Hysolis MPS3K Solar Generator Review

Nearly no one has heard about the Hysolis MPS3K solar generator that has been on the market for quite a while. And even more, hardly anyone has had a solid review on the MPS3K. It is a direct competitor to what has been considered the reigning champion, the Titan. The other main competitors are the Bluetti AC300 and the EcoFlow Delta Pro solar generators.

How does the MPS3K compare to these other strong solar power stations? Does the Hysolis MPS3K have enough power and expandability to be able to run all essential equipment during a blackout or emergency? It definitely looks like it can, but let’s find out for sure.

It should be said upfront that this is definitely a very good unit and is extremely powerful. In many cases much more powerful than other solar generators. But that comes at a cost, and not a financial cost. It comes at a cost of convenience. Not only is it a heavy unit, but it is less user-friendly than other solar generators. For some people that is a good thing because they don’t like the bells and whistles of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, wireless apps, and firmware updates.

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Comparison

So how does it compare directly to the other units on the market? It’s definitely top of the list. The MPS3K is up there with the Titan, Delta Pro, and AC300. Here is how they stack up against each other:

Inverter: MPS3K 3,000w | Titan 3,000w | Delta Pro 3,600w | AC300 3,000w

Base Battery Capacity: MPS3K 4,500wh | Titan 2,000wh | Delta Pro 3,600wh | AC300 3,072wh

Max Battery Expansion Capacity: MPS3K 27,000wh | Titan 270,000wh | Delta Pro 10,800wh | AC300 12,288wh

Base Solar Input: MPS3K 1,500w | Titan 2,000w | Delta Pro 1,600w | AC300 2,400w

Expanded Max Solar Input: MPS3K 3,900w | Titan 2,000w | Delta Pro 1,600w | AC300 3,000w

Customer Service: MPS3K, Very Good | Titan, Good | Delta Pro, Good | AC300, Very Poor

Base Price (Varies): MPS3K $3,595 | Titan $3,395 | Delta Pro $3,599 | AC300 $3,699

Price Per Unit Wattage: MPS3K $0.97 | Titan $1.51 | Delta Pro $1.42 | AC300 $1.84

The price of the MPS3K alone is amazing since you get nearly all the same main benefits of the other solar generators, but the MPS3K is below one dollar for the price per unit wattage. The price per unit wattage is a combination of comparing the inverter, battery, and solar input. Too often units are only measured against the battery, but that’s only one key feature of a solar generator which is why I compare them against those three features. For the features you get, it’s literally twice as good as the AC300.

In terms of how it compares to all of these other Heavycap units, it’s pretty much a winner in nearly every way. The 3,000w inverter is plenty strong. It doesn’t have the best maximum battery expandability but it’s extremely rare anyone ever has more than 10,000wh of battery. And it is unparalleled in solar input when expanded with extra batteries. And for that price, it’s basically unbeatable.

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Power Output

The Hysolis MPS3K has a powerful 3,000 pure sine wave inverter. It has been found by nearly all solar generator users that 3,000 watts of output power is plenty for most people’s needs. It will only do 120v power, it cannot connect to another MPS3K in order to make 240v power. That will be a feature of the Hysolis Apollo which will be the big brother to the MPS3K.

3,000w of output capacity is plenty to run fridges, freezers, portable/window A/C units, lights, fans, microwaves, toasters, coffee makers, TV, Wi-Fi, and much more. It has the same size inverter as the Titan solar generator which has proven to be a very powerful solar generator for years. The Bluetti AC300 also has the same inverter capacity. The only solar generator of the same class that has a larger inverter is the EcoFlow Delta Pro with an inverter output capacity of 3,600w. In my many years of using solar generators, 3,000w has always been enough for everything I need it to do, so it’s not a problem that it’s not the largest inverter in the industry for Heavycap power stations.

It can surge up to 6,000w for those large inductive loads that are often found with heavy-duty power tools such as chop saws, air compressors, and electric drills.

The Hysolis MPS3K has four 120v (Nema 5-15R) house-style outlets. It also has one RV plug (TT-30R) that is rated to output up to 25a continuously. It includes a 12v DC cigarette lighter plug as well as multiple USB charging ports.

Battery

The Hysolis MPS3K uses an extremely large battery pack made out of Lithium NMC batteries. It has a total internal battery capacity of 4,500wh which is the largest of any solar generator’s internal battery capacity currently on the market. Because it has a 4,500wh battery and the inverter is 3,000w it is literally impossible to drain this battery faster than a .67 C rate.

A .67 C rate means that even if the max output was being used on the Hysolis MPS3K it wouldn’t hurt the battery. It means the battery can never be drained really hard which greatly increases the life cycles to help it last longer. It easily has 2,000 life cycles even though it’s a Lithium NMC battery.

Typically, Lithium NMC batteries do not have great life cycles and that is one of their biggest drawbacks. But they are much lighter than LiFePo4 batteries which makes them more portable. LiFePo4 batteries are heavier than Lithium NMC but have many more life cycles. Since the MPS3Ks battery is so large, it can easily handle many years of non-stop use and not degrade as fast.

It is a 44v system which is basically the same as a 48v battery system which is considered to be the most efficient way to use batteries when converting to AC 120v power. It’s much easier to convert 44v power to 120v power than 12v power to 120v power. Most batteries on the market are made in 12v which means it takes a lot thicker cabling and much more work for the inverter to get 120v. Having a higher battery voltage means you have a higher inverter efficiency which leads to getting more power out of the battery than a lower voltage battery.

But that’s not even the best part! The MPS3K can easily add five more batteries of 4,500wh each. That means it can easily get up to 27,000wh of total battery capacity! That’s massive! In my experience, that is easily enough power to run emergency essential items such as a fridge, freezer, lights, fans, and other appliances/devices for 4+ days even without any solar panels connected.

To add the extra Hysolis MPS3K expansion batteries is as simple as making sure the batteries are within 3v of each other, turning off the breaker for the batteries, connecting the new batteries, connecting the communication wire, changing the connection toggles on each unit (as shown in the user manual), hold the reset buttons on each unit and then turn on the breakers. And just like that it’s easy to go from 4,500wh to 9,000wh or up to 27,000wh depending on how many batteries are added.

To put that into perspective, having 27,000wh of total battery capacity is nearly the same as having 13 additional Titan expansion batteries attached to a Titan ($18,135 in batteries). The Delta Pro can only expand up to 10,800wh of battery capacity ($5,398 in batteries) at its maximum for a single Delta Pro unit. Not even the Bluetti AC300 can expand as high as the Hysolis MPS3K. The AC300 can expand up to 12,288wh of maxed-out battery capacity ($6,297 in batteries) for a single AC300 unit. The MPS3K maxes out at 27,000wh whereas the Titan can expand to as many batteries as are needed. But from my experience, it is rare for most people to go above 10,000wh.

A Hysolis MPS3K expansion battery is only $2,860 per battery. For a total of $14,300 for five extra batteries, the system will have more storage capacity than any other competitor. This is incredible, less cost per watt-hour, and more capacity, that’s a true win/win.

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Charging

But it still gets better. The Hysolis MPS3k reviews as one of the very top-recommended units for 120v power because of how fast it can recharge from solar and wall charging. The standard wall charging speed is 1,000w which is quite fast. The only unit that has a faster wall charger is the Delta Pro at a max of 1,800w. All of the other solar generators have slow-wall chargers.

The big benefit to having a really fast wall charger is being able to fully recharge the system quickly off of a gas generator. I personally use a propane/gasoline generator as a backup to my solar generators. In the event of really bad weather or other issues where I cannot get a good charge from solar panels, I can recharge the system in under 5 hours from 0% to 100% using the wall charger. And because the battery is 4,500wh it won’t charge it too fast which would reduce the life cycle.

