Difference between revisions of "Pinecil Power Supplies"

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====DC Barrel Power with center-positive polarity ====
==== DC Barrel Power with center-positive polarity ====
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Revision as of 02:41, 3 October 2022

Power Supply Compatibility

Link to go back to Pinecil Wiki

Pinecil works with several power options:

  1. any USB-C power supply that supports PD (Power Delivery) that is same or more than minimum Volt/amps listed (PD65W-20V recommended, but PD45W will work on V1).
  2. DC barrel 12-21V battery or power supply using a DC 5525 (5.5mm outer diameter, 2.5mm post) center-positive polarity.
  3. V2 can do DC barrel supply up to 24V without modyfying the PCB (check polarity, must have center-positive jack).
  4. QC3.0: not recommended, too weak, unless it has 3 Amps or better. Most QC power supplies have low amps are only able to provide at most 12V 1.5amp, limiting Pinecil to about 17W of thermal capability which is weak and slow and may get "Thermal Runaway" message (weak power causes auto-shutdown). QC2.0 chargers are not supported. QC is even more problematic for V2 which has the 6.2ohm resistance tip versus the V1.
  • USB-C PD type power supply / power bank that is 20V+/65W, allows the Pinecil to deliver the full 60W of heat to soldering tip.
    • USB PD type power supplies with at least 20V+/65W+/3amp+ is highly recommended (higher V/W/A will work too as long as it's PD type).
    • Magnetic tip USB-C cables are not recommended, and not USB compliant
  • Troubleshooting QC chargers: some QC power adapters only allow a limited time for QC negotiation, otherwise voltage will fall back to 5V.
    • To address this, starting from firmware v2.16+, there is a PD timeout setting (in 100ms steps) which allows QC negotiation to start earlier. Change this only if you are having issues with your QC charger. (Power Settings > PD timeout)
    • This enables some QC adapters to work (i.e., some Baseus QC chargers). Alternately, lowering the number may result in problems with PD negotiation on some PD type adapters that are slower to negotiate. If you switch between QC & PD adaptors, you may have to change this setting.
    • For certain QC adapters, lowering the PD timeout value to 15 could help, and most PD adapters will also still work using 15. If a PD charger does not work at 15, then increase the timeout (PD defaut is 20 = 20x 100ms = 2 seconds). Note that some QC chargers simply will not work, are too weak, or cheaply made.
Check correct polarity of DC Barrel plug before plugging in a random charger or it could break the Pinecil.

Small sample of working PD/QC/Barrel power adapters / power banks:

This is a very small list compared to all the possible chargers that work, and new chargers come on the market all the time.

Sometimes you have to test it, as long as you do the following you should be fine:

  • don't plug in something that is higher voltage than the official ratings for V1 or V2
  • if using a DC barrel charger, check the Polarity first (must be center positive)
  • use a good quality cable.
  • if the Pinecil is too slow to heat up or gets Thermal Runaway message, then the psu is too weak, get something else.
  • phone chargers are too weak if 12V 1.9amp or lower. QC 2.0 not supported by IronOS (only QC 3.0).
  • most PC & laptop ports don't work as they are only 5V (good enough for simple Firmware update but not to provide the constant high power an Iron needs to run).
  • check the specs on your laptop/PC port and charger ports, most of the time when it doesn't work, it's because the rating is very low on it and not designed to power an Iron (check specified Watts, Volts, Amps on the port and see if they meet the minimum needed by Pinecil).


USB-C cables

USB-C Power adapter


Battery Power bank


DC Barrel Power with center-positive polarity

Check the polarity of the DC Barrel plug before plugging in a random charger or it could break the Pinecil.
  • DC 24V is supported on V2 (most V1 can do a max of 21V unless a modification is performed to cut the trace to the Vbus, and enable 24V safely (see Ralim's IronOS DebugMenu for details)
  • Generally any laptop charger with more than 3amps and 20-24V will work on Pinecil V2 (check polarity is Positive in the center or you will break Pinecil).
  • DC5525 barrel plug will work directly but if you have a different plug, there are many adaptors to convert it to 5.5mm, 2.5mm (don't force a bigger plug into Pinecil, it will break the barrel port).

DC5525 Barrel with Tool Batteries 18V-21V:


Limited usability:

  • Nintendo Switch AC Adapter (USB-C wall-wart) (PD@15V)
  • Notebook Docking Station HP Thunderbolt Dock 230W G2 (PD@20V)
    • (had problems with lower firmware versions, but works fine Pinecil firmware: 2.15 and DockingStation firmware: 1.0.69.1)
  • Smartphone Charger Samsung EP-TA20EWE (QC2@9V)
  • Smartphone Charger Google Pixel G1000-US (PD@9V)
  • Notebook AC Adapter Delta Electronics ADP-65JH BB (DC@19V) and ADP-90CD DB (1.7x 4.8mm need adaptor, tip is not DC5525)
  • Notebook AC Adapter LITEON PA-1700-02 (DC@18.5V, 65W) (tip is 1.7mmx5.5mm would need adaptor for DC5525)
  • Nillkin 63W USB Car Charger Quick Charge 3.0 PD (Pinecil Firmware: 2.14.2425902)
    • QC3@9V/12V and PD@15V work, PD@20V doesn't
    • PD@20V works fine when using PDC004-20V or ZY12PDN on dc jack (DC@20V, limit: 45W)

Not compatible:

  • Smartphone Charger RAVpower 30W Dual USB Turbo Wall Charger (Should provide QC3@9V/12V, but only provides 5 V on both ports)
  • Sabrent HB-B7C3 USB3 hub, 7 data ports, 3 charge ports, 60W supply -- does not negotiate higher voltages.


Link to go back to Pinecil Wiki

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