Automotive power sockets and vaping: the correct info
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I have seen accessory sockets considerably lower than 20 amp !
More like 3 to 5 amp .
Was some year ago though .
It's not the ability of the outlet to put out enough electromotive force or deliver enough current. It's the capability of putting out so much that the device plugged into it has its protective circuitry fried and all of that current getting shoved down the battery's throat until it pukes.
Which is what has happened in all three of the incidents reported in the media when someone jacked their e-cig charger into the car's cigarette lighter and got a nasty, hot surprise.
batteries of unknown condition, unknown manufacture, unknown quality and unknown charge state have been plugged into cigarette lighter ports in cars with electrical systems of unknown condition or state of maintenance. The results are nothing more than rolling dice. Sooner or later, you come up snake eyes.
Which is what has happened in all three of the incidents reported in the media when someone jacked their e-cig charger into the car's cigarette lighter and got a nasty, hot surprise.
batteries of unknown condition, unknown manufacture, unknown quality and unknown charge state have been plugged into cigarette lighter ports in cars with electrical systems of unknown condition or state of maintenance. The results are nothing more than rolling dice. Sooner or later, you come up snake eyes.
Get good quality equipment .
Read the instructions .
Maintain equipment
Use it correctly .
A big thank you to everyone who's posted essential information about auto power and cig plugs and charging ecigs in cars, etc. As one of the electrically/electronically challenged, it never occurred to me before this to even *be careful* about what I was plugging in to the cig lighter socket! (I have been using it to power my little 808 passthru for about 6 months now, without incident, but still...) I pretty much assumed: Power outlet. Plug in. Go.
I consider myself a careful consumer, and do read all instructions that come with what I buy and use. I do maintain my equipment. But nowhere, before now, in any ecig equipment I've bought, were there any warnings or cautions about charging batteries from a 12V socket in the car.
This has been a heads up for me! Thank you!
I consider myself a careful consumer, and do read all instructions that come with what I buy and use. I do maintain my equipment. But nowhere, before now, in any ecig equipment I've bought, were there any warnings or cautions about charging batteries from a 12V socket in the car.
This has been a heads up for me! Thank you!
A proper cigarette-light to USB adapter (as most are) are also supposed to be able to handle reverse polarity; apparently there's a few folks out there that still don't know that RED is positive, and insist on plugging a car battery charger backwards...
This reversal of polarity would not only ruin the charger, but fry onboard electronics.
I've never come across a faulty USB adapter, but I've only tried a handful.
This reversal of polarity would not only ruin the charger, but fry onboard electronics.
I've never come across a faulty USB adapter, but I've only tried a handful.
FWIW--- I was reading my owners manual for my 04 Ford and the outlet closer to the driver is meant for cig lighters. Altho it looks the same as the others.
Yep. And the story I saw last night on the local "news" (hey, it's still hurricane season, gotta keep up with the tropics!) made me mad as heck -- how PERFECT for the mediots!! "BAD e-cig -- EXPLOSION -- TODDLER BURNED!!!eleventy!!!11!!"
I just knew the dumb bunny who managed to hurt her kid was misusing her equipment (or had dangerously modded it).
I just ordered this today.
https://www.fasttech.com/products/1236500
Says: input 12-24 volts, output 5.1 volts, 2.1 amps so I assume it is regulated.
It has to be good for $2.30.
https://www.fasttech.com/products/1236500
Says: input 12-24 volts, output 5.1 volts, 2.1 amps so I assume it is regulated.
It has to be good for $2.30.
Yup, will work fine
Good way to check it, is to have a multimeter to ensure it is pushing 5vdc...5.1vdc isn't going to be an issue, but as others have show...occasionally massed produced Chinese electronics still like to go kapoof...it's rare...track record is still very good one out of a gazillion goes 'splody 'splody...but it's always good to "double double" check just in case
Honestly...the schematic and circuitry for a 5vdc regulator is very very simple!
Build A USB Car Charger | Modd3d
Yeah, but they don't use a 7805 for USB.
A proper circuit would include overload protection, short protection, etc... something not included in the 7805.
Also, the 7805 is really not efficient, and limited to 1 amp, (unless you get the heavy duty version). Exceed that, and it'll fry.
Here's a typical IC used for a simple car adapter:
MAX16942E, MAX16943E, MAX16944E Automotive Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Protectors - Overview
A proper circuit would include overload protection, short protection, etc... something not included in the 7805.
Also, the 7805 is really not efficient, and limited to 1 amp, (unless you get the heavy duty version). Exceed that, and it'll fry.
