@phendrick@PooltoyWolf I’m seeing a lot of recent reviews with photos of broken cable tips, overheating and failure to recharge within 1 to 6 months. Going to sleep on it and contemplate whether I’d prefer one with a safer chemistry and replaceable cables.
@phendrick At a certain size they’re not allowed on airplanes anymore. The FAA says airlines are allowed to prohibit carry-on batteries over 100 Watt-hours (https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/lithium-batteries), although some airlines allow up to 160Wh. Watt-hours is a more meaningful unit because it captures the total amount of actual energy in the battery, but unfortunately the industry generally uses amp hours for their marketing. You can convert between the two if you know the battery’s internal voltage–for Li-ion it’s typically 3.0-4.2v depending on charge state. So this is probably right up against the 100Wh limit, possibly a bit over if you use the average voltage of 3.7.
this is probably right up against the 100Wh limit, possibly a bit over if you use the average voltage of 3.7.
I don’t know, obviously, but I suspect that you may have just uncovered the reason why these are on Meh instead of elsewhere. But the 22.5W output limit is also a factor; that’s not even close to the common 65W touted by many competitors. (Some claim even more, but is it real or Traditional Chinese Overstatement?) (99,000,000 lumens from a flashlight, anybody?)
@DonBirren “milli” is a std abbreviation for one one-thousandths, so 1 1/1000 of 1000 would be exactly 1. Thus 30,000 mAh becomes 1/1000 of 30,000 or exactly 30. Other direction with prefixes, “kilo” means 1000, so 1 Kw means 1000 watts of power.
These prefixes are used quite often, especially in the metric system, so are worth knowing. Google “SI prefixes” to see list or table of the most common ones. (And knowing a little Latin and/or Greek will help.) “Scientific notation” with powers of 10 fits in with these.
Damn! I JUST got around to reading the write up, & not only am i chagrined at not coming up with an original, smart-ass pun, I’m a bit concerned that the copywriter & i are in sync. I’ve been indoctriMehted!
AI Overview The largest TSA-approved power bank is typically around 27,000mAh, which is under the 100Wh (watt-hour) limit, though some models with a slightly higher capacity (up to 27,650mAh or 99.5Wh) also fit. While a 100Wh limit is standard, batteries between 101 and 160Wh can be allowed with specific airline approval. It’s crucial to check the power bank’s watt-hour (Wh) rating using the formula (Wh=(mAh\times Voltage)/1000) to confirm it meets the 100Wh limit.
@user24764855 So how will TSA actually figure it out? I doubt they do any math to go from mAh to Wh. unless they have a cheat sheet. I’ve never had TSA ask about my power bank(s) when flying.
Of course you could also make a new label for the power bank too. Not suggesting you should do so of course.
@outdoorslife@user24764855 I have had a first-hand report from a friend that their 20Ah power bank was only grudgingly allowed after the security agent flagged it because the power bank’s output is 5V, and 5V at 20Ah would be 100Wh, dead on the bottom of “Nope nope nope.” But the TSA supervisor came over, looked at the markings, and let it through. I’m currently not willing to fly anywhere for other reasons, but when that changes, I’ll be looking for a power bank whose capacity is clearly stated in Wh, not mAh.
@katbyter Look again: the cable on the left has a Lightning jack. The USB cable shown is a seperate cable; pictures of the back of the charger show both.
@aciarlotta I guess you can buy good power bank products. Joyfar … toesn’t seem like a well known name. But how can you tell the good one without taking it apart? Here is an example :
After some debate (with myself) and research, I decided to get these, especially for my new Costco heated vest, on sale now for $40. Unfortunately, and I hope not a prophesy, my order is called “wild-flaming-cape” so if I end up like the above picture you will know why. I do not intend to bring it on a plane, though.
Now that I think about it, it’s kind of chunky. Reminds me of something …
/showme JOYFAR 30,000mAh Power Bank that looks like vintage transister radio.
Definitely enjoying these!
Charge display as well as a graphic to show you when it’s discharging.
