"6mm" DC Output ports on many portable power stations

[jagarcia89]

Shopping for a protable power station or "Solar Generator" and find most of the name brands- Jackery, Goal Zero, ecoflow etc... feature what is advertised as a 6MM 12V DC output port. I was set on the Goal Zero because they advertise theirs as being rated at 10A vs the Jackery and other's 3A. My hope was to power a maxxfan off one of these ports.

However, upon building my amazon cart to pull the trigger on this I am finding there is no such thing as a 6MM barrel plug. So I contacted Goal Zero who informed me that the plugs can only be used for their "Light-A-Life" accessories and they have discontinued the other adaptor plugs. Doing some research it seems the goal zero plugs were the only hope for even other brand users.

Has anyone found a way to put these little ports to use or know what series of adaptors are needed to make them work for anything?

 

[john61ct]

Buy this or similar

6mm Output Female Cigarette Adapter

short Connects Sherpa Power Banks or Yeti Power Stations to 12V DC output. tech PORTS Input: 6 mm Output: 12V DC GENERAL Product SKU: 98056 Cord Length: 7 in. Gauge: 18 Used with: Sherpa, Yeti

www.goalzero.com

Also order some of those "universal" car adapter sets, especially if they seem to have clear markings.

Never use the ciggie ports, but once you know what you want, crimp up your own adapter pigtails

 

[jagarcia89]

Buy this or similar

6mm Output Female Cigarette Adapter

short Connects Sherpa Power Banks or Yeti Power Stations to 12V DC output. tech PORTS Input: 6 mm Output: 12V DC GENERAL Product SKU: 98056 Cord Length: 7 in. Gauge: 18 Used with: Sherpa, Yeti

www.goalzero.com

Also order some of those "universal" car adapter sets, especially if they seem to have clear markings.

Never use the ciggie ports, but once you know what you want, crimp up your own adapter pigtails

Those 6mm to 12v have been discontinued by goal zero. Can’t buy them there or Amazon. It looks like there’s a few over priced used ones on eBay and that’s it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[john61ct]

Well all you need is one to get a fix on the generic spec,

then buy a bunch of generic

Surplus Closeouts & Overstock Batteries, Power Supplies, DCDC Converters, barrel plug adapters, USB adapters, power cords, AC adapters, lasers

barrel connector adapters, alligator clip adapters, international cords and plugs

www.powerstream.com

Those universal car adapter sets can have dozens of samples

I suppose you don't need a proprietary example if you look at enough generics

 

[jagarcia89]

Well all you need is one to get a fix on the generic spec,

then buy a bunch of generic

Surplus Closeouts & Overstock Batteries, Power Supplies, DCDC Converters, barrel plug adapters, USB adapters, power cords, AC adapters, lasers

barrel connector adapters, alligator clip adapters, international cords and plugs

www.powerstream.com

Those universal car adapter sets can have dozens of samples

I suppose you don't need a proprietary example if you look at enough generics

That’s the hard part. None of those options are 6mm. It seems 5.5mm is the normal size. I have a few universal car and laptop chargers. None are 6mm.

Do you have one that you confirm worked for you?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Errant]

I have another brand and mine are 5.5x2.5 10A outs. I’ve always wondered what people are powering with these. My fridge us using the cig output already.

 

[DaveInDenver]

That’s the hard part. None of those options are 6mm. It seems 5.5mm is the normal size. I have a few universal car and laptop chargers. None are 6mm.

Do you have one that you confirm worked for you?

I do agree with you that the 6mm coaxial barrel sounds like either proprietary or at least a very odd standard. Normally barrel OD are 5.5mm or 6.3mm.

However you ave to look at datasheets for a 6mm OD panel jacks. You can't have an plug with an actual OD of 6mm fit into a jack of the same size given all the tolerances involved it would either be too snug or potentially fracture the jack. The jack has spring contacts to make it work.

This is just one example I could fine, a CUI PJ-047B, that says it's a 6mm OD connector.