Here's a typical IC used for a simple car adapter:
MAX16942E, MAX16943E, MAX16944E Automotive Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Protectors - Overview
Im not an expert on DC power, so if Im wrong here please tell me why Im wrong. As an electrician I do understand the basics of electrical theory. An electrical outlet doesnt push current to the load. The load (the dongle battery charger that the battery screws into) pulls only as much current from the circuit as it needs. If the USB adapter(car charger) is putting out 5 volts, the charger shouldnt overcharge the battery unless the charger is bad.
If the charger is bad, it could overcharge a battery no matter whether its plugged into a car charger or a wall wart in the house. I dont see how a cars electrical system could cause a battery to explode. Theres a lot more power available at a 120VAC household electrical receptacle than in a car.
BTW .I tried to figure out how to say that without using the word charger so many times, but I couldnt.
J.R.
Yeah, but they don't use a 7805 for USB.
A proper circuit would include overload protection, short protection, etc... something not included in the 7805.
Also, the 7805 is really not efficient, and limited to 1 amp, (unless you get the heavy duty version). Exceed that, and it'll fry.
Here's a typical IC used for a simple car adapter:
MAX16942E, MAX16943E, MAX16944E Automotive Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Protectors - Overview
Should be enough if someone plugs in one of those USB to eGo chargers..they only pull 500mA...but I see where you are coming from...nice find!
An electrical outlet doesn’t push current to the load. The load (the dongle battery charger that the battery screws into) pulls only as much current from the circuit as it needs. If the USB adapter(“car charger”) is putting out 5 volts, the charger shouldn’t overcharge the battery unless the charger is bad.
If the charger is bad, it could overcharge a battery no matter whether it’s plugged into a “car charger” or a wall wart in the house. I don’t see how a car’s electrical system could cause a battery to explode. There’s a lot more power available at a 120VAC household electrical receptacle than in a car.
BTW….I tried to figure out how to say that without using the word charger so many times, but I couldn’t.
J.R.
I see your point and you're right--the outlet will only deliver the electromotive force demanded by the load. So, the charger may well be the source of the problem in that its designer assumes it will only be connected to a power source that delivers the proper force. If the designer doesn't account for the possibility that it may be plugged into a source that can overwhelm its circuitry, therein lies the problem.
Most wall warts have circuitry in them that regulate their output based on the input voltage. For example, my wall warts all expect 120v AC, but we know that household electrical outlets can deliver +/- 15v and still be within that standard. All of mine read 110v using my multimeter. Internal transformers step up or step down so that the output current to the USB device is constant. This is also possible when using a device with 240v current (some wall warts will take 240v and transform it to 120v).
But this is also where some user responsibility kicks in. If the manual or instructions say "connect only to a regulated AC adapter or regulated DC power source," and the user connects it to something other than that, the risk is on them. I know my wall warts have the right innards. I'm not sure that cig lighter adapters do and my bet is that a lot of them don't.
We've had three instances in the last few months where someone connected their battery and charger to a DC port in a car, and the results were a hot mess. It's anecdotal evidence to this point, but as the case count increases...
Okay, so pardon me if this has been addressed but I read through the posts and got lost pretty darn quickly! ha!
My Nitecore i2 came with a car charger that just plugs into a separate 12v plug on the charger, instead of the 110-240v for wall outlets. My truck just has a cigarette lighter that I know will charge the thing, but before I do so I want to check to make sure its not putting out more that 12v? Correct? There is no power to the cigarette lighter when the truck is off so it won't charge unattended, just for the long trips up north.
I haven't used the car charger because of this. Don't want any battery mishaps going down the freeway at 80!
ha!My Nitecore i2 came with a car charger that just plugs into a separate 12v plug on the charger, instead of the 110-240v for wall outlets. My truck just has a cigarette lighter that I know will charge the thing, but before I do so I want to check to make sure its not putting out more that 12v? Correct? There is no power to the cigarette lighter when the truck is off so it won't charge unattended, just for the long trips up north.
I haven't used the car charger because of this. Don't want any battery mishaps going down the freeway at 80!
Okay, so pardon me if this has been addressed but I read through the posts and got lost pretty darn quickly!
My Nitecore i2 came with a car charger that just plugs into a separate 12v plug on the charger, instead of the 110-240v for wall outlets. My truck just has a cigarette lighter that I know will charge the thing, but before I do so I want to check to make sure its not putting out more that 12v? Correct? There is no power to the cigarette lighter when the truck is off so it won't charge unattended, just for the long trips up north.
I haven't used the car charger because of this. Don't want any battery mishaps going down the freeway at 80!
I've used my Nitecore in my truck numerous times without incident since picking up the 12v DC adapter last year.
This falls into the category of "Don't buy cheap equipment". My car charger from Smokeless Image says "INPUT DC12V-24V, OUTPUT:5VDC 400-1500mA. It would be nice if it had been tested by a US organization like UL.
J.R.
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