They’re small and compact but do have a bit of weight to them. Charging output is definitely quite nice. I just wish the lanyard wasn’t there, but they’re easy to cut off.
Testing the ones I received has so far been very disappointing. After discharging one to 0%, a full charge through my usb tester was only 84.21Wh, 72.9% of the advertised capacity before any charging losses.
Testing the discharge, the 10v output drops horrendously down to 8.5v when outputting at 2A. It outputted a total of 65.33Wh from that 84.21Wh charge, for an efficiency of ~77.5%. So of the advertised 115.5Wh capacity, you are only getting a miserable 56.5% of that.
I’m going to repeat my tests one more time, to make sure it wasn’t a first charge thing, but if it has the same performance, this one is either a dud or a scam.
This one came in a box that wasn’t shrink wrapped, the other one is still in a shrink wrapped box. I haven’t tested that one yet, but I will later.
Specs
Product: 2-Pack: JOYFAR 30,000mAh Power Bank with 2 Built-in Cables
Model: B0D9LW3FGG
Condition: New
What’s Included?
Price Comparison
$68.38 (for 2) at Amazon
Warranty
90 days
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Oct 27 - Thursday, Oct 30
Are these swell as well?
@yakkoTDI They seem kinda bulky. It’s like they came pre-swelled.
@yakkoTDI Perhaps, but they’re definitely phat.
KuoH
A pair of 30,000 mAh power banks for $15 each? Am I reading that right?
@PooltoyWolf I read the same thing. With my glasses on.
And the a’zon reviews look mostly decent.
@phendrick @PooltoyWolf I’m seeing a lot of recent reviews with photos of broken cable tips, overheating and failure to recharge within 1 to 6 months. Going to sleep on it and contemplate whether I’d prefer one with a safer chemistry and replaceable cables.
KuoH
@PooltoyWolf Yeah, I think they should be 30k mAh TOTAL, and they would still fail to deliver.
@PooltoyWolf yes it says 30,000 for each one
Now we’re up to 30 Ah? Anyone holding out for 40?
@phendrick The VERY expensive lithium ion battery I’ve been looking at for my motorcycle is 16Ah (12V).
@phendrick I was just wondering, at what point does the “000” and the “m” cancel each other out and we just go with “30Ah”?
@phendrick At a certain size they’re not allowed on airplanes anymore. The FAA says airlines are allowed to prohibit carry-on batteries over 100 Watt-hours (https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/lithium-batteries), although some airlines allow up to 160Wh. Watt-hours is a more meaningful unit because it captures the total amount of actual energy in the battery, but unfortunately the industry generally uses amp hours for their marketing. You can convert between the two if you know the battery’s internal voltage–for Li-ion it’s typically 3.0-4.2v depending on charge state. So this is probably right up against the 100Wh limit, possibly a bit over if you use the average voltage of 3.7.
@TexasDex
I don’t know, obviously, but I suspect that you may have just uncovered the reason why these are on Meh instead of elsewhere. But the 22.5W output limit is also a factor; that’s not even close to the common 65W touted by many competitors. (Some claim even more, but is it real or Traditional Chinese Overstatement?) (99,000,000 lumens from a flashlight, anybody?)
@DonBirren “milli” is a std abbreviation for one one-thousandths, so 1 1/1000 of 1000 would be exactly 1. Thus 30,000 mAh becomes 1/1000 of 30,000 or exactly 30. Other direction with prefixes, “kilo” means 1000, so 1 Kw means 1000 watts of power.
These prefixes are used quite often, especially in the metric system, so are worth knowing. Google “SI prefixes” to see list or table of the most common ones. (And knowing a little Latin and/or Greek will help.) “Scientific notation” with powers of 10 fits in with these.
Actually, I can think of better…
@phendrick Yeah! A blow up wolf to guard your campsite and to snuggle!
@PooltoyWolf Mine would be a little more warm-blooded. To each his own. (But yours IS pretty handsome.)
@phendrick Thank you! Heh.
/showme Neo from The Matrix using JOYFAR 30,000mAh Power Bank as cell phone.
