blueridgeman
Newly Enlightened
LI batteries are the current genesis of portable power and we all talk a lot about the benefits (and possible dangers) with this technology.
I have been looking at a small backup power unit, specifically the Anker Powerhouse. It's not a generator and it won't provide power to your whole home like a gas generator (or overpriced Tesla Powerwall) but it's $499 as opposed to $5k plus installation. I don't need that, in an emergency situation there are a few things that are critical, water backup (got it), a food supply (got it, mostly dehydrated), fuel of some sort for cooking or heat (check), lighting at night (I think people here all have that - including a 12 pack or more of CR123s..etc).
So, aside from other items I won't go into to keep this simple (guns/ammo/water purification systems/toilet paper..etc
what I have been looking for is a safe LIpack system that can be used in an emergency to charge my 18650s, my cell phone, my sw radio..etc. Smaller electronics etc.
So looking at an Anker Powerhouse (36 18360 LI's if I read the review btw) which is expensive at $499 but with a few discounts is closer to $425. Checking out Amazon and looking at user reviews.
I find this (below) - what a great guy!, he basically disassembles the device, writes up a thorough review of all components and even includes photos of all components - an unpaid Amazon review that has 210 (make that 211 upvotes with mine).
Anyway, here's his in-depth review from Amazon, a link also to the unit on Amazon if you want to see the pics he also posted - his review should be at the top if you scroll down. Whoever this person is, he's a lot like the people here I think - going above and beyond to help others better understand exactly what they are buying and how the system works. I was so impressed seeing this that I had to share it with the folks here who are hobbyists and also share their knowledge so kindly and free of charge:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0196GQAKM/?tag=cpf0b6-20
====================================================
This review will touch quickly on the internal construction of the Anker PowerHouse, for those interested in what's happening inside. First, however, it is very important to stress the following detail:
The Anker PowerHouse is not designed with (any) serviceability in mind. Just getting inside the box is quite tough, especially if you intend to do so without marring or scratching the aluminum body or plastic. If you're considering trying to take this thing apart for some reason, I would highly recommend you give that a second thought.
DISASSEMBLY
There are 4 screws on each side of the PowerHouse. These screws, while they do still need to be removed, do not allow access to the internals. Also, the handle does NOT need to be removed or modified in any way to complete the disassembly - it stays attached the whole time. In fact, if you try to remove the handle from the exterior, you WILL break it in the process.
In addition to the 8 screws on the sides of the PowerHouse, there are an additional 4 screws on the bottom, one under each rubber foot. The rubber feet are adhered to the PowerHouse chassis using high-strength RTV silicon adhesive, so removing the feet to get to the screws means that you will have to come up with some other way to re-attach the feet - either thin, 3M VHB double-sided tape, or more silicon adhesive. The adhesive holding the feet on is VERY good quality, and it should be very difficult for these to "accidentally" come off under normal wear and tear.
Once the 4 screws are removed from the bottom, the front & back face plates need to be removed. Both are attached to the inner chassis by multiple 1/2" wide plastic clips that run along the top edge of the plastic plates. These clips hold the plastic front and rear face plates recessed inside the aluminum body just far enough to keep you from getting a tool behind them to pry them off. I used a large suction cup to pull the back panel off, but there's lots of flat area on the back for the suction cup to attach to - not so with the front. The front panel retention clips can be accessed from inside the chassis once the rear cover is removed, but it take two people, 2 very long flat-head screwdrivers, and a fair amount of patience. You have to carefully rotate 2 clips simultaneously while also pressing them down and out towards the front, until the panel pops out enough for you to get a fiber spudger under the front seam to work it free the rest of the way. Or, you could mar the heck out of the plastic on the front and dig a tool behind the plastic to pop it off (yikes!). Again, I don't recommend you bother trying to get inside this thing unless you really have to. It turns out that in my case, I did - I just didn't know it yet...
