Why is Power Bank not Allowed in Checked Baggage: Things You Should Know About TSA Battery

By Carrie Tsai,  Last Updated: September 06, 2019

You may have noticed that you can’t check in your power bank when flying but carry it along with you. Why is that? Will it cause damage to the flying? What kind of batteries can you take on a plane?

This article will equipped you with the knowledge of power bank of transportation so that you can avoid trouble when travelling by air.

The Potential Danger of Consigning Power Bank

According to the TSA(Transportation Security Administration), passengers are recommended to put their battery into their carry-on baggage instead of consigning since the battery is easy to be crushed and collided in the narrow warehouse and the short-circuit will emerge by contacting with metal objects such as keys in the baggage.

These will cause spontaneous combustion, which can pose great threat to the plane. In fact, the biggest reason lies in the lithium battery which compose the power bank. Because lithium battery on planes are prone to inflame or even explode under the extreme situation such as being squeezed, high temperature or low temperature.

While the plane is flying at high altitude, the air pressure will change to a large extent, plus the bumps during the flying, both of which will cause the colliding between luggage. Moreover, the baggage cabin is unguarded and not allowed to enter before landing. Once there is fire, the consequences could be disastrous.

You may ask: since it is so danger, why all the power banks are made of lithium battery? Well that is quiet simple: because the lithium battery has great performance in both charging and discharging, which other materials can not match.

So it is advisable to choose a power bank with multiple protection mechanisms from over-voltage, extreme temperature, short-circuit and so on.

Can I Bring Whatever Power Bank on a Plane?

According to TSA, there is restrictions on what kind of power bank you can bring along with you into the cabin.

1. Those with rated energy less than 100Wh can be taken on a plane

Nowadays most power banks have the voltage of 5V, and 100Wh divided by 5V is equal to 2000mAh, so the power bank with a capacity of less than 20000mA can be taken on the plane.

2. You can bring at most 2 power banks on the plane

Please note that the total rated energy of the 2 power banks can not exceed 100Wh, which means that you can carry up to 2 power bank along with you but the total capacity must be restricted under 20000mAh.

3. Those without guarantee can not be carried into the plane

That means your power bank is not marked with specific manufacturer, rated capacity, input and output voltage. The power banks with no parameter will be reckoned as defective products, so they are not allowed to be taken on the plane.

For the sake of everyone’s safety, the security control system is becoming increasingly strict, with the gradually improved standards.

How to Calculate the Capacity of Power Bank

For power bank , the concept of capacity is very important especially when travelling by air. So here we will teach you how to calculate the power of power bank.

We can take the power bank as a a pool. So the voltage is equivalent to the water pressure in the water pipe, or the speed of water flow. The bigger the water pressure, the faster the water flow rate in the water pipe.

While the current is like the size of water pipe, the bigger it is, the faster the water is poured under the same water pressure. That is to say, the water flow (voltage) and the size of the water pipe (current) directly affect the efficiency of filling the pool, and this efficiency is also called power in the indicators of electrical appliances.

If the pool needs to be filled with a 5V flow rate for 2 hours in a 2A water pipe, how big is the pool? So we only need to multiply the flow rate (5V) by the size of the pipe (2A) and then multiply it by time(1h). That is equal to 10w of power for one hour, then the capacity of this pool is 10Wh.

The battery will indicate the capacity in watt hours (Whr)

Wait, how is mAh marked on power bank calculated? In fact, mA is one thousand of an amp, and this “milli” is represented bu the letter ”m”. But it still seems to have nothing to do with mAh.

Let me explains here: since the common power bank and mobile phone are powered by lithium-ion batteries and the internal working voltage is 3.7V. While Watt is multiplied by the flow rate and the size of water pipe, so dividing 10Wh by 3.7V is about 2.703 ampere, then converting the amp into milliamperes, you will get 2703mAh.

Lithium battery powered power bank is calculated in mAh. So now you may know that there will definitely be a time unit in the capacity of the power bank. After the brief introduction, you can figure out whether your power bank can be taken on a plane. In general, 100Wh refers to the standard 27000mAh power bank.

Here is the little reminder: even in daily life, do not let the power bank become the hazard around you, remember to choose a regular manufacturer since the inferior power bank can not only damage the mobile phone, but also become an irregular“bomb”.

Speaking to power bank and cell phone battery, you may have concerns about the impact power bank have on your mobile phone. Check this article for more information: Does Power Bank Really Hurt Cell Phone Battery