Official Owners Thread : TQKA 20,000 mAh LiFePO4 Battery

[Dashmellow]

does this powerbank support pass through charging?

No.

 

[ranova]

Can someone with the manual provide the operating and storage temperature ranges?

I do want to keep this in my car to charge a hotspot, and it being LiFePO4 is attractive.

 

[Rajagra]

Can someone with the manual provide the operating and storage temperature ranges?

The welcome guide just says "Avoid extreme temperatures"
Not very helpful.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

 

[Nigel]

The welcome guide just says "Avoid extreme temperatures"
Not very helpful.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

Yes, extreme temperature for charging a lithium battery is anything below 0C or above 40C, probably not what most people consider extreme.

Hopefully it has a charging cut-out for outside that temperature range so that it is still safe?

Discharge temperatures are normally OK from -40C to 60C. (internal temperature of the cells.)

 

[TomZweifel]

LiFePO4 typically should be kept between 0 and 40c. Charging below 0c can damage the cells. The cells will perform better up to 50c but will reduce their total charge / discharge cycles. They shouldn't be stored over 60c.

 

[Dashmellow]

All in all LiFePO4 batteries are a much better bet than LiCoO2 batteries in hotter environments. They are more tolerant of higher temperatures and even work more efficiently as the temperature rises.
It's probably not a wise idea to leave the TQKA baking in a hot car for really extended periods of time but it would be a better option than using a typical lithium-ion battery bank. While elevated storage temperature shortens the service life of ALL lithium-ion batteries Li-phosphate will be far less susceptible to thermal runaway.

LiFePO4 car starter batteries are now on the market which indicates that at least some LiFePO4 can handle extreme environments. These batteries and LiFePO4 in general are "said" to operate safely at internal temperatures up to 65ºC that doesn't mean you can leave the TQKA running in your car at that temperature.

http://batteryuniversity.com/index.php/learn/article/types_of_lithium_ion

 

[ranova]

The welcome guide just says "Avoid extreme temperatures"
Not very helpful.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

Yes, extreme temperature for charging a lithium battery is anything below 0C or above 40C, probably not what most people consider extreme.

Hopefully it has a charging cut-out for outside that temperature range so that it is still safe?

Discharge temperatures are normally OK from -40C to 60C. (internal temperature of the cells.)

LiFePO4 typically should be kept between 0 and 40c. Charging below 0c can damage the cells. The cells will perform better up to 50c but will reduce their total charge / discharge cycles. They shouldn't be stored over 60c.

All in all LiFePO4 batteries are a much better bet than LiCoO2 batteries in hotter environments. They are more tolerant of higher temperatures and even work more efficiently as the temperature rises.
It's probably not a wise idea to leave the TQKA baking in a hot car for really extended periods of time but it would be a better option than using a typical lithium-ion battery bank. While elevated storage temperature shortens the service life of ALL lithium-ion batteries Li-phosphate will be far less susceptible to thermal runaway.

LiFePO4 car starter batteries are now on the market which indicates that at least some LiFePO4 can handle extreme environments. These batteries and LiFePO4 in general are "said" to operate safely at internal temperatures up to 65ºC that doesn't mean you can leave the TQKA running in your car at that temperature.

http://batteryuniversity.com/index.php/learn/article/types_of_lithium_ion

Thanks all for the info.

I've been eying this battery bank since its really the only one that has LiFePO4 cells (has anyone found anything else?). I want to keep a hotspot running in my car so my Blackvue can run its cloud off of it. I currently have the Blackvue Battery Magic Ultra, which also has LiFePO4, but that thing is only 6000 mAh so when the hotspot is connected to it with the Dash cam, it drains very quickly. My hotspot, a Netgear Unite Express, has a typical Li Ion battery in it, so Im afraid of just letting it sit in the car (but not in direct sunlight). I *could* just buy this battery bank and connect the hotspot to it and remove the battery it came with (it will run), however, because this cant passthrough power, it would not be on when the car is on or if pre-conditioning is on which would charge the TQKA). I guess thats not a huge deal since I would only utilize Blackvue Cloud when its in parking mode anyways.

I'm not *too* worried about going past 60C as the car has auto overheat protection which kicks in at around 40C until it hits 35C.

What are your thoughts on this idea?

 

[Bushman123]

Hi guys. I read this entire thread. Still a bit confused. Do you have to press the battery banks each time you get in the car to wake them up or do they stay running and providing power to the cameras at all times (given it does not run dead)? The reviews report that the TQKA does not have pass through charging which doesnt work for my needs.