Once the front plate is popped free of the chassis (but not completely removed, because there are wires connecting the 12V socket and the AC plug that still need to be removed), you can finally access multiple machine screws that lines the outer perimeter of the inner chassis. 8 on the front, and 8 on the rear. These screws like to strip, so watch out during re-assembly, and don't over-tighten! After these screws come out, the entire inner chassis slides out towards the front.
Once the inner chassis is removed, you can access most of the electronics. I have provided a plethora of pictures of the innards, hopefully in good enough resolution to dissuade you from feeling the need to open your new $400 battery.
INTERNALS
I was quite impressed by the construction of the unit overall. Still, I found some problems, one of which could be classified as "severe". First, though, go browse the photos I provided. Overall, the unit has good soldering (but not great), and decent internal supports for the electronics. There are some solder flow-through issues that are worth nothing, especially on the through-hole electrolytics. The battery compartment cover is held on with 6 screws and holds 36 16850 batteries dressed in red wrappers. There are 3 ground planes in the battery compartment - 2 support 9 batteries each, and the center one supports 18 batteries. It would be extremely tedious and time consuming to try and remove or service any of the cells due to the design of this battery compartment. The ground plates are made of a contiguous piece of metal, spot-welded to the batteries' cathodes. Then, those 'modules' are glued into the plastic battery frame. In short, GOOD LUCK servicing the batteries in the PowerHouse, and shame on you, Anker, for making them virtually impossible to service. Welcome to our lovely, new, throw-away society. With very little additional effort, Anker could have made this battery completely user serviceable, or at least somewhat repairable/replaceable.
There are 2 primary PCB's inside the unit, not including the battery compartment electronics. The top PCB holds the optically-isolated electronics for the pure-Sine Wave AC inverter and the 12V socket current limiter (and fuse), and a boat-load of switchers and filters. The electrolytics used inside the PowerHouse aren't particularly grade A quality, so expect that they'll have no better than 5 to 6 years of useful operating time before the start to dry out and fall out of spec. My guess is that the batteries will terd-up before the caps dry out. Most large components are gooped-up with white silicon for stability, and the top PCB has a very light conformal coating on it. Most disappointing here is that there are two fuses soldered to the PCB, and if they pop for some reason, you're going to have to figure out how to get into this monster to replace them. Again, they could have been installed in such a way as to be user-serviceable, but they weren't. BooooOOOO!!!
There's a Pure-Since AC Inverter inside - I was VERY shocked to see how clean this was. See attached picture from my scope.
The front-facing PCB contains the brains & UI of the operation: A Microchip PIC16F1519 microcontroller. It also contains DC-IN polarity protection electronics (a bridge rectifier), another switching supply for the USB sockets (2.4A each with their own limiter electronics), the LCD panel with blue backlights and the beeper circuit and piezo transducer. The main battery also connects to the front PCB, near the lower-left. Since I didn't dismantle the battery completely, I didn't get a chance to see or evaluate how (or where) the cell balancing is accomplished. I sure don't see the electronics necessary to perform the balancing necessary on 36 batteries on the front PCB, so I hope those electronics are housed internally in the battery compartment along with the thermal safety electronics... The usefulness of this multi-battery system very critically depends on proper cell balancing, and at $400 and no user-serviceable options available, one terd battery inside could ruin this very expensive gadget.
Ultimately, I'm very glad I opened my unit, because my review would have been 2 stars or less if I hadn't: When I removed the front panel and the 12VDC socket that connects to the top PCB, I noticed that the small nut holding the positive wire to the socket body was so loose that it was about to fall off. No glyptol, thread lock, or lock washer to secure it on, just the nut and the wire. I suspect I could have used this socket 2 or 3 times before the nut came off, rattled around inside the unit (possibly shorting), all while the internal guts of the socket come tumbling out the front into my hand. It was really that loose - no exaggeration! Then there's the matter of that high-current, 12V positive wire floating freely around the backside of the PCB. See where this is going? Yikes! Anker -1 star for that FUBAR alone. No locking nut on the socket? Really?!?!
