ESP32 on Batteries - your setup

[meneldor]

I cannot trust my multimeter for such a small current. I ordered MCP1726-3302E/SN ldo which has 220mV drop and 140 µA typical quiescent current. The booster is wasting 20-30% as i remember.
The board is sleepeng, i read it in thw debug log. BME280 is in forced mode so it sleeps too but it's connected directly to the booster.

[Archibald]

If your booster is getting alarmingly hot it's not going to be a small current from your batteries.

Do you have something else such as a display connected?

[meneldor]

If your booster is getting alarmingly hot it's not going to be a small current from your batteries.

Do you have something else such as a display connected?

Nothing else except the sensor. I replaced the batteries with 2xNiMh 2000mAh. 2.5 hours ago. Not fully charged. Everything is cold now. And the batts were not fully charged.

[Kazuya91]

If you want to use a Development board for practical use, your board is the wrong one because it consumes too much Power.

An alternative board is the Lolin32 (not the Lite version). It consumes 135µA in Deep Sleep if you use it with a Lipo on the Lipo-Connector and 235µA in deep sleep if you use it via a LiFePo4 on the 3,3V Pin. Be aware that it is a LiPO on the Lipo-Connector and a LiFePo4-battery on 3,3V pin.

I got this information from here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/esp32/comments ... in32_lite/

Two people confirm 135µA via Lipo-Connector.
The Lolin32 is one of the lower power boards as far as i know. The only one which is better in low power is the Firebeetle Esp32 with 10µA in Deep Sleep which is also a development board. But since its still shipped in Revision 0, its a deal breaker.

Forget about powering it via Alkaline or NiMH. Just pick a Lifepo4 and use it without a regulator on the 3,3V Pin or pick up a Lipo and power the board via the Lipo-Connector.

[meneldor]

But why the power consumption is different if i bypass the regulator? Powering it through the 3v3 pin goes directly to the esp32 module right?
Im not planning to buy Lipo any soon because i ordered some LiFePo4, and a ultra ldo to test with an existing Lion battery.
About the Lolin board - i cant find it in anywhere, is it still in production?

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Kazuya91]

But why the power consumption is different if i bypass the regulator? Powering it through the 3v3 pin goes directly to the esp32 module right?

Thats what I am wondering about since I read it myself. I cant answer you this question. Unfortunately the Lolin32 is not in production anymore. I dont know where you live, but on ebay and aliexpress you can find one of these. I ordered myself a second one. I can recommend a seller on ebay if you want. He sent me a revision 1 chip.

[meneldor]

From your reddit link i followed this as recommendation
http://s.aliexpress.com/za2I3q2q but please give me link to your seller.

[meneldor]

Ok, just for the test, the max duration I've accomplished with 2000mAh NiMh is 15 hours. The booster wastes a lot of the power but i think the wifi init every 1 minute after wake from the deep sleep is the biggest problem. I might test with collecting readings and store them, then send all the data every 10m to save power.

[Kazuya91]

Yours is not an original WEMOS Board. But its exactly the same. It has the same components as the original WEMOS board. They just copied it. So you can take it. It also claims to be a Revision 1 chip in the title.

I bought mine from here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-MB-Flash-WEM ... 2749.l2649

It was also a Revision 1 chip. Mine is an original WEMOS board. But to be honest, if i would order again, i would pick one from your link. The reason is that they are both the same, but your claims that it is revision 1 for sure. If its not, you can get your money easily back.

As i said, NiMH is not a good idea for the ESP32. You need at least 2 of them to get enough Voltage. NiMH also has the property to discharge very fast. See a discharge curve on the web.

[meneldor]

As i said, NiMH is not a good idea for the ESP32. You need at least 2 of them to get enough Voltage. NiMH also has the property to discharge very fast. See a discharge curve on the web.

Ah, forgot to clarify, im using 2x2000mAh nimh's in series The booster just squeezes them to 3.3V until they are dead. I know they are not good for the job but im still waiting the delivery.