Anyone use a external battery to charge Garmin while ridong?

tonysj

Hi All,
I have a Garmin Edge 1000 and when i go on longer rides 4 plus hours the battery shows its low and only just manages to record the ride before closing down with no power left in the battery.
Im wondering if anyone has used a external battery, like the small mobile chargers, to plug into the Garmin charger socket to keep the battery topped up.
Any advice appreciated.
Regards.
T.

PMark

Halfords do a range of lights that can also be used to charge USB devices. They can be mounted using the standard GoPro mount under your garmin, plus they are water proof too.

This is the one I have:
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-accessories/bike-lights/halfords-advanced-1600-lumen-front-bike-light-253334.html

Not all the mounting adapters are included when you buy the lights, some of them you have to buy as extras though.

elbowloh

It's should last more than 4 hours? My old edge 800 and current 820 do at least 10. Is there something wrong with the unit?

elbowloh

According to Garmin, your 1000 should last 15 hours.

gethinceri

Check all the power saving tricks first...
brightness low as poss
gps not glonass
don’t use it to navigate
data transfer at 1 second
etc. i can’t remember them all

ibr17xvii

Contacting Garmin should deffo be your 1st port of call.

4 hours on a full charge can't be right.

tonysj

markdurdle said:

Halfords do a range of lights that can also be used to charge USB devices. They can be mounted using the standard GoPro mount under your garmin, plus they are water proof too.

This is the one I have:
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-accessories/bike-lights/halfords-advanced-1600-lumen-front-bike-light-253334.html

Not all the mounting adapters are included when you buy the lights, some of them you have to buy as extras though.

Nice one, I wasnt aware some lights can charge other devices. Will have to check mine out.
So it is possible to charge the garmin while riding and using it?
I think I'll check that out as ive had the Garmin about 4 years.
T.

def_defyr

I have. I have a top tube bag instead of a seat tube bag, and on a few very long rides have thrown in a small charging brick and short usb cable. you can charge the Garmin on the go; same with cellphone. Using an HRM and various route-finding options can really chew through battery life.

Edited to add -- bikes with dynos in the front hub should be able to charge any device. There are. a few bikes that now have USB ports built into the top tube...

RedClip

Testing a Garmin 830 whilst at home, I can connect the unit to a power bank and use/charge it. i.e. it doesn't switch to "charging mode" when connected.
Maybe the Edge 1000 will be the same?

brundonbianchi

I use the official Garmin charge pack when I’m using my Edge 1030. It’s actually a very neat solution.

womack

I just use a Bryton, lot longer battery life.

davep1

I used to charge a Garmin Forerunner 310 when on rides. Some of the older units have the socket somewhere you can't mount it on the bike whilst charging, and some units stop recording when you plug in something to charge them, but I think the more modern ones they have this sorted.
It should last more then 4 hours though. I bought a Giant Neostrack because of the claimed 33 hours between charges, which takes a lot of the "charge anxierty" out of starting a ride with a unit you know you haven't charged for a time. Still managed to die on me on Sunday though!

navrig2

For the models which stop recording when a cable is attached, I think, you need an OTG (On the go) cable. Some the pins are swapped or are blank only allowing in power transfer.

mrb123

On a very long ride last summer I taped a small power pack to my stem and plugged it in to the Garmin when the charge started getting down.

mrb123

mrb123 said:

On a very long ride last summer I taped a small power pack to my stem and plugged it in to the Garmin when the charge started getting down.

One of these.
https://www.wilko.com/kit-essentials-power-bank-2000mah-black/p/0484200?gclid=CjwKCAiA1eKBBhBZEiwAX3gqlzaWilUEfPdY2Yziv1X5ApnNTpnVjrpwBGoZAUt4hOUvFJ4uoND_DBoCfO4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

tonysj

mrb123 said:

mrb123 said:

On a very long ride last summer I taped a small power pack to my stem and plugged it in to the Garmin when the charge started getting down.

One of these.
https://www.wilko.com/kit-essentials-power-bank-2000mah-black/p/0484200?gclid=CjwKCAiA1eKBBhBZEiwAX3gqlzaWilUEfPdY2Yziv1X5ApnNTpnVjrpwBGoZAUt4hOUvFJ4uoND_DBoCfO4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks for the heads up. Ive tried a small power pack when recording and it works fine and charges while recording. Just got to jiggle how to mount it so the cable connector doesnt foul the bars. 👍

elbowloh

Seriously, have you spoken to Garmin? It should be lasting at least 10 hours on a charge

mrb123

tonysj said:

mrb123 said:

mrb123 said:

On a very long ride last summer I taped a small power pack to my stem and plugged it in to the Garmin when the charge started getting down.

