Charging Devices in Flight without the use of Batteries

[747sp]

Batteries on a plane.

Just a question for the experts. With the new rules of not being able to use your battery on the plane i was wondering is it faster to charge my phone/ipad , using the USB port or is it better to bring a charger and use the power point provided?
Also would you use one of the higher capacity cables or it not relevant.

I tend to use flightradar 24 too much when flying and have an old phone

 

[Haplo]

I only heard about the new rule when I was on a flight two days ago, dont recall having that flying last month.

Luckily my laptop charger is a USB type C so I was able to charge my phone using that (was on Y+)

 

[drron]

Batteries on a plane.

Just a question for the experts. With the new rules of not being able to use your battery on the plane i was wondering is it faster to charge my phone/ipad , using the USB port or is it better to bring a charger and use the power point provided?
Also would you use one of the higher capacity cables or it not relevant.

I tend to use flightradar 24 too much when flying and have an old phone

I always use the USB port for my iPhone. It is slow but basically has the same charge when I deplane as on boarding. recently using it for most of the flight.

 

[PatMcrotch]

Batteries on a plane.

Just a question for the experts. With the new rules of not being able to use your battery on the plane i was wondering is it faster to charge my phone/ipad , using the USB port or is it better to bring a charger and use the power point provided?
Also would you use one of the higher capacity cables or it not relevant.

I tend to use flightradar 24 too much when flying and have an old phone

Faster using the power point and plug in Charger.

 

[Quickstatus]

Ive used both

USB to phone - enough to charge to 100% fairly quickly
120V power point charge to 100%.

I have not noticed the difference, probably quicker than USB.

Take your pick.

 

[Forg]

Ive used both

USB to phone - enough to charge to 100% fairly quickly
120V power point charge to 100%.

I have not noticed the difference, probably quicker than USB.

Take your pick.

It would depend on fitout I imagine … some USB ports can charge just as quickly as the wall-wart can, but others can only provide relatively low current so won’t charge that fast (my work Windoze laptop has two USB-C ports, the one that’ll charge my iPad at full wall-wort rate has a little lightning-bolt symbol next to it - the other one will charge but it’s about 3x slower).

If there’s a 120V or 240V socket definitely available, but you don’t know the specs of the USB ports, I think it’d be safest to assume you’ll use the charger and it’s a “yay” if the USB is as good.

 

[markis10]

The plane A/C adaptors like what’s on the A380 have limitations on power draw, a GAAN charger should not be more than 30W with this in mind as the outlets are 110V@75 watt max.

 

[jb747]

A warning about power points on aircraft. If you find one in a random spot, not specifically marked for passenger use, it could be for maintenance or cleaner use, and if that’s the case, you’ll put a lot more voltage through your device than you’ll be expecting.

 

[PatMcrotch]

A warning about power points on aircraft. If you find one in a random spot, not specifically marked for passenger use, it could be for maintenance or cleaner use, and if that’s the case, you’ll put a lot more voltage through your device than you’ll be expecting.

Wouldn't the charger convert it to 5 volt as it does with 240v and 110v?
What voltage are you referring to?

 

[markis10]

Wouldn't the charger convert it to 5 volt as it does with 240v and 110v?
What voltage are you referring to?

Normal consumer systems have two important components, voltage ie 240/220 or 110 and frequency, usually 50-60hz, on aircraft the primary electrical system is a 3-phase, 4-wire, constant frequency 400 Hz, 115/200 Volt system

 

[Forg]

Wouldn't the charger convert it to 5 volt as it does with 240v and 110v?
What voltage are you referring to?

Some chargers are very cheaply made & don’t control the DC output voltage very well. The transformer in the cheapest chargers works by having a certain number of coils on the input side & a certain number on the output side, reducing the AC voltage by a fixed ratio, and then simple electronics to keep the voltage positive (unlike AC which oscillates between positive & negative) and smooth it out just a little … it’s the “fixed ratio” due to coils in the transformer that’s the issue, because if plugging into 240V gives you 5V output then plugging into 110V will get you a bit over 2V.

But markis10’s info about it being 3-phase adds an extra dimension … because you get a higher voltage between two of the 3 phases than you do from one phase to ground (I think it’s about 1.4x - so you could get 200x1.4=280V going into your transformer). I’m also trying to recall whether the frequency has an effect on how effectively the transformer works (I think it doesn’t BUT I have niggling doubts).
Actually a high quality charger, one you can plug into 220V or 240V or 110V and it gives you a nice solid 5V DC output voltage … that might not be too phased (heh) by a 280V (if my memory is correct) input. But I don’t know if a charger that well made is common, zero idea of that!