Energizer XPAL XP18000A Power Pack for laptops, smartphones and small devices

I finally got myself the Energizer XP18000A power brick! For the longest of time, I didn't see a need for such a device as the capacity, and size, is far too big to carry around on a daily basis. Moreover, laptops nowadays have batteries that last over 6 hours when running office productivity software or replying emails. Weighing slightly more than 500g, carrying the power brick to extend the life of a laptop didn't seem to make much sense in everyday context.

For me, the only thing that needs recharging on the go is my power hungry iphone. Every time I unplug the phone is like unplugging the life support off a patient. Just a few hours of heavy usage will drain its battery down to red. To deal with that, I have a small mobile charger that runs on 2x AA batteries that is able to extend its life long enough for comfortable usage until I find a power socket.

The reason why I bought such a big capacity power pack is because it was on promotion, at $170 instead of the usual $250+, and also because my mum's laptop AC adapter decided to quit and the original replacement charger costs $170. The energizer XP18000A was the obvious choice as it can double up as universal laptop charger as well as a external battery.

On first look, you may be worried if the power pack is compatible with your laptop in terms of the cable tip as well as voltage. With regards to the cable tip, it came with one that fits a Fujitsu as well as a Dell - these are the two laptop brands I use. What about the voltage? Most laptop takes 19V, which is exactly what one of the ports on the power pack supplies. So, no issues there.

 The Energizer XPAL juxtaposed with my Dell Vostro laptop. The XPAL is easy to carry around due to its slim and compact size.

One of the slight concern you may notice is the relatively low maximum rated output of the battery. At 66.5W, it is underpowered when paired with a full sized laptop. My Core i7 Dell laptop immediately detects and warn of the underpowered charger on start up. When I ran it solely on the power pack with my laptop battery removed, it ran at a painfully slow speed to make do with whatever power it receives. However, the moment I re-inserted my laptop battery, the usual performance returned. I thought that was rather smart as power from some other countries or off-grid power supplies may not be so powerful.

This is the warning pop up I get when I plug the XP18000A in. It is, in fact, a good thing that the battery stops charging by default so that you don't drain the power bank unnecessarily.

 

 The supplied AC adapter is an efficiency class V power supply, which is the best class possible. A 40w supply translate to an approximate 2 hour charging time for our 70Wh XP18000A battery.

Oh look, a simple charge indicator. You'll need to press this button to initiate charging a USB device.

There are 3 outputs: The one on the left is meant for small devices such as video cameras, wireless routers, the USB is capable of supplying up to 2.1 A which is suitable for tablets while the rightmost port is supposedly for small laptops as it is limited to 66W (a full fledged laptop takes in about 80-90W)

In order to optimize the use of the power pack, it is important to disable battery charging for the laptop so that no energy is wasted recharging another battery - there are inefficiencies involved and drains more power form the power pack.

The XP18000A is also able to charge my iphone and ipad normally, if you are wondering.

Upside:
The XP18000A is not only the biggest capacity battery pack from Energizer, but also the most versatile. You can power 3 items at once - 19V (laptop), 12V (small devices) and USB powered devices although it is not recommended as it will put more stain on the battery. But it is nice to know that you can if you need to do so.

The Lithium Polymer battery has one of the highest energy density is squarish in shape, allowing the entire power pack to be shaped in a compact and slim shape.

Downside:
My only grip is that the battery is encased within the plastic shell, which makes it impossible to replace on your own when it reaches the end of its service life. This meant that the circuitry, which is likely to last a long time, is wasted. I would prefer if they used 18650 batteries instead so you can easily replace them as higher capacity ones become commonplace.

It does not come with a car adapter, which does make it a little less versatile. It may not be so useful in Singapore because the battery will take a 2 hour drive to charge up while the typical car journeys here are less than 30min. However, if you are in a bigger country, a car adapter will be awesome if you live off your car. Nevertheless, do not leave it inside a car as high temperatures will reduce the battery's lifespan.

Who is this product for:
This is no doubt an expensive product. However, it makes sense to buy it to replace other malfunctioned parts such as a spoilt AC adapter or a dead laptop battery as these items, if bought from their original brand, will cost quite a lot too.

Due to its large battery capacity, it will be excellent for longer trips away from the electrical socket. Another lesser known property of Lithium based batteries is that is able to withstand low temperatures without losing too much performance compared to the ubiquitous alkaline or Nickel Metal Hydride.

HDB thoughts - Car dreams

Read my previous article: http://leothoughts.blogspot.sg/2014/06/hdb-thoughts-let-cpf-pay-it-slowly-or.html


In Singapore, the car is a very common aspiration people strive for besides wanting a home of their own. After several years of working, it is inevitable that one may start to toy with the idea of buying a car to pamper oneself. It is sort of a social progression where people want to start enjoying the fruits of their labour and graduate out of public transport.

