What is the Smallest Power battery Pack for Dashcam? USB power bank etc?

[ozguy]

Hey guys,
What would be the smallest in size battery pack for parking mode?
Just for shopping trips etc. Don't need anything to run longer than 3 hours or so.
https://www.blackvue.com.au/accessories/blackvue-b-112-battery-pack/ ??

Is a normal USB power bank suitable to just plug in and out if I am only at the shop for 1 hour, undercover?
Will it damage the dashcam?
Or would it be best to just buy a second cheap dashcam with battery and put it on the windscreen and leave it running for an hour?

Thanks in Advance.

 

[Nigel]

Normal answer would be to connect your hardwire kit to the car battery, no need for a dashcam battery pack, but it does depend on which car.

Standard USB powerbanks generally don't work, they often won't run the camera properly while charging, they don't support parking mode, they don't have low temperature protection. That doesn't mean that there are none that can be used though.

Plugging a USB powerbank in for 1 hour does work, but is inconvenient.

A small dashcam battery does make sense in some situations, but I'm not aware of a sensibly priced small one...

 

[Dashmellow]

With a 5V camera a standard power bank will work just fine. I've been using them for years to run dash cams as have many other members.

Any decent quality portable power bank will work. The smallest? Well, there are some tiny ones available such as this 5000 mAh Anker.

They are fine for parking for a few hours with the camera plugged in temporarily.

 

[ozguy]

With a 5V camera a standard power bank will work just fine. I've been using them for years to run dash cams as have many other members.

Any decent quality portable power bank will work. The smallest? Well, there are some tiny ones available such as this 5000 mAh Anker.

They are fine for parking for a few hours with the camera plugged in temporarily.

Thanks, I just want it for shopping trips etc... I normally park undercover. Would not use it when it is hot or in the sun.
So it won't damage the dashcam?
Thanks for the answer appreciate it.

 

[ozguy]

Normal answer would be to connect your hardwire kit to the car battery, no need for a dashcam battery pack, but it does depend on which car.

Standard USB powerbanks generally don't work, they often won't run the camera properly while charging, they don't support parking mode, they don't have low temperature protection. That doesn't mean that there are none that can be used though.

Plugging a USB powerbank in for 1 hour does work, but is inconvenient.

A small dashcam battery does make sense in some situations, but I'm not aware of a sensibly priced small one...

Thanks for the input..

 

[Agie]

Thanks, I just want it for shopping trips etc... I normally park undercover. Would not use it when it is hot or in the sun.
So it won't damage the dashcam?
Thanks for the answer appreciate it.

If you're ok with charging it regularly then sure as @Dashmellow said that solution would work. I tried out a ZMI powerbank (QB823), 20000mah a few years back with pass through charging, lasted about 2.5 days before battery went dead (powering a Viofo A119 v3)

There was a couple of hours of driving in there but think it was 45W pass thru charging. Normal charging rate was 65W. Hid it under the carpet in the front passenger footwell.

I found it too annoying having to charge it all the time so gave up on the idea haha


I think their new one the QB826G is a lot faster at charging and can fully charge back in a little over an hour (compared to three hours with the older one I used). That might work in your vehicle if you have a 100W charger etc

 

[ozguy]

If you're ok with charging it regularly then sure as @Dashmellow said that solution would work. I tried out a ZMI powerbank (QB823), 20000mah a few years back with pass through charging, lasted about 2.5 days before battery went dead (powering a Viofo A119 v3)

There was a couple of hours of driving in there but think it was 45W pass thru charging. Normal charging rate was 65W. Hid it under the carpet in the front passenger footwell.

I found it too annoying having to charge it all the time so gave up on the idea haha


I think their new one the QB826G is a lot faster at charging and can fully charge back in a little over an hour (compared to three hours with the older one I used). That might work in your vehicle if you have a 100W charger etc

Well, I only take the car to the shops twice a week. I don't mind plugging it in once or twice a week at home.
I did not want to hardwire it. Just would like a simple battery pack solution.
So, they are safe to use on dashcams....Eg: Viofo?