PJ-047B | Jacks | Dc Power Connectors | Connectors

2.5 x 6.0 mm, 2.5 A, Horizontal, Through Hole, Shielded, Dc Power Jack Connector

www.cuidevices.com

The relevant mechanical page:



What's more important is knowing the center conductor, which I'd hope is 2.5mm on a Goal Zero. You can also sometimes find 2.1mm center pins, which are not compatible with 2.5mm. You might get the right combination that fits but it'll be too loose to be reliable.

But that CUI jacks shows a center pin diameter of 2.5mm. And if you notice the suggested mating plug is in fact specifically 5.5mm OD and 8.3mm long, which are standard. Not to suggest Goal Zero (or anyone else) couldn't make up their own standard but I'd just highly doubt they have the design and manufacturing volume to make that worthwhile.

I'd try a good quality 2.5x5.5 barrel plug, I bet it'll work just fine. But it's possible 6mm is an actual size, meaning the barrel jacks were 6mm OD. In which case you could try a 6.3mm connector, although those are sometimes 3.0mm center pin OD.

But the interesting thing there is even connectors said to be 2.5x6.3 still show a suggested mating plug with 5.5mm OD, like a CUI PJ-036BH. The depth is given as 9.15mm instead of 8.3mm, though.

 

[jagarcia89]

I have another brand and mine are 5.5x2.5 10A outs. I’ve always wondered what people are powering with these. My fridge us using the cig output already.

What brand? Maybe I should scoop one of those up since the 5.5mm 10A would do what I need. It seemed the ones I could find that said they had 5.5mm were only rated at like 3A

 

[jagarcia89]

Good info. I wish I had one in front of me so I could measure it to be safe.

I do agree with you that the 6mm coaxial barrel sounds like either proprietary or at least a very odd standard. Normally barrel OD are 5.5mm or 6.3mm.

However you ave to look at datasheets for a 6mm OD panel jacks. You can't have an plug with an actual OD of 6mm fit into a jack of the same size given all the tolerances involved it would either be too snug or potentially fracture the jack. The jack has spring contacts to make it work.

This is just one example I could fine, a CUI PJ-047B, that says it's a 6mm OD connector.

PJ-047B | Jacks | Dc Power Connectors | Connectors

2.5 x 6.0 mm, 2.5 A, Horizontal, Through Hole, Shielded, Dc Power Jack Connector

www.cuidevices.com

The relevant mechanical page:

View attachment 708807

What's more important is knowing the center conductor, which I'd hope is 2.5mm on a Goal Zero. You can also sometimes find 2.1mm center pins, which are not compatible with 2.5mm. You might get the right combination that fits but it'll be too loose to be reliable.

But that CUI jacks shows a center pin diameter of 2.5mm. And if you notice the suggested mating plug is in fact specifically 5.5mm OD and 8.3mm long, which are standard. Not to suggest Goal Zero (or anyone else) couldn't make up their own standard but I'd just highly doubt they have the design and manufacturing volume to make that worthwhile.

I'd try a good quality 2.5x5.5 barrel plug, I bet it'll work just fine. But it's possible 6mm is an actual size, meaning the barrel jacks were 6mm OD. In which case you could try a 6.3mm connector, although those are sometimes 3.0mm center pin OD.

But the interesting thing there is even connectors said to be 2.5x6.3 still show a suggested mating plug with 5.5mm OD, like a CUI PJ-036BH. The depth is given as 9.15mm instead of 8.3mm, though.

View attachment 708808

Good info. I wish I had one in front of me so I could measure it to be safe. Maybe I'll just order it since it's amazon and return it if after I measure it it still seems proprietary. I found an old thread on a tacoma forum about Jackery's using the same size and it seems many people tried the 5.5 ports with no luck and resorted to using goal zero plugs. But after GZ discontinued them but found a supplier in China who had a 6mm to 5.5mm adaptor. However, the link in that forum was old and those too appear to be discontinued.

Just so weird that two of the most popular brands Jackery and GZ both have these ports and it seems no one is actually able to put them to use.

