Today I have an Omars AC Powerbank. This is a little different from the powerbanks I have taken a look at in the past. This one has an AC output jack on it that’s good for up to 80W. It also has 2 USB ports that are capable of up to 3A each. Thanks to Omars for sending this to me to take a look at. Pickup this Omars AC Powerbank on Amazon https://amzn.to/2oh65e1 Save 10% with the code OMARS80W
Construction
Construction of this Powerbank is mostly plastic. It’s quite large, It’s pretty big, and heavy. Think ream of paper but not quite as wide. I measured the weight at 934G. It feels decently constructed and I would guess internally there may be a metal structure inside to keep it rigid. Omars also makes a model of this powerbank with twice the capacity in what I can tell the same footprint. To me it seems like this model the batteries are near the rear because of how it balances. On the front there is a button to turn it on, and 2 standard USB ports. Under the cover on the left is the ungrounded AC plug, with a manual switch to turn it on and off.
The manual isn’t bad but it’s not great either. It’s pretty short and generic. It’s not the level I would expect for an $80 electronic. Packaging was a brown cardboard box with an Omars sticker sealing it all in. there was a good amount of foam keeping everything in place.
Power/Features
The manual does say that the AC port is using Fixed wave inverter and is not suitable for small motors. I tested it with an AC fan and it worked but introduced a wine in the motor that I figured is not healthy. This is unfortunate but not uncommon with consumer DC to AC inverters.
I charged my laptop (With it powered off) from 6% to 100% using the Omars power bank . My laptop has a 56wh battery and the Omars has an 88wh. I was pleasantly surprised that after this full charge the powerbank indicated it had between 50-75% of power left. My killowatt meter showed 0.5kwh so this adds up. Losses due to conversions were less than what I expected. With my laptop I would expect about 2 full charges out of this powerbank.
Uses for this I can see being places where size and weight are less important but you need to keep your AC devices. Car camping, emergency preparedness,
Recharging
I completely discharged the powerbank and plugged it into the included 12V barrel wall charger and it charged in right at 3 hours. I thought this was a great charge speed given the large capacity. When measured on my kilowatt meter, it was pulling 36W at the beginning. What I didn’t love is the use of the
Conclusion
The Omars AC Powerbank does a good job at what it claims to do, I had no problems with the way it operates while being reasonable. It would be nice if small motors worked well with it, and it did work to power a fan. I can see potentially using it to charge a laptop once while car camping maybe or at a convention but in doing so you pay a pretty sizeable penalty in size and weight. This isn’t something that I would want to hike with at least in this size. As long as you recognize the the limitation of this type of powerbank and they fit your application you won’t be disappointed in having one.