Raspberry Pi Battery Power

Ғылым және технология

Running a Raspberry Pi on batteries -- specifically a 12V lead acid battery and a USB power bank. Video includes expected battery life calculations and battery life tests and for a Raspberry Pi 4, Raspberry Pi Zero, and other Pi models.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation power consumption page is here:
www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/hardware/raspberrypi/power/README.md
If you enjoy this video, you may be interested in my recent Raspberry Pi project videos:
Raspberry Pi Weather Station:
kzread.info/dash/bejne/dZyF0qZrl9apYpM.html
Raspberry Pi Anemometer:
kzread.info/dash/bejne/Y4CEp7KTYJWTpJs.html
More videos on SBCs, computing and related topics can be found at:
kzread.info
You may also like my ExplainingTheFuture channel at: kzread.info
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:52 Five Pis
02:41 USB power bank
05:34 Power bank tests
12:34 Lead Acid battery
19:37 Wrap
#RaspberryPi #Batteries #BatteryPower #ExplainingComputers

Пікірлер: 1 138

  • @qc15pvetter
    @qc15pvetter3 жыл бұрын

    These videos are like what Saturday morning cartoons use to be to me when I was a kid.

  • @dougcox835

    @dougcox835

    3 жыл бұрын

    Except very few children would watch this on a Saturday morning. I will say though that when I was a kid on saturday mornings there were times when the cartoons were not interesting and I would switch over to the PBS station where they would play educational videos for the local community college. I learned a lot from watching those boring college course supplemental videos.

  • @nosuchthing8

    @nosuchthing8

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes!

  • @tedoyle61

    @tedoyle61

    3 жыл бұрын

    I look forward to each one he creates.

  • @Whipster-Old

    @Whipster-Old

    3 жыл бұрын

    I wish I'd been watching Professor Barnatt when I was a kid. Hell yeah.

  • @Matrxmonky

    @Matrxmonky

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yup, woke up at 10, got some clothes on and the PC warmed, had the lovely better half brew a coffee, and we begin our Sunday with the dulcet tones of Mr. Barnatt.

  • @An.Individual
    @An.Individual3 жыл бұрын

    re table at 5:15 A power bank is rated at it's nominal voltage which is 3.7V for lithiums cells. So the energy in a 10,000mAh battery is 37 watt hours (10A * 3.7V) The current consumed by the Pi is rated at 5V. runtime for Pi4 is (3.7 * 10 * 75%) / (5 * 0.6) = 9.25 hours

  • @michealkinney6205

    @michealkinney6205

    2 жыл бұрын

    I agree, but nominal power of a Lithium battery is actually 3.6 volts. Lithium Power Bank: (3.6 * 10 * 0.75) / (5 * 0.6) = 9 hours Lead Acid Battery: (12 * 7 *.75) / (5 * 0.6) = 21 hours (2.33 times more energy) But I also expect a slightly higher efficiency for the Lead Acid batteries "capacity" over the Lithium battery bank as the differential between maximum and minimum voltages is greater, and there is a step down converter in the power bank, so the efficiency loss also needs to be considered. This accounts for the Lead Acid battery getting nearly 3X the time.

  • @kev7345
    @kev73453 жыл бұрын

    Rumour has it that Chris is running a P Zero off a car battery .. he hopes to show us the results on his 85th birthday...

  • @TwoTonTaft

    @TwoTonTaft

    3 жыл бұрын

    So, like a month or two? (this guy's got jokes for days)

  • @QWERTASDFG303

    @QWERTASDFG303

    3 жыл бұрын

    Umm, everyone knows Chris is a vampire. Make that his 385th birthday.

  • @michealkinney6205

    @michealkinney6205

    2 жыл бұрын

    Lol, how about running it off a 159lb 12v 255ah AGM Lead Acid Solar Battery (that a ridiculous 3.06kWh's of capacity). In retrospect, that's 36 times more than the Lead Acid battery tested (12V @ 7Ah = 84 wH). That power a RPi for nearly a year, in theory (Lead Acid tested lasted 187 hours x 36 = 6732 / 24 hours == 280.5 Days). There's a "fun" or boring video for you, depending on how you look at it. Just some food for thought!

  • @acromatfpv894

    @acromatfpv894

    2 жыл бұрын

    "Inconceivable!" 😄

  • @grimuk3817

    @grimuk3817

    2 жыл бұрын

    Rumor has it Chris is running a car off a P Zero ...

  • @RaviRJoshi
    @RaviRJoshi3 жыл бұрын

    Videos like this is what makes world a better place, and EC a popular channel. Prof.

  • @ExplainingComputers

    @ExplainingComputers

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks. :)

  • @RyanGonTV

    @RyanGonTV

    3 жыл бұрын

    Agreed

  • @PhG1961

    @PhG1961

    2 жыл бұрын

    Indeed !

  • @techntell6684
    @techntell66843 жыл бұрын

    As this experiment went on, you could hear his enthusiasm diminishing with each run 😄 It probably felt like the universe would come to an end before production was finished! Kudos and great video!

  • @xjet
    @xjet3 жыл бұрын

    Perhaps the lead-acid results were skewed because without an intelligent voltage cut-off, the lead-acid battery would exhaust its entire capacity, well below the safe minimum. The power-bank is smart enough to disconnect the load when the battery is down to the safe minimum voltage but that simple buck converter will likely keep going down to almost 5V of input voltage.

