USB Solar Power Bank Review

A few months ago, I won a $5 coupon for DealExtreme, and decided to buy a “Portable 5V (30,000mAh) Li-ion Battery Solar Power Bank w/ Dual USB + LED – Black + White” for just over $20. For the price, solar charging was a nice bonus, and the 30,000 mAh was probably a “mistake” but it did not really matter. The SKU is gone, but 1BA-2 Solar power bank ($23.97) appears to be a very similar product. I did not plan to write about this gadget, but a few things happened that made me change my mind.

First. it took over two months to reach me, instead of the usual 2 to 4 weeks. I ordered on the 9th of November 2013, and received the package on the 25th of January 2014. The reason being that the package got declined by Thai immigration (I live in Thailand). DealExtreme could not explain me why, but I assume it could be because of stricter regulations regarding batteries. They then sent the power bank via Sweden Post which usually takes an awful lot of time, as it goes to Sweden first, before coming back to Asia.

But let’s check the device itself which I received in the parcel below.

Solar_USB_Power_Bank
You’ll find the power bank, a USB cable, adapters (mini USB, micro USB, and proprietary crap for Samsung, Nokia, and Apple devices), a user’s manual entirely in Chinese mentioning the model is XHL-2000 or XHL-3000, and a pouch.

Solar_USB_power_Bank_Accesories
On the power bank, you’ll get 2 USB output (1A and 2A), a power button to start charging, or lit up the white LED (long press), a micro USB port to charge with a power adapter, and 4 blue LEDs to indicate charging status and current charge level.

Click to Enlarge

It came with a charge and I could charge my phone a couple of times. Then I decided to charge it outside, placing it on a location with good sun exposure (a roof) to see how fast it would charge, and after 6 days, the charge level showed 2 LEDs on (26% to 50% charge).

Chiang_Mai_Winter_Weather_SunIt’s winter here, so it might charge faster when temperature and day length rises. It got about 7 hours direct daily sun exposure. The weather during the test is shown on the right. The power bank will also charge when it’s cloudy or there are shadows, albeit probably at a slower rate.

I could charge my phone (1800 mAh battery) twice after 6 days of charge. That means a full charge would typically take between 10 and 20 days depending on conditions, and that you can’t expect to charge your phone daily with this device.

I should have known this at the time of purchase based on the specifications:

  • Solar Panel – 1.5W
  • Capacity – 30,000 mAh/111wh
  • Input – 5V/1A
  • Output – 5V/1A and 5V/2.1A
  • Dimensions – 120x75x26mm
  • Weight – 350g
  • Temperature range – -20 to 65 C

Under ideal & theoretical conditions charging at 1.5W for 10 hours day would take over 7 days to fully charge the power bank.

If instead of charging with solar power, I use a standard 5V/2A power adapter, the power bank can be fully charged within 9h30. I can then charge my phone about four times, which means the actual capacity is closer to 8,000 or 10,000 mAh instead of the 30,000 mAh advertised. Charging my phone from the power bank takes about 2h10 from the 5V/2A output (15% to 100%), and 2h55 from the 5V/1A (9% to 100%), which is only slightly longer than using directly a power adapter.

I’ve also tried to open this gadget, but failed to completely dissemble it.. I could however see it’s based on four 3.7V Lithium-ion batteries as found in mobile phones without being able to read the capacity. You may also want to remove the plastic protection for better efficiency.

Solar_Panel_Power_Bank

In any case, I got taught a few lessons, some of which I already knew:

  • Purchasing batteries overseas may be a problem with customs due to new regulations.
  • Specifications can be wrong or misleading (no kidding)
  • Some people sell products with virtually useless features (with regards to solar charging)
  • Sweden post can be terribly slow

I’ll still use this power bank, especially when traveling, but I’ll keep charging my phone the old-fashioned way, i.e. with a power adapter, for now.

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25 Comments
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relghuar
relghuar
10 years ago

Pity you didn’t post a direct photo of the batteries – I suppose they’re under the solar panel on the last image. Have you checked them out? The innards of the first chinese portable USB charger I ever ordered over 3 years ago were quite spectacular 🙂 Specs said 20000mAh, from the size and weight I expected about 7-8000. Reality: single tiny 500mAh li-po cell, quite heavy metal sheet for weight, and a lot of empty space 😀 (https://plus.google.com/117703174153532738894/posts/cxDmpyU7qe8) Usually when you take the thing apart and check the cells directly (sometimes you even have to remove the fake stickers… Read more »

JotaMG
JotaMG
10 years ago


If they are cheating, of course they will not make anyone’s life easy to find the real capacity 😉
Or, at best the print is erased, as many times happens.