I can't see the point of buying my $170 dual dash cam and then spending $350+ on a cell link or blackvue battery bank.

Why can't we simply use a LifePO4 battery back, with pass through charging? So the battery bank charges on my 1 hr drive and supplies parking mode power to my camera while parked? I just did a test with my $30 10,000mAh Anker battery pack (understand not safe for the heat of the car) and it ran my dual cameras all night and will automatically start charging when I start my car's engine. Now, do they make anything like this with LifePO4 cells that is not $200+? Will they provide power without having to press the button on them ?

 

[Dashmellow]

Hi guys. I read this entire thread. Still a bit confused. Do you have to press the battery banks each time you get in the car to wake them up or do they stay running and providing power to the cameras at all times (given it does not run dead)? The reviews report that the TQKA does not have pass through charging which doesnt work for my needs.

I can't see the point of buying my $170 dual dash cam and then spending $350+ on a cell link or blackvue battery bank.

Why can't we simply use a LifePO4 battery back, with pass through charging? So the battery bank charges on my 1 hr drive and supplies parking mode power to my camera while parked? I just did a test with my $30 10,000mAh Anker battery pack (understand not safe for the heat of the car) and it ran my dual cameras all night and will automatically start charging when I start my car's engine. Now, do they make anything like this with LifePO4 cells that is not $200+? Will they provide power without having to press the button on them ?

Many power banks, including the TQKA will start charging your device as soon as they detect that it is connected to the bank.

As for pass through charging, there are very few power banks on the market that have the proper circuitry to support pass through. Zendure is one of the few that do but they tend to be significantly more expensive than most power banks on the market. Pass through charging is an unwise practice because it puts excess strain on the battery cells inside the power bank as well as the device you are charging or operating. An automotive environment is already a high stress environment for lithium batteries due to temperature extremes, vibration and shock. Pass-through-charging only adds to the stress.

Just because you can get a power bank to charge at the same time you are discharging it doesn't mean it's OK to do it. Most knowledgeable authorities advise against pass-through-charging. Anker for example, publicly states that they so longer support this feature. The power bank review service ChargeHarbor also advises against it.

Isador Buchmann the engineer behind Battery University advises against it as well: ("A portable device should be turned off during charge. This allows the battery to reach the set voltage threshold and current saturation point unhindered. A parasitic load confuses the charger by depressing the battery voltage and preventing the current in the saturation stage to drop low enough by drawing a leakage current. A battery may be fully charged, but the prevailing conditions will prompt a continued charge, causing stress.")





Charge Harbor

 

[cherrycokezero]

So has anyone figured out a seamless way to integrate this into their dashcam setup for parking mode function?

 

[adamns]

I did, but only as an extension of the Blackvue B-124 battery.
I got 2 of these tqka packs and took them apart for the cells inside (seems they came from different batches as the first was a terrible pain to disassemble but the 2nd had far less epoxy and was able to get everything apart pretty easily)
Then I just bought a cheap 4s BMS from ebay ($4), 3D printed a case, attached an xt60 connector and plugged it right into the existing B-124. Worked like a charm. The battery now runs in parking mode ~40 hours

 

[Dashmellow]

Yesterday, my TQKA LiFePO4 power bank developed an unusual problem. The numerical display is stuck at 96%. During charging the display blinks as it normally should but never gets past that charge level. The unit is now 18 months old and my first thought was that this was a just normal loss of capacity. But then, yesterday I ran two dash cams with the unit for about 5 or 6 hours. The display is still reading 96! When I disconnect the cameras the numerical display shuts off but it takes much longer than usual for the display to go dark.

The unit comes with an 18 month warranty. Unfortunately, I purchased it on January 17, 2018 so the warranty would have expired 3 days ago. Amazing timing!

I just sent a message about the issue to the seller on Amazon. They have 2 days to respond. It will be interesting to see what they do.

I've had the unit in storage for several months at a 50% charge. Now that the warmer weather is upon us I charged it up and put it back in service only a few days ago, along with a 20,000 mAh lithium-polymer bank I also use during hotter weather. Lithium-polymer tends to be somewhat safer and more tolerant of higher temperatures than typical 18650 Li-ion cell banks.

At this point, I don't even know if it is safe to use. It seems to accept a charge just fine but it is not clear if the problem is solely related to the numerical display or whether the charging and monitoring circuitry has failed.

 

[EsQueue]

So has anyone figured out a seamless way to integrate this into their dashcam setup for parking mode function?