  • @CampGareth

    @CampGareth

    3 жыл бұрын

    There isn't much energy in a lithium ion battery below safe cutoff voltage, something like 5% of the rated capacity if I remember my curves. But yes, the lead acid depth of discharge here is far too much for that battery to have a long life.

  • @Avocettech

    @Avocettech

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes - a nice add on feature for lead-acid applications would be some sort of RPi power down and then complete power switch off when the battery approaches 12.3 Volts.

  • @RealJonDoe

    @RealJonDoe

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@Avocettech a voltage divider on an analog input should be able to accomplish this.

  • @arthurhardy

    @arthurhardy

    3 жыл бұрын

    That is exactly what happens, And every time you run the lead acid down that far you reduced the capacity and skewed the numbers for subsequent tests

  • @nid274

    @nid274

    3 жыл бұрын

    @Abstractism I learned that lead acid battries should not discharged below 10 to 9.5v in the worst case.

  • @aryantiwari1945
    @aryantiwari19453 жыл бұрын

    This video was incredible. This must have taken a lot of effort! Lead acid FTW!

  • @bananus815
    @bananus8153 жыл бұрын

    We shouldnt forget Mr.Scissors. He helps to get all reviews

  • @ExplainingComputers

    @ExplainingComputers

    3 жыл бұрын

    True.

  • @ddegn

    @ddegn

    2 жыл бұрын

    Mr. Scissors' witty humor is the main reason I watch this channel.

  • @bananus815

    @bananus815

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@ddegn noice

  • @Uniblab8
    @Uniblab83 жыл бұрын

    ...forgot to mention...my Sunday mornings are not complete unless I view and digest your videos. Well done.

  • @FuzzyElf
    @FuzzyElf3 жыл бұрын

    From one Christopher to another: Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge and creativity -- and humor -- in your remarkable videos.

  • @msulemanf
    @msulemanf3 жыл бұрын

    Love it, solar next? Easily one of my top 10 channels - consistently delivering well produced, interesting, accurate, exhaustive & kind-spirited videos. Thank-you.

  • @RaviRJoshi

    @RaviRJoshi

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yep. I used to run Rpi 4 on a mobile battery. I guess I'll power that battery from solar, soon.

  • @AdrieKooijman

    @AdrieKooijman

    3 жыл бұрын

    Solar? Running a RPI until the sun runs out? 😜

  • @AdrieKooijman

    @AdrieKooijman

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@flethacker at night time the sun is hidden for some of us, not 'out'

  • @jacobcastro1885

    @jacobcastro1885

    2 жыл бұрын

    Solar is perfect for charging and maintaining these batteries. The best channel on KZread is DIY SOLAR POWER with Will Prowse.

  • @dang48

    @dang48

    Жыл бұрын

    @@RaviRJoshi I did some research a couple of years ago and if I remember correctly, a 9W panel could power a pi. (That would be the model 3B).

  • @duytdl
    @duytdl2 жыл бұрын

    Can always count on EC for no-nonsense to the point videos on these subjects. Well done sir!

  • @xjet
    @xjet3 жыл бұрын

    It is also worth nothing that the mAH capacity of many power-banks is not what you might think. Many of them use the mAH capacity of the battery in the bank and since that capacity is at a lower voltage (nominal 3.7V) then you do not get anywhere near that at the 5V the power bank sends out the USB port. To deliver 1A at 5V the battery will see a drain of (@4V)) 1.2A. This means that a 10,000 mAH power bank has a deliverable capacity of significantly less than the 10,000mAH at which the battery is rated. Then there are the efficiency losses of the boost converter that steps the voltage up from a nominal 3.7V to 5V.

  • @michealkinney6205

    @michealkinney6205

    2 жыл бұрын

    Exactly what I was thinking. So the actual number of the power bank would be 3.6V nominal (though advertised as 3.7V which is misinformation, which someone smarter than me pointed out years ago) x 10Ah = 36 Watts / 5V = 7,200 mAh. That and, I expect a slightly higher efficiency for the Lead Acid batteries "capacity" (84 wH / 5V is 16.8 Ah) over the Lithium battery bank as the differential between maximum and minimum voltages is greater. And then calculate the internal boost converters loss (boost conversion is slightly worse than step down efficiency) as you suggest, and bob's your uncle, the numbers are nearly spot on, lol. Anything left over can be attributed to "estimates" in efficiency and usage. I love math, especially as it applies to energy.

  • @Lord_Legolas_Greenleaf

    @Lord_Legolas_Greenleaf

    2 жыл бұрын

    Was the current draw of the LED accounted for? What 15mA or less? The power draw of anything is a general guideline. Components specification's are a guideline as well. Not all components are equal - some will draw more than rated, some will draw less. But this is only part of the equation. The other part is when the battery starts to drain; it's ratings get worse with the condition (remaining charge) of the battery as the condition goes down. And here again the 'components' of the battery comes into play. As for that converter - I doubt it's efficiency is 90%! I saw similar converters with a google search and they're 'unknown manufactures.' I would guess that if your lucky they're "approaching" 90%! YES! Having worked with fire alarms and security systems that all use those types of batteries they are great! And especially since these 'uses' aren't 'critical' it doesn't really matter. Since I am an Electronics/Computer Technician I would use 'dependable' & "reliable" parts from known and trusted manufacturers. And then there comes 'component' availability! If you can only get certain parts - then that's what you'll use! But @ExplainingComputers is correct! Test before you put it out into the real world.