In most countries, this is very achievable because cars are rather inexpensive. A friend of mine currently working in New Zealand, bought a 2nd hand Nissan Cefiro for less than SGD$5 000. In Singapore, even the most "budget" 2nd hand car you can buy would cost $20 000 or thereabouts all thanks to the COE and the relatively young fleet of cars roaming around the roads here.

Some people might want to buy a new car altogether. Foreigners will baulk at how the price of our average Japanese saloon can fetch a smacking good BMW or a Merc, we have no choice but to accept this pricing. Let's say our imaginary couple have their hearts set on a Chevrolet Cruze, a frugal 1.6 litre sedan which costs $110 000. It is one of the cheapest reasonable car you can get now, if you would ignore the Chinese brands.

To even think of getting such a car, one must be able to afford the mandatory 40% down payment for the little beast. That works out to be $44 000 - not an unreasonable sum if both husband and wife are Uni graduates and had been planning up for this for at least a year (their bonuses included).

Ok, let's assume that the couple has a combined net income of $6 000/mth and they take it as slow as possible to repay the HDB loan such that they do not need to touch their CPF, their monthly repayment for the remaining amount would be $1200/mth.

Coming back to our two imaginary couples,

Couple Relac would then have a Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) of slightly below 42%

Couple Quick-e would then have a Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) slightly below 67%, or is it?

*I'm saying slightly below because I'm too lazy to calculate their gross income to include employer's CPF contributions. But it won't differ much for our discussion.

According to the new MAS regulation regarding TDSR, Couple Quick-e would have exceeded the maximum permissible TDSR of 60% (30% max for house, the other 30% may be used for other loans).

On first look, it seems that Couple Quick-e will not be able to buy a new car during the 10 year housing loan. This is not the case. If Couple Quick-e was prudent enough to get a full 25 year HDB loan (with the minimum monthly repayment the same as Couple Relac's). Couple Quick-e's TDSR is exactly the same as Couple Relac. Although it may be difficult for Couple Quick-e to pay so much of their monthly income towards both loans, there is no worry that the bank or HDB would come breathing down their neck because they are paying above and beyond for their housing loan.

The moral of the story here is to always get the maximum loan possible so that your hands are not tied when you wish to buy something as expensive as a new car. Sometimes, a car is really important depending on the situation.

HDB thoughts - Let CPF pay it slowly or top up cash to speed things up?

I was asking around for advice regarding the financing of my upcoming HDB flat. This will likely be one of my lifetime's biggest purchases and it would take a rather long time to fully pay off the loan. Unfortunately, there are many viewpoints and differing opinions about how to go about paying off the loan.

While it is generally agreed that both you and your spouse should have sufficient combined income to take the full 25 year loan, be it a HDB loan or bank loan, but should you really take that long to pay off the loan?

"Don't worry and take your time to pay off the loan."

Assuming that you are employed for the full 25 years of your working life, taking the full 25 year loan typically means that your monthly CPF contributions would be able to cover your installments, leaving you with full amount of your net pay to do stuff with.

Usually, the people who advice this reason that since it is money you cannot see or touch, why not use it to the max? I would agree if they are able find good investment instruments that give good dividends to beat the 2.6% HDB loan interest, but most would stop short there.

This pessimistic view of CPF will only backfire when one gets to retirement age only to find out that they have nowhere near the minimum sum. After all, CPF money is still your money even though you may have little control over when it eventually gets returned to you.

Let's do some math.

A typical 4-room BTO in a non-mature estate would cost about $330k.
Taking 90% of the entire cost as loan, which is the loan ceiling, would work out to be $297k.

Instinctively, the longer you take to clear your loan, the more interest you end up paying. Let's compare two couples.

Couple Relac takes the entire 25 years to pay it off.

The monthly installment will be $1,347.40, which is a rather comfortable sum to repay per month for a couple (i.e. each person pays $673.70). It is possible that their CFP would be able to pay off the installment without the need to top up in cash

By the time they complete their repayment, they would have paid $1,347 x 12 mth x 25 yrs = $404.1k.

They would have spent $107.1k in interest alone.

Couple Quick-e pays off the entire loan within 10 years.

The monthly installment will be $2,813.34 (i.e. each person pays $1406.67). This couple would have to top up some cash on top of their monthly payment and slightly more frugally than Couple Relac.

By the time they complete their repayment, they would have paid $2,813.34 x 12 mth x 10 yrs = $337.6k.

They would have spent $40.6k in interest alone.

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Couple Quick-e would have saved $66.5k more than Couple Relec from their housing loan by the end of the 10 years. Albeit this $66.5k is likely to be saved in the form of the untouchable CPF, it would go a long way in helping the couple beat the ever increasing CPF minimum sum so that they can actually afford to pamper themselves a little when they retire or help ease their children's study loan burden.

The point of this article is to point out that while the full 25 year loan makes it sound easy to own and pay for a flat, it actually hurts you in the long run. If you are someone who does not invest at all, it would be very prudent to pay off all the loan as fast as possible to patch up this liability.

But what about if you are investment savvy and able to take some risks? Depending on how you do it, you just might be better off going the way of Couple Relac. I shall discuss this in my next write up.