I, like doubtless everyone else, have about eleventy bajillion(*) different USB-chargeable devices.

Specifically bikey-wise I have various lights and my GPS. What I’d like to do is plug them into charge when needs be out in the outbuilding where the bikes live, and then just leave them there until I come to use them next, which could be the next day or a month later. Obviously, I don’t want the batteries to get knackered from overcharging, I’d rather not burn the outhouse down, and in these days of whopping leccy bill, I don’t want it all continuously sucking power when it doesn’t need to.

So, do I need some sort of smart USB charging station that senses when stuff is charging and when it’s full and turns the power to that thing off automatically, and does such a thing exist?

(*large comedic number used for poetic license purposes, but you know what I mean)

You could use one of the timer plugs into an extension strip. I’m surprised there isn’t a double socket wall faceplate with 8 usb sockets on one side and a 3 pin socket on the other side.

As far as I know, that’s already how USB charging works.

As far as I know, that’s already how USB charging works.

You see, I wondered this. So if I buy any of the USB stations off eBay (like this for example), then I can just plug it all in and leave it all to it?

As far as I know, that’s already how USB charging works.

well, the devices aren’t going to be drawing power (thus costing you money) if they’re fully charged. However, unless the device itself has some smart charging circuitry built in, probably not best for battery health to leave it at 100% charge for extended periods of time – I’ve seen plenty of instances of cheap android tabs (for example) having battery swelling as a result of being left on charge permanently!

I’d be going somewhere like Anker instead of eBay, but yeah, “as far as I know.” USB is a client / host architecture, charging is negotiated rather than just blindly dragging 5V up its port in perpetuity.

This is why you can sometimes leave a phone on overnight and you come back to find that it’s still not fully charged – it’ll charge to 100% and then stop, your phone still uses power so battery drops to (say) 95% and the charger then kicks back in. I can’t see that being an issue with something like a torch though.

As far as I know.