Anyway, the pictures speak a thousand words, so have a look at them. I'll answer any questions I can.
==============================================================
I have been looking at a small backup power unit, specifically the Anker Powerhouse. It's not a generator and it won't provide power to your whole home like a gas generator (or overpriced Tesla Powerwall) but it's $499 as opposed to $5k plus installation. I don't need that, in an emergency situation there are a few things that are critical, water backup (got it), a food supply (got it, mostly dehydrated), fuel of some sort for cooking or heat (check), lighting at night (I think people here all have that - including a 12 pack or more of CR123s..etc).
So, aside from other items I won't go into to keep this simple (guns/ammo/water purification systems/toilet paper..etc
what I have been looking for is a safe LIpack system that can be used in an emergency to charge my 18650s, my cell phone, my sw radio..etc. Smaller electronics etc.So looking at an Anker Powerhouse (36 18360 LI's if I read the review btw) which is expensive at $499 but with a few discounts is closer to $425. Checking out Amazon and looking at user reviews.
I find this (below) - what a great guy!, he basically disassembles the device, writes up a thorough review of all components and even includes photos of all components - an unpaid Amazon review that has 210 (make that 211 upvotes with mine).
Anyway, here's his in-depth review from Amazon, a link also to the unit on Amazon if you want to see the pics he also posted - his review should be at the top if you scroll down. Whoever this person is, he's a lot like the people here I think - going above and beyond to help others better understand exactly what they are buying and how the system works. I was so impressed seeing this that I had to share it with the folks here who are hobbyists and also share their knowledge so kindly and free of charge:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0196GQAKM/?tag=cpf0b6-20
====================================================
This review will touch quickly on the internal construction of the Anker PowerHouse, for those interested in what's happening inside. First, however, it is very important to stress the following detail:
The Anker PowerHouse is not designed with (any) serviceability in mind. Just getting inside the box is quite tough, especially if you intend to do so without marring or scratching the aluminum body or plastic. If you're considering trying to take this thing apart for some reason, I would highly recommend you give that a second thought.
DISASSEMBLY
There are 4 screws on each side of the PowerHouse. These screws, while they do still need to be removed, do not allow access to the internals. Also, the handle does NOT need to be removed or modified in any way to complete the disassembly - it stays attached the whole time. In fact, if you try to remove the handle from the exterior, you WILL break it in the process.
In addition to the 8 screws on the sides of the PowerHouse, there are an additional 4 screws on the bottom, one under each rubber foot. The rubber feet are adhered to the PowerHouse chassis using high-strength RTV silicon adhesive, so removing the feet to get to the screws means that you will have to come up with some other way to re-attach the feet - either thin, 3M VHB double-sided tape, or more silicon adhesive. The adhesive holding the feet on is VERY good quality, and it should be very difficult for these to "accidentally" come off under normal wear and tear.
Once the 4 screws are removed from the bottom, the front & back face plates need to be removed. Both are attached to the inner chassis by multiple 1/2" wide plastic clips that run along the top edge of the plastic plates. These clips hold the plastic front and rear face plates recessed inside the aluminum body just far enough to keep you from getting a tool behind them to pry them off. I used a large suction cup to pull the back panel off, but there's lots of flat area on the back for the suction cup to attach to - not so with the front. The front panel retention clips can be accessed from inside the chassis once the rear cover is removed, but it take two people, 2 very long flat-head screwdrivers, and a fair amount of patience. You have to carefully rotate 2 clips simultaneously while also pressing them down and out towards the front, until the panel pops out enough for you to get a fiber spudger under the front seam to work it free the rest of the way. Or, you could mar the heck out of the plastic on the front and dig a tool behind the plastic to pop it off (yikes!). Again, I don't recommend you bother trying to get inside this thing unless you really have to. It turns out that in my case, I did - I just didn't know it yet...
