miniSpinners are 12 volt devices, and many owners run them from rechargeable batteries. It's a great convenience. Because a miniSpinner only draws an average of 0.5 to 1.0 amp, a relatively small battery can easily run it all day long. Here's an example of our recommended solution:
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One of the simplest solutions to battery operation is to use a USB-C adapter or USB-C cable that we offer plus a power supply (battery or AC charger) that has the specifications shown in yellow in the image below. You're looking for the USB-C Port Output and that it will supply 12 volts at 2.5 amps or so:
An older and less desirable battery solution we have used in the past is a source that will supply 12 volts directly:
- 12 volt output (CAUTION: if your battery has multiple outputs, be certain to set it to 12 volts!);
- Power connector is 5.5mm x 2.1mm, center positive (most common configuration);
- Recommended capacity 5,000 - 20,000 mAh (figure about 1-2 hours of run time for each 1,000 mAh of capacity).
- More capacity in mAh (milliamp-hours) will give more spinning time.
This type of battery has been problematic sometimes because:
- Some batteries turn off after a period of non-use so you need to turn them on again;
- Some batteries offer various voltages so they need to be set to the correct voltage, and the method of setting the voltage is not always obvious;
- The cables tend to be battery-specific, so if cables are lost it can be a challenge to replace them;
- The batteries tend to be larger than the newer USB-C solutions.
If you would like to go this route,
The batteries below can be configured to output 12 volts but they're an older solution, more expensive, and often more complicated:
*TalentCell Rechargeable 12V 38400mAh
*Krisdonia Power Bank 50000 mAh
The following batteries have inverters that produce 110 volts AC power, therefore they are not nearly as efficient as the batteries above. But they are very simple to use and will work with either the miniSpinner® Pro or the Classic.
*Talentcell Rechargeable 12V 11000mAh
And, if you want to play with solar, here's something for you! I don't recommend solar for powering your miniSpinner directly as the output voltage will vary too much to work well, and in intense sunlight the voltage will be too high.
It would, however, be just fine for charging one of the batteries.
*ZeroKor Portable Power Bank with Solar Panel bundle
If you have one of the batteries that turns itself off when not in use, try one of these lights! We love them!