Glo Wall charger for the Kobo Glo

[FelineFeral]

Originally Posted by estelle58

I use my USB iPhone charger without problems

I use this all the time too. Works great, add a usb extender and it's not too bad to read while it's plugged in either.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ragnor

I have to say that take care with chinese brands.

Once I bought a cheap USB charger on eBay. I look for every spec, to be exact like I want it. But, as a cheap chinese product, the tolerances were not the same. So even it had marked 5V and 0.7A (for instance), they produce unwanted results on my phone (touch screen giving a bad response), due to an unconstant current.

This is something you can't say looking at specs, so take care!

I picked up a cheap USB charger at a night market to replace a defunct charger for a bottom of the barrel Android tablet which wanted a 5V, 1000ma supply. The one I picked up said it supplied 1200ma at 5 volts on the casing. When I tried using it to charge the tablet, it came up with a insufficient current to charge error message. My handy-dandy DMM said it was outputting 5V with no load but when connected to the tablet dropped to 3.6V so opened up the case. Interesting label on the circuit board inside with "Input: 90-260V, 50-60Hz, Output: 5V, 500ma" on it. I then checked with a 10 ohm load and it handled that with no problems. Dropping to a 5 ohm load and instead of 5V at 1000ma, it was outputting 3.6V at 720ma. At least, the three screws made the case easy to take apart and put back together.

Regards,
David

[Thalinor]

Edit: As pointed out below, this is apparently a generic answer by kobo. Apparently the Glo uses 5v 800 mAh.

http://kobo.intelliresponse.com/answ...y+Kobo+eReader

5v 500 mAh is what Kobo says to use, and I would not go too much higher mAh's or you risk messing up the charging circuit.

Computer USB ports output at 5v 500 mAh, but most USB chargers sold with electronics today output higher volts and amps. I know people say other chargers work, and some have even said as long as the plug fits it will work, but while other chargers may work, you should use the correct voltage and amps for the unit. The statement "if the plug fits it will work" is not only ignorant, its dangerous.

Lithium ion batteries incorrectly charged EXPLODE. I saw the end results of a someone who put LI batteries in backwards to a high end flashlight that did not have a reverse circuit protection and the batteries exploded. Not a huge explosion, but enough to vent a corrosive gas out of the split battery which ended in a broken expensive flashlight.

Do not take chances. Just use the correct charger.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Thalinor

5v 500 mAh is what Kobo says to use, and I would not go too much higher mAh's or you risk messing up the charging circuit.

Computer USB ports output at 5v 500 mAh, but most USB chargers sold with electronics today output higher volts and amps. I know people say other chargers work, and some have even said as long as the plug fits it will work, but while other chargers may work, you should use the correct voltage and amps for the unit. The statement "if the plug fits it will work" is not only ignorant, its dangerous.

I'm sorry, but the device will draw the current it needs. If the adapter is capable of supplying a higher current, and the device can use is, then it will be OK. But if the device doesn't draw the higher current, it won't be used. About the only thing you will notice is that the 2Ah charger will be cooler when charging the ereader than when charging the iPad.

And if you have a USB charger that supplies more than 5V, then it is NOT a USB charger. It is something else. I don't suppose I have looked at that many, but I have never seen a charger that had a USB socket that was not 5V output.

Lithium ion batteries incorrectly charged EXPLODE. I saw the end results of a someone who put LI batteries in backwards to a high end flashlight that did not have a reverse circuit protection and the batteries exploded. Not a huge explosion, but enough to vent a corrosive gas out of the split battery which ended in a broken expensive flashlight.

Yes, Li-Ion batteries can explode if treated badly. But the charging of the battery in these devices are controlled by the device. Unless that charging circuit is damaged, or you open the case and damage the battery, it is very safe.

Hmm, "high end flashlight that did not have a reverse circuit protection" sounds like a contradiction. I would expect a high end device to include an important capability like that.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Thalinor

http://kobo.intelliresponse.com/answ...y+Kobo+eReader

5v 500 mAh is what Kobo says to use, and I would not go too much higher mAh's or you risk messing up the charging circuit.

Computer USB ports output at 5v 500 mAh, but most USB chargers sold with electronics today output higher volts and amps. I know people say other chargers work, and some have even said as long as the plug fits it will work, but while other chargers may work, you should use the correct voltage and amps for the unit. The statement "if the plug fits it will work" is not only ignorant, its dangerous.

Lithium ion batteries incorrectly charged EXPLODE. I saw the end results of a someone who put LI batteries in backwards to a high end flashlight that did not have a reverse circuit protection and the batteries exploded. Not a huge explosion, but enough to vent a corrosive gas out of the split battery which ended in a broken expensive flashlight.

Do not take chances. Just use the correct charger.

Way back when Kobo was using a mini-A USB socket, the accepted charger at Kobo was a Blackberry unit which output 5V at 700ma. Most charging circuits will not draw more current than their design maximum. What you need to worry about is the maximum voltage where some el-cheapo poorly regulated chargers can supply well over 6V according to my handy dandy DMM.