Once the front plate is popped free of the chassis (but not completely removed, because there are wires connecting the 12V socket and the AC plug that still need to be removed), you can finally access multiple machine screws that lines the outer perimeter of the inner chassis. 8 on the front, and 8 on the rear. These screws like to strip, so watch out during re-assembly, and don't over-tighten! After these screws come out, the entire inner chassis slides out towards the front.
Once the inner chassis is removed, you can access most of the electronics. I have provided a plethora of pictures of the innards, hopefully in good enough resolution to dissuade you from feeling the need to open your new $400 battery.
INTERNALS
I was quite impressed by the construction of the unit overall. Still, I found some problems, one of which could be classified as "severe". First, though, go browse the photos I provided. Overall, the unit has good soldering (but not great), and decent internal supports for the electronics. There are some solder flow-through issues that are worth nothing, especially on the through-hole electrolytics. The battery compartment cover is held on with 6 screws and holds 36 16850 batteries dressed in red wrappers. There are 3 ground planes in the battery compartment - 2 support 9 batteries each, and the center one supports 18 batteries. It would be extremely tedious and time consuming to try and remove or service any of the cells due to the design of this battery compartment. The ground plates are made of a contiguous piece of metal, spot-welded to the batteries' cathodes. Then, those 'modules' are glued into the plastic battery frame. In short, GOOD LUCK servicing the batteries in the PowerHouse, and shame on you, Anker, for making them virtually impossible to service. Welcome to our lovely, new, throw-away society. With very little additional effort, Anker could have made this battery completely user serviceable, or at least somewhat repairable/replaceable.
There are 2 primary PCB's inside the unit, not including the battery compartment electronics. The top PCB holds the optically-isolated electronics for the pure-Sine Wave AC inverter and the 12V socket current limiter (and fuse), and a boat-load of switchers and filters. The electrolytics used inside the PowerHouse aren't particularly grade A quality, so expect that they'll have no better than 5 to 6 years of useful operating time before the start to dry out and fall out of spec. My guess is that the batteries will terd-up before the caps dry out. Most large components are gooped-up with white silicon for stability, and the top PCB has a very light conformal coating on it. Most disappointing here is that there are two fuses soldered to the PCB, and if they pop for some reason, you're going to have to figure out how to get into this monster to replace them. Again, they could have been installed in such a way as to be user-serviceable, but they weren't. BooooOOOO!!!
There's a Pure-Since AC Inverter inside - I was VERY shocked to see how clean this was. See attached picture from my scope.
The front-facing PCB contains the brains & UI of the operation: A Microchip PIC16F1519 microcontroller. It also contains DC-IN polarity protection electronics (a bridge rectifier), another switching supply for the USB sockets (2.4A each with their own limiter electronics), the LCD panel with blue backlights and the beeper circuit and piezo transducer. The main battery also connects to the front PCB, near the lower-left. Since I didn't dismantle the battery completely, I didn't get a chance to see or evaluate how (or where) the cell balancing is accomplished. I sure don't see the electronics necessary to perform the balancing necessary on 36 batteries on the front PCB, so I hope those electronics are housed internally in the battery compartment along with the thermal safety electronics... The usefulness of this multi-battery system very critically depends on proper cell balancing, and at $400 and no user-serviceable options available, one terd battery inside could ruin this very expensive gadget.
Ultimately, I'm very glad I opened my unit, because my review would have been 2 stars or less if I hadn't: When I removed the front panel and the 12VDC socket that connects to the top PCB, I noticed that the small nut holding the positive wire to the socket body was so loose that it was about to fall off. No glyptol, thread lock, or lock washer to secure it on, just the nut and the wire. I suspect I could have used this socket 2 or 3 times before the nut came off, rattled around inside the unit (possibly shorting), all while the internal guts of the socket come tumbling out the front into my hand. It was really that loose - no exaggeration! Then there's the matter of that high-current, 12V positive wire floating freely around the backside of the PCB. See where this is going? Yikes! Anker -1 star for that FUBAR alone. No locking nut on the socket? Really?!?!
Anyway, the pictures speak a thousand words, so have a look at them. I'll answer any questions I can.
==============================================================
