Charging via battery pack

[garyleecn]

Does that equate to 39.7-watt-hour or is that just an estimate on your part?

it's actually about 5200mah. based on istat menus info

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Thanks; does that mean I could get away with using their smallest 3200mAh one, to give over another 50% of usage (directly powered, not 'charging'), or doesn't it work like that?

there will be some lost during charging, yeah, i think 3200 is about 50%, given you don't use it during the charging.

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Doesn't seem impractical at all. I have an Anker battery pack that easily can slip in the airline seat pocket in front of me... If I plug it into the MacBook, I can lose zero laptop battery life until the external battery is fully drained. That sounds amazing!

That's not true. The newer Anker devices have PowerIQ, which detects the max power they can deliver. The older ones don't have this technology and some of them had one port specified for fast recharging, and another specified for slower charging. I wonder how quickly the PowerIQ chargers can deliver power - I'm guessing the current versions probably max out at 2.4A.

what I'm using does have powerIQ, but this power 'IQ' is designed for usb 3.0 devices, not 3.1 so maximum is 2.4A, and 5v so about 12w

 

[scottomfg]

This Anker 2nd Gen Astro3 12800mAh 3-Port 4A Portable Charger seems like it's currently the best Anker for the job as it appears to be the only one capable of putting out 4amps in a single port and has enough juice for about two full charges, and in combo with a full internal battery could give more than 24 hours of action--not bad. I wish my darn 1.3Ghz would get here already so I could test it out.

 

[MarkW19]

This Anker 2nd Gen Astro3 12800mAh 3-Port 4A Portable Charger seems like it's currently the best Anker for the job as it appears to be the only one capable of putting out 4amps in a single port and has enough juice for about two full charges, and in combo with a full internal battery could give up more than 24 hours of action--not bad. I wish my darn 1.3Ghz would get here already so I could test it out.

Thanks, good advice!

 

[jasonj566]

here's youir answer

This can charge your battery:

http://www.amazon.com/ChargeAll-Por...ords=chargeall&tag=trust925-20&qid=1429554619

Also good article today about accessories that might work:

http://9to5mac.com/2015/04/20/best-travel-accessories-macbook-air-pro-retina/#more-375583

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this one looks good:

http://www.amazon.com/Anker-Ultra-H...&tag=trust925-20&qid=1429554413&s=electronics

 

[ovrlrd]

Another issue people need to remember is that cables also have power ratings. The typical USB-C to USB-A cable will likely be rated for typical USB-A power, which is not typically as high as 29 watts. This is why Apple's charger is a USB-C to USB-C, and their cables are rated for the full 14.5V @ 2A (aka 29W).

It is still very smart to wait until proper battery packs come out with full support for the MacBook charging profile and likely they will have USB-C ports as well.

 

[CD3660]

Another issue people need to remember is that cables also have power ratings. The typical USB-C to USB-A cable will likely be rated for typical USB-A power, which is not typically as high as 29 watts. This is why Apple's charger is a USB-C to USB-C, and their cables are rated for the full 14.5V @ 2A (aka 29W).

It is still very smart to wait until proper battery packs come out with full support for the MacBook charging profile and likely they will have USB-C ports as well.

That's useful information, thanks.

 

[scottomfg]

Finally got my MacBook, so I thought I'd share the results of my first charging/powering experiment.

I used my old battery pack, Anker 2nd Gen Astro2 9600mAh 2-Port 3A Portable Charger, along with the Monoprice USB-C to USB-A adapter and this USB-A to USB3-A cable. Here are the numbers from iStat. *During* mild use (web browsing, etc) it charged the MacBook battery about 1% every 30 minutes, which I consider fantastic. Given the capacity of the external battery I suspect that it could easily more than double the total battery life of the MacBook.

Surely at some point probably not too far off, there will be Anker batteries expressly made to charge the MacBook, but until then it looks like the currently available ones are quite up to the task.

 

[MarkW19]

Finally got my MacBook, so I thought I'd share the results of my first charging/powering experiment.

I used my old battery pack, Anker 2nd Gen Astro2 9600mAh 2-Port 3A Portable Charger, along with the Monoprice USB-C to USB-A adapter and this USB-A to USB3-A cable. Here are the numbers from iStat. *During* mild use (web browsing, etc) it charged the MacBook battery about 1% every 30 minutes, which I consider fantastic. Given the capacity of the external battery I suspect that it could easily more than double the total battery life of the MacBook.

Surely at some point probably not too far off, there will be Anker batteries expressly made to charge the MacBook, but until then it looks like the currently available ones are quite up to the task.

