When is 5V output not 5V output?

[lowep]

Hello, I travel with a lot of rechargeable gear including big batteries for my camera flash, so I just bought a powercube with 3 standard wall power sockets plus 3 usb charging sockets. When I received the cube I read on the back that it has "Output: DC 5V 2.1A (which was not mentioned on the product description) but my flash charger that runs off a wall socket (not USB) says "input 7V... 😱 What I do not know is if the 5V output specification on the cube most likely only refers to the usb sockets or does it also govern the cube's 3 standard wall power sockets (in which case it is probably not a good idea to operate with my 7V flash battery charger, right?)

 

[Eximo]

Yes, the 5V output refers to the USB ports.

The 3 standard outlets have nothing to do with the electronics providing 5V, thus no output specifications. Those are simply passed through as normal mains voltages.

Which is perfectly fine to use with your other charger which will convert the mains power to 7V.

 

[SkyNetRising]

my flash charger that runs off a wall socket (not USB) says "input 7V... 😱
(in which case it is probably not a good idea to operate with my 7V flash battery charger, right?)

What is 7V flash battery charger ?
Can you show a photo? or provide link to the product?

Did you mean 3.7V rechargeable battery charger?

 

[Eximo]

I guess the flash charger might also be a battery bank? In which case the input voltage is likely higher to charge the actual 7.2 volt battery inside the device. Doesn't mean you can't charge it with 5V, they will just have had to include a DC-DC boost converter to get the appropriate voltage out. It would just be a little less efficient to charge it with 5V.

 

[lowep]

Thanks for your helpful answers! The charger is for a powerful Quantum Turbo SC battery pack used to power professional flash units like the Quantum Qflash, which eats and outputs a lot of power.

I ended up deciding to return the powercube and just use a regular power strip that is no bigger (longer but not as fat) and has less breakable parts (though does not look as fancy as the cube), as I already have a usb adapter that I can plug into the strip to recharge my phone etc.

The power strip is rated for 230 volts (max 3680w) that I figure means it should be no problem to use even if the power supply is 110 volts, but not the other way around.