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USB to SAE connection

seahors

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Aug 17, 2021
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Newbie here. I have made an ammo box battery box that takes a SAE (solar or AC) input. It is only 12v battery so I don't need big solar panels. I already have a solar panel charger for USB devices (ie. phone) that is actually big enough. https://smile.amazon.com/25000mAh-H...lar+panel+charger+phone&qid=1629221938&sr=8-3

Solar Charger 25000mAh, Hiluckey Outdoor Portable Power Bank with 4 Solar Panels, Fast Charge External Battery Pack with Dual 2.1A Output USB Compatible with Smartphones, Tablets, etc.​


So the solar panel I have has two USB outputs (female). I can't find a connector or cable that is USB male to SAE. I have found lots of cables meant to hook onto battery and provide USB outputs (female) so that is going the "wrong way".

Can I just use the above and put a regular USB male to USB male cord in between? Am I thinking about this all wrong?
 
Sorry, i can barely follow what you have. But what are you trying to accomplish?
Are you trying to connect a 12V battery to a USB device? USB is 5V.

I already have a solar panel charger for USB devices
Is this a solar panel with a built it charger? Or a solar charge controller with USB ports for USB devices?
 
Yes the solar panel does have a build in power bank. I want to use that solar panel (which only has USB outputs) to charge my 12v battery. I already have a SAE connector on the battery which I can charge via AC to SAE.

So on the solar panel/ power bank, I have USB outputs.
For the 12 v battery I have a sae port input

There are these: https://smile.amazon.com/MOTOPOWER-...=1629222057&sprefix=sae+to+usb,aps,204&sr=8-6

But they are meant to go from 12v battery to usb output. So to me, that is backwards and won't work. I don't think I can just put a usb to usb cord in between that connector and the solar panel/power bank.

Hopefully that makes more sense.
 
I want to use that solar panel (which only has USB outputs) to charge my 12v battery.
Oops, editing my post. Just found your link.

Sorry to say, those solar panels and battery pack are really dinky and will never do what you are looking to do: charge a 12V battery (especially from 5V USB). Those little panels will probably take several days to charge just the little battery pack.

If you want to charge a 12V battery, and want to do it with solar, its not very hard or often not expensive to do. What is your 12V battery? Lead acid or lithium? Size in amp hours? Do you have a specific use or power requirement for this battery?
 
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You built a battery in an ammo box. What is the capacity of the battery (in amp-hours)?

To charge your 12V battery with solar panels you need solar panels and a solar charge controller. The little solar charger from Amazon you linked is not even remotely close to what you need to charge a 12V battery. That little charger has 5W of solar panels and it has its own 3.7V 25Ah battery. Its only use is to power USB devices at 5V.
 
This is not a battery charger. I would not use this to try to charge a battery.
Yes it's not a charger, but who knows - may be his battery has an embedded charger. As I's said already - it hard to recommend something without knowing the battery spec.
 
OK - Thank you. So the non-usb end isn't a SAE connector. The attached pic is my input to my battery. It works as I trickle charge it via AC charger. What do I do to get the non-usb end to be a SAE connection?
By looking to your SAE connector I can't figure out which voltage/current your battery required for a trickle charge. Can you post a link to your battery spec?
 
so maybe I was just trying to utilize my existing solar panel/power bank for something I shouldn't be trying to do.
I was trying to avoid buying another set of solar panels.
Attached are pics of ammo box with battery. Might Max ML15-L12. 12V 15 amp hour
 

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The connector doesn't give us any useful information. We need to know the battery voltage (It is unlikely to be 12V exactly), the battery chemistry (Lead Acid, Lithium etc., and it's capacity in Ah or mAh)

It is highly unlikely that you will be able to charge it with a simple adapter from the solar panel that you have. That panel is very specific to powering USB devices.
 
so maybe I was just trying to utilize my existing solar panel/power bank for something I shouldn't be trying to do.
I was trying to avoid buying another set of solar panels.
Attached are pics of ammo box with battery. Might Max ML15-L12. 12V 15 amp hour
Your battery already has a solar charge controller. Your could buy a simple and cheap solar panel then. Search Amazon for 10W solar panel. You should be able to find one for about $30.
 
Your battery already has a solar charge controller. Your could buy a simple and cheap solar panel then. Search Amazon for 10W solar panel. You should be able to find one for about $30.
Right. I built the ammo box (battery, controller, sae input and various outputs). I was just trying to avoid buying a solar panel if the one I had for charging specifically USB devices would work.

It sounds like I am trying to bark up the wrong tree. I will just give in and buy some solar panels for the ammo box. Thanks for your patience.
 
Thanks for all your feedback. I will go shopping and see what looks best to do now.
 
Look in the manual/specs for your solar charge controller. It probably tells you about the amount of solar panel it can handle.

BTW - your 12V 15Ah battery is 180Wh. The little portable solar charger you asked about is 3.7V 25Ah which is 92.5Wh. In theory this means that the USB ports on your ammo case battery will last twice as long as the little solar charger. However, your battery is lead acid and must not be discharged below 50% giving your ammo case battery a useful value of 90Wh. The solar charge has LiPo and I don't know how much useful capacity they actually have but it's more than 50%.
 
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