  • @ddegn

    @ddegn

    2 жыл бұрын

    Without knowing the voltage of those mAH, the figure it pretty much meaningless. mWH is what should be used in comparisons like this. The 75% is pretty close to what you get if you're assuming 5V from a 3.7V battery.

  • @nickpelov

    @nickpelov

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Lord_Legolas_Greenleaf A led can be clearly visible at just 1-2 mA

  • @santoshstudy5812

    @santoshstudy5812

    2 жыл бұрын

    Actually, what it really means is instead of specifying battery capacity in mAH, it should be specified in volts*amps*time I e. In Joules. A 10,000 mAH at 3.6v will amount to 10Amp*3.6v*3600sec = 129 K Joules of energy. Just a comparison, 1 kg of gasoline has 40M Joules of energy. So, the 10,000mAh battery above is really only worth 3 grams of gasoline. Just shows how energy dense fossil fuels are and why humans are so addicted to it. And if he runs pi-0 on a full tank worth of gasoline (like 50kg or so), it indeed may last till his 85th birthday, may even last till his son's 85th birthday.

  • @BryanBenoit
    @BryanBenoit3 жыл бұрын

    I absolutely love every single video on this channel. Thanks a million !

  • @alerey4363
    @alerey43633 жыл бұрын

    Excellent real-world tests and comparison in a key department for SBCs; it also covers both bases: small-portable-lightweight powerbank vs heavy bulky durable lead acid battery

  • @nathanisip
    @nathanisip3 жыл бұрын

    Kudos to going through all the effort of testing! I was thinking of some fancy gpio interfacing to a monitor pi and had to do a face palm when you discussed writing to a spreadsheet, simple and elegant!

  • @deechvogt1589
    @deechvogt15893 жыл бұрын

    Awesome practical application testing Chris. I will remember the buck converter if I ever have a need for long term away from main power application for my Raspberry Pi. Thanks Chris. Cheers and as always stay well.

  • @mikecarlson6416
    @mikecarlson64162 жыл бұрын

    this is absolutely pure fun to see the experiment result, thanks a lot

  • @HermannKerr
    @HermannKerr3 жыл бұрын

    This is probably one of the most interesting videos you have put out. I am really impressed. Thanks it was very informative and liked how you programmed the test.

  • @robloxianfilipinocars
    @robloxianfilipinocars2 жыл бұрын

    I'm grateful that you did all of these test. Now I know what power source is the best for my raspberry pi project.

  • @dj_paultuk7052
    @dj_paultuk70523 жыл бұрын

    Great Scott setup a SBC to water his greenhouse a few weeks back. His also manually activates via a txt message from a mobile phone.

  • @jeyendeoso
    @jeyendeoso3 жыл бұрын

    Excellent video, Chris, I wasn't expecting battery benchmarking hahaha Now I can't wait for the greenhouse video!

  • @piconano
    @piconano3 жыл бұрын

    When my daughter moved in her apartment, I garbed the small alarm controller the previous owner left behind. It had a battery like yours making 3/4 of the enclosure, and it was only 2 years old. It now provides power to my RPi2B+ Rpi Noir camera, running RPi-Cam-Web-Interface on Raspbian, making the best IP security camera in the world for $50 !! I connected a beefier 5V @5A buck converter than what you show in your video to power the setup 24/7. That's all I had. Fortunate for me, the internal 12V SLA charger circuitry can supply 1A to charge the battery (~12W). Running a Rpi is a walk in the park for the built-in charger. When I lose power the charger will stop, but the 12V battery is fully charged and ready to go. I never tested how long it would take for the system to run down. Now I've got a pretty good idea. Thanks to your video.

  • @theoriginaldylangreene
    @theoriginaldylangreene3 жыл бұрын

    This is really interesting data, very useful. Thank you for putting in a huge amount of time and effort to collect it! Every time someone asks about battery endurance with a RPi, I will link them to here.

  • @spiders-tours
    @spiders-tours3 жыл бұрын

    Your next project would be interesting if a solar panel (which should be usable in a greenhouse) can charge the battery whilst it's in use. The application could work for a very long time indeed. Nice tests, thanks for the video.

  • @ritmo1130
    @ritmo11303 жыл бұрын

    What a great video! Always wanted to see something like this. Thanks!!

  • @michaelgkellygreen
    @michaelgkellygreen3 жыл бұрын

    Brilliant tests and presentation. I have loved looking back through your older videos. Learned so much, Thanks

  • @iwinrar5207
    @iwinrar52073 жыл бұрын

    I was just researching this topic. This brings it all into one easy place. Thanks!

  • @markdonnelly1913
    @markdonnelly19133 жыл бұрын

    Your videos never disappoint, well done again. I nearly choked on my coffee with your reasoning for not testing all the devices though, hilarious!

