Power banks with 5 or more amps for laptops?

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Nerva72

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I see there are a number of power banks for laptops (i.e. DC output with a DC connectors for every kind of laptop included) with capacities of 20,000 to 50,000 mAh, but none of them provide more than 4.5 to 4.7 amps to their 5V/9V/12V/20V laptop DC output. There are many uses for these power banks, but in addition to keeping my phone and tablet charged on trips, I have a more important need to power my CPAP machine when I'm camping or if the power goes out at home in the middle of the night. The CPAP machine power supply says it is 12V and 5A, and I can almost get it to work with my RAVPower 23,000 mAh unit (one of the included adapters plugs right into my CPAP in place of the power supply), except that if I suddenly breathe just the wrong sort of way, it makes the machine work just a little too hard for a fraction of a second, causing the RAVPower to shut off -- so most nights when I sleep with it, I'll wake up in the middle of the night a couple times because I'm not getting air, and must unplug/plug the DC connector to reset the RAVPower.

It's a shame, because the CPAP machine uses around 12,000 mAh for 8 hours of sleep, so I can typically get two nights out of it -- it's "almost, but not quite" a perfect solution. So, I've been looking for a new power bank, preferably with more than 23,000 mAh, but in particular, it needs to supply 12V DC with at least 5 amps, and hopefully more. Does anyone know of something that will do that?
 
Nerva72 said:
I see there are a number of power banks for laptops (i.e. DC output with a DC connectors for every kind of laptop included) with capacities of 20,000 to 50,000 mAh, but none of them provide more than 4.5 to 4.7 amps to their 5V/9V/12V/20V laptop DC output. There are many uses for these power banks, but in addition to keeping my phone and tablet charged on trips, I have a more important need to power my CPAP machine when I'm camping or if the power goes out at home in the middle of the night. The CPAP machine power supply says it is 12V and 5A, and I can almost get it to work with my RAVPower 23,000 mAh unit (one of the included adapters plugs right into my CPAP in place of the power supply), except that if I suddenly breathe just the wrong sort of way, it makes the machine work just a little too hard for a fraction of a second, causing the RAVPower to shut off -- so most nights when I sleep with it, I'll wake up in the middle of the night a couple times because I'm not getting air, and must unplug/plug the DC connector to reset the RAVPower.

It's a shame, because the CPAP machine uses around 12,000 mAh for 8 hours of sleep, so I can typically get two nights out of it -- it's "almost, but not quite" a perfect solution. So, I've been looking for a new power bank, preferably with more than 23,000 mAh, but in particular, it needs to supply 12V DC with at least 5 amps, and hopefully more. Does anyone know of something that will do that?
Click to expand...

What's wrong with a decent sealed gel acid battery designed for many cycles? where you have 12 V getting 5V is a breeze and you'll get more than your five amps. You can even buy those setups with an inverter already in place for 120v.

Something like that, there are even bigger ones around that weigh a small ton.

Can just be charged quickly from running the car too if you're near the vehicle.

https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-X...sr=8-2&keywords=portable+car+booster+inverter
 
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Simplyfun said:
What's wrong with a decent sealed gel acid battery designed for many cycles? where you have 12 V getting 5V is a breeze and you'll get more than your five amps. You can even buy those setups with an inverter already in place for 120v.
Click to expand...
Because it weighs 24 pounds and has a handle to lug it around, and my RAVPower 23000mAh weighs 1.3 pounds and would fit in a woman's purse (or my travel bag, right next to my CPAP machine, toothbrush, electric shaver, etc.).

The other thing I've noticed is that most car-type batteries are designed to deliver high amperage for a short period of time, and to be kept close to a full charge -- deep cycles will damage them. This does not match up well with my CPAP requirements, which is a low amperage for many hours -- those lithium batteries don't mind being discharged to zero after many hours of use.

The thing is... it is so damn close to working right now... if I'm lucky the thing will run for an entire night without shutting off, and I can get nearly two nights of use out of the little thing. All I need is something with between one (for home backup) to four (for camping) nights of use, that will never shut off because it can do 5A or more.

And the other thing is, it potentially simplifies my phone charging situation a great deal -- that RAVPower has two USB outlets along with the DC outlet, so I don't need to bring any phone chargers with me, I just plug the battery into the hotel room power, and charge two phones while also powering my CPAP at night. If the damn thing just wouldn't shut off randomly...
 
fair points, given what you've said I'd build my own packs. Note you can also buy lio packs with inverters that will do higher draws. In the case of the packs they have batteries that will support your high draw needs .... with something like these if you review the battery specs, they support discharge up to 12 amps on some of them (@12v).

https://www.bixpower.com/XP190AC-p/xp190ac.htm

The higher end inverter packs are deliver 300W ac at 110 so you know they really are sucking over 20 amps from the larger ones at a time.

Anyhow, I've looked into their stuff before, actually got me started on building a pack into a fiberglass frame that charges off the panel and runs all the lakeside blutooth speakers and LED lighting... different use but same concept. Mine is three and still charges and works.
 
Interesting. I wouldn't want the inverter -- the CPAP itself is 12V DC, so that's why it has a 12V/5A power supply... there's no point in converting battery DC to AC with an inverter just to have the power supply convert it back to DC again. However, the voltage out of that battery is not specifically 12V, nor is the voltage stable vs. charge level. However, it looks like that can be fixed by combining it with this DC-DC adapter:

http://www.bixpower.com/DC-Power-Adapter-DD90X-p/dd90x.htm

So it is selectable for an whole bunch of voltages, including 12V. And it has a 5V USB port for charging my phone...
 
I know you don't want the inverter, I just used it to demonstrate how high of a continual draw those batteries can support.

Yes you would need DC-DC regulation given the fact that the input on the inverter normally handles that job in a different way. The DC-DC adapter you linked is a common one and will handle variable input pretty well actually. I just always wished it had a 13 or 13.5v output so again, I went to dx and bought the parts to build one. But for your needs it will work as long as you don't exceed 6 amps continuous at 12 volts which is 80% of it's max rated spec. It will burst up to 8 or 9 at 12v but man they get hot if you run them hard and I'd keep an initial eye on it for excess heat , if you have to you can crack the case and put it in something that will cool it better with a couple little low draw muffin fans like the inverters use (probably won't be necessary, just keep an eye out). The other piece of that is don't use those plug in power adapters for car lighters/power sockets. They always screw up and cause increased resistance in the worst possible place. Hard wire or terminal type lugs on the shortest possible wire into the device is recommended for longevity.
 
honestly, send anker an email in the form of a letter describing your issues. they may have something or be able to find you a solution. ask the people that do this stuff for a living.
 
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