When it comes to solar charging it has an impressive 1,500w solar input through an MPPT charge controller. The charge parameter is 60-150v and 30a. Very similar to the Titan’s solar input of 35-145v and 30a. That means it’s extremely easy to over-panel the Hysolis MPS3K solar generator. It’s easy to connect as much as 2,000w or more in solar panels to the unit so that it is making full power earlier in the morning and later into the afternoon. That is the power over-paneling, it increases the number of solar peak hours in a day to more than 5 hours. This makes it much easier to get a full charge even when weather conditions are not very good.

But wait, there is more! Not only does the MPS3K have a 1,500w MPPT charge controller which is great on its own. But it’s possible to add up to 2,400w of solar panels to each expansion battery! This is unheard of at this level. The Bluetti AC300 batteries are able to add 200w of solar to each battery, but that doesn’t even come close to the 2,400w that can go into the MPS3K Expansion batteries.

That means that with one expansion battery the MPS3K can have a total of 3,900w going into it from solar. You can only add one additional MPPT charge controller because when you add multiple batteries you use those ports to expand. So once more batteries are added there’s only one extra port for another charge controller. The only requirement is to get the Hysolis MPPT charge controller for each battery. The Titan has had the largest solar input of any system for many years at 2,000w of solar input. That has now been very excessively beaten with the MPS3K’s capability to add more solar to each battery.

The Hysolis MPS3K has a great solar input on its own, not to mention adding more power to each expansion battery is incredible.

It also does have the ability to charge from a 12v DC outlet such as a cigarette lighter port but since those can only put out up to 120w maximum it is unlikely that anyone would want to recharge their MPS3K using a 12v DC outlet.

 

Pros

The Hysolis MPS3K inverter is plenty strong for everything it needs to do. The battery capacity is good on its own, but then still has the ability to add quite a bit of battery capacity. The solar input is incredible. 1,500w of solar input is plenty for this system cause then it can be charged in just 3 hours but adding even more solar with the extra batteries is a massive advantage that no other system on the market has.

Click Here for the Best Price on the Hysolis MPS3K

Cons

The setup and user experience are definitely the hardest parts of the MPS3K. It looks very basic, doesn’t have a ton of info to give out, and putting it together with extra batteries takes a close look at the user manual. When it’s been done once it all makes sense. But doing it the first time to set it up takes a little patience for sure.

It’s also very heavy, at 121lbs, this is a tough one to move around with just one person. It is 100% recommended to get the moving cart option with this unit because it will make life much easier to move it around.

Conclusion

The Hysolis MPS3K beats all of the other Heavycap-sized solar generators in most ways. It has a very strong inverter, massive battery expandability, a massive solar input capability, and an amazing price.

I don’t know that at this time it can be beaten. For so long the Titan was the king, is that still the case? It’s debatable, but pretty much yes it beats it! The MPS3K absolutely gives it a serious run for the money.

What I know for sure is that should be taken very seriously when looking at backup power. And before a blackout, hurricane, flood, fire, or any other major issue arises, you want this unit in the garage ready to go for all of your backup power needs. I would not wait until it’s too late to get this because we never know what the supply chain issues will bring next.

Continue ReadingHysolis MPS3K Solar Generator Review

Is the Bluetti AC300 a Worthless Amazing Solar Generator?

There is no question that most people who are looking into powerful solar generators are considering the Bluetti AC300. On paper, it looks absolutely incredible. Its expandability is great, it can make 240v power, it can be monitored wirelessly, and even has really long-lasting LiFePo4 battery cells.

Then why is it that I do not recommend this power station? That’s a great question and I will explain why here in this full review. But if you’re looking for a short answer, I’ll save you some time.

The main reasons I do not like the Bluetti AC300 solar generator are first the idle power consumption rate, the screen has multiple issues, and the efficiency varies greatly between units.

But is it all bad? Definitely not. There are many great features like a powerful inverter, expandable batteries, a true UPS setting, and really good solar input. But is that enough to make it a considerable option? Only you can make that decision. For me though, not so much. Let me explain.

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Output Power

The Bluetti AC300 has a 3,000w pure sine wave inverter that is capable of surging up to 6,000w. An inverter of that size is plenty powerful for nearly everyone’s needs for back up power supply. Even for a 30a service RV, van or small off-grid cabin 3,000w of continuous output is plenty to run all the essentials minus a 240v well pump.

The Bluetti AC300 solar generator can link two units together and make 240v power which then allows it to run things like well pumps and electric dryers. No solar generator can do central A/C so the AC300 is exempt from having that as a downside. But having 240v power and 6,000w of continuous output power is very good for small off-grid living or for emergency power.

Having the ability to make 240v power and using that in conjunction with a transfer/interlock switch means you don’t have to run extension cords to every room, fridge, freezer, and device you want to run which makes life less of a hassle when the power is out. You’ll need an electrician to install the transfer switch but that is a very simple task for nearly any electrician and isn’t overly expensive either.

Whether it’s running a fridge and a couple of freezers or powering up a shop to run a miter saw and a table saw, the Bluetti AC300 can absolutely do it. But is it still good enough?

The biggest issue that no one seems to be talking about with the Bluetti AC300 in any reviews is the idle power consumption rate. IPCR is how much power an inverter uses to simply be turned on. You can think of it as turning on your car on and being in park. The engine is running, which means it’s using gasoline, but you’re not going anywhere.

On the Bluetti AC300 it has an IPCR of about 64 watts. Other solar generators of similar size in this comparison chart have a much lower IPCR. For example, the Delta Pro, a main competitor to the AC300, only uses about 13 watts when turned on. That means the AC300 is using about 5x the amount of power just to have the inverter running but not even doing anything. Also keep in mind, if you turn on the Bluetooth receiver to use with the app, the IPCR goes up to nearly 100w! That’s a lot of draining.

In a 24 hour period, the Bluetti AC300 will consume about 1,536wh of battery capacity. That’s about 50% of the overall battery capacity on the AC300. It’s used up, for no good reason. Now on the plus side, the AC300 has an auto shut off function where if it’s not running anything for about 8 hours it will just shut off. In those 8 hours will use up 512wh of the battery, about 17% of it. But the bigger issue is, that many people need to run things like a sump pump, which only turns on when water fills a tank in the ground and then the pump pushes that water out to the city or septic system. They sometimes don’t run all day, or for long periods of time until they get filled up. This is just one example, but many items don’t constantly run which means the AC300 could turn off, and then there’s sewage back filling in the basement and there’s a much bigger mess to deal with. That would only happen if the tank got filled and the AC300 was off, not running that pump. But, if it’s happened once, it can happen again.

The second big issue with the inverter is the efficiency. All inverters do for the most part is convert battery energy to usable energy for your devices. Because there is a voltage change in doing that, there is an efficiency power loss. Meaning if you have 100wh of battery, you may only get to use 90wh of it, because the other 10wh were just burned up in the form of heat to convert from one voltage to another.

The Bluetti AC300’s inverter efficiency has varied greatly according to multiple reviews and posts on forums. One person will get 87% efficiency out of their unit, and another person will get 72% efficiency. That’s a massive spread. 87% is quite good for most systems, but 72% is quite bad. How do you know which one you’re going to get? Will Prowse in his own review got a higher number than the review done by Tom from HoboTech which was as low as 72%. This causes major concerns since you could be getting a poor-quality unit and not even know it. It’s basically a lottery system if you get a good unit. That’s quite the risk.

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Battery Power

The batteries that go with the AC300 are called B300 batteries. They are quite nice on the AC300 because they are high-grade LiFePo4 or Lithium Iron Phosphate. They last a very long time but are a bit heavier than Lithium NMC/Lithium Ion. But the LiFePo4 batteries for the AC300 are rated to 3,500 lifecycles which is very impressive. That means it can go from fully charged to empty and then fully charged again once a day for 10 years before the batteries have any noticeable degradation. After doing that for 10 years straight, which no one does, the batteries will be 80% efficient. Meaning they’ll have 80% of the original usable capacity from when they were new.

