this post was submitted on 02 Apr 2025
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Mildly Infuriating

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306
Trying to buy anything with USB-C Power Delivery: Listing a million devices instead of the output voltages / amperage (dubvee.org)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Instead of the sane approach of specifying 5, 9, 12, 15, and/or 20 volts and the amperages, products insist on listing every model of device in existence instead.

Most will do 12V, but I always want to make sure it'll power my laptop (20V) as well.

A big thank you to reviewers who post images of the actual products where it shows the relevant info in one short line on the labels:

e.g. PD Output: 5V=3A, 9V=3A, 12V=3A, 15V=3A, 20V=3A

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Basically amps is capped at 5 ampere, so it's watts / 5. So for 20V you need 100 watt. USB Power Delivery specification revision 2.0 does up to 240W with 48V which is pretty awesome.

I'd love a 20V battery for power tools that just has a USB3 plug instead of special chargers.

[–] [email protected] 92 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This is mostly the fault of what people search for.

90% of your average buyers don't go on shopping sites and search "20W USB-C PD Charger" they go on and search "Samsung S22 charger" or whatever they've got.

Sellers are incentivised to design the listings around that, or they simply won't get the clicks.

[–] [email protected] 75 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yeah, I get the "SEO" aspect of it, but they could at least include the actual specs somewhere.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I always do just so other people can search for it later. There's sellers of aftermerket chargers that will blur out the specs so you can't just find a cheaper one.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 day ago

Frustrates me as well, but the reason is quite simple that people search for "$device cable", and sellers need to list all of them so the search engine of choice lands the user there.

They should still list the specs though.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Citizen, desist using science words immediately, and get back to consuming ContentSlop™ as appropriate for your clearance level.

Okay, maybe that's a bit spicy, but getting googlebombed by basic stuff when I'm looking for something technical does feel like this. Duckduckgo will even replace your search with a totally different search sometimes!

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago (4 children)

I could be wrong, but I just did some quick research and it looks like the PD spec always supports all of those voltages. I also did a reverse image search of the image you posted, and it's some no-name brand from Amazon. Don't buy no-name brands from Amazon. Stick to Anker.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Moved to UGreen after Anker's nonsense with their cameras. Used Anker for many years up to that point though. Not that there should ever be security issues on a charger, but I'm happy with UGreen.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

Same. And I've bought many UGreen chargers and cables since that whole ordeal. Since then I've seen some Anker chargers, batteries, and desk power strips that looked really appealing and that I would've bought if I wasn't avoiding them.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Good to know. I had heard Anker did some shady stuff but never caught wind of a good replacement. The phone charger scene is obscene as seen by OP, and and I would rather buy from Anker than buy garbage.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Oh definitely. If my choices are no-name garbage or Anker, it'll always be Anker. You'd be better off with nothing than that shit.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Looks like revision 2 of the PD spec requires all of those voltages, but in revision 1 it doesn't require 20v. And if they're not listing the voltages, they're prob not listing the PD spec revision it adheres to.

RavPower was my jam before they got booted from Amazon, but yeah, I stick to Ankler for the most part (unless I just need a dumb power bank to dump solar into that'll charge my better power banks - e.g. the 50,000 mAh behemoth I've got charging outside right now).

The reason I had to stray here is because I'm looking for a 12v -> USB PD adapter I can hook to a 12V solar panel. Not the "cigarette lighter" kind, but the kind you hard wire. No-name is about all you can really buy unless I want to crack open an Ankler or fuss with a cigarette lighter-style adapter (those are a PITA sometimes lol).

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I'm having trouble imagining what you're setting out to accomplish. 12v solar panels are higher than 12v. This one gets to 18v, for example. You need a solar charge controller to convert it to 12v, and then you'd need something like this to convert it to 5v to charge your battery bank. Whether your battery bank will "take" 12v without electronics to tell it to is beyond the scope of my knowledge, but AFAIK 5v is universally accepted.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I've got two sets of solar panels and two different use-cases.

The panels my power banks use are all regulated 5v output (3x 6 watts, one 20W, and one 12W). I take one or more of those backpacking.

The 12V->USB PD adapter I'm looking for is to hook into my 12V 50 or 100 watt panel I take camping (which one i take depends how many people plan to charge from it). In addition to being a charging point for my laptop, it would also charge my power banks much quicker since they support QC/PD charging at higher voltages than the 5V panels produce.

But yeah, PV panels "open circuit" voltage is closer to 17-21 volts, but once you put a load on them, they're closer to 12-14.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Oh I think I get it now. So you can terminate the solar panel with something like this and then charge phones with a standard car charger with PD. I like that idea.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Exactly. Except I'm trying to avoid those kinds of "cigarette lighter" style adapters, but I've used them before (which is why I'm trying to avoid them this time around lol).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Yeah, it's hard to find good ones. You could invert it to 120v AC and plug in a regular charger, but you lose efficiency doing that, not to mention the added danger, weight, and complexity.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

12v solar -> USB PD adapter

Is this by chance closer to what you are looking for? input voltage range is 13V-27V, output is usbc-pd 18w or 12v-1.5A the DC out is a bit higher.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Something like that, but closer to 45 to 65 watts and capable of 20v. There's one I saw a while back (can't find it now), but it's up to 100W PD and uses MC4 connectors straight to the panel. It was...expensive.

