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An Anker Power Bank (24,000mAh) has a £40 discount right now on Amazon UK. This is a really nice piece of tech that has helped me to work outside the house wit

An Anker Power Bank (24,000mAh) has a £40 discount right now on Amazon UK. This is a really nice piece of tech that has helped me to work outside the house with peace of mind. Can keep my phone charged (which I use for tethering) for over a week, no problem. Drains way quicker when charging my M1, but that one has far less battery issues when compared to my phone. The discount is real, as well. I know because I bought it recently, but you can also check it against camelcamelcamel or keepa.

namdnay 4y ago
If anyone is thinking of buying a power bank, I strongly recommend those ones that can also start a car. Way less hassle than jumper cables
- agentwiggles 4y ago
  Can you give an example of one? It blows my mind that this is possible - I mean not the technology exactly, that makes sense, but just that something reasonably portable that I would carry around in case my phone dies can also have the level of utility of jumping my vehicle in a pinch. The future is pretty cool.
  - shkkmo 4y ago
    The battery packs for jumping cars (at least the ones I've seen) are generally more of a size appropriate for putting in a trunk than a backpack or pocket.
    - marmetio 4y ago
      They put mini jumper cable connectors on the pocket-sized ones now.
    - lm28469 4y ago
      I had one a while ago when road tripping in the US, served me a few times, it won't fit in your average jeans pocket but it easily fits in a jacket, you could fit 20+ in your glovebox https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rP7cR7ffBYrpfZ2Yz7FHdE.jpg https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rP7cR7ffBYrpfZ2Yz7FHdE.jpg https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0096/6764/1402/products/AC56388-HeroBanner_r3-img2_700x.jpg?v=1619711706 https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0096/6764/1402/products/AC...
  - namdnay 4y ago
    This type of thing: https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GB40-UltraSafe-Lithium-Starter/dp/B015TKUPIC/ https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GB40-UltraSafe-Lithium-Starter/d...
  - nickt 4y ago
    I’ve used some of the NoCo ones for years and happy with them. The Drive has conveniently listed the Black Friday deals! https://www.thedrive.com/news/black-friday-amazon-noco-jumpstarter https://www.thedrive.com/news/black-friday-amazon-noco-jumps...
  - scruple 4y ago
    I've had one for each car since ~2017. I have a portable air compressor that goes with us on camping trips, too. Highly recommended.
- jcims 4y ago
  I've jump started lots of cars over the past 30 years and was super skeptical of these at first. They are pretty incredible. 3-4 starts off of one charge easily and make for a hell of a battery pack. Just mind the size because they are quite a bit chunkier than average power packs. edit: I’ve bought a few of these as gifts. I *strongly* prefer the ones with a molded softshell case to manage the jumpers. I haven’t found any from a well-known brand that weren’t just re-badged noname products with a big mark up. Project Farm on YouTube has some of the best product reviews out there, it looks like he’s done a bit of a bake off, might be worth your while watching if you’re looking at these.
  - etrautmann 4y ago
    I bought one off of Amazon that stopped working after three months, extraordinarily frustrating. Hard to find a decent brand since they all seem to be cheap junk.
    - jcims 4y ago
      This thread reminded me that I was thinking about picking one up, I just looked again and it’s almost impossible to pick from the offerings that are out there.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
madjam002 4y ago
is this the 140w one that you have?
- joaodlf 4y ago
  Yep, the one with the handy digital display.
  - fmajid 4y ago
    That's a feature I wish all batteries had. The 737 is twice the weight of my Nitecore NB20000 for not much extra capacity, and I don't have a laptop that draws more then 45W anyway, but I got it for that one feature alone.
nicolaslem 4y ago
Anyone else bothered that they do not specify the energy in watt-hour? Back when USB was 5V it was pretty easy to do the conversion from Ah, how does it work now that USB can negotiate voltage dynamically?
- robga 4y ago
  The official Anker response on Amazon UK Q&A is "86.4Wh" But yes, it is annoying.
- koofdoof 4y ago
  You should be able to calculate the watt hours based on the voltage of the internal batteries. Its likely a 3.7v lithium, so this anker bank would be 3.7v x 24,000mAh = 88.8Wh
  - ce4 4y ago
    The issue is comparable to mileage numbers... I dont trust that at all. Usually they just multiply the number of cells with their "rated" mAh-value, but who knows what their cutoff voltage is. Also you need to integrate over the voltage (which keeps falling during discharge) and the discharge graph also depends on how much power you draw. Then the 4.2V=>5V (or 9..19V for USB PD) conversion losses are also not counted.
- fmajid 4y ago
  Anker does specify the Wh ratings. Just on the battery itself, not the website. In flyspeck 2.8pt size font (I just checked with my Peak 10x inspection loupe with reticule, the characters are exactly 1mm x-height), dark gray on black for maximum unreadability, that needs a microscope to read. On my 737, it says 86.4 Wh.
gnicholas 4y ago
That does look like a good discount, but in the US it's still pretty pricey ($100). For my needs, the 535 looks like a better deal — it's $50 and has 30W max. Fine for my M2 MBA and certainly my iPhone and other peripherals. It's 20k instead of 24k, but it's half the price and still has USB-C. Not a bad deal! https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Portable-Charger-Microsoft-dp-B0BBZ6718B/dp/B0BBZ6718B https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Portable-Charger-Micr...