  • @W4RR4NTW0LF
    @W4RR4NTW0LF2 жыл бұрын

    Really interesting figures! In relation to the PiZeroW, I regularly use one running at full load, with an e-ink display off a 12,000mAh LiPO bank and I generally get about 50-55hrs of use from it. It's neat to see your figures fitting in so well with my experience on a number of Pi systems. :)

  • @corpliner1506

    @corpliner1506

    4 ай бұрын

    Wow, I am doing the exact same thing. Odd coincidence

  • @BeOurBee
    @BeOurBee3 жыл бұрын

    This is fantastic, exactly the kind of thing I always wondered about but never found satisfactory information for on the web. Until now!

  • @theflyingsmiley01
    @theflyingsmiley012 жыл бұрын

    I have always wondered about powering R-pis with batteries. You did a great job on this video!

  • @frankligas2249
    @frankligas22493 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the video. Design experience idea. Back in the mid 1990's I had a project where a laptop needed to run a weather station for one month. This was out in a remote farming location. I set up the laptop to run from two 12 volt marine deep cycle boat batteries. The batteries were connected with wires soldered onto the power connection ports of an APC brand battery backup unit designed to run the computer when the power failed. So by starting with a battery backup unit, that took almost all of the engineering out of the equation. APC battery backups run on a 12 volt, lead acid battery identical to the one you show in this video. The build was simple. Buy a battery backup unit. Open it up and remove the small 12 volt battery and solder longer wires that would connect to the two bigger boat or car batteries. Then take the battery backup apart and cut the alarm buzzer off of the circuit board. When the backup unit is not plugged into the wall, it runs on batteries. the annoying alarm is buzzing as a needless warning. Other than that, the only other thing to do was to put the whole thing in a waterproof box, and connect the ground wire to a grounding rod in the field. We ran these laptops for years this way. The trick of having two batteries was so that when we were swapping out the batteries on a monthly basis, we could keep one battery connected while swapping out the other. This allowed for the laptops to run without needing to be shut down. Later, around 1997 small 12 volt solar pannels started to show up in local auto parts stores. We bought one and connected that to the batteries as well. This allowed us to run the laptops off-grid for six months until the whole thing was blown to a million pieces by a direct strike of a lightning strike. : ) Also, to charge the spare batteries I was swapping out, I used a second modified battery back up as the battery charger to recharge the batteries. This just needed some longer wires with alligator clips soldered onto them.

  • @sandeepkulkarni3695
    @sandeepkulkarni36953 жыл бұрын

    Due to low space constraints and Higher Power Requirements of Raspi 4 (1GB RAM) I had to design a converter for 3 Li-ION cells in series (3.7*3=11.1V) and then stepping down this voltage to 5V using a buck converter at nearly 2A! Happy to see similar work Chris!!

  • @ExplainingComputers

    @ExplainingComputers

    3 жыл бұрын

    We are clearly both on the same page!

  • @littlechestnutorchard

    @littlechestnutorchard

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@ExplainingComputers if anyone is interested Lidl and Aldı sells 20v 4 and 5 Amp cordless tool batteries, the prices are £25 and £30 respectedly, sometimes it comes with charger or if you want to buy it seperatelyi it is usually £12. These batteries are very compact and protection circuits are included in the casing , great for portable, mobile applications. I have been using them last couple of years for remote water reservoir level control and charging them with a small solar panel and very happy about the results .

  • @sandeepkulkarni3695

    @sandeepkulkarni3695

    3 жыл бұрын

    @Shogun Zoro Sure

  • @zackaboy1236

    @zackaboy1236

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@sandeepkulkarni3695 ur not even a good youtuber tho

  • @sandeepkulkarni3695

    @sandeepkulkarni3695

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@zackaboy1236 Though I am a capable Electrical Engineer

  • @emilrasmussen7429
    @emilrasmussen74292 жыл бұрын

    This is by far the best video I have found on KZread, thank you so much!

  • @techman2471
    @techman24713 жыл бұрын

    You were extarordinarily "Energized" about this project. I learned i can do the projects I want to do on my Pis. Thanks!

  • @jmctoob2
    @jmctoob23 жыл бұрын

    I am sure you know this, especially since you calculated this for the lead acid. The 74% of listed capacity is because that is the cell capacity at 3.7v. When running at 5v the mAh will be lower by a ratio of 3.7/5.0=0.74. A better capacity rating is Watt hours (Wh).

  • @gregadams558
    @gregadams5583 жыл бұрын

    Always love the dry humor.

  • @petertwiss4215
    @petertwiss4215 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you! A clear demonstration. I did this and then modified to connect to Google sheets though their API. This means that when the power fails, the spreadsheet will not corrupt and also I can view from anywhere.

  • @marksterling8286
    @marksterling82863 жыл бұрын

    Absolutely fantastic video, i think you must be a mind reader, I started last weekend thinking about a project to power a raspberry pi4 running retropie in the back of my car, to allow the children to play games on long journeys, the thing i was working on was to have a power bank power the pi after the car ignition was turned off to allow the pi to shutdown nicely. I have designed a circuit that charges the power bank from the car, and the pi from the power bank but when the cars power is lost it signals the pi via a gpio pin to shutdown the pi. Looking at the test results I am tempted to just have the pi’s power from the power bank and then just change the power bank when the car is running. Really great video Chris. Thank you so much.

  • @mohnkhan
    @mohnkhan3 жыл бұрын

    Lead Acid chemistry is strange yet useful. The rate at which we draw the current determines how much useful capacity you can make of it. May be you should run a video series on battery chemistries and how to select a right battery type. Its an interesting subject.