Thanks for letting us know! My rMB arrives on Wed so I'll be able to test too. I've got an Anker battery waiting for it as well, 10,000mAh/3A. All I'm hoping it will do is stop it from losing any more battery during use so I can continue using it for a while (including medium use of InDesign, Photoshop etc., and I usually have the brightness practically at full), I don't really need it to 'charge' the battery - do you think it'll be up to the task?

By the way, I think you could just have got a USB A - USB C cable, rather than the adaptor?

 

[tech324]

Finally got my MacBook, so I thought I'd share the results of my first charging/powering experiment.

I used my old battery pack, Anker 2nd Gen Astro2 9600mAh 2-Port 3A Portable Charger, along with the Monoprice USB-C to USB-A adapter and this USB-A to USB3-A cable. Here are the numbers from iStat. *During* mild use (web browsing, etc) it charged the MacBook battery about 1% every 30 minutes, which I consider fantastic. Given the capacity of the external battery I suspect that it could easily more than double the total battery life of the MacBook.

Surely at some point probably not too far off, there will be Anker batteries expressly made to charge the MacBook, but until then it looks like the currently available ones are quite up to the task.

With a 9600 mah battery, have you tried running your macbook battery down and then just plugging it in and see how long it takes to charge and how much? Plus differences with the macbook closed and the macbook active doing stuff. I would be curious to see how much charge a 9600 man battery would give the macbook and how long it would take to do it.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

This is pretty cool! I wouldn't have imagined that the MacBook could charge from a 5V device. One of the reasons for moving to USB type-C for charging is that USB type-C connectors have variable voltage available. The charger for the MacBook doesn't use USB-standard 5V, it uses higher voltage (14.5 Volts,) so it can get away with lower Amperage and still provide fast charging.

Thus, I'm surprised it is able to charge at all from USB-standard 5V. Great to hear! Even if it won't be able to charge *FAST*, as long as it can maintain a "steady state" charge while the computer is idle, you should be able to use a standard tablet-level 10W charger.


Edit: Of course, now I see that ovrlrd already covered the "USB c allows higher voltage" aspect. :-D

 

[tutux]

now the next topic will be: how to charge my Anker 26000mah power bank in less than 12 hours

That's my actual limitation with this great tool (even if the power bank is almost as heavy as my futur macbook )

 

[scottomfg]

Thanks for letting us know! My rMB arrives on Wed so I'll be able to test too. I've got an Anker battery waiting for it as well, 10,000mAh/3A. All I'm hoping it will do is stop it from losing any more battery during use so I can continue using it for a while (including medium use of InDesign, Photoshop etc., and I usually have the brightness practically at full), I don't really need it to 'charge' the battery - do you think it'll be up to the task?

Running a heavier work load would I think run at a deficit even with the external battery. As you can see with my numbers, running a light workload you use about 6W total and get 6.25W coming in. However, crank the brightness past 50% and start running a lot of gaussian blurs, and you'll be well over 6W of use. That said, if you just start using your external battery while the internal is mostly full, you'll get the benefit of all the power in both batteries with continuous usage before they both are drained.

By the way, I think you could just have got a USB A - USB C cable, rather than the adaptor?

For sure, but I needed the adapter to use thumb drives, external USB3 drives and a USB3 Ethernet adapter very infrequently, so no reason to but to things when one will do

With a 9600 mah battery, have you tried running your macbook battery down and then just plugging it in and see how long it takes to charge and how much? Plus differences with the macbook closed and the macbook active doing stuff. I would be curious to see how much charge a 9600 man battery would give the macbook and how long it would take to do it.

Nope, haven't tried this, probably never well. It just doesn't fit my use case. When I'm not using by MacBook, then I just plug it in somewhere. The MacBook's battery capacity is 5,300mAh, so the battery should be able to charge it from 0%-100% if I'm getting the science right, though I don't know much about this stiff.

 

[MarkW19]

Thanks! I guess at worst it will at least slow down the rate of discharge though? I could plug it in at say 20% so that I don't get down to 0 as quickly?

 

[tutux]

...
The MacBook's battery capacity is 5,300mAh, so the battery should be able to charge it from 0%-100% if I'm getting the science right, though I don't know much about this stiff.

