Battery Powered Raspberry PI Zero W

Question

I am planning on building a mobile raspberry pi project, I have read many of the battery powered threads but do not have an EE background so I want to make sure that what I am planning on buying will work.

These items are all from adafruit

Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 2500mAh - pid 328 - chosen for slimline i.e. height
USB LiIon/LiPoly charger - v1.2 - pid 259
Raspberry PI Zero W - pid 3400

Is the lipoly charger the right board to power the pi and perhaps a small fan such as the Miniature 5V Cooling Fan for Raspberry Pi pid 3368

How long will the pi run with this battery?

Should I choose a different battery - smaller - larger?

What other questions should I consider for this project?

colporteur · Answer

I discovered a 4400mAh Li-ion battery bank will run a Pi3B for approximately 8hours after a full charge. The Pi was idling under a Raspbian lite O/S.

shabaz · Answer

Hi Eric,

I'm unfamiliar with the Pi Zero W, but as I understand, it needs 5V for operation. If that's the case, then you'll need a board that can convert the battery voltage to 5V. If you search for 'Pi Zero W LiPo' you'll find some solutions.

Aside from that, the items you've listed above would be required. A cooling fan is unnecessary (Pi Zero W won't get remotely hot for this to be needed) and will consume a lot of power and could cause complications.

iec · Answer

Is there any display? no Is there going to be audio out and will it be powered by the same battery? no How long do you expect it to run for between charges? at least a couple of hours

shabaz · Answer

Hi Eric,

Yes, that will do it, but $20 is a bit of a rip-off for such a hobby type item, considering it is just USB power bank functionality minus the cell. There is this for less than half the price:

https://www.dfrobot.com/product-1613.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqt3z5cHP5gIVVeDtCh2R0g2nEAkYEiABEgIaKfD_BwE

easyejl · Answer

This sucker ran for over 48 hours and still showed half power left https://photos.app.goo.gl/eQf2gAmVAbhi8efM9

shabaz · Answer

Hi,

No, that charger supports 5V input for charging the battery, but the load output is the same voltage as the battery, there is no boost type circuit there. According to the schematic, the load is connected to the battery connections:

https://learn.adafruit.com/li-ion-and-lipoly-batteries/downloads

A DC-DC converter circuit is needed to increase the voltage to 5V.

Alternatively, a very low cost option could be to use a USB 'power bank' type device (like those used to charge mobile phones) since they accept 5V for charging, and they also output 5V. Many (not all) will stop outputting 5V during charge.

easyejl · Answer

Other questions you should answer for completeness

Is there any display?
Is there going to be audio out and will it be powered by the same battery?
How long do you expect it to run for between charges?

mp2100 · Answer

One option for this is from pimoroni

https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/lipo-shim

it provides 1.5 amps which is enough for a Pi zero W and a fan. The zero W is fairly efficient.

The lipo shim can be used with the included pin header socket, or soldered in permanently if you are sure that’s what you want.

iec · Answer

thanks for the reply

I'm unfamiliar with the Pi Zero W, but as I understand, it needs 5V for operation. If that's the case, then you'll need a board that can convert the battery voltage to 5V. If you search for 'Pi Zero W LiPo' you'll find some solutions.
Aside from that, the items you've listed above would be required. A cooling fan is unnecessary (Pi Zero W won't get remotely hot for this to be needed) and will consume a lot of power and could cause complications.

the USB LIION/LIPOLY CHARGER that I chose looks to me like it can handle 5v and that it can power the pi and charge at the same time am I not correct about this?

colporteur · Answer

Start recording on battery Friday Dec. 27 21:05 Stop recording on battery Sun Dec. 29 1:50 The results are in. Close to six hours of additional battery life if my math is correct.

cypresstwist · Answer

I use a Waveshare Li-Ion HAT on my Raspberry Pi Zero W. About 2 and a half/3hrs battery time on idle. Maybe more. powering one Touch PHAT and an 128x32pc OLED screen that is always on. It uses a 14500 battery but you can connect more to it (of what I read). Also see this video I've made for another thread:

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