  • @dougcox835

    @dougcox835

    3 жыл бұрын

    It is interesting but I think it's a bit of a stray from "explaining computers". I think he has other channels that he might put stuff like that on. If you look around youtube I think you will find lots of videos on batteries. Including people who make their own from individual cells. There's one guy who shows how you can use an old battery case and make your own lead acid battery. It's actually pretty simple, but messy with the sulphuric acid.

  • @zackaboy1236

    @zackaboy1236

    3 жыл бұрын

    I’m all up for this but maybe on a separate channel as this channel is mainly for computers/technology.

  • @g-r-a-e-m-e-

    @g-r-a-e-m-e-

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@dougcox835 Who is the person you are thinking of?

  • @Aaron-hg8jo

    @Aaron-hg8jo

    3 жыл бұрын

    I would watch that.

  • @diogenesdevletoglou6190

    @diogenesdevletoglou6190

    3 жыл бұрын

    Lead acid is obsolete, bulky and very heavy. Your best bet here is to buy 4 Li-ion 1.5Volt rechargeable AAs connected in series and then add the simplest linear regulator which is just one small resistor in series as a voltage divider. Benefit of Li-ion chemistries are light weight, energy dense, and a very stable discharge curve (

  • @slawomirkortas
    @slawomirkortas3 жыл бұрын

    This was exactly what I was pondering for a remote Pi setup. But that's half of my puzzle. The other half is a small solar panel installation that would charge the battery during the day. Could you include that scenario in your next video?

  • @horseradishpower9947
    @horseradishpower99473 жыл бұрын

    This will be helpful, because it likely help me out in the questions I have in home made portable computing. Thanks for making this video.

  • @arthurmint
    @arthurmint Жыл бұрын

    im glad you got this video out before the universe came to an end, very helpful !

  • @MicrobyteAlan
    @MicrobyteAlan3 жыл бұрын

    Excellent I’ve been wanting to control my garden railroad with a Raspberry Pi.

  • @ExplainingComputers

    @ExplainingComputers

    3 жыл бұрын

    Then this may help make it happen!

  • @ronb6182

    @ronb6182

    3 жыл бұрын

    I thought the train ran on AC. St least all mine do.

  • @TheTechieScientist
    @TheTechieScientist3 жыл бұрын

    Whatever happens in the world ....EC is always there to support us and get our spirits up on sundays.. 😁...thank you

  • @roembol
    @roembol2 жыл бұрын

    This is exactly the video I needed. I rarely like a video these days, but this one deserves it!

  • @DeusinMachina
    @DeusinMachina3 жыл бұрын

    I've been super interested in figuring out the raspberry pi's capabilities on batteries, so this video was perfect!

  • @ahmad-murery
    @ahmad-murery3 жыл бұрын

    Interesting indeed how old-tech lead-acid batteries still performing very well, 14:33 That was a very useful formula to calculate the output amps, for your greenhouse, you maybe can extend your battery runtime by charging it using a small solar panel, Thanks Chris,

  • @tomhath8413

    @tomhath8413

    2 жыл бұрын

    Or just buy another inexpensive battery and swap them out every few days.

  • @adrianschneider1977
    @adrianschneider19773 жыл бұрын

    Nice video! According to my knowledge, lead acid batteries should not be discharged below 50% on a regular basis as this would shorten their life. So ideally implement some battery monitoring that prevents too deep discharging.

  • @conicEllipse
    @conicEllipse3 жыл бұрын

    I thoroughly enjoyed this video. It's one of my favorites of yours. I have a tip, though, regarding the Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) batteries. Unless you purchase a "deep discharge" SLA, you are going to ruin the battery quickly with multiple deep discharges. Also, heat kills these things. So you may wish to keep it close to the floor in your greenhouse or keep it out of the greenhouse, if possible. Also, do not place it on a cement floor as I've "heard" that this discharges them more quickly. This may be a myth as I haven't tested this yet. When using SLAs, they like to be kept charged up. If the total power drains are small at each use, you could get hundreds of discharge/charge cycles out of them. If you drain them (something like 80%), you'll only get very few discharge/charge cycles (maybe 8 or 10 -- your mileage may vary). If you drain them more than 80%, the battery is permanently damaged. Also, give them a top-up charge every month as each month without a charge causes a permanent capacity reduction of a couple percent. After 6 months without a charge (and no power taken out of it) the battery will have permanently lost 20% of its capacity meaning that even if it is charged to 100%, the most capacity you'll have is 80%. SLAs lose capacity with each charge/discharge cycle; more so than LIon and LiPO. I would love to see your results from running the same test 5 consecutive time on the Pi 4b. It would be interesting to see how much capacity (measured in runtime) is lost on each go-around. YUASA is a middle-of-the-line to upper-line brand. When you completely discharge an SLA, it takes a longer time to charge (obviously). With deeper discharges, the voltage has to be higher to charge it up, which causes the lead plates inside the battery to heat up. The longer the charge, the hotter the plates get. This can cause the plates to warp, causing shorts. Additionally, it can evaporate the acid in the battery more quickly, which causes oxidation on the plates, which causes even less capacity. Keep making your vids. I get some good ideas from you an expand my knowledge. Thank you. :)

  • @tanyoivanov-personal
    @tanyoivanov-personal2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you. It was useful to me. I thought to use an acid battery and now I know how long should work with it. Great help.