But there have been multiple reports now in reviews of people saying they found out one or more of the cells in their B300 have gone bad. How is the average Joe who isn’t an electrical engineer or who doesn’t play with solar stuff all of the time going to know that their battery is faulty? They probably will never know. And then sometime, maybe even years down the road when they need it the most that battery may just stop working all together. That’s a big concern for most people.

The Bluetti AC300 requires you to use proprietary Bluetti batteries. EcoFlow does the same thing with their Delta Pro and other systems. The Titan is the only solar generator where you can use any other battery with it as long as it’s a 24v battery which makes sense.

Each B300 battery is 3,074wh in capacity. There is no battery built into the inverter of the AC300. So if you get just an AC300, it will come with one battery that attaches to the inverter with a heavy duty cable. But each AC300 can have up to four B300 batteries connected to it for a total battery capacity of 12,296wh which is quite large. And even better yet, if two AC300 units are linked together for 240v power, you’re able to have 4 batteries on each system which maxes the total battery capacity to 24,592wh which is absolutely incredible. The expandability of the batteries is extremely impressive.

The Delta Pro can have two extra batteries per unit which makes its maxed our setup with two Delta Pros capable of having 21,600wh of batteries capacity all connected together. So the Bluetti AC300 definitely wins in that area, but we have to keep in mind that a lot of excess power from the batteries simply gets burned off just by using the AC300 so it may not actually have much more usable power than a Delta Pro.

Also, by comparison, the Titan can have up to 270,000wh of battery capacity connected. Not that anyone would ever do that, but it’s so much easier to add batteries to the Titan as far as having a large capacity than any other unit so far. And the Titan can use more Titan batteries, or other brands of batteries.

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Input Power

Out of all the other solar generators in the heavycap and ultracap size categories, the Bluetti AC300 has some of the best solar charging rates out there. Each AC300 can input up to 2,400w of solar into it. This part is a little confusing because there is only one solar input port. But the Bluetti AC300 has a nifty adapter than has two MC4 connections built into it. The single solar input plug in reality has two inputs built into it. This is a great way they saved space and kept things simple for users.

There are two MPPT charge controllers inside and each one is rated to work from 12-150v and up to 12a to get a total of 1,200w into each one. That is how it gets 2,400w of solar input. This is something that would’ve been incredible in the Delta Pro because it only has one solar input maxed at 1,600w but that’s still quite a bit of solar input for the Delta Pro.

It’s pretty easy to get 1,200w connected to the AC300 but because of it’s really low 12a parameter, it’s difficult to get a good over-paneled setup on it. It’s definitely possible, but just keep in mind over-paneling isn’t great. For example if you were using 100w panels, each solar panel is going to put out about 20v and 6a. That means I can connect seven 100w panels together to be at 140v and 5a with a total input of 700w. Then I can double that and connect that to the unit for 1,400w connected to a single charge controller. Then double that again for a total of 28, 100w solar panels for 2,800w of solar input. I am able to over-panel the system in that way but it’s only over-paneled by 400w which isn’t huge.

One of the extra cool features though is that it’s possible to add an additional 200w of solar going into each battery that’s added to the system in order to maximize the solar input and increase the charge speed. That’s a cool feature that only the Hysolis MPS3K has been able to do in the past.

By the way, make sure if you’re using the two solar inputs to change the settings on the screen to PV charging on both solar input ports, as well as turn off “PV Parallel Enable” so if one set of panels is a different voltage than the other, the unit will continue to charge from solar. Many people were not getting a good charge from their solar panels according to different reviews and that’s how you should be able to fix it.

The wall charging speed is programmable which is a really nice feature. If you need to charge it up really fast, you can change it to 15a for a normal house wall outlet. If you want to trickle charge the system, you can go as low as 1a charge speed. If you have a high-speed charging outlet like a 30a outlet you can go up to 30a charging speed for the AC300 which is incredible, but those plugs are extremely rare and nearly no one will ever get to use that feature.

If you’re really in a rush to charge, the AC300 can be charged with both AC (wall outlet) power and solar power at the exact same time. And of course, it has pass-through charging meaning you can charge the system and use it at the same time.

Things to Know About

The battery expansion cables are a big hassle for pretty much everyone. Nearly every review out there mentions that they don’t like the big bulky and unwieldy cables for the batteries.

There are a lot of outlets on the Bluetti AC300 which makes it very versatile. It has a 12v 20a cigarette lighter DC port as well as a 24v 10a cigarette lighter port. Six 120v 20a oultets (house outlets) and one 120v 25a TT-30 RV plug to run your RV off of. There are a number of USB ports as well for mobile devices and even two wireless charging pads on the top of the unit.

It does have a car charger that you can charge up the AC300 from a cigarette lighter port in your car, but it only charges around 120w at the most which means it’s a very slow trickle charge and no one uses those DC charging ports hardly anymore.

Pros

There are some really big wins for the Bluetti AC300. It has a powerful inverter:

Powerful 3,000w Pure Sine Wave inverter.

240v Capable for running nearly the whole house.

3,500 cycles on the LiFePo4 batteries.

UPS setting to supply immediate backup power for essential devices.

A large 2,400w solar input through two MPPT charge controllers.

Pass-through charging to run equipment while the unit is charging.

Dual charging from solar and wall power at the same time.

The batteries are separate from the inverter, so it makes the more portable

It has a Bluetooth and Wi-Fi app.

Cons

Extremely high idle power consumption rate, pretty much a deal breaker.

Any load under 100w will not show up on the screen.

The screen has a harsh viewing angle, you have to be right in front of it to be able to read it.

There are so many settings and options on the screen it can be confusing.

The inverter efficiency varies greatly, another deal breaker.

Most reviews dislike the dust covers on the outlets and the large battery cables.

The 240v power hub has had issues in the past and they are nearly never in stock.

The customer service is horrible. I have never received an email back for any question. I have never had my phone call answered. And their voicemail box is full. Basically, if you have the system, and something comes up, you’re on your own. Another deal breaker.

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Conclusion

Would I recommend this unit to anyone? Sadly, no. The issues that are built into this system are way too big. Not having reliable efficiency, the unit draining on its own really fast, and no one to help support me from customer service are major deal breakers. Just one of those items is enough to be a deal breaker and so the fact that there are three major issues like that means it’s definitely a no-go unit.

In essence, it’s a really good but worthless unit. It has many great features, but the bad features outweigh the good features.

What would I recommend? There are three units I’d recommend over the AC300:

The first would be the EcoFlow Delta Pro because it has a good price for what you get, can do 240v power, is expandable and has pretty decent solar input. Also, their customer service is great and the units are efficient and have a low idle power consumption rate.

If I don’t absolutely need 240v power to run something like a well or to run the outlets and light switches in my house, I’d for sure go with the Titan. The Titan has the same sized inverter at 3,000w, has a similar 2,000w solar input but has massive battery expandability and doesn’t even require proprietary batteries to expand the system. They are tried and true, I have two Titans, one of them has been running my off-grid cabin non-stop for over 2 and a half years without any issues. It’s hard to beat a track record like that. But the Titan will not do 240v power.

If not the Delta Pro or the Titan, then I would absolutely go with the MPS3K. It’s a very basic and not-so-user-friendly unit but it works extremely well. Once it’s set up, it’s very easy to run. It too has a 3,000w inverter but has a 4,500wh battery and 1,500w of solar input. But if you get the expansion battery for the MPS3K it adds another 4,500wh of battery and you can add another charge controller to that battery and add another 2,400w of solar input for a total of 3,900w of solar input which is ridiculously powerful. It is also a better bang for the buck than the Titan and Delta Pro, but the MPS3K will not do 240v power either.

In the end, the reviews speak for themselves about the Bluetti AC300. It’s great on paper, but not so great in person. And that’s really too bad. These other units will serve people very well as they have served me personally very well too.

