Just heard about Chilindo (a Thai online auction site, like their version of eBay) , so I bought a super-cheap eLoop 50,000 MaZ (whatever that is) mobile charger -

I bid up to 325 baht for it, plus 10% plus small delivery charge = 396 baht - far cheaper than Lazada etc

Hmm, not sure about it. I read somewhere there are a lot of fakes on the market - the trader I bought from has several running concurrently every day so should be established

BUT it's just arrived and
1) it looks like a very cheap version of my friend's eLoop. It said "wooden" but it seems to be a wafer-thin cardboard outer

2) there is no manual - no idea if it needs charging - and if so, how to tell when it's finished charging

3) only has 1 USB port. My friend's has 2, so you can charge 2 devices at once. Not a major drawback, though

here's the same thing being sold today:
http://www.chilindo.com/auction/12015511/PowerBankWoodenCase50000mAh

any thoughts, anyone?

Rather too cheap methinks.

Assuming it's a 3.6V Lipo inside @ 50,000 mAh (50 Ah) that's 3.6*50 Watt hours = 180 Whr

This is a 54 Whr Lipo from HobbyKing http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9488__Turnigy_3000mAh_5S_30C_Lipo_Pack.html

It is 140 x 40 x 30 mm, weighs 430g (about 1lb) and costs USD 35.

If you believe the markings, I have a nice pair of 1,000W PMPO computer speakers for sale..

if they get to 10% of rated I'd be surprised.

Notice they specify mAh, not Watts. You have to fill in the voltage the rating is at ( 0.1V?)

yeah, I think you might well be right. I assumed that cos that dealer was selling dozens per day he must be legit or Chilindo would've banned him by now

I also found that you can't any power banks more than 20 Ah on to an airplane, and a less powerful one would've done me fine.

ah well, if it conks out it's only 400 baht down the drain - as long as it isn't so dodgy it blows out whatever it is connected to!

Rather too cheap methinks.

Assuming it's a 3.6V Lipo inside @ 50,000 mAh (50 Ah) that's 3.6*50 Watt hours = 180 Whr

This is a 54 Whr Lipo from HobbyKing http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9488__Turnigy_3000mAh_5S_30C_Lipo_Pack.html

It is 140 x 40 x 30 mm, weighs 430g (about 1lb) and costs USD 35.

The aircraft limit (carry-on only, nothing in checked bags) according to this page https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/hazmat_safety/more_info/?hazmat=7 is 100 Watt hours, about 27Ah @ the normal 3.6V of a LiPo battery.

If your batteries are under 100Whr then there's apparently no limit as to how many you can carry.

I brought a 50,000 from Lazada for 350 baht delivered, looking at it there is no way that it can be 50,000m/ah it works ok and easily charges my phones as an emergency but 50,000 nah.

Still good for the money with 2 usb ports 1 1.0a and 1 at 2.1a and LED to let you know how much charge is left, if these were the capactity they say they are then we would all be walking around with a minimum of 10,000m/ah batterys in our phones

50,000 maH i.e. 50 aH is the capacity of a small car's battery. Even if at 12V that's roughly 3 times more energy.

No way with that size and weight, even in LiPo.

I bought this one from Lazada.

http://www.lazada.co.th/eloop-e14-power-bank-20000mah-1568724.html

It's a really nice bit of kit. Well made and well packaged. An absolute bargain.

I bought this one from Lazada.

http://www.lazada.co.th/eloop-e14-power-bank-20000mah-1568724.html

It's a really nice bit of kit. Well made and well packaged. An absolute bargain.

Any indication of its real capacity?

As noted by other posters the Ahr (Amp hour) capacity means nothing without a voltage.

For example, a 100Ahr 24V battery will hold twice as much energy (2,400 Watt hours) as a 100Ahr 12V battery (1,200 Watt hours). Both are 100Ahr.

I'll have a look later if I remember

It only says 5amps, no Ahr figure.

I bought one of the generic 30K mAh power banks from Lazada last year for about B350. I have taken it on a dozen trips to the US and Europe, using it to power my tablet for movie watching in case the aircraft didn't have a working power port, as many don't. It has never failed to deliver enough power for 8 to 10 hours of steady viewing with enough left over to charge my phone and MP3 player. I have never actually discharged it fully while in use. It has one 1.5 amp port and one 1 amp port. My only complaint is the ports aren't labeled.

It may have been cheap and generic but it is certainly no "Piece of Crap" as the know-nothings like to condem anything that doesn't have an expensive brand name attached.

I keep it in my carry-on and it has never been flagged or questioned by security.

It only says 5amps, no Ahr figure.

To get a proper idea you would have to open it and look at the battery itself, it will be marked with a voltage and Ahr rating.

Unless it opens easily not really worth the bother.

is there anyway to check these ,? hooked up to a phone or tablet or with a Volt amp meter ?

is there anyway to check these ,? hooked up to a phone or tablet or with a Volt amp meter ?

You need a USB load that draws a fairly constant current, a USB fan or light would serve.

Measure the current (probably milli-Amps) drawn by your load (this may be easier said than done, but you may be lucky and find a load with a power consumption label).

Fully charge to power bank over night.

Plug in the load, record the time.

Leave alone, check every hour or so, record the time when the light went off / fan stopped.

Do your sums

R = Run time in hours (use decimal for any minutes)

V = 5 (USB power is 5V)

A = Whatever your load draws in Amps (1 Amp = 1000 milli-Amps)

Usable capacity (in Watt Hours) = V x A x R

As above, but to be more 'realistic' would need a bit of a high load (1A or so). Otherwise the power needed to run the boost converter inside will be the limiting factor.

I think with a LED light it won't show much difference between 'idle on' and 'loaded on' times.