Portable battery banks

[RedSMS]

Hi All!

I am considering to upgrade my 25,000 mAh battery bank to something with greater capacity.. I use 2 phones and a laptop, so such a device is super handy for me. I require access to charging wherever I am.

The question is, what is the limit that most Airlines will allow in your carry on? I assume it hasn't changed from 100Wh/ ~27,000mAh.

I'm mostly concerned about flying domestically within Australia.


On the Qantas website, it says that Lithium Ion batteries with a capacity between 100Wh-160Wh may be permitted, but you have to request approval before check in.

Has anybody had experience in carrying anything above 100Wh, but less than 160Wh?

I would be very interested to know your experiences, and if it has been a hassle.

Any purchase is highly dependent on this.

Thanks in advance!

 

[exceladdict]

Hi All!

I am considering to upgrade my 25,000 mAh battery bank to something with greater capacity.. I use 2 phones and a laptop, so such a device is super handy for me. I require access to charging wherever I am.

The question is, what is the limit that most Airlines will allow in your carry on? I assume it hasn't changed from 100Wh/ ~27,000mAh.

I'm mostly concerned about flying domestically within Australia.


On the Qantas website, it says that Lithium Ion batteries with a capacity between 100Wh-160Wh may be permitted, but you have to request approval before check in.

Has anybody had experience in carrying anything above 100Wh, but less than 160Wh?

I would be very interested to know your experiences, and if it has been a hassle.

Any purchase is highly dependent on this.

Thanks in advance!

My 99.9wh/27ah, I suspect, is the cause for my bag to frequently be pulled aside at security. Bag is rarely actually opened, but it is a bit of a delay, which is annoying. As someone that likes to breeze through it does make me not pack it sometimes.

I only recall someone actually reading it to check the rating once though, I think that was departing manila airport at security, I don't think it's been closely inspected domestically. I imagine the scanners can take a reasonably accurate estimate of the size of the lithium battery inside.

 

[markis10]

There is a good summary of the rules and what airlines allow over at Ozbargain

Flight Safe Power Banks / Battery Packs by Wh & Australian Airline

www.ozbargain.com.au

 

[Flyerwin]

Interesting. When going on holidays with the family my hand luggage always has five of them. Never had a problem.

 

[NickCorr]

I always travel with multiple 20,000 mAh batteries just to keep it simple. Biggest issue seems to be that the capacities are stated in the smallest font ever created....

 

[RB001]

I always travel with multiple 20,000 mAh batteries just to keep it simple. Biggest issue seems to be that the capacities are stated in the smallest font ever created....

Or they'll be dark grey on charcoal...

 

[Daver6]

Just out of curiosity, where are you folks all going that you need battery packs galore? Why not just plug into the wall/aircraft/hotel for power?

 

[Askance]

Just out of curiosity, where are you folks all going that you need battery packs galore? Why not just plug into the wall/aircraft/hotel for power?

Very handy on train journey if no power available . Or even if out for a day with lots of walking.

 

[exceladdict]

Just out of curiosity, where are you folks all going that you need battery packs galore? Why not just plug into the wall/aircraft/hotel for power?

I was going to chime in with this actually, I can understand if you have a super powerful laptop and are stuck on a flight without ac, but a lot of my domestic power bank needs have been met by a good multiport USB C high wattage charger

 

[Flyerwin]

Just out of curiosity, where are you folks all going that you need battery packs galore? Why not just plug into the wall/aircraft/hotel for power?

There’re no power points at the beach or when spending the day at an amusement park.

 

[RooFlyer]

The question is, what is the limit that most Airlines will allow in your carry on? I assume it hasn't changed from 100Wh/ ~27,000mAh.

Has anybody had experience in carrying anything above 100Wh, but less than 160Wh?

I can't answer your question directly, sorry, but a couple of years ago I escorted by sister interstate on Virgin and her mobility scooter was checked in. I carried the battery for it as carry-on - I don't know the specs, but as you can imagine it was quite chunky. Their web page says usually unacceptable but I had to fill in a form, show it at check-in, have the terminals taped etc. On board, the FA was completely disinterested.

So in the case of powerful recharging batteries, I imagine it would be do-able, maybe with a form and appropriately packed and then I don't think anyone will be very interested.

 

[Brizz]

I have a CPAP battery I often travel with - it is 98wh.

If I am pulled over by security - it is the reason - everytime!

 

[p--and--t]

Just out of curiosity, where are you folks all going that you need battery packs galore? Why not just plug into the wall/aircraft/hotel for power?

Exactly what I was thinking. I have two very compact 10,000 from Amazon that I carry with me.

If I am going to be on the move without obvious access to a pp when travelling, I put my iPhone in low power mode and it lasts nearly a full day even when taking a multitude of pics and Whatsapp'ing etc.

I use a international multiport adapter that I can charge multiple items at once and the battery packs have two additional ports each. So when there is a pp everything can be charged at once usually while I am sleeping or in an a/p lounge.

I survived in Cuba where there are power outages every day and Kenya where the only place I could charge was the hotel at night.

I'm not much of a beach person, and even less inclined to be sitting on a beach with a laptop so that's a challenge I'll not face.

 

[markis10]

China is very fussy about power banks and lithium batteries. I normally have a couple of powerbanks and also 20 or so Lithium batteries purchased in Shenzhen, each time through CAN the batteries have been checked for capacity and quantity. Baggage is also scanned at check in, one time I had to go to the scanning room at the end of the check in row and make sure some portable devices had their batteries attached.