Continue ReadingIs the Bluetti AC300 a Worthless Amazing Solar Generator?

Hysolis Apollo Review of the Most Powerful Solar Generator Ever

Introducing the all-powerful, industry revolutionizing, and mind-blowing Hysolis Apollo. Truly, we have never seen a solar generator or power station like this one before. Similarly, to how the Titan revolutionized the solar generator industry, the Apollo is now doing it too.

If you’re looking for a super-powerful, do anything, go-anywhere type of solar generator, this is it.

The Greek God Apollo was capable of protecting people from evil, healing people from disease and illness could see the future, and was extremely powerful in battle. The name for this solar generator is very appropriately given.

A big disclaimer up front, this article has not been sponsored in any way, shape or form. And also, as another disclaimer, this product will not be available for delivery until November 1, 2022. There will be a pre-order for 500 units only. If you go through this article and feel this is the system for you, then do not hesitate to grab it because you do not want to be kept waiting for this one.

For a quick view of the Hysolis Apollo, it will have a 3,000w inverter, 5,376wh internal removable battery, 4,000w of solar charging capability, 6,500 cycles on the LiFePo4 battery, 240v capable, extremely expandable, and an AC input charge speed that is programable up to 3,000w! This shouldn’t have been named the Apollo, it should’ve been named “The Beast!”

And the price, it’s extremely good for everything included, read through the see all the info.

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What Will it Run?

The Hysolis Apollo will quite literally be capable of running anything, as long as you build it to the necessary size. The vast majority of people have found that a 3,000w inverter is plenty strong enough to run their equipment, and that is why the Apollo has a 3,000w pure sine wave inverter with a 6,000w peak. That is for 120v power only, but the Apollo can attach two units together to make 240v power and have a 6,000w inverter continuous output rating and 12,000w peak.

Not only that, but the inverter efficiency rating is 94% which is unheard of. A good quality inverter has 85-90% efficiency. This means that you get nearly 100% of all the battery capacity to use. Many other brands like the Jackery, Pecron, Inergy, and others have inverters with even lower efficiency ratings.

But that’s not even the most impressive part. The EcoFlow Delta Pro has a 3,600w inverter and can put two Delta Pro units together to make 7,200w of output power in 240v. The Apollo can do much more. It has the unique ability to attach up to nice Apollo units together. With nine units it will still be making 240v power but have the output capacity of 27,000 watts of continuous power and 54,000 watts of peak output power.

No other system has been able to connect more than two units together to have superior output capacity. This is literally fully capable of running an entire house without any issues.

For AC power outlets it has six 120v house style outlets (NEMA 5-15) and can push out up to 25a (3,000w) between them all. A single plug will max out at 15 amps which is normal. It also has one 30a style RV plug (TT-30R) that will output up to 25a (120v x 25a = 3,000w).

For 12v DC power outlets, there is one cigarette lighter style plug rated to 15a. There are three USB A fast-charging outlets and one USB C PD60w port. The Apollo includes two 5521 barrel ports. But one DC plug that is not common on other solar generators is the 30a output plug to run heavy equipment like HAM radios and other vital DC equipment.

The Apollo doesn’t mind if you’re running just a fridge, freezer, lights, fans, and kitchen appliances or if you want to run a well pump, electric dryer, central air conditioner, welder, and everything else. If you want to run those things, you just have to build the system big enough to do it.

But how long will it run your equipment?

How Much Battery Storage?

The Apollo has an internal battery made from rectangular LiFePo4 cells connected to make 51v, which are considered the highest quality of all the different lithium battery types and styles. Other systems like the Bluetti AC300 and Bluetti EP500 use cylindrical LiFePo4 cells which are definitely good, but rectangular cells are better.

The Apollos internal battery is 5,376wh of capacity. With 94% inverter efficiency you’ll be able to get 5,050wh of total output for running AC-powered equipment (anything that uses a normal house-style wall outlet).

The Apollo internal battery can be easily removed by the end-user with just a screwdriver. This is great in case the battery needs to be replaced many years down the road from now. It is also a huge advantage if the unit ever does have to get shipped back for warranty work the battery can be removed to greatly reduce the weight for shipping and ease of transportation. The internal battery is about 60lbs and each external battery is about 65lbs.

As mentioned at the beginning, the Apollo is extremely expandable. Not only can up to nine Apollos be connected together to make excessive power, but each Apollo unit can also have up to eight batteries attached to it. Each Apollo can have a maximum of 48,348wh of the battery all connected together. That’s the main internal battery plus eight external batteries for over 48kwh of battery.

At my home, which uses propane for everything heat-related, my entire family and extended family together use an average of 20kwh per day. Maxing out the batteries on just one Apollo would give us 2.5 days of non-stop power. That’s incredible.

I will have at minimum two Apollos to make 240v power for my house which means I can have up to 96,696wh of battery. If maxed out that would give me 5 days of non-stop normal power usage. That’s without using solar panels.

If someone decided to put nine Apollos together with each one maxed out with batteries, the total battery capacity would be 435,132wh. I doubt anyone will ever do that but that’s enough power to run my house just like normal for over 21 days non-stop.

All of those numbers are based on my average daily use, not emergency essential power use, which is 10,000wh at a max per day.

The Apollo expansion batteries all link together with a heavy-duty cable and can all be stacked together in one stack can be in two stacks or all side by side. This gives so much flexibility with where it can go. Especially when using the Apollo in an RV it’ll be very easy to store the main unit and batteries in different configurations.

But with all of that battery capacity, how can they all be recharged?

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Does it Recharge Quickly?

The Apollo so far has not ceased to amaze us. Will the recharge capability let us down? Definitely not.

The Apollo solar generator has a built-in MPPT charge controller capable of charging up to 4,000w of solar to recharge the batteries! The biggest solar charger of any solar generator so far has been the Titan with 2,000w of solar input. The Apollo is now doubling that.

The MPPT charge parameter is 120-500v and 80a. That highest voltage solar input of any other system has been the EcoFlow Delta Pro with a max solar input of 150v and the Apollo demolishes that. The only tricky part with the Apollo is getting at least 120v connected. That is perfectly fine since no one will realistically connect just 500w of solar to this unit. At the minimum, it will recommend having no less than 1,000w of solar panels connected to it.

With such a large charge parameter the Apollo will be able to charge with any solar panel out there and be configurable in many different ways to charge quickly and efficiently. Also, it will be easy to over-panel the system if someone wants to do that, but likely not. Keep reading to see why.

Volts are easy to send over long distances, amps are not. By having such a high voltage range, it will allow people to connect up to two dozen or so solar panels directly to each other making it very easy to set up the solar panels.

With 4,000w of solar input, it is possible to get up to 20,000wh of battery recharged per Apollo each day since there are an average of five solar peak hours per day. Does this mean the Apollo can only charge itself and up to three external batteries? Nope, they thought of that issue too.

Each expansion can have its own MPPT charge controller attached to it. Each battery can have up to 2,400w of solar panels recharging it in addition to the main solar charge controller inside the Apollo. A single Apollo with one extra battery can have up to 6,400w of solar recharging it. Again, this is incredible!

This makes the Apollo the most expandable solar generator ever created. It won’t matter if a new solar generator comes out in a few years with cooler features, because the Apollo will last decades of full-time operation since each battery has 6,500 cycles.

It can charge from a wall charger as well and the wall charging speed is programmable all the way up to 3,000w. Wall charging and solar charging can also be done together at the same time. This would also be applicable when there is no grid power and it’s very cloudy. You can use a gas generator to recharge the entire system quickly along with the solar panels.

How Do Other Units Compare?

There are multiple solar generators that have some similarities but let’s define these in one easy-to-see comparison. The comparisons listed below will be based on 240v configurations, meaning two units.