One of these.
https://www.wilko.com/kit-essentials-power-bank-2000mah-black/p/0484200?gclid=CjwKCAiA1eKBBhBZEiwAX3gqlzaWilUEfPdY2Yziv1X5ApnNTpnVjrpwBGoZAUt4hOUvFJ4uoND_DBoCfO4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks for the heads up. Ive tried a small power pack when recording and it works fine and charges while recording. Just got to jiggle how to mount it so the cable connector doesnt foul the bars. 👍

When I had it on charge I had to have the Garmin upside down on the mount as otherwise the cable fouled the mount! Didn't take long to charge up though.

ddraver

Garmin do their own power pack but as has been said, it should be doing 4 hours easily. Unless you've been using it maxed out all day, every day (and even then...)

tonysj

elbowloh said:

Seriously, have you spoken to Garmin? It should be lasting at least 10 hours on a charge

I've tweeked the power saving settings and although i haven't been on a long ride it does seem better. I will know when i do a long ride next time but not doing lengthy rides yet. First time outside on roads yesterday so will be a few weeks-ish. Thanks T.

pmannion9

elbowloh said:

Seriously, have you spoken to Garmin? It should be lasting at least 10 hours on a charge

This is a common issue with these devices after a few solid years use.
I have same issues with an Edge 520 - Almost 5 years old - Used 5-6 days a week.
Turning off all brightness/bluetooth if you can/ and navigation helps but still woeful performance compare to advertised figures. Have used a power bank for longer rides. So annoying when these expensive "Computers" lifespan is basically determined by the battery.. You can get them replaced I believe or do it yourself but a bit tricky....Obviously dont want to bin it while it works but it just means I charge it every other day which in turn probably degrades the battery even more...

Will be interesting to hear how some of then newer devices are fairing with battery life after a few years use ..Edge 530 anyone?

tonysj

pmannion9 said:

elbowloh said:

Seriously, have you spoken to Garmin? It should be lasting at least 10 hours on a charge

This is a common issue with these devices after a few solid years use.
I have same issues with an Edge 520 - Almost 5 years old - Used 5-6 days a week.
Turning off all brightness/bluetooth if you can/ and navigation helps but still woeful performance compare to advertised figures. Have used a power bank for longer rides. So annoying when these expensive "Computers" lifespan is basically determined by the battery.. You can get them replaced I believe or do it yourself but a bit tricky....Obviously dont want to bin it while it works but it just means I charge it every other day which in turn probably degrades the battery even more...

Will be interesting to hear how some of then newer devices are fairing with battery life after a few years use ..Edge 530 anyone?

I'm only riding indoors at the moment and turned the screen brightness off, I've turned the display to 15 seconds but it goes off far to often as I ride to the onscreen data ( watts and HR ). I have already had to change the On/Off power rear case after the button fell apart ( common problem with well used units ). As Ive had the unit apart and change the rear cover, which includes soldering a few wires, will Garmin refuse to let me exchange the unit for a Newer model as mentioned above?
Thanks All.
T.

paul_smith_srcc

I have a Garmin 810 l still have the original battery after eight years, it's not as good as it was when new but I will still comfortably get about 7 hours following a course with tbt directions on the map screen; longer if just using one of the data screens; to maximise I turn off Bluetooth and screen brightness to minimum yet it's still sufficient to navigate by.

If I needed I will carry a power bank in my bar bag, the USB lead reaches perfectly. Last summer I rode an 8 hour day using tbt on the map screen, mid way around the course I was down to 50% battery so I knew I would be pushing my luck just using the 810's battery reserve so I plugged in the Power Bank. When I got home it had charged back up to 100%, the Powerbank (a Goji G10PBWP17) itself has battery indicator with four LEDs so you know how much charge it has left; it had all four still lit.

I already had that power bank, I didn't buy it with this in mind, it's waterproof and robust but you can get them much smaller, lighter and cheaper

paul_smith_srcc

l have a Garmin 810, I still have the original battery after eight years, it's not as good as it was when new but I will still comfortably get about 7 hours following a course with tbt directions on the map screen; longer if just using one of the data screens; to maximise I turn off Bluetooth and screen brightness to minimum yet it's still sufficient to navigate by.

If I needed I will carry a power bank in my bar or top tube bag, the USB lead reaches perfectly. Last summer I rode an 8 hour day using tbt on the map screen, mid way around the course I was down to 50% battery so I knew I would be pushing my luck just using the 810's battery reserve so I plugged in the Power Bank. When I got home it had charged back up to 100%, the Powerbank (a Goji G10PBWP17) itself has a battery indicator with four LEDs so you know how much charge it has left; it had all four still lit.

