I have been wishing for a power bank with AC outlet for a while. I have several reason why I wished for this type of device.
✔ It seems I lose electricity at least a few times every year. In the summer when I lose power I keep cool by using a veryy small fan which can run from a USB battery. It was better than nothing but how I wished I could power my regular tower fan from a battery! Now I can!
✔ I use a lot of desk LED lamps powered from external power banks. I prefer power banks because I don't need to run cords, however my favorite desk lamps do not have a cable which can be converted to run from USB power. This power bank solves the problem and now I can use my best desk lamps rather than just the ones that happen to take a USB adapter.
✔ I own Neos, an Android PC, which is a large tablet but needs to be plugged into AC to work as it has no built-in battery. I have it located in a spot which does not have a convenient AC outlet and this means requires a long extension cord running across the room. Now I can run it directly from this power bank sitting next to it.
✔ I have an old PC which I still use but don't use it enough to justify a new battery. Now I can run it from the power bank without needing an AC outlet.
To charge this power bank you need a special cord and a special AC adapter. This is the only part of the package I did not like, I would have preferred something standard. The package also includes a universal AC adapter for international travel and pouch which can fit either the cords or the battery, but not both.
To fully charged a completely drained Power Ups battery takes me 2 hours and 30 minutes.
So now did GearUP perform each of my tasks?
AC port
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♦♦♦ Using Windows laptop
I started with the laptop at 30% and with HIS Gear Up fully charged. 28 minutes later the laptop beeped to tell me that the charging stopped. The laptop was at 74% and HIS Gear Up totally drained. The battery got quite hot powering the laptop. This turned out to be my least favorite use of the battery.
♦♦♦ NEOS Android PC
I started with HIS Gear UP fully charged and was able to watch Netflix for 2 hours and 20 minutes until the battery was totally exhausted. The battery remained cool through out. This is enough power to watch a movie or a few episodes. Useful!
♦♦♦ Running a large fan
I started with HIS Gear UP fully charged and it kept the fan working for 5 hours. In 1.5 hours it was down to 3 dots, in 3 hours it was down to 2 dots, in 4.5 hours it had a flashing 1 dot indicating it was running out of power. Excellent. I am ready for the next hot weather power outage!
♦♦♦ LED desk lamp
I started with HIS Gear UP fully charged and was the lamp stayed lit for 5 hours 10 minutes. After 3 hr it was at 2 dots, at 4 hours and 20 minutes at 1 dot. 4 hours 45 minutes it 1 dot was flashing indicating it was almost out of power. Excellent. I use this frequently.
USB ports
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In addition to the AC outlet this power bank has a regular USB port. I measured its performance with a current monitor and even though it provides rate higher than USB rate it performs below average compared to a dedicated USB only external batteries. It does not provide charge through (i.e. it cannot charge when the battery itself is being charged).
♦♦♦ Galaxy Nexus phone:
0.73A / 5.04V
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this phone is 1.00A/5V)
I mostly use Gear UP at home getting power to spots without needing an extension cord. This power bank fits my needs very well, especially for lights and fans because this battery lasts a long time. Being able to run a large fan during a power outage is going to make a big difference in comfort.
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.
Ali Julia review ★★★★★
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