You can't just take the Amperes into consideration, you need also the voltage.
Or easier, take the battery power:

The rMB has a ~40W/h battery pack.
The Anker E7 (25600mA/h - biggest authorized in planes ) is ~95W/h

Considering we have a great conversion/charging circuit, with 90% efficiency (two time as we discharge one and charge the other) -> 81% total efficiency

---> I Would expect to be able to charge almost Two macbook with one anker E7. Or 27h battery life yeah

 

[scottomfg]

Thanks! I guess at worst it will at least slow down the rate of discharge though? I could plug it in at say 20% so that I don't get down to 0 as quickly?

yeah, I bet if you plug in at 20% and keep using it, the external will run out before the internal.

You can't just take the Amperes into consideration, you need also the voltage.
Or easier, take the battery power:

The rMB has a ~40W/h battery pack.
The Anker E7 (25600mA/h - biggest authorized in planes ) is ~95W/h

Considering we have a great conversion/charging circuit, with 90% efficiency (two time as we discharge one and charge the other) -> 81% total efficiency

---> I Would expect to be able to charge almost Two macbook with one anker E7. Or 27h battery life yeah

Ah, that makes sense. I love when people show up who actually know what they are talking about . It seemed like what I was figuring was too good to be true, so I'm glad to be corrected with some real info. Thanks!

 

[tutux]

Ah, that makes sense. I love when people show up who actually know what they are talking about . It seemed like what I was figuring was too good to be true, so I'm glad to be corrected with some real info. Thanks!

Hope my calculations are not too false regarding the efficiency of the systems but in anycase i habe the anker e7 and will receive the macbook next month... Will keep you posted as this info is important to me
Maybe i'll buy another battery when:
1/ usb c with 14.5v output will be there (from 14 to 30w)
2/ when i'll know for sure how many watts are required to 50-75% charge the battery I'll buy a smaller one because 450g of battery is a little bit too much

 

[pacmania1982]

I've just been looking at the Hyper Juice batteries. OK they only charge at 12W but this is faster than the 2W (max) of most batteries. I'd would be 3x slower than the 29W Apple adapter but should work right? Theoretically you could get a USB A to USB-C adapter (eBay).

That should be a decent enough solution right?

They are, however, rather expensive.

pac

 

[Jefe's MacAir]

Didn't read all the posts.

I've tried successfully to recharge/power my rMB w/ a lithium ion battery using a USBc-USB male dongle purchased on Amazon.

 

[FuNGi]

I have been using a Voltaic V70 battery to charge my MBA and my MBP for quite awhile now...it has adjustable voltage output from 12–19 Volts depending on which device I'm topping off. Charges nicely with solar panels, AC, or DC inputs.

 

[MarkW19]

I've tried using the Anker 10k 3A with my rMB, whilst using it.

At full brightness (which I usually have) and doing quite a bit, it ALMOST charges it (percentage teeters and goes back and forth on increasing). 4A I'm sure would charge it decently.

At worst, it drastically slows down the rate of discharge, so is very useful. It's a good solution for now, until someone brings out a more suitable one. And only £20!

 

[RealEvil]

In using a Qualcom Quick Charge 2.0 battery pack (10000 mAh). I wondered if some of the other modes this charger supports (different voltages and Amps) would help but it seems as though it just uses 5V 2A.

Either way, this is a huge plus. With moderate use the battery will maintain the charge level more or less. With screen off it charges at a slow but useful rate. This is terrific for working in a coffee shop or travelling. I'm tempted to pick up the lightest 5000 mAh charger I can (my one is a little heavy and made of metal so might scratch the MacBook) and have that as a dedicated 80% top up for the MacBook.

 

[soulreaver99]

Just for the *****z and giggles, I charged my rMB with a Hootoo travel router / 6000 Mah (1A port) battery pack using a USB-C to USB-A cable.

It didn't charge while in use but while in idle, I was able to charge from 80% to 100% in about 3 hours. I can see this being useful while in flights and needing emergency power on the go but if you are mostly working at a desk, it's not that practical.

 

[MarkW19]

I use the 10k 3A Anker battery quite a lot, works well.

And tonight I also took advantage of one of the other advantages of USB-C as I forgot my charger! So just plugged it into my friend's USB charger! It's actually great flexibility.

 

[CD3660]

I use the 10k 3A Anker battery quite a lot, works well.

And tonight I also took advantage of one of the other advantages of USB-C as I forgot my charger! So just plugged it into my friend's USB charger! It's actually great flexibility.

Flexibility is definitely the greatest advantage of USB C.

 

[seong]

I used my Anker Astro 2 Pro 20,000 mAh for charging my laptop, and it took roughly one hour per 10%, or 6 min per 1%. I think this will come in handy in planes, commute, etc