Sprint store employee claims: car charger works 3x faster

[gbm85]

people who use the car charger more often than not are the people whose batteries take a dump quicker than just house chargers.

One might assume that people using car chargers are heavy users, and their heavy use causes their batteries to "take a dump". The car charger may not be the cause, only an indicator.

 

[Caitlyn McKenzie]

The most likely cause for problems is overheating, which considering where cars are and their environment, is not surprising. A car's interior can get over 130F easily, and combined with a battery attempting to charge? Yeah, it's dangerous.

 

[Mark_in_Tulsa]

I'll throw a wrench in the works....

What if I used an an 120 volt car adapter and then plugged my wall charger into that.

I CAN NOW CHARGE MY PHONE TWICE AS FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THINK OF THE POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[McPlot]

With my Evo, using the car charger Best Buy sold me in the bundle on launch day, The Evo does charge 2-3x faster in the car. I have no idea why. I know about amps, and power outputs, so I am not going to give specs on it like many other people have been. I just know that it charges faster in my car. I can drain the battery, plug it in my car, 20 minutes later have a full charge. I cannot explain it, nor will I try. I just accept it happens, and like that it does.

 

[androidian]

Well my car is really fast, so my phone charges really fast in my car too!!

 

[Caitlyn McKenzie]

With my Evo, using the car charger Best Buy sold me in the bundle on launch day, The Evo does charge 2-3x faster in the car. I have no idea why. I know about amps, and power outputs, so I am not going to give specs on it like many other people have been. I just know that it charges faster in my car. I can drain the battery, plug it in my car, 20 minutes later have a full charge. I cannot explain it, nor will I try. I just accept it happens, and like that it does.

It's called a placebo. Not to mention, if your battery charged from empty to full in 20 minutes it'd likely explode, as that's way too fast of charging.

 

[workindev]

With my Evo, using the car charger Best Buy sold me in the bundle on launch day, The Evo does charge 2-3x faster in the car. I have no idea why. I know about amps, and power outputs, so I am not going to give specs on it like many other people have been. I just know that it charges faster in my car. I can drain the battery, plug it in my car, 20 minutes later have a full charge. I cannot explain it, nor will I try. I just accept it happens, and like that it does.

Charging the Evo's 1500mAH battery in 20 min would mean the Evo is drawing well over 4A of current, which it has already been pointed out is not possible. The Evo is going to draw a maximum of 1A when it is charging to keep the battery within safe operating temperatures. Charging at 4x that rate would cause the battery to heat up to extremely unsafe temperatures, risking a dangerous explosion. Search "lithium battery fire" on YouTube to see what kind of fire you would be dealing with.

I would assume that the Evo has thermal protection circuitry built in to shut the device down if the battery reaches dangerous temperatures, so the risk of a fire is going to be low. But a full charge in 20 minutes is just not realistically going to happen without the phone shutting itself down, or worse, the battery bursting into flames.

Vincent Law has posted the correct information about the charging specs of the Evo. A 5V 1A wall charger (like the one that is supplied with the phone), or a 5V 1A car charger is going to be the fastest way to charge the phone, and that is going to realistically take at least 1.5 hrs to fully charge the battery.

Plugging the phone into a USB port on your computer will probably take ~2x as long because of the 500mA current limit from the on board USB power supply.

 

[jeeplj8]

Wow - had no idea I started such a debate.

One reason I asked (and for the record, I generally don't believe Sprint store employee's) was the experience I had with my Pre. They will not charge from a generic micro USB charger. I did not believe the Sprint store employee, and had to eat 34.95 worth of crow when I bought another car charger. My understanding on the Pre was that other micro USB chargers did not produce enough current, and the Pre specific charger did.

The Evo will charge off either, but I have no idea the difference.

BTW - the Pre specific charger states "output 5v/.85 A for use with Palm Micro USB devices."

 

[MissShayona]

According to my GM, (I work at Sprint) he claims this is true. No idea how, lol.

 

[Caitlyn McKenzie]

According to my GM, (I work at Sprint) he claims this is true. No idea how, lol.

Ask him how that's true, then print out this post and tell him he's a moron. If you don't feel comfortable saying that to his face, tell him I said it.

Charging the Evo's 1500mAH battery in 20 min would mean the Evo is drawing well over 4A of current, which it has already been pointed out is not possible. The Evo is going to draw a maximum of 1A when it is charging to keep the battery within safe operating temperatures. Charging at 4x that rate would cause the battery to heat up to extremely unsafe temperatures, risking a dangerous explosion. Search "lithium battery fire" on YouTube to see what kind of fire you would be dealing with.

I would assume that the Evo has thermal protection circuitry built in to shut the device down if the battery reaches dangerous temperatures, so the risk of a fire is going to be low. But a full charge in 20 minutes is just not realistically going to happen without the phone shutting itself down, or worse, the battery bursting into flames.

Vincent Law has posted the correct information about the charging specs of the Evo. A 5V 1A wall charger (like the one that is supplied with the phone), or a 5V 1A car charger is going to be the fastest way to charge the phone, and that is going to realistically take at least 1.5 hrs to fully charge the battery.

Plugging the phone into a USB port on your computer will probably take ~2x as long because of the 500mA current limit from the on board USB power supply.

Also, FYI, computers can charge faster than 500ma, but it has to be negotiated, and USB devices cannot expect it. It's rare though, especially on laptops.

 

[c0c0nutsp0rt]

According to my GM, (I work at Sprint) he claims this is true. No idea how, lol.

Ask if he has an Degree in Engineering or any background in electronics. The answer is most likely no. Welcome to Electronics 101.