3 surprising things you can run off a power bank

Published Nov 15, 2026, 10:01 AM EST Sydney Butler is a technology writer with over 20 years of experience as a freelance PC technician and system builder and over a decade as a professional writer. He's worked for more than a decade in user education. On How-To Geek, he writes commerce content, guides, opinions, and specializes in editing hardware and cutting edge technology articles. Sydney started working as a freelance computer technician around the age of 13, before which he was in charge of running the computer center for his school. (He also ran LAN gaming tournaments when the teachers weren't looking!) His interests include VR, PC, Mac, gaming, 3D printing, consumer electronics, the web, and privacy. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Research Psychology with a minor in media and technology studies. His masters dissertation examined the potential for social media to spread misinformation. Outside of How-To Geek, he hosted the Online Tech Tips YouTube Channel, and wrote for Online Tech Tips, Switching to Mac, and Helpdesk Geek. Sydney also wrote for Expert Reviews UK. He also has bylines at 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, Tom's Hardware, MakeTechEasier, and Laptop Mag. USB has become more than just a near-universal data connection standard; it's also almost the default power connection for small electronics. Whether it's an SBC like the Raspberry Pi or a power tool, the chances are that instead of a proprietary wall wart with a barrel plug connector, your more recent gadgets have a USB connector and probably a USB-C one at that. With USB-C rated power maxing out at 240W using Power Delivery 3.1, there's a wide range of devices that you can take advantage of. Logically, that means if you have a power bank that can put out sufficient power, you can use it to run a variety of devices away from an outlet, or when the power goes out. A projector for backyard movie night Any place can be a cinema if you're creative about it Credit: Samsung There are plenty of portable projector options these days. The underlying technology, especially LED light sources, has become cheaper, less power-hungry, and smaller. This means you can take a full HD or even UHD projector with you anywhere you want. You can go camping, take it to a hotel room, or just carry it between your bedroom and living room. These projectors generally have a decent speaker built in, and even have the guts of a smart TV. So you can use the same streaming apps you enjoy elsewhere, without having to plug any players or streaming boxes in. Some of these projectors have their own internal battery and can also charge via USB. Which means that even if your power bank doesn't offer enough power to run the projector outright, you can at least extend its runtime. If your power bank offers enough power, the projector may bypass its own battery (assuming it's full) and run off the power bank first, falling back to its battery once it's empty. However, in the case of some battery-less projectors like Samsung's The Freestyle (which has an optional battery base), you can actually run it from a battery bank. You just need to pay attention to the power requirements. In the case of The Freestyle, Samsung's official documents specify a 30,000mAh capacity and a minimum power output of at least 50W. Aquarium gear Any port in a storm? Credit: Bilanol/Shutterstock.com I've been an aquarist for almost two decades at this point, and I live in a country that has a notoriously high number of blackouts. In the past, there wasn't much I could do about it, which meant my fish and other tank life were always at risk during prolonged outages. Especially if it was particularly hot. These days, I own several portable power stations, so I can simply hook up our aquarium when the lights go out and keep heat, air, and filtration going without interruption. But a portable battery inverter isn't cheap. Luckily, you can now buy aquarium filters and aquarium heaters that run off USB power. In turn, that means you should be able to run these using a power bank. Now, obviously this can't do the same job as your larger, mains-powered filters and heaters. However, having some heating and filtration during a blackout is better than nothing. Of course, you can also just use these for their intended purpose, which is running a very small tank on your desk directly from USB. A vinyl turntable Old meets new The modern revival of the vinyl format has led to record players that are a weird mix of old and new technology. For example, you can buy a wireless Bluetooth record player, much to the horror of analog audiophile purists, I'm sure. Seeing a turntable with a USB port is pretty common now as well, but these are usually not for power, but for digitizing records to formats like MP3 or FLAC. In some cases, however, the turntable can run directly from a power bank, as is the case of the Reloop Spin you see above. It's designed as a portable turntable for people who want to learn DJ-style record scratching, and can use an internal battery, power adapter, or a power bank. Do the math first If you're going to use a power bank for a device that requires a high level of power, make sure it meets the criteria. Even if the device does not mention power banks as a power source, you should still be able to look up the power requirements for that device when using a third-party cable and charger. Match that to the power bank of your choice, and you should be good to go. Obviously, you'll also need to work out how much runtime you can actually get, either by trying it or by looking at the power bank's watt-hour capacity and estimating how much runtime you'll get at a given power consumption level. Just keep in mind that you may only get 80–90% of the power bank's capacity as usable energy, depending on the quality of the conversion circuitry.