 

[plh]

Maybe another good reason to dislike those things ?
Fwiw,
If the centerpin otherwise fits. A legitimate ’ExPo Guy might make a 5.5 to 6mm sleeve.

a couple layers of bespoke tin foil would do it!

 

[john61ct]

Do not exceed the amps rating of the socket for more than a few peak seconds

no matter the ampacity of the plug or adapter you jerry rig.

Best approach would be to use Anderson PowerPole as a standard, for almost all power connections

use those to bring max power output from the unit, and then use a well made buss bar or splitter pigtail to support input to your devices.

Standard ciggie sockets are IMO a dangerous abortion, avoid like the plague for anything important, or that you use regularly. Never more than 5-6A and only for short periods, as in a few minutes. Even then they are risky, an inherently poor design!

Blue Sea has a nice socket design that twist-locks with the matching plug, but will also accept standard ciggie plugs for smaller (
Also the BMW/ Hella/ Merit/ Powerlet "Euro-style DIN" (ISO 4165) style is very robust.

Buy or make adapters for guests, temporary use of devices with standard ciggie plugs.

 

[jagarcia89]

Maybe another good reason to dislike those things ?
Fwiw,
If the centerpin otherwise fits. A legitimate ’ExPo Guy might make a 5.5 to 6mm sleeve.

Yeah I have always done builds that have a dedicated electrical cabinet. My ovrlnd truck build needs to be lighter and more adaptable. I considered building my own portable power station but by the time I get a decent 100AH lithium battery, MPPT, Alternator charging, ac shore power charging, inverter, fuse panel, wiring/connectors, and a box- I end up with something a lot more bulky and a heck of a lot more expensive than the $900 unit. Plan is USB interior lights and my portable fridge has standard ciggy socket. Hope is to plug it into the truck while driving then move it to the portable unit when parked, a diesel heater on the anderson connector, so just need the barrels for the roof vents.

I do wish these units just had a few anderson connectors as that's obviously ideal but the GZ has only one and it rated at only 15A.

 

[Errant]

What brand? Maybe I should scoop one of those up since the 5.5mm 10A would do what I need. It seemed the ones I could find that said they had 5.5mm were only rated at like 3A

It's a Milin 622Wh unit, bought on Amazon for $249. I just looked and the price has doubled. It's been a good unit, but one thing to note is that the DC outputs will turn off when less than a 2W draw is detected (like when the fridge compressor cycles off). I run a tiny fan at 2W to defeat the auto-off function.

 

[Kmac503]

Late response here, but if you're still looking for a way to make use of the Goal Zero 6mm outputs, you could buy one of their extension cables, cut the female end off, and add whatever accessory/outlet you'd like.

6mm Output 6ft Extension Cable

short Extends the reach from the Light-A-Life 350 Light from a power bank or station, or extends the reach of the Maintainer 10. tech PORTS Input: 6 mm Output: 6 mm GENERAL Product SKU: 90808A Cord Length: 6 ft Gauge: 18 Used with: Light-a-Life 350, Maintainer 10

www.goalzero.com

 

[jagarcia89]

Late response here, but if you're still looking for a way to make use of the Goal Zero 6mm outputs, you could buy one of their extension cables, cut the female end off, and add whatever accessory/outlet you'd like.

6mm Output 6ft Extension Cable

short Extends the reach from the Light-A-Life 350 Light from a power bank or station, or extends the reach of the Maintainer 10. tech PORTS Input: 6 mm Output: 6 mm GENERAL Product SKU: 90808A Cord Length: 6 ft Gauge: 18 Used with: Light-a-Life 350, Maintainer 10

www.goalzero.com

Thanks. I ended up buying a few of the 6mm to ring terminal pieces and doing the same thing. Just cut them off and attached my own connectors.

6mm Male to Ring Terminal Adapter

short For connecting a 12V Lead Acid battery via the battery terminal posts. This provides a more permanent connection. tech PORTS Input: 6 mm Output: Ring Terminal GENERAL Product SKU: 98010 Cord Length: 28 in. Used with: GZ product to 12V Battery

www.goalzero.com