Thanks for the link back to this thread. I was here before but lost it. I see tallentcell. I also see all these packs at 10,000 mAH+ $20 or less, and just can’t get over the “other” brand cameras that use battery only on the front door, and last up to 6 months. Granted, I don’t need 6 months, but a week on battery sounds reasonable though.
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Wyze has doorbells and cams that can do that too, but you have to make sacrifices for them to last that long.
Most of the $20 or less power banks (even many of the more expensive ones as detailed here) are going to bounce when the power goes out, though the camera should reboot relatively quickly. They also aren’t intended to be left plugged into power constantly charging and discharging, so you have to ask how much you trust the safety measures (or lack of) in them.
Seems pretty solid so far, I did go with the larger wall wart. No noticeable bounce with a meter, but I did not hook up a more precise device to verify. I am happy and quite impressed.
Thanks (to everyone in this thread) for all of the great info! Today (2/21/25) the Pxwaxpy unit is 28.75. There is a similar-sounding unit from UGREEN unit for 23.99. I will order that one and report back my experiences.
Has anyone placed one of these LFP-based units in a cold location? I have cameras that will experience sub-freezing temperatures. I can shelter the battery and wrap it, but I doubt that it will normally generate sufficient heat. And I wouldn’t want to leave it wrapped in the summer! I guess the only alternative is to bring the battery into the conditioned space and run the USB cable through the wall…
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Please do.
I really enjoy my setup using the Pxwaxpy.
I know for a fact and from experience that lithium batteries will die when charged below zero. They are fine if they just sit there and do nothing, but charging will eventually kill them.
Sounds like you got the right idea. I just got an unexpected 5,000mah… i’m gona measure the in and the draw. and find an adapter that is as close as possible and give it a whirl… If i could put some kind of regulator in between that would be cool to match the out.
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I use lead AGM’s in areas of freezing cold, less issues than LFP batteries.
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Does anyone make a really small lead AGM battery specifically as a 5V DC backup? There’d be no need for an inverter. If you also don’t need a BMS (?), could you just wire it in parallel with the camera?
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I have mine on one of my outside cameras. The battery bank that the camera connects to is in the garage. Definitely gets below 0 degrees. Here, even in the negative numbers Fahrenheit. The battery bank is fully charged, plugged into the charger 24/7, When the camera is on, it’s probably powering directly from the charger and not the battery. Either way, it’s been working great all this time. But I agree, if the battery bank was not charged and you charged it in below freezing temps, that could be a problem. But if it’s already charged, and on the charger, the camera should be powered from the charger and not the battery.
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SLA typically goes in 1.5V increments (technically a bit more than that) so you’re not going to find a 5V one unless it has a voltage regulator on it. The most common SLAs are 6v and 12v nominal (but actual is higher). You’d need to hook up an inverter or regulator to the SLA both to regulate the voltage, and protect your devices when the battery is charging.
I don’t know, but I had two power drill batteries die simultaneously in the shed plugged in and on chargers. Ever since, I bring them inside.