I already had that power bank, I didn't buy it with this in mind, it's waterproof and robust but you can get them much smaller, lighter and cheaper

paul_smith_srcc

I accidentally added an image to a new post instead of the post above and now I can't seem to delete it? Instead of replicating the post; some trivia about my eight year old 810.

A few months ago the Power Button perished and totally disintegrated; there seem to be no spares to rectify this. A Google search did show that some had used an old base unit with a working power button then swapped the internals over; sadly I'm the kind of person that would probably break it completely attempting that; plus the 'second hand' base units, that I found at least, were not cheap! But, I did find a much simpler workaround. First I cleaned out what was left of the original button, then I made a new one by cutting up an unused 'packing piece' from an old bike light or computer bracket, I dare say most of us probably have some of those kicking about; but something similar would no doubt suffice.

It was quite easy to trim a bit down with some scissors, roughly to a size to fill the hole then and to a depth so that it was nearly flush with the side of the 810, too shallow it could fall inside the unit and too deep and the 'silicone case' would not fit snuggly, to avoid the former I started with it too deep and trimmed a bit at a time until the case fitted accurately. Although it is not actually attached like the original, or a perfect fit, the 'silicone case' holds it securely in place; if anything it works better than the original and the case does give some protection from the elements; mind you if it was pouring with rain I would probably remove to put it in my pocket when just using the unit to collect ride data as opposed to using it to navigate. I'm not sure how long this work round will last but short term it has stopped me throwing it in the bin that's for sure!



I did contact Garmin Support to see if a button was available as a spare, although they said 'no' they did offer me 30% off a current model; I am very tempted with an 830!

tonysj

paul_smith_srcc said:

I accidentally added an image to a new post instead of the post above and now I can't seem to delete it? Instead of replicating the post; some trivia about my eight year old 810.

A few months ago the Power Button perished and totally disintegrated; there seem to be no spares to rectify this. A Google search did show that some had used an old base unit with a working power button then swapped the internals over; sadly I'm the kind of person that would probably break it completely attempting that; plus the 'second hand' base units, that I found at least, were not cheap! But, I did find a much simpler workaround. First I cleaned out what was left of the original button, then I made a new one by cutting up an unused 'packing piece' from an old bike light or computer bracket, I dare say most of us probably have some of those kicking about; but something similar would no doubt suffice.

It was quite easy to trim a bit down with some scissors, roughly to a size to fill the hole then and to a depth so that it was nearly flush with the side of the 810, too shallow it could fall inside the unit and too deep and the 'silicone case' would not fit snuggly, to avoid the former I started with it too deep and trimmed a bit at a time until the case fitted accurately. Although it is not actually attached like the original, or a perfect fit, the 'silicone case' holds it securely in place; if anything it works better than the original and the case does give some protection from the elements; mind you if it was pouring with rain I would probably remove to put it in my pocket when just using the unit to collect ride data as opposed to using it to navigate. I'm not sure how long this work round will last but short term it has stopped me throwing it in the bin that's for sure!



I did contact Garmin Support to see if a button was available as a spare, although they said 'no' they did offer me 30% off a current model; I am very tempted with an 830!

I like the fix Good effort.

I'm wondering if the 30% discount is the standard discount from Garmin?

Anyone else gone down this route with Garmin?
Without checking I'm wondering what sort of prices stores are offering on the New Garmin models and which is the cheaper option?

T

pilot_pete

RedClip said:

Testing a Garmin 830 whilst at home, I can connect the unit to a power bank and use/charge it. i.e. it doesn't switch to "charging mode" when connected.
Maybe the Edge 1000 will be the same?

You need an ‘on the go’ USB cable or adapter that doesn’t have the data pins connected. This means it only has the power pins which allows the Garmin to charge whilst still recording an activity.

You can just put a thin bit of sellotape over the two pins (search YouTube, it’s out there) in an existing USB cable, which will achieve the same thing if you can get it in there with a sharp craft knife accurately. It might not stay in place once you remove it...

I had a 1000 which slowly started to lose battery life over time. Garmin quote the maximum battery life which will have every function turned off! If you turn everything off you will improve life, mainly backlight and wireless internet connection (stops it searching for a network).

In the end I upgraded to a 1030 and bought a power pack for a massive 250 mile ride last summer - carried the power pack the whole bloody way and never needed it! Over 16hrs, with 14hrs+ ride time...

PP