  • @Evaldas65
    @Evaldas653 жыл бұрын

    I was hoping you'd touch on power level sensing (that is, the pi shuts down safely once the power level gets very low), perhaps in part 2 of this video? :)

  • @treshanremolano159
    @treshanremolano1593 жыл бұрын

    Rushed in to watch this, learned a lot in under 10 to 20 minutes of video!

  • @spikekent
    @spikekent3 жыл бұрын

    Fantastic as always Chris. Looking forward to the remote watering project.

  • @lorderectus1849
    @lorderectus18493 жыл бұрын

    Those spectacles look 👀 absolutely electrifying!

  • @ElmerFuddGun
    @ElmerFuddGun3 жыл бұрын

    _"Usable capacity"_ at 4:39 is not 75% but actually based on the *false advertising* of USB battery pack manufactures. The manufactures get their claimed capacity from the li-ion battery's capacity at a _nominal_ 3.7V *NOT* at 5V. You will not get 10,000mAh at 5 or 5.1V on the USB output. You need to convert that 10Ah (10,000mAh) at 3.7V to watt hours (37Wh) then divided it by 5V (or 5.1V) then multiply by the boost or buck converter efficiency (~87-95%). *Yes, all USB battery capacities should be claimed in watt-hours.* I hope this helps to clarify why you are not getting "10,000mAh".

  • @ElmerFuddGun

    @ElmerFuddGun

    3 жыл бұрын

    Also remember "10,000" can be a model _name_ and is often an approximation of the total of the batteries. Better manufactures will round down while others "round" up quite a bit. Cheap manufactures can also use batteries that vary greatly depending on when and who they got them from so the capacity of one USB battery pack with the same markings can be much different than the next.

  • @apflewis
    @apflewis3 жыл бұрын

    "Lets go and get started", Noooo, I want to take a closer look!

  • @lemailpoubel6210

    @lemailpoubel6210

    3 жыл бұрын

    🤣🤣🤣🤣👍👍👍

  • @CTCTraining1

    @CTCTraining1

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes, but is the ‘closer look’ indicating an unboxing rather than ‘getting started’ on a project?

  • @lawrenceallwright7041

    @lawrenceallwright7041

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@CTCTraining1 You've been watching this channel too long!

  • @gutwallst6645

    @gutwallst6645

    3 жыл бұрын

    Right!

  • @Plasros

    @Plasros

    3 жыл бұрын

    So!

  • @TheMadRocker
    @TheMadRocker3 жыл бұрын

    I use a Pi for ADSB flight tracking. Adding a solar panel and charge controller to a 35amp hr SLA battery has been on my to do list. Thanks for the vid with real world numbers.

  • @shawn8054
    @shawn80543 жыл бұрын

    Always enjoy waking up to a new video from you!

  • @insanemainstream3633
    @insanemainstream36333 жыл бұрын

    Woohoo happy Sunday morning everyone!

  • @nosuchthing8

    @nosuchthing8

    3 жыл бұрын

    Dude, your icon...

  • @plica06
    @plica063 жыл бұрын

    This video must have taken weeks to make.. now that is dedication!

  • @ExplainingComputers

    @ExplainingComputers

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes, many patient weeks were involved! :)

  • @ollie-d
    @ollie-d3 жыл бұрын

    Great video! I recently used a Raspberry Pi 4 running off a power bank and then an 18V Makita battery stepped down to measure the temperature inside and outside of my car during a camping trip. I found that having temperature probes didn't really illustrate how much more comfortable my car was than sleeping outside or in a tent, so next time I'll probably end up bringing a micro weather station and additional probes and will definitely be powering that project with lead acid batteries!

  • @SuperWiseacre
    @SuperWiseacre3 жыл бұрын

    This episode is pure gold, I really learnt so much things

  • @gigteevee6118
    @gigteevee61183 жыл бұрын

    Gratuitous use of Mr Scissors! That bag of "magic beans" had a tear option.

  • @ExplainingComputers

    @ExplainingComputers

    3 жыл бұрын

    Tear options often may a bay more difficult to reuse, and more difficult to control in close-up on camera! :) And Mr Scissors would be upset.

  • @Aaron-hg8jo

    @Aaron-hg8jo

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@ExplainingComputers Mr. Scissors is that last person I would want to upset.

  • @klaxoncow

    @klaxoncow

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@Aaron-hg8jo I don't know. I'd be more worried about upsetting Mr. Stanley Knife than Mr.Scissors, personally.

  • @parkamark
    @parkamark3 жыл бұрын

    Is the lead acid battery going to be re-charged from sunlight in that greenhouse? That would make an awesome little project!

  • @volvo09

    @volvo09

    3 жыл бұрын

    Perfect "cheap and easy" chemistry for a diy solar setup or first battery project to get you learning. You can add a cheap pwm solar charge controller and 12v panel from amazon, and in the states you can find those batteries locally in home depot.

  • @filthylucreonyoutube

    @filthylucreonyoutube

    3 жыл бұрын

    @volvo09 Right on! I've been doing a bit of that and it's amazing how useful and affordable the new panels and controllers are now. Practical and economical solar power has definitely arrived for low and moderate power consumption projects.

