Power recliner with USB port

[Squishman]

I ordered a power rocker recliner. They said it'll be mid-August when it arrives. I selected the fabric so they have to make it. Anyways, I will be getting a rechargeable battery pack for it. But it also has a USB port, which is nice, but it would be a constant drain, so that's not a good scenario for a battery pack. I was thinking I'd put a switch in the line somewhere. Switch it it on whenever I might want to charge my phone. Am I correct that this would put the kibash on power drain? Seems to me, yes. Does it matter which wire going to the port where I put in the switch? The port is on the plate with the recliner buttons. I could post a photo of the back of that plate when I take delivery if you cannot tell me yet. I just hope there is room on the plate for a very small toggle switch.

 

[Squishman]

The other option would be to just disable the port and not use it.

 

[Trell]

Why should an unused USB port draw power? Is just leave it accessible in case I want to use it.

 

[Squishman]

Why should an unused USB port draw power? Is just leave it accessible in case I want to use it.

I believe it would draw power from the battery pack even if not in use. Maybe there is a 5v power supply has a plug that is easily accessible. (I think a usb is 5v anyway!)

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

It won’t drain as long as nothing is connected to it. I would convert it to be plugged into a wall making it active all the time.

 

[Trell]

I believe it would draw power from the battery pack even if not in use. Maybe there is a 5v power supply has a plug that is easily accessible. (I think a usb is 5v anyway!)

That would be a negligible power draw, if any, and the power draw will be from the internal circuitry of the power bank which you probably can’t disable.

 

[Squishman]

It won’t drain as long as nothing is connected to it. I would convert it to be plugged into a wall making it active all the time.

It does have a wall plug. But I will be ordering a rechargeable battery pack. If it was in the wall, then yeah. I'd leave it. But any usb port anywhere has constant power on.

 

[Squishman]

Some of these battery packs advertise 30 days to re-charge, but I have been watching youtubes that say they go much less usually. So I would try to extend that if possible.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

It does have a wall plug. But I will be ordering a rechargeable battery pack. If it was in the wall, then yeah. I'd leave it. But any usb port anywhere has constant power on.

Curious why this route?

 

[Squishman]

Curious why this route?

Why not just plug it in, is that your question? Because there is no convenient plug and I, of course would not have a cord going across the floor.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Why not just plug it in, is that your question? Because there is no convenient plug and I, of course would not have a cord going across the floor.

That’s fair. I was just wondering
Not knowing the construction of your home, I would think of something slightly more elegant. Like tucking wires under trim, or adding a receptacle etc.

 

[Squishman]

That’s fair. I was just wondering
Not knowing the construction of your home, I would think of something slightly more elegant. Like tucking wires under trim, or adding a receptacle etc.

The primo spot is not near a wall. I am not willing to cut a hole in the floor to add a receptacle. I was in the market for a manual recliner, but they are getting too scarce these days. If you find one, it may be too small or just doesn't suit you. There are many to choose from that are powered though.

 

[Mikado463]

Thank God I have a good 'ole Lazy Boy manual recliner

who da thunk there would come a day when we have to worry about USB ports in a recliner ? Archie Bunker is rolling in his grave ............

 

[Squishman]

I was told I could pick up my new recliner this Friday. Hopefully the ps wiring for the usb port is obvious and easy to disconnect. Obviously, when I locate the ps, I'll disconnect it there before I even plug it in to the wall. The second thing I'll do is order the appropriate rechargeable battery. I need to know the style of plug for that first.

 

[Squishman]

So my super comfy recliner came today. Well, I went to retrieve it with a Menards rental truck. Anyway, I emailed Southern Motion, the builder of it, to ask about the usb p/s. He said it is not accessible as it is part of the control unit and does not have a separate power source from the control unit. But, he also said the USB is a zero draw and only activates when a USB cord is plugged into the port. So that is great! I was wrong about that it would draw power even if not being used. I have a rechargeable battery pack coming tomorrow.

 

[Squishman]

So I got this fabulous power recliner right around 18 weeks ago and the Freemotion 5000 mAh battery pack a day or two later. Charged it fully at the time of course. I still had 3 of 4 lights, indicating charge volume last time I checked a few weeks ago. The pack has an audio beep when it's time to charge. I was sort of thinking that it should be beeping by now for a while. So tonight, after only the initial charge, it finally started beeping. I had 1 of 4 lights lit. Not too shabby, considering I didn't know what to expect and was hoping I'd get 4 weeks! I was going by what folks were saying on yt videos where they got sometimes three weeks. But dollars to doughnuts, their usb ports are likely always hot, whereas mine are never hot until you plug a cord into it.

 

[Itellyon]

I had the same issue with weak USB ports on my recliner not being fast enough for charging. Ended up using a wall charger instead—much better results. Also, if you’re setting up a cozy space inside or out, I found some decent stuff here that helped me tie everything together for a chill vibe.

 

[Squishman]

I use the USB port mainly for charging my phone, but it's pretty slow. I wouldn’t count on it for anything power-hungry like a tablet or to actually power a device.

I've never used my usb port. Mainly because I don't want to draw from the battery, which I have only had to charge once so far in 9 or so months.

 

[hemiram]

I learned the hard way about batteries on recliners. My last one had a rechargable pack on it, and one day, I sleep days, the power went out, and I had the thing reclined with my feet up in the air. it moved about a half inch, and the beeping started. The pack had basically died almost to the day the chair warranty was done. I finally got it down by waiting a minute or so, and hitting the "home" button again and again until it went down so I could get off it without any drama. Later that day, I went and bought one of those flat extention cords and put it under my carpet, and have power to the chair and I also found out through a guy connected with the chair company that a much larger battery could be connected, and I ordered it a few minutes later. Eventually, someone gave me a big older UPS and that's on the chair now. I tested it and on a full charge, I can get the chair up and down all the way about 25 times before it starts crying.

 

[Squishman]

I learned the hard way about batteries on recliners. My last one had a rechargable pack on it, and one day, I sleep days, the power went out, and I had the thing reclined with my feet up in the air. it moved about a half inch, and the beeping started. The pack had basically died almost to the day the chair warranty was done. I finally got it down by waiting a minute or so, and hitting the "home" button again and again until it went down so I could get off it without any drama. Later that day, I went and bought one of those flat extention cords and put it under my carpet, and have power to the chair and I also found out through a guy connected with the chair company that a much larger battery could be connected, and I ordered it a few minutes later. Eventually, someone gave me a big older UPS and that's on the chair now. I tested it and on a full charge, I can get the chair up and down all the way about 25 times before it starts crying.

I got the Freemotion 5000 battery pack and it blows me away how fabulous it is. I use my recliner daily. I haven't flipped up the back fabric lately to check how much juice is remaining, but it will beep when it gets to 20%. Could be getting close.