Can I charge my bike with this power bank?

[Kathy Smith]

Can someone smarter than me tell me if I would be able to charge my bike with this power station?
It has 500wh, and I have a Volador, which I believe needs 256wh. The Dolphin needs 504wh, so I guess it won't work with the Dolphin. But can someone confirm it will work with the Volador.

Thank you.

 

[6zfshdb]

Part of the answer is what the efficiency loss will be when you use an AC charger. The unit's watt rating likely assumes 100% efficiency which isn't practical. I'm no expert but my guess is the product would fully charge your 256WH battery but you'll only get a partial charge on the Dolphin.

This power station won't charge a battery any faster than your OEM charger using commercial power. The same charge time factor applies.

IMO, for off grid purposes, the money is better spent on a small gas generator or a second bike battery.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

Can someone smarter than me tell me if I would be able to charge my bike with this power station?
It has 500wh, and I have a Volador, which I believe needs 256wh. The Dolphin needs 504wh, so I guess it won't work with the Dolphin. But can someone confirm it will work with the Volador.

Thank you.

This thing is basically just a battery that you have to charge. Yeah, you might be able to charge your bike battery about once with it before the thing itself needs recharging, but it's generally kind of pointless to use a battery to charge a battery. You still have to figure out how to charge the battery. You're just kicking the can down the road.

What is the specific problem you're trying to solve? You can get a small gas generator for the same amount of money, or less, that will create electricity, albeit rather loudly and using gasoline, but it will do it as many times as you want if you're, say, on a boondocking camping trip for a week.

You'll need $200 worth of solar panels, in addition to this thing to recharge this with solar. If you're camping, you have to leave the solar panels out all day at the campground, along with this "generator". Easy theft targets. A small gasoline generator would probably be easier to lock up.

TT

 

[Kathy Smith]

This thing is basically just a battery that you have to charge. Yeah, you might be able to charge your bike battery about once with it before the thing itself needs recharging, but it's generally kind of pointless to use a battery to charge a battery. You still have to figure out how to charge the battery. You're just kicking the can down the road.

What is the specific problem you're trying to solve? You can get a small gas generator for the same amount of money, or less, that will create electricity, albeit rather loudly and using gasoline, but it will do it as many times as you want if you're, say, on a boondocking camping trip for a week.

You'll need $200 worth of solar panels, in addition to this thing to recharge this with solar. If you're camping, you have to leave the solar panels out all day at the campground, along with this "generator". Easy theft targets. A small gasoline generator would probably be easier to lock up.

TT

Yes, I want a portable battery that I could use to charge my bike battery. Just like you do with a cell phone when you are away from a power source, you can use a power bank to charge your phone. What I'm trying to do is charge my battery when I don't have access to power. I want to plug in my bike to this thing while I'm taking a 1 or 2 hour brake for lunch let's say, on a bike trail. I don't care for fully recharging it, whatever I get I get in that hour or two. Then at the end of the day I take this thing home and recharge it so it's ready until I go biking again.

 

[Kathy Smith]

Part of the answer is what the efficiency loss will be when you use an AC charger. The unit's watt rating likely assumes 100% efficiency which isn't practical. I'm no expert but my guess is the product would fully charge your 256WH battery but you'll only get a partial charge on the Dolphin.

This power station won't charge a battery any faster than your OEM charger using commercial power. The same charge time factor applies.

IMO, for off grid purposes, the money is better spent on a small gas generator or a second bike battery.

I don't care for charging it faster. I just want portable power bank so I can charge my bike on a bike trail while I'm taking a break. But I agree a second battery might make more sense, although how would I carry it with me, in a back pack? it's a bit long but worth trying I suppose.

 

[FlatSix911]

Yes, I want a portable battery that I could use to charge my bike battery. Just like you do with a cell phone when you are away from a power source, you can use a power bank to charge your phone. What I'm trying to do is charge my battery when I don't have access to power. I want to plug in my bike to this thing while I'm taking a 1 or 2 hour brake for lunch let's say, on a bike trail. I don't care for fully recharging in, whatever I get I get in that hour or two. Then at the end of the day I take this thing home and recharge it so it's ready until I go biking again.

Yes, based on the specifications, this power bank should charge both of your EBikes off the grid.
With a 500Wh capacity, you could charge your Volador twice (256Wh) or the Dolphin once (504Wh).

Amazon Customer Review
We Are Loving It! by Eddie on September 24, 2020
The Power Station is very attractive and modern. Has all of the features including a lamp and wireless charger. These are features we weren't necessarily looking for however they do come in very handy.
I use this primarily to charge our electronic bikes while we are traveling and it does the trick! we even hooked it up to our projector last night and had an impromptu movie night in the backyard.
That's one way to make the best of the year 2020. Whatever is next, we are prepared with the WattFun Solar Generator!

 

[Tars Tarkas]

Yes, I want a portable battery that I could use to charge my bike battery. Just like you do with a cell phone when you are away from a power source, you can use a power bank to charge your phone. What I'm trying to do is charge my battery when I don't have access to power. I want to plug in my bike to this thing while I'm taking a 1 or 2 hour brake for lunch let's say, on a bike trail. I don't care for fully recharging in, whatever I get I get in that hour or two. Then at the end of the day I take this thing home and recharge it so it's ready until I go biking again.