@mediocrebot Do the AI bots watch all the old movies?
(Like Number 5 in Short Circuit?)
@mediocrebot Guess I better hide the home movies.
Nice romance novel writeup.
@Kyeh
JOYNEARER, indeed.
22.5 watts? That’s no charging power at all these days!
/giphy jigawatts
/giphy gigawatts
Friendly reminder you cannot take these on a plane. Well, I guess with {political bs}…
{TC - edit: All politics should be in the Political Bullshit 2025 topic.}
@bobthenormal Depends on the airline. TSA limit is up to 2 battery banks with up to 160Wh capacity, and these are ~115Wh.
I can’t speak for all airlines, but I know Alaska Airlines allows for this. FAA allows airlines to refuse batteries >100Wh in capacity.
@bobthenormal @minuette I just know you’re definitely not allowed to keep them (or anything with these kinds of batteries) in checked baggage!
@bobthenormal Actually it’s {more political bullshit}…
{TC - edit: All politics should be in the Political Bullshit 2025 topic.}
@sjk3 LOL
Bless your heart.
@bobthenormal
This made me wonder… so I asked ChatGPT for some help:
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
“If a human were to be considered a battery, what would our Amp-hour (Ah) storage capacity be?”
That’s a fantastic thought experiment — let’s work it out step-by-step carefully and precisely.
[…] snip a bunch of math and calculations […]
If a human were a 3.7 V “battery,” we’d store about 31,000 Ah, or roughly 116 kWh of energy.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
So… I guess we should stop letting humans get on planes. “Spontaneous human combustion” is rare but not unheard of.
/image matrix human battery pod
@bobthenormal @steelopus I’m thinking of where to wire in a USB port on my body. All my orifices are spoken for and are in use. Perhaps a Qi2 butt pad?
@bobthenormal Since when were spicy pillows NOT allowed on airlines?!?!?
/showme sad airline passenger in seat with spicy pillow as head cushion.
@bobthenormal @steelopus energy as in total output via exercise or as in “TO SERVE MAN”
/giphy it’s a cookbook
I’m waiting for the JOYNEAR brand myself.
Damn! I JUST got around to reading the write up, & not only am i chagrined at not coming up with an original, smart-ass pun, I’m a bit concerned that the copywriter & i are in sync. I’ve been indoctriMehted!
@ircon96 GMTA! (Great minds …)
Over the limit on airlines unless prior approval.
AI Overview The largest TSA-approved power bank is typically around 27,000mAh, which is under the 100Wh (watt-hour) limit, though some models with a slightly higher capacity (up to 27,650mAh or 99.5Wh) also fit. While a 100Wh limit is standard, batteries between 101 and 160Wh can be allowed with specific airline approval. It’s crucial to check the power bank’s watt-hour (Wh) rating using the formula (Wh=(mAh\times Voltage)/1000) to confirm it meets the 100Wh limit.
@user24764855 I can’t imagine how many free charging banks the TSA agents get to take home.
@user24764855 So how will TSA actually figure it out? I doubt they do any math to go from mAh to Wh. unless they have a cheat sheet. I’ve never had TSA ask about my power bank(s) when flying.
Of course you could also make a new label for the power bank too. Not suggesting you should do so of course.
@katbyter @user24764855 Seems like a good infection vector–add a little virus to your battery and try to bring it on a flight…
@outdoorslife @user24764855 I have had a first-hand report from a friend that their 20Ah power bank was only grudgingly allowed after the security agent flagged it because the power bank’s output is 5V, and 5V at 20Ah would be 100Wh, dead on the bottom of “Nope nope nope.” But the TSA supervisor came over, looked at the markings, and let it through. I’m currently not willing to fly anywhere for other reasons, but when that changes, I’ll be looking for a power bank whose capacity is clearly stated in Wh, not mAh.
@user24764855 It’s not that simple. There’s no limit to the number of spare batteries 100Wh and less that you can carry (I’ve taken 10+ power tool batteries through TSA) https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/lithium-batteries-100-watt-hours-or-less-device you can carry two batteries 100Wh-160Wh https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/lithium-batteries-more-100-watt-hours. The 20Ah pack referenced above is clearly allowed definitely <160Wh .
