[SOLVED] Is this project a scam?

Is this another Scam from?

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/asap-dash-world-s-fastest-pocket-sized-charger#/story

They claim to be able to fully charge a 5000mAh battery in 15 mins using a 50 watts charger???
Is that even possible? 5000mAh @5 volts = 25 Wh battery.

Assuming a 100% conversion efficiency and a constant charge rate(batteries don't charge at a constant charge rate the last 20% actually takes a lot longer) a 50 watt charger would take 30 mins at the least to charge, right?

5A/h battery in 15 min = 20A, I don't think a USB lead and connector will last long at this current. They don't give an address or a picture of their factory or office, so what do they actually do?
I heard on Radio 4 (BBC), about an Israeli firm that claims to charge a smart phone battery in 30 SECONDS , Err the current would have to be 300A, seems to have gone all quite. Keep your money in your pocket for the time being.
Frank

Exactly!!! and it would be 20 amps at 5 + volts correct? ( based on the circuit diagram they are using multiple cells with balance charging). My guess is they are using 2 or 3 cell sin series which is 7.4 volts at 20 amps which will require a 150 watt power supply. Also what type of battery chemistry can take in 20 amps ?

The only battery technology that might have been able to charge at that rate was that A123 that went bankrupt and got bought by a Chinese company a number of years back. They were using some nanoscale technology for the internals of the battery, which improved the charge/discharge rate of the batteries and lowered the internal resistance. They even claimed that the internal resistance would decrease over many charge/discharge cycles (unlike other Li-ion batteries). As I recall Dewalt used them and so did some electric/hybrid car. I remember the Dewalt impact drill they made charged way faster than the NiMH Dewalt that I own.

I had to reread the description multiple times to understand what they are actually claiming.

Maximum output is clearly specified as 5V/3.1A, most recent smart phones don't take more than 2A
Maximum input is specified inconsistently,

it should be >100W (e.g. 21V/5A) according to the said 5000 mAh in 15 min (re)charging rate
but it's said to be only 50W in the connector specification

As already mentioned, battery and power converter efficiency must be put into calculation, too.

The funny thing is Indiegogo does not have any feature that lets you report this as a scam? there is no "Report this posting" link? Also You cannot post a question to the campaign unless you donate money.

This doesn't give much confidence in anything they are crowdfunding.

Most of these 5000mAH cells are Li based. They are not 5V, but close to 3.7V. That makes a difference.

I do not think that it is possible to get 5000mAH out of any of them. I use a charger with a display and when fully charged it shows 4.1V

When I put it for charging, most common voltage I see is around 3.5V. I would have happy if it has delivered 2500mAH during its discharge from 4V to 3.5V.

The charging current is 375mA and it takes hours. I have not measured the time. I presume 5000mAH is the chemical capacity but usable capacity is close to 1/2 this value.

I always suggest that you should take these specifications will a bucket of salt.

By the way, the 5000mAH DOES not mean that it can deliver 5A for one hour. Or, 0.5A for ten hours. It has been rated (I am not sure) most likely at 100mA discharge rate.

When someone published battery capacity in mAH it drives me crazy. Most power bank maker like Anker publish in mAH assuming 5 volts output. so that was my assumption here.
But we do know that the battery capacity has to be 25Whr (based on the iphone X 3 Capacity claim) so charging a 25 Whr battery using a 50 watt adapter is ridiculous!

A powerbank has a lithium battery cell that is 3.2V when almost dead and its load is disconnected, and is 4.2V when fully charged. Therefore its average voltage is 3.7V.
The powerbank is charged from USB 5V and it has a lithium battery charger circuit in it.
The voltage stepup circuit in the powerbank produces its 5V output to charge a cell phone.

The voltage stepup circuit does not manufacture power, instead it converts power so 5000mAh at 3.7V (18.5Wh) becomes 3700mAh at 5V (18.5Wh) minus some power that makes heat.

A Thunderpower Li-Po battery for powering radio controlled model airplanes is very powerful. The 5000mAh 6-cells (22.2V) battery can be charged at 12C (5A x 12)= 60A so it is fully charged in 5 or 6 minutes. Its maximum allowed continuous discharge current is 5A x 70= 350A and its maximum allowed momentary discharge current is 700A! Last year its cost was $247 and this year they say its cost is less and its maximum currents are more but I could not find this one on their website.

I am trying to understand in in terms of Energy in vs Energy out. For a moment assume that we have an 100% efficient system that charges at constant rate.
So a
50 watt power supply @ 1 hr charge time = 50Wh energy storage
50 Watt power supply@ 30 mins charge time= 25 Wh energy storage
50 watt power supply @ 15 mins charge time=12.5Wh energy storage ( Nowhere near the 18.5 Wh that they claim)

In real world scenario they would have power loss and conversion loss, also batteries don't use the full 50 watts available, batteries in CV mode trickle charge.

Am I missing something or does it not make any sense with the specs provided? its either a typo or their claim is bull----. They have not given the details of their "patented fast charge" technology nor mentioned the battery chemistry that can charge at 20 amps.