Thanks for the review!

onebir
onebir
10 years ago

Any idea what’s going on with shipments from China? I had a shipment *without any batteries* returned for ‘security reasons’… Wireless keyboard that takes AA batteries is relevant to security how???

onebir
onebir
10 years ago

I heard they’re worried Li-ion batteries will explode & some postal services (China, HK, Singapore?) banned them. But I don’t understand why shipments without batteries would be affected.

Toni
Toni
9 years ago

I bought same device, as second one. First has declared 10000mAh and I expect that this will be revolution. Once I received it, immediately I can see that it is lighter than previous with 10000 mAh capacity. I tried to charge the devices from this 30000 mAh and find that it has lower capacity than one with 10000 mAh.
It was disappointment for me when I open the device and find two small flat batteries, with not promising capacity.

Declaration is really fake.

SunTzu
SunTzu
9 years ago

What they say is you can charge 2 iphones at once. It is 15000 mah, so 30,000 mah rating. I still have not found instructions posted in english.. Anyone run the instructions on google translate?
🙂

afad sechebis
9 years ago

thanks for your review buddy! :peace:

Jeffrey usen
Jeffrey usen
8 years ago

Pls My Solar Power Bank Is 10000mah how long will it take to be full when charging in the sun ?. Does it require a strong heat of the sun or less? thanks.

Nate Skiba
Nate Skiba
8 years ago

Should I remove the plastic over the solar panel? Sorry if this is a dumb question it looks like it should but also I don’t want to damage the panels

Mikko
Mikko
7 years ago

Is it really 9hours to be full charge

Giovanna de' Medici
Giovanna de' Medici
7 years ago

I have had quite a few power banks like the one you review here, perhaps six or so. Dirt cheap as they are.

I’d say the quality is well below par. There is only one left now and after 18 months of usage it
is not preforming much no more and it has now taken in some moist which has caused
damage to it. This has made the batteries expand which has cracked open the case. Solar Panel
is also just some silly sales gimmick of no use at all.

Good doorstop tho…

Beverly
Beverly
7 years ago

Am totally illiterate when it comes to anything even remotely akin to electronics. Ordered an Explorer Solar Power Bank from Amazon. It is 10000mAh high capaicity, dual USB Ports. The instructions are vague and few of them. There are four lights across the bottom and all four were blinking…one after the other across the bottom. Just to be sure it was fully charged, I have connected my iphone and in a very short period of time it has gone from 67 to 76% (like in 15 minutes or less) but now down to 3 solid green lights so am assuming… Read more »

Costa
Costa
7 years ago

I have one power bank 30. 000 mAh with solar panel 1. 5 w for haw time waith for charged one batery 1800 mah 3. 8 v just solar chager

io
io
7 years ago

these are the instructions or found in this power bank Features .adatto to almost all types of mobile phones and digital phones that have the USB cable connector. .fornendo different adapters of different charging. compatible with almost any type of mobile phone and digital products with USB function. . Charge for iPhone / iPad / MP3 / MP4 / GPS / mobile phone bluetooth device some tablet PCs and other digital products, . with a precise IC protector to avoid a security -charging excess or – discharge and short circuit. . intelligent power manager solution, soft switch button, stable and… Read more »

Chris
Chris
7 years ago

I’ve just bought one of these (similar, not identical) from Amazon. The point of the solar panel isn’t to exclusively charge the battery, it’s to keep the battery topped up during the day when the device isn’t in use.

What I really want to know is, if I have it plugged in to the wall overnight, can I daisy chain my mobile off it and have both a fully charged phone and battery pack by morning? (All without damaging the unit of course).

Daniela
Daniela
7 years ago

Hi there, thanks for making this post, I had no idea about how to use my power bank until I got here. I want to ask if there is any signal the power bank makes when charging with solar energy or if there is anything I should do to it so I can use the solar panel

Khadas VIM4 SBC