Regards,
David

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by davidfor

And if you have a USB charger that supplies more than 5V, then it is NOT a USB charger. It is something else. I don't suppose I have looked at that many, but I have never seen a charger that had a USB socket that was not 5V output.

iPad charger is labelled as 5.1V, 2.1A. After voltage drop, the iPad likely sees 5V.

Originally Posted by davidfor

Yes, Li-Ion batteries can explode if treated badly. But the charging of the battery in these devices are controlled by the device. Unless that charging circuit is damaged, or you open the case and damage the battery, it is very safe.

Hmm, "high end flashlight that did not have a reverse circuit protection" sounds like a contradiction. I would expect a high end device to include an important capability like that.

I have two Li-Ion battery flashlights. One of them has a battery that can be charged outside the unit but it can't be inserted incorrectly without applying enough force to break the flashlight. The other one is a sealed unit with a AC plug (flashlight, nightlight, emergency light). They were not the most expensive flashlights made thought they might be considered high-end compared to a disposable penlight.

Regards,
David

[Uschiekid]

Originally Posted by Thalinor

http://kobo.intelliresponse.com/answ...y+Kobo+eReader

5v 500 mAh is what Kobo says to use, and I would not go too much higher mAh's or you risk messing up the charging circuit. .

That website is general information about charging ANY kobo ereader. The glo (which after all is the subject of this thread) for instance is NOT 500mAh, but rather 800mAh. Even the touch I think is 700mAh instead of 500. and Aura might be different again. 500mAh only applies to the older models, but they either don't update that website, or they want a one answer fits all, even if not particularly useful for people who want a charger that is the same as their device.

Sort of like your advice that using more than 500mAh is gonna blow up their battery.....

[Thalinor]

Originally Posted by Uschiekid

That website is general information about charging ANY kobo ereader. The glo (which after all is the subject of this thread) for instance is NOT 500mAh, but rather 800mAh. Even the touch I think is 700mAh instead of 500. and Aura might be different again. 500mAh only applies to the older models, but they either don't update that website, or they want a one answer fits all, even if not particularly useful for people who want a charger that is the same as their device.

Sort of like your advice that using more than 500mAh is gonna blow up their battery.....

Good to know on the Glo being 800 mAh. The point of my post was to try and prevent people from plugging in chargers that are way overrated in both watts and amps. If you retread the post I wrote it says that its possible for LI batteries to explode if treated wrong. I don't expect the ereader to blow up if someone used a 1 amp charger but as devices get more advanced, I am sure we will see wall chargers with USB connections reaching 2+ amps as a common occurrence very soon. The more amps the charger outputs the faster the device will charge but again, devices and batteries that are not intended for higher amp charging (fastcharge, etc) could be damaged by using the wrong charger. While technology has advanced, they don't build things like they used to, at least when it comes to quality and longevity. Again, a generalization, but why risk a $130 device when 95% of the people reading this probably have an older USB charger laying around that is under 1 amp, which can be used instead of something like a 2.1 amp apple USB charger?


Do what you want, it's your device and your money. I have seen people post that most devices today are smart enough only to draw the correct amps from a charger that is overrated, and its watts that you need to worry about, but I have also seen plenty of posts with people who now have electronics that don't work because they used the wrong USB charger and fried a device.


@DaveFor Fenix did not include reverse polarity protection in some of their high end lights when first released. They have battery magazines and must of assumed most people wouldn't screw it up. I agree on a $150+ flashlight it should be standard, and I guess others did too because now it seems like all their lights have this protection. It wasn't me who blew up the light, I know how to put in batteries correctly, but I will never forget the incident and its was enough to scare me into having a little more respect for LI batteries. Again, do what you want with your devices, but IMO with everything now-a-days being made as cheaply as possible, mass produced by slave driven kids for pennies a day, I'll stick to what's supposed to be used for charging the unit.

Edited my original post to include 800 mAh instead of 500 in concern to the Glo. Again, thank you for pointing out the mis information.

[TechniSol]

I think the important point here is to buy a decently regulated(think somewhere between 30-50% of the price range minimum -check the cheapies carefully. If you don't know how, avoid them.) 5 volt micro USB charger, you'll be fine as long as it meets the minimum current requirements. Having a larger current rating is not a problem as the internal charging circuit in the device will regulate how much current is drawn. Being able to supply more current is not a negative, it is at worst a bit of over engineering, a thing that will never cause you grief unless carried to extreme.

[Thalinor]

Originally Posted by TechniSol

I think the important point here is to buy a decently regulated(think somewhere between 30-50% of the price range minimum -check the cheapies carefully. If you don't know how, avoid them.) 5 volt micro USB charger, you'll be fine as long as it meets the minimum current requirements. Having a larger current rating is not a problem as the internal charging circuit in the device will regulate how much current is drawn. Being able to supply more current is not a negative, it is at worst a bit of over engineering, a thing that will never cause you grief unless carried to extreme.

Agreed.

Again, the main point was to people's attention to the comment "if the plug fits it will work" because that's probably not the best advice; not for the Glo or any piece of electronics.