  • @ajantis.ilvastarr

    @ajantis.ilvastarr

    3 жыл бұрын

    I was acutally thinking about installing Pi in my car connected to power bank which would be charged by solar panels. Would that work?

  • @volvo09

    @volvo09

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@ajantis.ilvastarr you could if you wanted to do it for fun, but since it's in a car if you drive the car enough, keep the pi's battery charged when you run your car (and use solar to keep it going for long term storage). use the separate isolated battery for the pi to keep from draining your cars battery. You may be able to get away with keeping it powered off your cars battery alone, but those batteries are not designed to be run down and they fail wuickly with even little draws, so having the 2nd battery would be ideal... Then just pick your method of charging. Your setup would be a smaller version of what rv's use... The main vehicle battery stays seperate, and the house batteries run independently and charge when plugged in or the vehicle is on.

  • @OriginalRaveParty
    @OriginalRaveParty3 жыл бұрын

    Very handy reference for RPI remote project builders. Thank you.

  • @bartniaux8630
    @bartniaux86303 жыл бұрын

    Bonjour Chris. This is a timely video as I am planning to build a local remote power source for my project. I was planning to use a LiPo battery with a solar panel for recharging. This video changed my mind to switch to a lead acid power unit instead of the planned LiPo battery. Great timing. Thank you.

  • @bartniaux8630

    @bartniaux8630

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@bgeery Thank you for the info/feedback. Since the Solar panels will be charged daily, I hope that the battery will last longer like in an automobile.

  • @Matbombardier6985
    @Matbombardier69853 жыл бұрын

    a small solar panel (something for automotive since its already small, mobile, and setup for 12v... I've seen 'em with banana clips) should be in your near future

  • @pavan13
    @pavan133 жыл бұрын

    A raspberry pi video after a long time

  • @ExplainingComputers

    @ExplainingComputers

    3 жыл бұрын

    They always return. :) And two weeks today there will be a Raspberry Pi Pico video.

  • @TheTechieScientist

    @TheTechieScientist

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@ExplainingComputers Yay

  • @commentingpausedtoprotectus
    @commentingpausedtoprotectus3 жыл бұрын

    I now know which battery to use for my long-term raspberry pi 0 lapel camera project, nice one!

  • @paulj2383
    @paulj23833 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for a great explanation. I use my Raspberry PI 4 remotely for time lapse photography. This idea has immediate practical application. Very much looking for the next video on watering a garden. Thank you

  • @markconger8049
    @markconger80493 жыл бұрын

    Regarding the small lead acid battery seen in this video they can be found at Walmart stores in the US in the fishing equipment section. Otherwise, I’ve had to order from Amazon.

  • @Aaron-hg8jo

    @Aaron-hg8jo

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks!

  • @ernestgalvan9037

    @ernestgalvan9037

    3 жыл бұрын

    Walmart, Academy, Tractor Supply, Northern Tools, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Cabela’s. To name a few places that sell those small batteries. They are used in alarm systems, deer feeders, emergency back-up lighting, small trolling motors… etc

  • @jub8891
    @jub88913 жыл бұрын

    interesting tests! although running down a lead acid battery can reduce its capacity- will you be using the battery for general rasp pi computing?

  • @lukeearthcrawler896
    @lukeearthcrawler8963 жыл бұрын

    Great, informative video, Chris! Thanks a bunch! The Pi is definitely a good solution for battery powered applications, but if you really want performance nothing beats low power microcontrollers like ST's L-series. The problem in that case is the ridiculously long runtime (many years).

  • @dakotadanderson
    @dakotadanderson3 жыл бұрын

    Excellent forethought on the use case when testing the battery life!

  • @ahoj113
    @ahoj1133 жыл бұрын

    19:52 Really looking forward to that! :)

  • @OwtDaftUK
    @OwtDaftUK3 жыл бұрын

    You can buy a USB cable that has a power switch. Which is good for power since they tend to not do data. It might help with the auto on thing.

  • @georgemaragos2378

    @georgemaragos2378

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hi, my PI3b+ came with one, when i looked at it i thought very high tech like a bedroom table lamp - but it has its uses

  • @GarretW
    @GarretW3 жыл бұрын

    Great video! I think a great addition to this would be a review on power management boards for rpi. For example, omzlo pi watcher. And see how that improves battery life.

  • @drewswoods
    @drewswoods2 жыл бұрын

    Really appreciate these types of videos. Learning more and more about my new computer.

  • @MWPdx
    @MWPdx3 жыл бұрын

    0:45 Woah! Here I was, ready to take a closer look, and suddenly we're getting started? Idk if I can handle this emotional roller coaster.

  • @Felixvioleta
    @Felixvioleta3 жыл бұрын

    Now I'm curious how many Raspberry pi's do you even have? and should make a video about it?

  • @chriholt
    @chriholt3 жыл бұрын

    Very well done as always Chris! I would have been interested in seeing the current out of each battery during their tests. However, it's obvious that lead-acid batteries take the prize, unless you figure in the weight :)

  • @jaykayenn
    @jaykayenn3 жыл бұрын

    You seem to have overlooked the capacity calculation for the powerbank, as they are rated at 3.7v not 5v. Otherwise, fantastic video! That surely took a lot of patience.