Inverter: Apollo 6,000w | Delta Pro 7,200w | AC300 6,000w

Base Battery Capacity: Apollo 10,744wh | Delta Pro 7,200wh | AC300 6,144wh

Max Expanded Battery Capacity: Apollo 96,696wh | Delta Pro 21,800wh | AC300 24,576wh

Base Solar Input: Apollo 4,000w | Delta Pro 3,200w | AC300 4,800w

Max Expanded Solar Input: Apollo 46,400w | Delta Pro 3,200w | AC300 4,800w

Price (2 units): Apollo $9,390 | Delta Pro $7,198 | $7,398

Price per Unit Wattage: Apollo $1.20/w | Delta Pro: $1.42/w | $1.33/w

As you can see with how these different specs stack up against each other that the Hsyolis Apollo is the best bang for the buck. Once everything is factored in from the inverter capacity, battery capacity, solar input capacity, and the expandability of each unit, the Hysolis Apollo wins by quite a bit.

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Pros

As we can tell from this review, the Hysolis Apollo is an extremely powerful system. It is unrivaled in terms of power output, input, and expandability. It is very well priced for everything that is included. The Apollo can literally run an entire house, RV, cabin, van, or anything along those lines just by building it up to meet your needs.

One neat feature is that the screen is removable from the Apollo. It can reach up to 60ft away from the main unit and still read out what’s going on. It has a simple yet beautiful looking screen. The Delta Pro has a wireless screen that can be added for an additional $99 but the Apollo’s screen is already wireless, for no extra fee.

The Apollo will also have a phone app so that you can leave the screen on the main unit and monitor everything through your phone easily.

All of the standard safety features are included such as short circuit protection, high voltage protection, and low voltage protection and can even be used as a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) so it will continue to run all your equipment immediately after the power goes out.

The inverter size is just right, the battery is huge, and the solar input is unmatched anywhere. It even has an eco-mode to save even more energy.

The customer service with Hysolis has been top-notch. Having spoken directly with the owner of the Hysolis, he said they are actively looking for more support staff members, here in the USA, so that when someone calls in, they can speak to someone who knows exactly what they’re talking about. Fingers crossed they keep up with customer service because it has been so great.

Cons

Obviously, the weight is a big concern for the Hysolis Apollo. Each battery is 65lbs which is definitely on the heavy side, but it doesn’t even come close to the Delta Pro expansion battery at 84lbs. The Bluetti AC300s battery is 80lbs. And the Apollo batteries have far more energy packed into them than the other brands.

That’s pretty much it, no other cons. The Apollo will have a rolling cart just for it to make it easy to move it across flat surfaces. The only difficulty will be getting it out of the box and going up/down stairs.

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Conclusion

I don’t know of any other system that has the matched capability of the Hysolis Apollo as you can tell from this review. Since I have personally been in the solar generator industry for many years and have talked with tens of thousands of people about systems, I can tell that the Hysolis Apollo is going to truly change the solar generator world.

I am extremely excited to get my first two Apollos, each with one extra battery. That’ll be how I start off. After that, I will keep expanding it so it continues to meet my needs for my home, cabin, RV, and any other situation that arises.

If you found this review helpful, please use the links above to help support the site and the Minute Man Prep YouTube channel.

Continue ReadingHysolis Apollo Review of the Most Powerful Solar Generator Ever

Full Review of the Generark HomePower 2 Plus

Overview

The Generark HomePower 2 Plus has a sleek design, a strong inverter, and a convenient shape for transporting around the house. It is not ideal for camping, but is very useful around the house, particularly with its magnetic rolling base that can be removed or attached easily.

Battery

There are two different versions of the Generark HomePower 2, the base version and the plus version. They are nearly the same, however, the Plus version is rated for 2060 Wh whereas the starter version is rated for 1566 Wh. The difference between the two systems, 494 Wh is almost a third of the capacity of the base model and adds a significant amount of run time to the plus model.

The Generark HomePower 2 Plus has a Lithium NMC battery. This makes the power station lighter than it would have been if it had been made with LiFePo4 batteries, however, it also means that the battery will not last as long as it could have with the LiFePo4 batteries.

This power station is rated for 800 cycles to 80% capacity, which is a fairly medium amount of cycles when compared to some similar power stations of its kind. For example, the Bluetti AC200MAX is rated for 3,500 cycles, while on the other end of scale has the Jackery Explorer 2000 with only 500 cycles.

The 800 cycles to 80% capacity doesn’t mean that this power station will be dead after 800 runs. It means that after 800 runs the Generark loses the top 20% of the battery capacity. Generark says that if you only discharge the Generark HomePower 2 Plus to 20-25% each time, you can double the battery life, providing up to 5 years of daily use.

Sadly there is no expandable battery for the Generark HomePower 2 Plus, which means that you get the 2060 Wh it promises and no more.

Recharge

The Generark HomePower 2 Plus comes with both an AC and a DC charging cord for recharging, but no cords to charge via solar panels. It can be charged via solar, however, the user has to find their own cables. It seems that it uses an 8mm barrel connector so using a standard MC4 to 8mm adapter should work fine. 

This power station can charge from 0%-100% in 2.5 hours when plugged into an AC outlet and charging at the maximum capacity of 100 W, a fast charge time, though not uncommon among similar generators. The Bluetti AC200MAX can charge in 2.3 hours, the Jackery Explorer 2000 in 2.6 hours, and the Bluetti EP500 in 4.25 hours all from an AC power source, like a wall outlet.

In addition to its AC charging abilities, the Generark HomePower 2 Plus can also be plugged into a DC power source with the cord that comes with the system. There are two ports that the Generark HomePower 2 Plus can receive DC power from two cords at a time with up to 12-14 V or 240 W if it’s a 24v connection or 120w if it’s a 12v connection, which means that the power station can charge in about 9 hours of driving, though it cannot charge from both AC and DC at the same time.

The Generark HomePower 2 Plus can take 800 W max solar input. However, the power station can only take 400 W per input plug (the power station has 2 input plugs for solar). The connection to the solar panels requires an 8mm plug, which is inconvenient for the user. They can’t use just any solar panels, only those sold by Generark or Jackery, which use the same custom 8mm ports. Under ideal conditions and with full solar arrays plugged in, the Generark HomePower 2 Plus can charge in as little as 3-4 hours.

Here’s how it breaks down according to Generark:

2X DC Charging Port: DC, 12.5V-54V/ea.

Starter: 200W Max, 400W Max in total

Plus: 400W Max, 800W Max in total

The Generark HomePower 2 Plus can power other devices while also charging, but it doesn’t have a built-in UPS system, which means that while the power station can charge while charging, it charges devices with its own power rather than simply letting the power flow through the power station and straight to the device needing power. This is good for any devices that cannot have an interruption of power, however, it is not good for the battery long term. Short term it won’t do much, but after a few months up to a year or more, this will kill the battery. This is called an online UPS system.

This power station can be stored for up to a year before the battery starts to deplete, which makes it good for being prepared for emergency situations.

General Info

The Generark HomePower 2 Plus has a sleek design and a small footprint. It measures 10 x 10 x 24 in, weighs 47.6 lbs, and is made of smooth plastic. This isn’t terribly heavy, but it’s not the most convenient for camping and frequent transport. It is convenient for taking up minimal floor space in a small home and has a magnetic attachable and detachable base that has wheels, allowing the power station to be rolled around easily despite its weight. It also has a built-in handle its top. This, combined with its height, makes it convenient to pick up without having to hunch over. It also comes with a dust cover, which can be very useful for storage.

The general power button turns on the display with the first push. On the second push, it turns on the ambient lighting that’s a ring around the solar generator. This light is a white-blue color most of the time, but conveniently changes colors when the battery gets low, to yellow at 10% and red at 5%. The LCD display shows multiple things, including the charge time, discharge time, charge wattage, discharge wattage, battery percentage, low-temperature warnings, high-temperature warnings, and additional inverter information. The inverter can handle 2200 W with a surge up to 4400 W.