@VIOFO-Support

 

[Nigel]

So, they are safe to use on dashcams....Eg: Viofo?

Yes, a basic USB powerbank, plugged in while parked, will work fine, as long as it produces enough voltage. I have found some that drop the voltage too low under load, but they wont do any damage.

You shouldn't plug both hardwire kit and powerbank in at the same time, not sure it will do any damage, but Viofo have advised against it. Not possible on an A139 anyway.

 

[DT MI]

Hey guys,
What would be the smallest in size battery pack for parking mode?
Just for shopping trips etc. Don't need anything to run longer than 3 hours or so.
https://www.blackvue.com.au/accessories/blackvue-b-112-battery-pack/ ??

Is a normal USB power bank suitable to just plug in and out if I am only at the shop for 1 hour, undercover?
Will it damage the dashcam?
...

I've used an 11,000 MAH battery pack to power 2 SG9665GC cameras for over 4 hours and it still had at least 50% capacity left. You should be fine.

BTW - there are cheaper name brand battery packs to be had.

 

[GPak]

@ozguy
DashCam does not care where it gets 5V from,
So the simple answer is - any dissent power bank with USB-A port will work.

More in-depth answer is:
Since you are asking for the smallest possible size, then for the given capacity, power bank with Lithium Polymer (Li-Po) batteries will be the smallest, following with Li-Ion and then LiFePo4 batteries.
However from the battery safety standpoint the order is exact opposite, LiFePo4 being the safest
So, the trade-off is the smallest but less safe power bank or bigger but safer one?

If you operate battery as carefully as you described, than all will work, but being humans, sometime we do wrong things unintentionally.
What if you forget and leave you smallest Li-Po power bank inside the car under the hot Australian sun.
As a result, at best it may swell and you will have to replace it, at worst……, who knows.
Your choice.
As for me, I will not consider Li-Po, better safe than sorry.

The Battery that you linked in your initial post is LiFePo4 type dedicated dash cam battery, good and convenient, set your dashcam parking limit to 1 or 2 hrs and forget about its existence.

If price is concern, then here is less expensive LiFePo4 based and close in size Power Bank with double capacity.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0BVH5H3VT
Smaller ones probably also exist somewhere on WWW

 

[kamkar]

If you run a dashcam off a regular USB power bank, it will just record in regular mode, so you get the usual file size / heat generation ASO.
Thats also dandy if you are just shopping for a little while, also the high temperature protection in dashcams i assume it is also on during regular operation and not just parking guard, so if things get too hot the system just power down.
I do prefer to record all the time while parked, but i also prefer the low bitrate giving smaller files, even if i only use parking guard for 3 hours on the timer if such are present in the system, otherwise i would have to use a very high cut off voltage to stop the camera early.

If you park in the shade i dont think temperature outside will be a problem, it is my understanding direct sunlight are the " killer" for parking mode.

Also i would hate to have to swap the power source, so i would prefer a dedicated dashcam power pack

The blackvue one you link to, it say " Up to 12 hrs Run Time " and i am wondering is that " regular" old school parking guard or is that with one of their radar equipped models.

 

[GPak]

According to specs BlackVue B-112 is 12.8V*3000mAh=38.4Wh, with estimated USB efficiency 80%, usable capacity will be about 30Wh
Viofos one channel Mini2 parking consumption in low bit-rate is about 2.5W, so sounds right, 30/2.5=12hrs
For 2 or 3 channel models divide 12hr by 2 or 3 accordingly for rough estimate.

 

[ozguy]

Thanks for all the input guys. I hope this also helps others.

 

[kamkar]

I would like a power pack, and i would prefer if it was upgradeable, so you could daisy chain more battery off it.
Even with my modest parking guard need, always keep your options open.

 

[Agie]

Well, I only take the car to the shops twice a week. I don't mind plugging it in once or twice a week at home.
I did not want to hardwire it. Just would like a simple battery pack solution.
So, they are safe to use on dashcams....Eg: Viofo?

@VIOFO-Support

You'll totally be fine I'm sure. Looks like we have a winner!