Smok Alien 220w not charging using power bank??

[Smok_User123]

Hi Everyone, new member here.

I have had a smok Alien 220w for some time now and have never had any issues.

I am going on a camping trip soon for a few days and purchased a 10,000mah portable power bank to keep my phone, speakers and smok Alien charged.

The power bank works perfectly well and charges my phone and portable speakers but not the smok.
The batteriew show they are charging for 15 seconds or so when i first attach the power bank. The screen then goes to sleep and the power bank makes a faint clicking sound, almost like the ticking of a clock.

The Smok then wont turn on whilst the power bank is still attached.

Anybody any ideas?
Tried searching google but I cant find anything of much use.

Thanks

 

[Beamslider]

Have you previously charged the batteries inside the mod with a wall wart and that works? Not really a good idea to charge batteries in the mod but there seem to be lots of listings on the net about smok 220 not charging thru its port.

 

[Smok_User123]

Hi thanks for the quick response, i haven't changed the batteries recently.

The mod charges completely fine using the supplied usb cable into an adaptor for charging using wall socket.

 

[Beamslider]

Have you tried the working cable? If that doesn't charge them, then the power bank probably isn't providing what is required.

 

[Smok_User123]

Have you tried the working cable? If that doesn't charge them, then the power bank probably isn't providing what is required.

The cable isn't faulty, the mod charges through usb completely fine when connected to wall socket just not when connected to power bank.

The powerbank provides 5v 2 amps which i assume is plenty to charge the batteries.

Just a bit annoyed, purchased the powerbank mainly to keep my vaper charged

 

[bombastinator]

I stopped at “SMOK alien not..”

Traditionally SMOK mods wind up doing a heck of a lot of “not”. Especially if you do things like drop them or take them outside.

 

[GOMuniEsq]

The unfortunate thing about using USB for power is that the protocol is "smart". That means your battery bank first tries to communicate with your Smok to figure out what sort of power requirement it has. This 'handshake' is what enables it to send 2A to your smartphone and 0.5A to your smaller devices that can't handle 2A. For whatever reason, these two devices are having trouble communicating, and your battery bank is evidently programmed to shut off the flow when that happens. There's nothing practical that you can do to make them talk to each other, so your best bet is to try to return the power bank as defective for your application. A different mod might work just fine with your power bank. A different brand of power bank might work just fine with your Smok.

 

[Smok_User123]

The unfortunate thing about using USB for power is that the protocol is "smart". That means your battery bank first tries to communicate with your Smok to figure out what sort of power requirement it has. This 'handshake' is what enables it to send 2A to your smartphone and 0.5A to your smaller devices that can't handle 2A. For whatever reason, these two devices are having trouble communicating, and your battery bank is evidently programmed to shut off the flow when that happens. There's nothing practical that you can do to make them talk to each other, so your best bet is to try to return the power bank as defective for your application. A different mod might work just fine with your power bank. A different brand of power bank might work just fine with your Smok.

Thanks, yeah i get the sense those clicking sounds are some kind of safety mechanism in the powerbank stopping power flowing to the mod for whatever reason.

 

[GOMuniEsq]

Thanks, yeah i get the sense those clicking sounds are some kind of safety mechanism in the powerbank stopping power flowing to the mod for whatever reason.

Yep no problem. Your powerbank was no doubt tested for compatibility with all the most popular USB devices (especially smartphones), but vaping gear wouldn't have been on the list. The sad part is, when your powerbank detects a "dumb" device it's supposed to default to 0.5A but evidently the Smok is not entirely dumb.

So in theory you could stick some sort of passthrough device between them to block the miscommunication and work around the problem, but that's not what I would consider a practical fix.

 

[HigherStateD]

My suspicion is that click you hear is a relay based fuse setup.

 

[r77r7r]

Can you use a power port in your vehicle?