Ports

There are four 120 V outlets (wall plugs) that are controlled by a power button. The 2 USB A 18 W plugs, 2 USB C 100 W quick charge outlets, and the 1 12 V DC 10 A cigarette type plug are controlled by another separate power button. There are no outlets to allow an RV to be plugged in. This variety of ports allows quite a few devices to be plugged in at once.

Strengths

Generark offers a 5-year warranty on the Generak HomePower 2 Plus, which is incredibly rare for a retail power station and a definite perk. The sleek design, small footprint (tiny for the powerful inverter), and magnetic wheelbase are convenient, and the magnetic wheelbase is unique to this power station. In addition, the handle on this unit makes it convenient to pick up, as it doesn’t require much bending down.

Weaknesses

A downside of the Generak HomePower 2 Plus is the inability to attach another battery, which means what you see is what you get. If only 2060 Wh are needed, then this doesn’t matter much, but if more watt-hours are needed, there is no increasing the watt-hour capability of this power station. In addition, there is no way to increase the solar input capacity. This power station can’t be modified but is quite powerful on its own.

Because the USB and DC ports have the same power button, whenever the DC port is powered up and running, the USB ports are always running, which makes the power station drain significantly faster than it needs to and lots of power is wasted. When being run through AC, however, it runs just like it should.

This power station will cause feedback when powering a device such as a HAM radio or any other device that uses an amplifier. As long as it is being used for household use and other basic needs, this will never come into play.

The other annoyance with this unit is Generak’s imitation of Jackery with their 8mm pins, which means that the user must buy either Jackery or Generak’s solar panels. Unless you use the MC4 to 8mm adapter then you can use any panel you’d like that has the traditional MC4 connector.

Comparable Units

The most similar to the Generark HomePower 2 Plus is the Jackery Explorer 2000. They both run 2,060 Wh and cannot have battery expansions. They both also have custom 8mm input ports for solar charging and cost around the same amount, as well as they both have Lithium NMC batteries, though the Jackery Explorer 2000 only weighs 43 pounds. Other similar solar generators, such as the EcoFlow Delta Max, can run 2,016 Wh, has expandable battery capacity, and has significantly more ports. It weighs around the same amount at 48 pounds, but its footprint is significantly larger and its warranty is only 2 years, less than half of the Generark HomePower 2 Plus’s 5-year warranty.

Conclusion

The Generark HomePower 2 Plus is sleek, convenient to move, and has an incredible warranty that is unmatched by almost any other company when sold at retail. It can charge rapidly when using AC power. The ambient light is convenient for providing small amounts of light to a room and for showing when the battery gets low.

Overall, the Generark HomePower 2 Plus is a very convenient power station for home and workshop use as well as emergency energy storage, though not ideal for camping and bugging out.

Continue ReadingFull Review of the Generark HomePower 2 Plus

Is the Oukitel P2001 a Good Solar Power Station?

Overview

The Oukitel P2001 solar generator is a powerful tool that can run and charge multiple items at once, though it is not particularly convenient for on-the-go or outdoor use. If you’re looking for a moderately large amount of watt-hours, lots of cycles in the life of the generator, convenient cord storage, and good emergency preparedness, then this power station is a great option. However, if you’re looking for something light and simple just for camping or other light recreational use, this power station may not be for you.

Battery

The Oukitel P2001 power station has 48 LiFePo4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) cells that contain enough energy to power most appliances, including a refrigerator for an entire day.

Recharge

When plugged into an AC power source (such as a typical wall outlet), the Oukitel P2001 can charge from 0% to 100% in 2 hours. This fast charge is impressive for a power station of this size. When plugged into solar panels, the Oukitel P2001 can charge in as little as 4 hours. Though when tested, we have found that it takes 4-5 hours minimum with full direct sunlight without running any equipment while charging.

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This is also true of the car charging speed of the Oukitel P2001, as both the car charger and the solar charging cords plug into the Anderson input outlet on the left side of the solar generator, which has a maximum input rate of 500 W. These are slower than AC charging because the AC input has a max of 110 V, allowing the power station to receive more energy faster.

General Info

The Oukitel P2001 solar generator weighs 49 pounds and measures 15.5” x 11” x 13”. With 2 metal handles, it is easier to carry than if there were only one, but it is pretty hefty, and therefore not good for frequent moving. This makes it not very convenient for camping, hiking, and on-the-go use, though it is very useful when frequent moving is not a concern.

When fully charged, the Oukitel P2001 is capable of storing 2,000-watt hours of energy and over its lifetime is rated for 2,000 full cycles, ensuring long life and lots of use. Another convenient feature of this power station is the shelf life – the Oukitel P2001 can sit charged for an entire year before the battery drains, making this solar generator a good choice for emergency preparedness.

The Oukitel P2001 has a 2-year warranty and sells for around $1,699 without solar panels. Though this is a good chunk of money, the warranty, life cycles, and watt-hours help offset the cost, ensuring that customers get the value of what they pay for.

The Oukitel P2001 comes with an AC charging cord, a solar charging cord, and a car charging cord that plugs into the ports in your car for charging while traveling. This solar generator is designed for use with all solar panels that aren’t specific to only one power station.

The LCD display panel of the Oukitel P2001 has a variety of information for the user’s convenience. The display panel shows the energy input into the power station, the energy output of the power station, the percentage of battery that is charged, the estimated time remaining based on the current load being run, which ports are currently running power, and the temperature warnings that appear when the power station is either too hot or too cold.

Ports

The Oukitel P2001 has one overall power button that turns on the display screen and four smaller power buttons that turn on different parts of the solar generator. Overall there are 16 outlet ports on the power station in a variety of different types. 

On the left side of the Oukitel P2001 is the input section. Here there is a rigid plastic flap that lifts up, revealing 2 ports for power input, one AC (to attach the cord that plugs into the wall) and one Anderson port (to charge from solar panels or from a vehicle). 

On the front left of the solar generator is a 12 V 10 A cigarette lighter plug that allows you to plug in any device that you would usually plug into a car, an XT60 12 V 10 A port, and two DC5521 12 V 3 A ports. Both the cigarette lighter port and the WXT60 port have covers, though none of the other ports on the front have covers.

The middle section on the front of the power station is the USB ports. There are 2 traditional USB A ports, 2 fast-charging USB A ports, and 2 USB C ports. The right section of the front of the power station holds the light. The light has three modes, solid, SOS, and flashing. To turn it on you have to hold the power button until the unit starts beeping, and the unit beeps every time the light is turned on or off.

On the right side of the unit are the AC output plugs. Just like their counterparts on the left side of the unit, the AC and Anderson input ports, the 6 AC output ports are covered by a large solid plastic flap that you lift to plug items into the power station. The AC output plugs have a continuous output capability of 2000 W (1,100 W in UPS mode) and a 4000 W peak. This is helpful because most appliances require more energy when they start up than when they’re running, so while the power station may only need to continuously run 2000 W, it may need up to 4000 W for a few seconds while any large energy-consuming appliance starts up.

The Oukitel P2001 is able to be plugged into a power source while running other devices, which is called UPS technology. This allows the Oukitel P2001 to constantly be charging and full of power, and then if the source of the power station’s energy stops feeding it, the power station will start powering the devices plugged into it within 10 milliseconds, an incredibly fast turnaround time that allows the user to keep using their devices without a hitch. Generally, this technology works best with appliances and devices that use 1800 W or less.

Strengths

The 2 metal handles of the Oukitel P2001 are a definite perk for transportation. Another useful feature is the storage compartment located between the two handles that is a convenient size for storing the AC charging cable, the Anderson solar charging cable, and the Anderson car charging cable, ensuring that your power station and its cables don’t get separated from each other.