namdnay 4y ago

If anyone is thinking of buying a power bank, I strongly recommend those ones that can also start a car. Way less hassle than jumper cables

agentwiggles 4y ago
Can you give an example of one? It blows my mind that this is possible - I mean not the technology exactly, that makes sense, but just that something reasonably portable that I would carry around in case my phone dies can also have the level of utility of jumping my vehicle in a pinch. The future is pretty cool.
- shkkmo 4y ago
  The battery packs for jumping cars (at least the ones I've seen) are generally more of a size appropriate for putting in a trunk than a backpack or pocket.
  - marmetio 4y ago
    They put mini jumper cable connectors on the pocket-sized ones now.
  - lm28469 4y ago
    I had one a while ago when road tripping in the US, served me a few times, it won't fit in your average jeans pocket but it easily fits in a jacket, you could fit 20+ in your glovebox https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rP7cR7ffBYrpfZ2Yz7FHdE.jpg https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rP7cR7ffBYrpfZ2Yz7FHdE.jpg https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0096/6764/1402/products/AC56388-HeroBanner_r3-img2_700x.jpg?v=1619711706 https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0096/6764/1402/products/AC...
- namdnay 4y ago
  This type of thing: https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GB40-UltraSafe-Lithium-Starter/dp/B015TKUPIC/ https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GB40-UltraSafe-Lithium-Starter/d...
- nickt 4y ago
  I’ve used some of the NoCo ones for years and happy with them. The Drive has conveniently listed the Black Friday deals! https://www.thedrive.com/news/black-friday-amazon-noco-jumpstarter https://www.thedrive.com/news/black-friday-amazon-noco-jumps...
- scruple 4y ago
  I've had one for each car since ~2017. I have a portable air compressor that goes with us on camping trips, too. Highly recommended.
jcims 4y ago
I've jump started lots of cars over the past 30 years and was super skeptical of these at first. They are pretty incredible. 3-4 starts off of one charge easily and make for a hell of a battery pack. Just mind the size because they are quite a bit chunkier than average power packs. edit: I’ve bought a few of these as gifts. I *strongly* prefer the ones with a molded softshell case to manage the jumpers. I haven’t found any from a well-known brand that weren’t just re-badged noname products with a big mark up. Project Farm on YouTube has some of the best product reviews out there, it looks like he’s done a bit of a bake off, might be worth your while watching if you’re looking at these.
- etrautmann 4y ago
  I bought one off of Amazon that stopped working after three months, extraordinarily frustrating. Hard to find a decent brand since they all seem to be cheap junk.
  - jcims 4y ago
    This thread reminded me that I was thinking about picking one up, I just looked again and it’s almost impossible to pick from the offerings that are out there.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

madjam002 4y ago

is this the 140w one that you have?

joaodlf 4y ago
Yep, the one with the handy digital display.
- fmajid 4y ago
  That's a feature I wish all batteries had. The 737 is twice the weight of my Nitecore NB20000 for not much extra capacity, and I don't have a laptop that draws more then 45W anyway, but I got it for that one feature alone.

nicolaslem 4y ago

Anyone else bothered that they do not specify the energy in watt-hour? Back when USB was 5V it was pretty easy to do the conversion from Ah, how does it work now that USB can negotiate voltage dynamically?

robga 4y ago
The official Anker response on Amazon UK Q&A is "86.4Wh" But yes, it is annoying.
koofdoof 4y ago
You should be able to calculate the watt hours based on the voltage of the internal batteries. Its likely a 3.7v lithium, so this anker bank would be 3.7v x 24,000mAh = 88.8Wh
- ce4 4y ago
  The issue is comparable to mileage numbers... I dont trust that at all. Usually they just multiply the number of cells with their "rated" mAh-value, but who knows what their cutoff voltage is. Also you need to integrate over the voltage (which keeps falling during discharge) and the discharge graph also depends on how much power you draw. Then the 4.2V=>5V (or 9..19V for USB PD) conversion losses are also not counted.
fmajid 4y ago
Anker does specify the Wh ratings. Just on the battery itself, not the website. In flyspeck 2.8pt size font (I just checked with my Peak 10x inspection loupe with reticule, the characters are exactly 1mm x-height), dark gray on black for maximum unreadability, that needs a microscope to read. On my 737, it says 86.4 Wh.

gnicholas 4y ago

That does look like a good discount, but in the US it's still pretty pricey ($100). For my needs, the 535 looks like a better deal — it's $50 and has 30W max. Fine for my M2 MBA and certainly my iPhone and other peripherals. It's 20k instead of 24k, but it's half the price and still has USB-C. Not a bad deal! https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Portable-Charger-Microsoft-dp-B0BBZ6718B/dp/B0BBZ6718B https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Portable-Charger-Micr...