 

[bombastinator]

The one known about SMOK is they will do everything in the absolutely cheapest possible way, and then do even that in a slipshod fashion. Fuses would not surprise me. Fuses are cheap. A relay would though. They’re old fashioned but complicated. Also quite large. They do wear out and break though which is definitely a SMOK thing.

 

[HigherStateD]

The one known about SMOK is they will do everything in the absolutely cheapest possible way, and then do even that in a slipshod fashion. Fuses would not surprise me. Fuses are cheap. A relay would though. They’re old fashioned but complicated. Also quite large. They do wear out and break though which is definitely a SMOK thing.

Pretty sure the click came from the charger.

 

[bombastinator]

Pretty sure the click came from the charger.

Most correct. My mistake.

 

[stratus.vaping]

Hi Everyone, new member here.

I have had a Smok Alien 220w for some time now and have never had any issues.

I am going on a camping trip soon for a few days and purchased a 10,000mah portable power bank to keep my phone, speakers and Smok Alien charged.

The power bank works perfectly well and charges my phone and portable speakers but not the Smok.
The batteriew show they are charging for 15 seconds or so when i first attach the power bank. The screen then goes to sleep and the power bank makes a faint clicking sound, almost like the ticking of a clock.

The Smok then wont turn on whilst the power bank is still attached.

Anybody any ideas?
Tried searching google but I cant find anything of much use.

Thanks

Yup the bank is too intelligent for the Smok.

I use a vehicle emergency starter battery with internal Li-Po cells for all kinds of charging if in the back of beyond. It has enough capacity to run my low power HF Amateur Radio - Ham radio for our colonial cousins - It has 2 USB ports that are completely agnostic, they will power or charge anything that wants 5V. I modded the car start connector to power radios though.

You can get different capacities and sizes, Amazon is good as have a sensible returns policy NB some of these have fake capacity, hence the need for a reputable seller - maybe you can find one to suit your needs. Mine is luggable but is heavier than a small power bank ( about 1.2 lbs) - it looks a bit like this one, I'm guessing you are in USA:

https://www.amazon.com/TACKLIFE-T8-Car-Jump-Starter/dp/B07BGRN4TF

 

[charlie1465]

Welcome to the friendly bunch

I hope you're all sorted. Try a USB hub between the bank and the mod

Good luck.

 

[airidosas252]

It's a horrible practice to charge your mod with powerbank. DON'T EVER DO THAT.
Countless customers here killed their mods because of that.
Unless you buy a powerbank from a really reputable brand, then it's kind of a go. Otherwise, don't do that.
Mods use really basic ancient grade circuitry, which aren't reliable enough to deal with all kinds of abuse (overcurrent, overvoltage, temperature), even if they are promoting this as standout feature.
Manufacturers, which care enough about customers, don't even allow to charge mods with powerbanks. (electricity delivery is different, that's why mods don't recognize any charge when plugged in. It's a really technical thing, won't go into detail too much)

 

[BrotherBob]

Anybody any ideas?

Welcome and glad you joined.

the mod charges through usb completely fine

Might like to read:
https://www.quora.com/Is-it-safe-to-use-my-phone-charger-to-charge-my-vape-SMOK-Mag-Kit

 

[GOMuniEsq]

A good L-ion charger will charge in two stages: 1st stage, constant current, where it dumps 1A or 2A into the cells until they're 80% full. 2nd stage, constant voltage, where it gradually tapers off the current until the cells reach 100%. Then it completely shuts off and doesn't trickle charge. This is optimal.

USB charging is a one stage constant current process that can overshoot the target, and may also go on to trickle charge instead of stopping. Overcharging is dangerous, and you're trusting your mod to regulate it. I wouldn't trust a Smok for that.

So I'd limit USB charging to internal battery mods that use LiPo packs that are specifically designed for that and provide no other option. It's easier and wiser to carry around a few spare cells or pairs of cells (stored in proper containers) when you have an external battery mod.

 

[Smok_User123]

Thanks for all the responses everyone very informative and helpful!