Oukitel advertises the ability of the Oukitel P2001 by showing that you can charge or run anything from a microwave to an electric vehicle with the solar generator, and a refrigerator can be run off of it and last an entire day so long as the door isn’t opened with high frequency. This is good for emergency preparedness and being ready in case of disaster to help keep food cold and any essential items running.

The Oukitel P2001 has an extraordinary range of running temperatures. This power station can run in temperatures as low as 3° F and up to as high as 104° F and can be stored in even lower temperatures, even down to –4°  F.

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Weaknesses

A weakness of the Oukitel P2001 is that it has no option to attach expandable batteries, so the battery capacity is fixed at 2000 watt-hours. If there is ever a need for more energy storage, the Oukitel P2001 has no way to meet that demand. Instead, the user simply has to purchase a new power station. However, with the large amount of power that can be stored in the Oukitel P2001, most users will not find the need for more energy storage.

The time remaining feature on the LCD screen is not very accurate, though when there are larger energy-consuming loads running it is more accurate than when there are smaller energy-consuming loads. This, while slightly annoying, is more inconvenient than a deal-breaker. This can easily be worked around by seeing how much battery each device takes and calculating how long the rest of the battery lasts.

Another downfall of the Oukitel P2001 is the way that the solar generator is not really designed with outdoor use in mind. It is not waterproof or particularly water-resistant. Some ports are covered, some are left exposed, and even those that are covered are covered by rigid plastic flaps that have no place to retract when the station is in use, leaving them vulnerable to being bumped and broken off. In addition, the air intake grills on both sides of the Oukitel P2001 are not well protected from rain. 

This solar generator is powerful, but cannot be left outside unprotected from the elements. As an indoor unit, or protected from weather, this unit is quite powerful. The non-weatherproof aspect of the OUkitel P2001 makes it non-ideal for camping and outdoor living, as well as its weight.

Comparable Units

The Ouktiel P2001 has a very high voltage when compared to similar solar power stations. Whereas other comparable power stations such as the Jackery Explorer 1500 is rated at 24 V, the Oukitel P2001 is rated at 51 V, allowing the user to power more devices at once than most of the competition. While the Allpowers Monster X Pro and the Pecron T600 have a capacity of 51 V, they both have Lithium NMC batteries, which means that they aren’t designed to last as long as the Oukitel P2001’s LiPo4 batteries.

While the non-increasable battery seems annoying, for this size solar generator it’s not uncommon. Only a few other power stations have the ability for the user to add batteries, including the Inergy Flex 1500 and the Lion Energy Safari ME. The downside to both of those is that they both have a small individual capacity than the Oukitel P2001. The Oukitel P2001 may not be able to add battery capacity, however, it has far more battery capacity than the Inergy Flex 1500 or the Lion Energy Safari ME do without purchasing battery-extending capabilities.

The 4-5 hour minimum charge time of the Oukitel P2001 isn’t the fastest of all the competition, but it’s pretty mid-range, with other comparable solar generators taking anywhere from the Lion Safari Energy ME taking 1.6 hours to charge up to 922 watt-hours of capacity, to the Pecron T600 take a full 14.1 hours to charge 5,657-watt hours of energy. For the amount of energy it stores, the Oukitel P2001 charges at a decently fast rate.

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Conclusion

Overall the Oukitel P2001 is a useful power station with a lot of great features. It is convenient for emergency preparedness and indoor/covered use but is not designed for light use and frequent transportation. 

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EcoFlow River Pro Review

The third most powerful of four units in the EcoFlow River lineup, the EcoFlow River Pro is convenient for travel and charging your devices. It can charge up to ten devices at a time with its variety of ports.

Battery

The EcoFlow River Pro has 720 Wh of power on its own. An extra battery can be added to increase the capacity from 720 Wh to 1440 Wh, however, rather than stacking like many other solar power stations, the EcoFlow River Pro and its extra battery attach with a heavy gauge cable, sitting side by side. This, while a small inconvenience, is something that can be pretty annoying if you’re using your power bank with any regularity. Having the main unit and the extra battery plugin next to each other means you need enough ground or table space for not one power bank, but two.

With a rating of 800+ cycles, the EcoFlow River Pro has a pretty long life expectancy. The ability to adjust the maximum battery capacity in the EcoFlow app allows users to make their solar power station last even longer. 

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Recharge

With an output of 600 W, the EcoFlow River Pro can actually take in energy faster than it can discharge it. When taking in energy via the AC input (the ordinary wall charger), the EcoRiver Pro can take 660 W max. This ultra-fast charging, unique to EcoFlow, means that the EcoFlow River Pro can go from 0% to 80% in an hour when plugged into an AC power source, can fully charge in just over an hour and a half, thanks to EcoFlow’s X-Stream technology.

The EcoFlow River Pro can take 200 W of solar input, similar to other solar power stations of its size. This means it cannot charge as quickly as it can when plugged into the wall, but it still holds its own when compared to other similarly sized solar power stations. When exposed to full sunlight and hooked up to the full capacity of panels, the EcoFlow River Pro fully charges in four to eight hours depending on if you have the extra battery attached or not. The EcoFlow River Pro can also be charged from a DC outlet, such as those in a car. This allows for easy and convenient on-the-go power, as the solar generator can be charged while driving.

General Info

At 16.8 pounds the EcoFlow River Pro is pretty light considering the power it has. It measures 11.4” x 7.1” x 9.3”, or about the size of a 2.5-gallon gas can. It is made of aluminum and plastic and has a built-in solid handle for easy transportation. This, along with the ten ports, makes the EcoFlow River Pro convenient for on-the-go use. 

In addition to being a convenient size for traveling, the EcoFlow River Pro makes use of Uninterrupted Power Supply or UPS technology. This means that the station can be plugged into a wall outlet and have a device plugged into it simultaneously. If thex power goes off, the Ecoflow River Pro will take over within 30 milliseconds and begin powering the device with its stored energy. 30 milliseconds is a very fast turnaround time to switch between power inputs, which will keep everything running smoothly if whatever the EcoFlow River Pro is plugged into turns off.

The EcoFlow River Pro comes with an AC charging cable so that it can be charged from the wall, a car charging cable that allows you to charge the EcoFlow River Pro on the go, a DC to DC cord, MC4 to XT60 cords for solar charging, and a user manual. 

The EcoFlow River Pro can power some devices up to 1800 W with its special X-Boost mode on. X-Boost is a setting in the computer part of the inverter that allows the inverter to run much harder than designed to for a short period of time so it can run heavier equipment if necessary. This isn’t sustainable long term, but it can be useful in a pinch. This means that the EcoFlow River Pro can run up to 80% of kitchen appliances and DIY tools when necessary, though it is most effective when devices using under 12000 W are used.

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The EcoFlow River Pro’s LCD display screen is a convenient way to see everything that’s happening with your portable power station. The display screen shows the current percentage of the battery that’s charged, the current input and output of energy, and the estimated run time based on the current load. This allows you to monitor your energy use and adapt as needed. In the event that there is a problem with the EcoFlow River Pro, the power station will let you know with warning icons displayed on the LCD screen.

Ports

The EcoFlow River Pro has a large number of ports, allowing you to charge up to ten devices at once. It is equipped with three 600 W AC ports, one USB-C port, two USB-A ports, one fast-charge USB-A port, one DC port, and two DC 55-21 ports. This is a large number of ports for such a small unit, and it makes this unit incredibly useful for anyone who charges multiple devices at once. There is also a built in light that has a low setting, a high setting, and an SOS setting in case of emergencies.

The ports are grouped into sections so that not everything is controlled by the same power button, enabling you to turn on one or more sections at a time as needed. There are four sections.  The light is in a section of its own, the USB-C and USB-C ports are grouped together, the DC ports are together, and the AC ports are grouped together. This grouping allows you to control exactly what you need to be turned on and off rather than turning it all on and off at once.