Well, it would probably work for that. At 13+ pounds it won't be easy to carry around though and will almost certainly effect the balance and handling of your bike.. The other suggestion of a second battery would be a lot lighter and might be better for your stated purpose.

TT

 

[harryS]

How much is a spare Volador pack? It's got to be smaller than a 500W battery with an AC inverter and your charger.

Let's suppose you found an AC outlet during your break, and you happened to have your charger. If it's a 2A charger, in one hour you would have put in 2amp-hours. I think the Volador is 36V, so that's 72 Watt-hour. If you ride like my wife, that's enough for 10 miles. For me, it's 7 miles.

 

[tomjasz]

I just want portable power bank so I can charge my bike on a bike trail while I'm taking a break. But I agree a second battery might make more sense, although how would I carry it with me, in a back pack? it's a bit long but worth trying I suppose.

In this context that seems a silly path forward. The second battery could be mounted on your frame.
You make no mention regarding the length of your rides and which eBike you are riding?

 

[Tars Tarkas]

I don't care for charging it faster. I just want portable power bank so I can charge my bike on a bike trail while I'm taking a break. But I agree a second battery might make more sense, although how would I carry it with me, in a back pack? it's a bit long but worth trying I suppose.

When I carry a spare battery it's in my backpack. Some people strap them to a front or rear rack, some people carry them in panniers. The "generator" thing you're talking about will be about 3 times as much trouble to figure out how to haul around.

TT

 

[FlatSix911]

Well, it would probably work for that. At 13+ pounds it won't be easy to carry around though and will almost certainly effect the balance and handling of your bike..
The other suggestion of a second battery would be a lot lighter and might be better for your stated purpose.
TT

In this context that seems a silly path forward. The second battery could be mounted on your frame.
You make no mention regarding the length of your rides and which eBike you are riding?

I am not sure of the use case, but she may want to use this as a mobile charger from a car park without draining the 12V auto battery.

 

[Kathy Smith]

Well, it would probably work for that. At 13+ pounds it won't be easy to carry around though and will almost certainly effect the balance and handling of your bike.. The other suggestion of a second battery would be a lot lighter and might be better for your stated purpose.

TT

I normally carry more than 13+ pounds of camera gear on my bike

 

[Tars Tarkas]

I am not sure of the use case, but she may want to use this as a mobile charger from a car park without draining the 12V auto battery.

That's a good point! In that case, it would be a lot more useful. If she's coming back to her car though, why not just swap out a spare battery there?

TT

 

[Kathy Smith]

In this context that seems a silly path forward. The second battery could be mounted on your frame.
You make no mention regarding the length of your rides and which eBike you are riding?

I did say that the bike is Volador and I posted this in Qualisports forum. The battery is in a seat post, mounting it on a frame is not going to work with the saddle attached to it. My rides vary and I'm not sure how that's relevant.

 

[Kathy Smith]

How much is a spare Volador pack? It's got to be smaller than a 500W battery with an AC inverter and your charger.

Let's suppose you found an AC outlet during your break, and you happened to have your charger. If it's a 2A charger, in one hour you would have put in 2amp-hours. I think the Volador is 36V, so that's 72 Watt-hour. If you ride like my wife, that's enough for 10 miles. For me, it's 7 miles.

The battery is in a seat post, rather inconvenient to carry it.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

I normally carry more than 13+ pounds of camera gear.

Like I said, it's doable. You can probably tell by now that I don't particularly like the idea though. If you're carrying your camera gear and this power station thingy, you're at 27 lbs of cargo with nothing else. I'm not familiar with the bike you're talking about, but that much extra weight can cause issues.

Oh, yeah. You're going to have to carry your battery charger along with this. Chargers typically don't weigh a lot, but it's still something you have to pack along with everything else.

TT

 

[tomjasz]

My rides vary and I'm not sure how that's relevant.

Battery Ah is relevant if trying to establish mileage. I missed the bike brand, mea culpa! The roadblock for most will be a connector choice/change. A small softside pack, shrink wrap, could easily be carried in a seat bag, rear rack, or even slung in a top tube pack.

 

[FlatSix911]

I did say that the bike is Volador and I posted this in Qualisports forum. The battery is in a seat post, mounting it on a frame is not going to work with the saddle attached to it. My rides vary and I'm not sure how that's relevant.

The battery is in a seat post, rather inconvenient to carry it.

Here is another option that only weighs 1.1 pounds... at 88Wh it will charge your battery to 1/3 capacity.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P87JTVT/ref=emc_b_5_i

 

[FlatSix911]

If you are willing to carry 6 pounds, you could opt for the 250Wh to charge your battery to 100%.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WQYLZFQ/ref=emc_b_5_i

DenGaWa Portable Power Station 250Wh

DenGaWa Portable Power Station 250Wh

www.amazon.com

 

[Kathy Smith]

But she would still need a charger.. I would not want to be carrying that box thing plus charger.. much many things to be hauling around.

I don't mind carrying a charger. It's small enough to fit in a bag.