This is what I'm currently looking at (and it lists the voltages unlike the other ones that came up in search results). Only problem with this one is reviews say it defaults to "off" and you have to press the button to turn it on. Not ideal when it's going to be hooked to a PV panel.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

If money isnt a big issue and you want something truly beefy for a solar system I would recommend something like this then. Your solution is essentially a usbc-pd car charger without the ability to remove from a cigarette plug. You would achieve the same affect wiring up a female cigarette car plug and buying a regular pd car charger with the bonus of being able to swap the outlet out for other 12v car plugs as needed.

If you want an integrated charger thats fine though at the end of the day theyre all just fancy variable dc to dc converters that take in 12-24v and pop out the usbc-pd voltage ranges as rated. just wanted to give you some options.

Im a electical engineer and made my own 200w solar system. I feel your pain had to mcguyver some stuff to run off usbcpd. LMK if you want to talk shop. Related guide I wrote explaining USBC-pd and dc-to-dc on lemmy

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

That looks a bit overkill for camping, but yeah, definitely what I'm after / trying to achieve. I guess I could justify the expense if I set it up at the house between trips. Actually....that's not a bad idea.

If you want an integrated charger

Not for this, but I'm eventually looking for a 48v lithium charger for solar panels. The ones I looked at weren't terribly expensive but were designed for larger systems than what I have (I just want to safely charge my 48v 20AH multipurpose ebike battery from solar)

It's in storage since I moved a few years ago, but I had a 1.2 KW ground mounted grid-tie setup at my old house (basically a proof-of-concept before moving to something bigger). Looking to dig that out for either a bigger grid tie setup or possibly feeding something akin to a PowerWall. Probably going with LiFeP04 for safety / peace of mind reasons.

Cool guide! Skimmed it, but saved it for later to read through in more detail when I'm not on mobile.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

To charge your 48v ebike battery you will probably be looking at a proper 48v solar charge controller from victron then. They are expensive but worth it. dont want to fry your battery with no-name brand junk pwm advertising as mppt. , Though you can get away with the cheaper 48v 100/20 or 100/10s versions if you want to save some cash. a single 12v solar panel wont cut it though you need a couple 200w or 400w foldups chained to add voltage up to around 48v to charge a big battery effectively.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

That one's actually what I'd consider affordable considering something like this beast (solar inverter / charger) was what I was originally looking at.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

USB PD 1.0 is irredenta in 2025. 2.0 is basically irrevent outside of old device still on sale.

If the charger does 60 watts or greater it's going to be 20v. https://www.renesas.com/sites/default/files/media/images/normative-voltage-source-pdp-rating.png

Everything made in the past like 4 years is 3.0. Ideally you shouldn't buy anything that isn't PPS (programmable power supply) because it makes charging a LOT more efficient.

But good luck finding a 12v adapter, they're very hit or miss on supporting it since 12v is optional now and not a lot of things support it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

My understanding is that Samsung uses an odd standard that means they can't quick charge from Anker devices. That was at least true a few years back. Would be great to know if that's changed.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

12v is optional from PD2.0 onward

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago (4 children)

For some reason, "amperage" mildly infuriates me. It's current.

Voltage equals amperage times ohmage.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

Then why doesn't "voltage" bug you? It's the same sort of word: unit + "age".

To fully satisfy you, it should be:

electrical potential difference = current * resistance.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Ohmage? You mean resistance?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

That was the joke. They are making everything in the equation end in -age. Because "amperage" bugs them.

Volt + age
Amper(e) + age
Ohm + age

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

In other words, ohmage is an homage to amperage.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Why is 'voltage' fine then?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Because potential sounds weird?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

It only sounds weird because you're used to 'voltage'.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

And wattage only sounds weird because you're used to power.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Where did I say wattage sounds weird?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 16 hours ago

I guess ohmage was the one that f4f mentioned.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Tension.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

I raise you "cubic capacity" meaning volume.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

Lmao, I got this same problem looking for webcams. It has "1080p" in the title, but it doesn't says how much MP has, so I can't buy a proper webcam because I can get a shitty ass camera with 1080p but with a shitty image quality.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Also it should be 'any device'

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 day ago

Any device made according to the spec. So mostly "not Nintendo Switch".

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Should be, but not all of them support 20V. I'm less concerned with the wattage (I usually buy a minimum of 20W) since my laptop is designed for 45W but is smart enough to throttle and not charge the battery if supplied with less. I've tested it down to 20W (which the BIOS warned me about) and it works about the same as when it's in "Battery saver" mode. However, if I put it to sleep or power it down, it'll charge from 20W just fine.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

I meant the grammatical error of putting a plural after any.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 23 hours ago

Oh, well, silver lining: the misinterpretation of that comment inspired more discussion than it would have had it been interpreted correctly as grammar pedantry lol

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

With all the low wattage usb chargers that all of us probably have at home my strategy is to only buy laptop chargers (so I can travel with just one) so usually minimum of 45W, for me ideally 65W (so 20V 3.25A) just because I have a few old thinkpads with the larger battery. A GAN 65W charger is as compact as an old 20W phone charger, look for example at the Anker Nano II which is the last one I bought.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That's exactly what I do.

I've got a 2-port 100W GaN PD travel charger that I use for pretty much everything. When I travel, my laptop and phone are hooked into that, and the laptop acts as a charging hub for all of the smaller stuff.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Nice, good strategy

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 day ago

Don't buy cheap Chinese shit off Amazon and you won't have this problem