“Built in Cables for All iPhones” as long as your iPhone isn’t lightning charged.
@katbyter under “Our Take” the second bullet point mentions it has a lightning cable.
@cbilyak @katbyter
Phone would need to be old enough for micro-USB charging…
And lightning is clearly in the picture posted.
@katbyter Look again: the cable on the left has a Lightning jack. The USB cable shown is a seperate cable; pictures of the back of the charger show both.
@rpstrong @cbilyak @chienfou yeah I see it now. I just saw 2 USB C and didn’t see the lightning. Thanks!
@Mediocrebot can delete the thread to avoid further confusion.
@katbyter
/showme JOYFAR 30,000mAh Power Bank with 42 different Built-in charging Cables
@mediocrebot Hrmmm, not really what I was looking for.
/showme JOYFAR 30,000mAh Power Bank with 8 different BUILT-IN charging Cables.
@mediocrebot That’s more like it!!! I would pay for this!!!
Yeah, no. Pay good money for quality lithium battery products or pay the difference later. This was just in the news 3 days ago.
@aciarlotta to be fair he was using it to power an electric panini maker.
@aciarlotta I guess you can buy good power bank products. Joyfar … toesn’t seem like a well known name. But how can you tell the good one without taking it apart? Here is an example :
After some debate (with myself) and research, I decided to get these, especially for my new Costco heated vest, on sale now for $40. Unfortunately, and I hope not a prophesy, my order is called “wild-flaming-cape” so if I end up like the above picture you will know why. I do not intend to bring it on a plane, though.
@andyw
/showme person wearing vest and wild flaming cape.
@mediocrebot You won’t need a plane with that cape, since you will look like one of the Fantastic 4.
@cfg83 Definitely not me-he is much younger and much better looking.
silent-alive-corpse
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oWyusyzwdvOVfVH1DAp8VC9fSh2Sp_ek/view?usp=drivesdk
@DonBirren
/showme silent alive corpse
Enough with the power banks already~ :^)
@Steevo The masses demand speaker docks!!!
Now that I think about it, it’s kind of chunky. Reminds me of something …
/showme JOYFAR 30,000mAh Power Bank that looks like vintage transister radio.
@mediocrebot That a boy! I would totally buy that. Hrmmmm, maybe I will make my own.
@cfg83 Ot maybe a lunchbox?
Hello. Has anyone realized the missing letter in JOYFAR? Anyone? No? Think about it.
@cfg83
Ummm… E? T? M? I?
@chienfou The T has it.
Looks like that other daily deals site is selling these today too, two for $34.99. But they do have purple and a variety of colors, so there’s that.
@heartny It’s the 65W model there instead of the 22.5W model here.
@heartny @narfcake Wait, are we thinking of the same other daily deals site?
https://electronics.woot.com/offers/joyfar-10-000mah-powerbank-w-ac-plug-and-built-in-cables
/showme banished-gross-soldier
Definitely enjoying these!
Charge display as well as a graphic to show you when it’s discharging.
They’re small and compact but do have a bit of weight to them. Charging output is definitely quite nice. I just wish the lanyard wasn’t there, but they’re easy to cut off.
Testing the ones I received has so far been very disappointing. After discharging one to 0%, a full charge through my usb tester was only 84.21Wh, 72.9% of the advertised capacity before any charging losses.
Testing the discharge, the 10v output drops horrendously down to 8.5v when outputting at 2A. It outputted a total of 65.33Wh from that 84.21Wh charge, for an efficiency of ~77.5%. So of the advertised 115.5Wh capacity, you are only getting a miserable 56.5% of that.
I’m going to repeat my tests one more time, to make sure it wasn’t a first charge thing, but if it has the same performance, this one is either a dud or a scam.
This one came in a box that wasn’t shrink wrapped, the other one is still in a shrink wrapped box. I haven’t tested that one yet, but I will later.