Air 3 Battery Charging Graph (watts vs time)

[TerryOregon]

Total charging time from 0% to 100% - using a 100W capable power-brick and cable - took 61min, 52 sec (using the charging cradle).

In order to graph the charging curve (watts vs time), I had to get a bit creative. I'm not aware of any affordable USB-C power meter that will create a graph over time.

So . . . . I simply video recorded the watt meter while the charging cradle charged one Air 3 battery from 0% to 100%. A simple timer was used for time values.

Once the video had recorded the entire charging cycle, I simply fast forwarded through the completed video, collecting data each time the watt value changed. The data was then plugged into an Excel file.

It's very rainy here in Southern Oregon, I had some free time. And as a former electronics tech, these are the kind of things I'm curious about.

 

[Bsnyder]

Thanks for taking the time to give us this information!

 

[Jim622]

You have too much time on your hands. Thanks for sharing. I like stuff like this.

 

[MS Coast]

View attachment 179202

Total charging time from 0% to 100% - using a 100W capable power-brick and cable - took 61min, 52 sec (using the charging cradle).

Thanks for sharing this. Good information. And I like your makeshift datalogger idea a lot.

But the graph is a bit confusing. The x-axis interval varies from 10 seconds to 15 minutes, so the the curve doesn't represent the power v time relationship as most folks expect. Could you change the Excel graph settings to use a constant X-axis interval rather than showing the data points at the same interval regardless of elapsed time? I'm recalling that it's a simple change. Thanks.

 

[TerryOregon]

But the graph is a bit confusing.

Getting Excel to do exactly what I wanted was a bit frustrating - and never could get it the way I wanted it. None-the-less, it gives a general representation of how the charging starts out at 100W, then settles to 68W, then rises to 75 for a while, before finally dropping gradually to zero. I've linked to the raw Excel file, can you fix it? MediaFire

 

[MS Coast]

Getting Excel to do exactly what I wanted was a bit frustrating - and never could get it the way I wanted it. None-the-less, it gives a general representation of how the charging starts out at 100W, then settles to 68W, then rises to 75 for a while, before finally dropping gradually to zero. I've linked to the raw Excel file, can you fix it? MediaFire

Here's a version of your power input graph plotted against elapsed time. There's actually a steep reduction in power at the end of the charging cycle.

I haven't used Excel in a while and this reminded me of why I preferred Lotus 1-2-3 so much more.

 

[TerryOregon]

Ah, thanks for that.

 

[dstefani]

This little thing is handy: Type-C Multi-function Digital Display

 

[TerryOregon]

This little thing is handy: Type-C Multi-function Digital Display

Yes, I have similar, although this is what I wound up using. https://www.amazon.com/meter

 

[Eugenious99]

Thanks