Charging an EnEl18d - a question?

[mike_halliwell]

When I got my Z9, with it's EnEl18d, MH-33 charger and EH-7P mains adapter, I was aware that for certain charging methods a pack with PD power was required.

After a bit of playing around (and reading the label!), I've determined that the EH-7P can only output the standard USB 5V at 3A MAX. With a little USB-C watt/current/voltage measuring gizmo, it actually outputs 12.6W. (4.9V 2.6A)

However, the MH-33 charger draws and delivers 21w (9v, 2.3V) from ANY USB-C Powerpack, with or without the PD mark.

Equally, (or not!) the Z9 can suck in 14W (5V 2.8A) from the EH-7P directly for in-body charging.

or, even more strangely, 15W (12V 1.3A) in-body from a USB-C Powerbank

Question. Why is the EH-7P incapable of 9V or 12V PD power supply? I can see why in-body ampage should be limited due to possible overheating etc. but for MH-33 charging it's >1/3 underpowered. That is very significant regarding re/charging times.

It cannot be right that it's quicker to charge the battery in-body with the mains adapter alone than with the designated mains adapter/charger out-of-body set-up?

I can understand why USB-C Powerbank to MH-33 is the fastest.

Am I missing something?

Edited March 29, 2023 by mike_halliwell

[rodeo_joe1]

On 3/29/2023 at 9:28 AM, mike_halliwell said:

Am I missing something?

The low(er) charging current of the MH-33 is probably to keep its size down, or save the cost of a heatsink on the inverter chip, or maybe to recycle the inner design of another charger. Or even more cynically, perhaps to promote buying extra Enel18D batteries at 180 quid a go (What!? A new car battery doesn't cost that!). 

[And I wish PN's autocorrect knew the correct use of an apostrophe. I'm not a Greengrocer! Even though I come from a family of them.]

Edited March 30, 2023 by rodeo_joe1

[mike_halliwell]

On 3/30/2023 at 11:14 AM, rodeo_joe1 said:

The low(er) charging current of the MH-33 is probably to keep its size down

It's not so much the MH-33 itself, it's the mains adapter, aka the juice-supplier, the EH-7P that's naff......5V only.

The MH-33 handles 21w @ 9v OK.

[rodeo_joe1]

17 hours ago, mike_halliwell said:

it's the mains adapter, aka the juice-supplier, the EH-7P that's naff......5V only.

Ah, OK. So the answer is simple: Don't buy Nikon's overpriced charger, but get a 3rd party one instead. I see that 39 quid will get you a reasonable brand of 100 Watt USB-C charger on Amazon, and lower wattage ones at a proportionally lower price. 

The USB-C protocol implements negotiation between device and PSU to ensure a safe voltage and current for the device being powered. 5 volts/3 Amps is a very minimum-spec USB-C charger. No better than its micro-USB predecessor.

So it appears that Nikon, basically, could not be arsed to incorporate the USB-C voltage-negotiation protocol in its PSU, and instead opted for a non-negotiated and minimum-spec 5 volts only. A cheap out option obviously not reflected in the price! 

P. S. If you can return the EH-7p for a refund, that's what I'd do. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by rodeo_joe1

[mike_halliwell]

6 hours ago, rodeo_joe1 said:

Don't buy Nikon's overpriced charger

 

6 hours ago, rodeo_joe1 said:

If you can return the EH-7p for a refund, that's what I'd do. 

It's what comes in the Z9 box!

A crap, slow adapter with the top-of-the-range body... Doh!!

[ShunCheung]

Nikon used to provide the EH-7P charger with the Z7 and Z7ii too, but supply shortage during Covid in 2021 forced Nikon to stop including that. Perhaps Nikon was saving those extra EH-7P for shipment with the Z9 back then. But for whatever reason, Nikon did not ship the EH-7P with the Z6 and Z6ii. The Z6 and Z7 use the EN-EL15 anyway and Nikon also supplies the MH-25a with the Z6 and Z7. The EH-7P is only for charging the EN-EL15 batteries inside the camera.

A slow charger is not necessarily a bad thing, but I too just use USB-C chargers nowadays.

[mike_halliwell]

On 3/30/2023 at 11:14 AM, rodeo_joe1 said:

Or even more cynically, perhaps to promote buying extra Enel18D batteries at 180 quid a go (What!? A new car battery doesn't cost that!). 

I found a fully 'de-coded' battery on Amazon for £44. Works just like the original. I could get 4 for the same Nikon money..... so far it has identical, if not slightly longer, performance.

[Dieter Schaefer]

Does all this mean that I can use a USB-C PD charger to connect to the MH-33 instead of using the EH-7P?

[ShunCheung]

2 hours ago, Dieter Schaefer said:

Does all this mean that I can use a USB-C PD charger to connect to the MH-33 instead of using the EH-7P?

Absolutely. In fact I haven't used my EH-7P since perhaps the first couple of weeks of my Z9 ownership, and I received mine over a year ago, in March 2022. A lot of USB-C chargers can power the MH-33. However, curiously, the Apple MacBook chargers do not work with the MH-33; at least the one I have does not.

[mike_halliwell]

I don't pretend to know the PD protocol, but it's a bit weird.

The MH-33 has PD stamped over the socket.

Edited April 3, 2023 by mike_halliwell

[joseph_smith3]

I am late to this discussion, but I use a third party USB-C charger to recharge my Z9 battery. It supports Power Delivery or PD. 

Here are links on Power Delivery; USB-C Charger and USB-C cables. 

Power Delivery

https://www.goalzero.com/blogs/news/what-the-tech-usb-c-and-power-delivery-explained

USB-C Charger:

Xcellon Mighty Mini 365 3-Port 65W GaN USB Charger (Black)

Delivers 65 Watts. 

Fast Charging

The Mighty Mini 365 supports both USB Power Delivery 3.0 and PPS (Programmable Power Supply) technologies, which deliver fast and efficient charging.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1617773-REG/xcellon_pdg_365b_3_port_65w_gan_usb.html

USB C cable:

Apple USB Type-C Charge Cable (6.6')

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1294285-REG/apple_mll82am_a_usb_type_c_male_charge.html