  • @BQQBIES
    @BQQBIES3 жыл бұрын

    Heat death of the universe, I can wait.

  • @Coyotehello
    @Coyotehello Жыл бұрын

    Your videos are always such a treat! Thank you.

  • @larrywebber2971
    @larrywebber29713 жыл бұрын

    Immensely and timely video for me Chris. Thanks!

  • @Reziac
    @Reziac3 жыл бұрын

    Lesson learned: when testing battery capacity vs a low-draw computing device, run that device at max CPU, because otherwise it won't finish until sometime after the heat death of the universe. Didn't know Belkin was making that little power bank; I'm looking for another one so there we go.

  • @simpletongeek

    @simpletongeek

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yeah. I was wondering about that. I'd have the RaspiZero at max CPU and WiFi. Then run a cronjob at every minute and hour logging "date >>hour|minute.log" May even do it every second as well While true: sleep 1; date>>second.log Or something like that.

  • @warrengibson7898
    @warrengibson78983 жыл бұрын

    My takeaway: the time has come to say goodbye to Fortran and learn Python!

  • @hxhdfjifzirstc894

    @hxhdfjifzirstc894

    3 жыл бұрын

    What's wrong with PASCAL, buddy?

  • @David_P132

    @David_P132

    3 жыл бұрын

    Gee do they still use Fortran? I learned it when I first started in IT back in 1971 - thought it would be only a historical curiosity by now.

  • @tophlaw4274

    @tophlaw4274

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@David_P132 you'd be surprised that Fortran is still alive and kicking! There are a lot of legacy systems out there as I've recently learned (last year) when an astrophysicist acquaintance asked me if I could look at their system for an upgrade (formula modification) as his programmer was unreachable at the time.

  • @ernestgalvan9037

    @ernestgalvan9037

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@David_P132 ..Lordy, I started on FORTRAN back in 1970… along with COBOL and RPG. Then dived into assembler. All on an IBM 1130… 8k core, 500k single-plater HD. Punch-card. 🤓

  • @David_P132

    @David_P132

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@ernestgalvan9037 We're showing our age guys! Back when we learned IT from the zeros and ones upwards eh?

  • @dreddguy6454
    @dreddguy64543 жыл бұрын

    Nice to see the Pi 3A+ making an appearance. Much underrated SBC.

  • @philiprobinson999
    @philiprobinson9993 жыл бұрын

    Great video, thanks for posting it. I use multiple Pi's to feed adsb data to various sits and found it to be very useful indeed.

  • @BruceWayneReal
    @BruceWayneReal3 жыл бұрын

    So you're telling me that lead acid batteries store for ages and you can run a pi with them for ages? Noted

  • @georgemaragos2378

    @georgemaragos2378

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hi, each product has its own advantage and disadvantage In this case lead acid battery was a similar price to the battery pack and the lead acid unit purchased is able to last 3 times longer The negative aspect is you loose simple portability, while you could mount it all in a small box the usb charger unit can still sort of fit in your pocket or be hand held I believe chris mentioned the lead acid battery will take 12 hours to recharge, i dont know what the usb power bank will require in recharge time but some quick google mentions 2-3 hours So to me if you want portability use the USB powerbank if you want it stationary and less frequent maintenance use the lead acid, is you need it 24/7 then use 2 x lead acid batteries and use battery A when empty plug to battery b then charge A for 12 hours and disconnect - you could do it all with small jumper leads Regards George

  • @martyburgess341
    @martyburgess3413 жыл бұрын

    Perhaps even add a small solar panel to the greenhouse to make it low maintenance 🙂

  • @gam85191
    @gam851913 жыл бұрын

    Wow that's amazing! Great video! I think it would be great use as a backup power source for the raspberry pi.

  • @littlechestnutorchard
    @littlechestnutorchard3 жыл бұрын

    Great subject as always , I am definetly looking for RP to be used in real time applications like green house automation, remote telemetry , climate control, irrigation etc.

  • @alextrusk1713
    @alextrusk17133 жыл бұрын

    I use a zpm from stargate to power my raspberry pi

  • @ExplainingComputers

    @ExplainingComputers

    3 жыл бұрын

    Ah, a very wise move. I here they last a long time.

  • @srtcsb
    @srtcsb3 жыл бұрын

    Really good detail, even for a test like this. I'm not sure I'd have the patience to execute this type of test, but it's good to see how it turned out. Thanks for another great video Chris.

  • @ExplainingComputers

    @ExplainingComputers

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hi Steve! Completing the tests here certainly tried my patience! :)

  • @TradersTradingEdge
    @TradersTradingEdge3 жыл бұрын

    Tremendous testing :) Thanks so much, it's exactly what I needed TODAY ...can't believe you posted this video. I need it for a PiZero Bird Motion Recording Cam. Now I know what I really need :) Until next time, continue your amazing great work.

  • @onepalproductions
    @onepalproductions3 жыл бұрын

    Brilliant! I look forward to the greenhouse automated watering. I'm searching for such a solution myself. Cheers.

  • @tonyweavers4292
    @tonyweavers42923 жыл бұрын

    Hi Chris, thanks for another great video. You really should insert a fuse as close to the 12 Volt battery terminals as possible. If you get a short circuit or fault there is a hell of a lot of current available and it won't end well!