVLcpCc

I haven't done it myself yet, so cant comment if it actually works!

 

[berty bassett]

i know you can charge the 705 on the go - i just used a cheapy charger with 4 duracell in it - cant remember where i got it from but it worked

 

[Bollo]

I've seen @StuAff of this parish with a backup charger for his 705. He might have a view.

 

[ianrauk]

A cheap, small £10 charger from Amazon or Ebay will see you through your ride. just remember to top up when stopping for rest, food etc

 

[si_c]

I use a 4000mAh battery pack in a top tube bag, which has a cable into the Mio GPS I use. Provided the battery can give 1.0A output then it should power the 510 until it's dead, at which point the garmin battery will start draining. You should get at least another 10 hours or so from the external battery.

Alternatively try this which is a bit pricier, but afaict it is a Garmin product.

 

[Bollo]

Alternatively try this which is a bit pricier, but afaict it is a Garmin product.

Followed the link and thought it looked familiar. I think all that's just a rebranded powermonkey product with an added bike mount. The Garmin version doesn't appear to be any more expensive than the vanilla version though.

I have the powermonkey and I wouldn't bother TBH. There are a lot of accessories you pay for and will never use, the solar panel is next to useless and it doesn't really hold that much power. As ianrauk says, a cheap phone booster will be more effective.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/powertrav...u7nYxYwYse50zyoj6rfUkmFJ1StymtCB0YaAhQX8P8HAQ

 

[HLaB]

I used one of those portable charger things on the 312 and a 200 mile ride and knowing me it didn't break the bank. Something like this one but with a lot cheaper shipping

 

[jay clock]

We have several of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-5200...88&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=astro+anker+e1&psc=1 and a stunning bit of kit. Have just ordered 6 for kids and family for Christmas. I used one across France for my Garmin and was excellent

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I use a Goal Zero Flip 20.

Disclosure: the company I work for are the UK distributor.

 

[User482]

My Garmin 800 lasts about 12 hours.

 

[ufkacbln]

The problem is usually the cable

Some have enabled pins that put the Garmin into "Storage" mode, awaiting data- effectively disabling it as a GPS

Other cables have these pins disabled and powers the Garmin without the data

 

[John the Monkey]

We have several of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-5200...88&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=astro+anker+e1&psc=1 and a stunning bit of kit. Have just ordered 6 for kids and family for Christmas. I used one across France for my Garmin and was excellent

My youngest has one of those (for her iPhone) - they're a nice, reliable and fairly compact - I've yet to have problems with Anker peripherals, and, anecdotally, they're pretty good if anything does go wrong with them.

As others have said, a top tube bag to pop the external battery in would be a good bet, as would doing a few trial runs to ensure that battery pack and Garmin behave as expected.