| Electronics > Beginners |
| is it safe to power an Arduino project from a power bank? |
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| engineheat:
I got an Arduino project that need a constant source of power. Rather than dealing with batteries, I want to use a power bank like this: Better yet, I want to keep the power bank plugged in to the wall outlet using a wall charger like this: The USB wire coming out of the power bank, I can modify it and connect it to the 5V on the Arduino (Pro Mini 5V version). Is it safe to do so? The application uses a stepper motor that draws around 200mA and only runs intermittently. Thanks |
| johnkenyon:
Many power banks will not permit charging (from a wall wart) at the same time as discharging into a load. Or put another way, either current flowing into the power bank, or flowing out of the power bank, but not at the same time... |
| Brumby:
There's nothing basically wrong. Just make sure you're not trying to pull too much current (which it seems you've got covered) and that the power bank can supply power at the same time as it is being charged - then you should be alright. Snap! --- Quote from: johnkenyon on June 24, 2019, 01:48:24 pm ---Many power banks will not permit charging (from a wall wart) at the same time as discharging into a load. Or put another way, either current flowing into the power bank, or flowing out of the power bank, but not at the same time... --- End quote --- If the plug pack is a SMPS style (very likely these days), just be aware of the possibility of some capacitive coupling from the mains showing up on your circuit. It shouldn't be dangerous, but it might interfere with operation if there are any high impedance parts of the circuit. If you haven't done it already, I'd also make sure you had some bulk capacitance in the appropriate place to cover any instantaneous demands from the stepper. |
| BillyD:
Another consideration is that some power banks will shutdown/sleep unless you are drawing a certain current. I have one which uses a boost converter to deliver 5V, so naturally the converter only operates when needed. You have to wake it up by physically plugging something into one of the ports, or pressing a button if they're already plugged in. It stays awake as long as you're pulling a reasonable current, say charging up a phone, but goes back to sleep once the current draw drops below a certain threshold. One which behaves like this would not be suitable for a low current standby type application. |
| kjr18:
The best way to do this would be to use something called ups module. something like this one[\url]. |
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