You could use a relay. Make a connection to where your camera connects to both your power bank and the main power after the relay. When the car ACC is on, it will switch on the power thus you will have power going to both the power bank and the camera from your car's main power source. This will charge the power bank and also provide power to the camera as the power bank will not. When the ACC if off, it will disconnect the power to everything. This should cause the power bank to activate and run the camera.

 

[Dashmellow]

So, I heard back from the seller on Amazon regarding my TQKA "Pentagon model" power bank that failed 3 days after the warranty expired. At first they asked for a photo which I told them I'd be happy to provide except that it would only show the numerical display stuck at 96% but wouldn't demonstrate how it would remain at 96% no matter the state of charge or discharge.

They responded by offering me a refund of 50% of my original purchase price. Considering that the unit is 18 months old and the warranty had "technically" expired I thought that was pretty reasonable, especially since my original purchase price was $22.00 USD a year and a half ago and it now sells for $16.00. So, I immediately ordered a new TQKA to replace the failed one and I'm back in business with a brand new unit for a mere $5 bucks. I'd say I received pretty good customer service.

 

[jokiin]

They responded by offering me a refund of 50% of my original purchase price. Considering that the unit is 18 months old and the warranty had "technically" expired I thought that was pretty reasonable, especially since my original purchase price was $22.00 USD a year and a half ago and it now sells for $16.00. So, I immediately ordered a new TQKA to replace the failed one and I'm back in business with a brand new unit for a mere $5 bucks. I'd say I received pretty good customer service.

more than fair I think, good result

 

[Dashmellow]

more than fair I think, good result

Yeah, I certainly thought so. I'm planning to leave a nice feedback review for the seller on Amazon.

 

[Reeflekt]

I was wondering now the US Amazon website has another version of the powerbank than earlier discussed in this thread: https://www.amazon.com/gp/B07CBQQ16V. In this current version there are some changes like added type C-port and USB out layout, but they don't mention anything about the heat, vibration and impact. Very eager to know before pulling a trigger if it's worth buying to power up a119 using in various temperatures. How different this version can be?

 

[Dashmellow]

I was wondering now the US Amazon website has another version of the powerbank than earlier discussed in this thread: https://www.amazon.com/gp/B07CBQQ16V. In this current version there are some changes like added type C-port and USB out layout, but they don't mention anything about the heat, vibration and impact. Very eager to know before pulling a trigger if it's worth buying to power up a119 using in various temperatures. How different this version can be?

Be aware that the TQKA power bank in the link you provided is NOT a LiFePO4 cell bank like the one discussed in this thread. It is uses lithium-polymer cells.

For the time being, I would suggest avoiding any TQKA power banks as they appear to have signifigant problems. I believe this is the reason that the TQKA LiFePO4 power bank that is the topic of this thread is no longer offered for sale and has not been for some time now. When I have some more time I will elaborate.

 

[Reeflekt]

Be aware that the TQKA power bank in the link you provided is NOT a LiFePO4 cell bank like the one discussed in this thread. It is uses lithium-polymer cells.

For the time being, I would suggest avoiding any TQKA power banks as they appear to have signifigant problems. I believe this is the reason that the TQKA LiFePO4 power bank that is the topic of this thread is no longer offered for sale and has not been for some time now. When I have some more time I will elaborate.

As a matter of fact I was able to purchase a LiFePO4 https://www.amazon.com/gp/B073QQPKVY. I'm not sure if I'll be able to cancel the order, if not I can send back anytime.

The first result the search throws is https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/tqka-vs-cellink.39452/ this is the reason I decided to get the TQKA. I'm looking for something robust, but less expensive than Cellink to replace my current Aibocn 8000mAh.

I would love to know if the forum members discovered an alternative to Cellink availabe in the US market and not as expensive.

 

[Dashmellow]

As a matter of fact I was able to purchase a LiFePO4 https://www.amazon.com/gp/B073QQPKVY. I'm not sure if I'll be able to cancel the order, if not I can send back anytime.

The first result the search throws is https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/tqka-vs-cellink.39452/ this is the reason I decided to get the TQKA. I'm looking for something robust, but less expensive than Cellink to replace my current Aibocn 8000mAh.

I would love to know if the forum members discovered an alternative to Cellink availabe in the US market and not as expensive.

The link you posted says, "Currently Unavailable" and it has said that since early July so I'm not clear about how you managed to order one unless you did so before that.

Assuming you do indeed receive the TQKA LIFePO4 "Pentagon" power bank in the link and assuming you don't encounter any issues with it for the time being I would hold onto it. The unit comes with an 18 month warranty and the company stands behind their products.

Keep in mind that while the TQKA Pentagon is a LIFeP04 cell battery bank, it is not an equivalent "alternative" to a Cellink.