Zap & Go claims charging in 5 minutes - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: lnpurnell
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 07, 2015, 01:26:57 pm
content: This is a crowdfunded 'Graphene' Supercapacitor.I smell the bulls**t already but they have raised a lot of money and just got investment, I know Dave has just done a 'How to Debunk a Product' on the Batteriser but it would be good to do one on the fanciful claims of this company and the limitations of ultra fast charging batteries (such as the power delivery from charger to cell)https://www.zapandgocharger.com/http://www.gizmag.com/zap-and-go-supercapacitor-charger/34228/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=1ae1d4ed20-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-1ae1d4ed20-89949198Disclaimer: I run a company based in the UK (Petalite) that has created an external battery that charges in 15 minutes (2.6Ah cell charging at 4C), using existing, certified technology and it winds me up when we are constantly compared to vaporware.Thanks,Leigh.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 07, 2015, 01:54:29 pm
content: It is possible to charge supercapacitor that fast. However charger must be pretty beefy. The question is if they can fit charger and supercapacitor with required capacitance to get stated 1.5 Ah in that enclosure. Also they claim supercap to be graphene one (reduced size), though I don't know any to be commercially available.

author: Rasz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2015, 02:13:37 pm
content: They are most likely legit, probably licensed their tech from that kid doing his own carbon nanotube capacitors in the kitchen.remember that scam?http://www.eevblog.com/2014/07/28/graphene-lithium-ion-capacitor-kickstarter-bs/https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shawnpwest/30-second-charging-rechargeable-battery/commentsgotta love all the latest comments by all those retarded believer suckers, NOW they are smart all of a sudden :DD

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2015, 10:21:02 pm
content: Rating a supercap in Ah is confusing, since that depends on voltage which drops linearly with charge. It should be in Wh.This is the size of a ~1.5Ah @ 2.7V supercap:http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Maxwell%203000F%20supercap%20UK.htmlUnlike the others in the past, at least this product appears to be in the rough size range and not like an AA battery... provided the hand in the pictures is a large one.Charging that one in 5 minutes from a regular outlet is definitely possible - it holds ~11kJ of energy, whereas a standard 15A @ 120V outlet can supply 540kJ in 5 minutes at full power.

author: lnpurnell
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 09, 2015, 09:54:32 am
content: That is the main problem, they seem to only showing half the story. IN the video, they claim 5 minute charging but show a bank of Maxwell supercaps doing the work.They are also using a 'quasi-constant' 40a charger that is the size of a matchbook, that alone is an impressive claim.It is not the fact that a capacitor can charge in 5 minutes, its the fact that they are claiming they can do it in a very small footprint utilising Graphene.Unless I am wrong and they have just invented the smallest switch mode power supply known to man

author: lnpurnell
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 09, 2015, 09:57:10 am
content: Quote from: Rasz on July 07, 2015, 02:13:37 pmAt least there wasn't a Kickstarter website that existed when Cold Fusion was 'discovered'.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2015, 12:11:24 pm
content: I've seen similarry sized supercaps, and the capacity seems OK. For those I've also concluded that a AA Nickel battery holds almost the same energy, while the size is the fraction (like 1:20). So they are not really good for long term energy storage, like this guy wants it to.

author: GoneTomorrow
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 01:48:40 am
content: Dunno what's with the fascination with supercaps and charging stuff. Supercaps' claim to fame is their insane current (like that Maxwell above, 2200A rated max, 9000A short circuit). Their energy density is very low however, MUCH worse than lithium-ion.Assuming that thing has the standard supercap voltage of 2.5V, at 1500mAh, that's only 3.75Wh, pretty awful for something that size, and won't charge much of anything (my phone has a 7.5Wh battery)

author: HAL2100
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 03, 2016, 02:03:50 am
content: The newest version of the Zap&Go still claims 5 minute charge. The old (cylindrical) one claimed 1.5Ah. The new one looks bigger. In the details on their web site there is a claim to having tested it at European 230V 40A (I don't know many outlets that can deliver that current, most are limited to 10A, some to 16A and the older ones can be as little as 5A). 40A is not kosher!So, 40A for 5 minutes gets you 3.3 Ah. Assume 100% efficiency in all directions and that gets you about 4000F at 5.5V, or 8000F per cell.Maxwell make 2.7V 3000F cells that are 0.5kg. So that's about 6 cells or 3kg. Big Beastie!More likely they are still getting the 1.5Ah, so that's about right, being 5 minutes at 16A and requiring 2x3000F cells, or about 1kg.As many have pointed out, the really exciting bit is their transformer, which they have claimed is exciting and patented.The graphene bit is a bullshit. There may be graphene in there, but there are no graphene supercapacitors that have more energy than ordinary activated carbon supercapacitors. Their MSDS claims graphene-carbon composite (and ioic liquid electrolyte). I suspect they've just sprinkled a bit of graphene in to be able to tell the truth that it has graphene in it.So the device probably works as described. But who cares? 1500mAh is nothing. My phone has a 3Ah battery, let alone a iPad or other tablet at >7Ah.There are Li-ion batteries that can charge at up to 100C, easily 10C. Why make a supercapacitor?