Strengths

The EcoFlow River Pro has its own built-in wifi, something that not a lot of portable power stations can claim. Although the wifi doesn’t provide internet access it allows the user to connect to the power station and control everything from the EcoFlow app. From the app, users can control everything about the power station, including changing the standby time, controlling the maximum battery capacity to preserve the life of the battery, switching to quiet charging, turning on EcoFlow’s X-Boost, turning on and off ports, and updating firmware.

The X-Stream fast charge that the EcoFlow River Pro is equipped with is currently the fastest charging of any solar portable power generator. The extremely fast charging is convenient for those who want to get up and go rather than sit around waiting for their battery. Some users have complained about the amount of sound that the fan makes. There is a quiet charge option that can be enabled from the app, however, it does slow down the charging time. Relative to a gas or diesel-powered generator, however, the EcoFlow River Pro’s fan makes minimal sound.

There are a variety of safety features that can be found equipped on the EcoFlow River Pro, including short circuit protection, low-temperature protection, over-temperature protection, over-voltage protection, low voltage protection, and more. This makes many users feel safer about leaving the unit to charge or be used without having to be near it the entire time to monitor what is happening.

Another strength of the EcoFlow River Pro is its UPS technology. It can be plugged into a charging method and have devices plugged into it and be both receiving power and giving it at the same time. If the power stops coming from the device that was powering the EcoFlow River Pro, it powers on and begins powering the devices that are plugged into it.

Weaknesses

A weakness of the EcoFlow River Pro is that some devices, like microwaves, don’t like the auto-enabled X-Boost feature of the power station that is useful for powering other devices. Luckily, this feature can be turned off and on from the app, allowing the user to adapt the power station to their personal needs.

Another complaint that users have about this portable power station is that the fan is too loud. While it may be on the louder side compared to other solar power stations, compared to a diesel or gas generator, the EcoFlow River Pro is much quieter.

One of the few seeming “flaws” in the design of the EcoFlow River Pro is that of the charging port cover. The cover that is over the ports to charge the EcoFlow River Pro is one solid piece that flips up. This is both good and bad, as it is pretty sturdy, but seems like it could easily break off if accidentally bumped too hard, as there is nowhere for the cover to go. The cover, however, is extremely handy when the unit is not plugged into a power source, and if care is taken, should last for a long time.

Click Here for the Best Price on the River Pro

Conclusion

At only $599.00 found here, the EcoFlow River Pro isn’t the cheapest portable solar power station on the market, however, it does have a quick charge, app accessibility, and a large number of ports that seem to justify the slightly higher cost.

While it is highly convenient for charging many devices and for taking on the go, the EcoFlow River Pro isn’t the best for long-term use with lots of major appliances. While convenient for smaller devices and maybe one big appliance for a while, the EcoFlow River Pro can’t keep up with running a full household for an extended period of time.

Continue ReadingEcoFlow River Pro Review

BigBlue CellPowa 2500 Early Review

The newest system to come to the solar generator and power station world is the BigBlue CellPowa 2500. It launched on April 19, 2022 on Kickstarter with some amazing deals. But is it worth getting the CellPowa 2500 or should you consider something else? Is it reliable, can it charge up quickly, will it run all the necessary equipment? All of that will be revealed here as you read on. Keep in mind that this review is based on a prototype unit that will have some minor flaws worked out by the time the units are shipping, according to the manufacturer.

 

Inverter

The BigBlue CellPowa 2500 comes with a large pure sine wave inverter that is rated to run continuously none stop at 2,500 watts of draw. That is a maximum draw of 20.8amps from a single outlet which is much more than you’d get anything to run off of a typical house outlet. This means that anything that you can run out of a house outlet will run off of the CellPowa 2500.

Click Here to Buy on Kickstarter

It peaks at 5,000w of surge capacity which is always good to see the surge wattage be rated to at least double of what the continuous running wattage is rated to on a unit. Since it is a pure sine wave inverter you can safely run any type of equipment you’d normally use at home. Modified sine wave units are the ones you want to stay away from.

One of the major downsides of the CellPowa 2500 is the inverter efficiency. Doing a couple of different tests it was discovered that the average efficiency of the solar generator is only about 77%. That is not horrible but it’s also not great. Typically we like to see at least 80% efficiency. Ideally, we want around 85% to 90% efficiency out of a solar generator so we know we’re able to use the most amount of power from the battery.

What does this mean? Let’s say you’re running a 1,000w load off of an inverter and the inverter was 100% efficient. They never are but just to better understand this we’ll say it’s 100% efficient. That means that after one hour of running 1,000w off of the inverter you will have used 1,000wh off of the battery. But if the inverter is only 77% efficient, and you’re running a 1,000w load for one hour, you’ll have actually consumed 1,298wh off of the battery because the unit had to use more power from the battery to cover the lack of efficiency. If the inverter were 50% efficient it would use 2,000wh running a 1,000w load for one hour.

You really want a more efficient inverter because then you can use more of the actual capacity of the battery. This is not necessarily a deal-breaker but it’s definitely not great to have only 77% efficiency.

 

Battery

The BigBlue CellPowa 2500 has a 1,843wh LiFePo4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery installed inside the unit. It is not a serviceable battery which is fine and it likely will never need to be serviced since it doesn’t off-gas and has over 3,500 cycles. This means you could drain and recharge the battery once per day for 3,500 days (nearly 10 years) and after that time the battery will still be 80% as efficient as it was on day one.

LiFePo4 batteries are extremely nice because of how long they last but it does increase the weight of the unit significantly. Weighing in at a whopping 56lbs, this power station is a bit hard to move around. Although not nearly as heavy as some solar generators, it’s portable but still quite heavy.

With the inverter being 77% efficient you’ll have a usable watt-hour capacity of 1,419wh. That means you could run a 140w load for 10 hours on just the battery. An average household fridge will use roughly 80 to 100wh per hour of use. That means the CellPowa 2500 will run an average household fridge for about 14-18 hours with no solar or wall charging help which is quite good. If you were to use this in an emergency, you could realistically run a fridge for many days if you added solar panels to this unit.

One of the neatest features that include the inverter and battery working well together is the UPS feature. The uninterruptable power supply feature means that you could have the CellPowa 2500 plugged into the wall at your home charging and staying at 100% capacity while having something like a refrigerator plugged into it. Then if the power cuts off to your house the CellPowa 2500 will immediately become the power source for the fridge without causing any fluctuation in the operation of the fridge. So if you’re away on a trip and the power goes out, your fridge won’t stop working and will keep your food cold for quite some time. This gives you the chance to save a lot of your food in the event of a major power outage.

Click Here to Buy on Kickstarter

Charging

There are 3 ways to charge up the BigBlue CellPowa 2500 solar generator. It will charge at 1,200w from the wall charger, 1,200w from solar input, and 102w from the DC car charger.

The AC wall charger is wonderful because it is only a standard charging cable. The typical US house outlet is called a NEMA 15P, basically meaning it’s rated to 15a and it’s a Plug, hence 15P. The AC charging port on the CellPowa 2500 uses a typical C13 plug which is a very common power plug for household items. The unit comes with a NEMA 15P to C13 cable and if you wanted to get a longer cable or backup cable they are very inexpensive and very common to find at electronic stores.

To charge the CellPowa 2500 from a car outlet while driving around will take 18 hours. It’s nice that it comes with that option but I don’t see very many people using that option in real-world use. It charges at only about 9a or around 102 watts. It’s nice to have this feature but isn’t a big deal anymore.

Solar charging is what we feel is the most important because it is the equivalent of having more fuel for a gas generator. If the power is out, solar is the main way to get more power and get the battery charged back up again. Luckily the BigBlue CellPowa 2500 has a 1,200w MMPT charge controller that is rated to take power from 12-65v and 25a. The big downside is how you get to 1,200w input

There are three 8mm/DC7909 solar input ports. The idea is to connect two 200w panels into each port for a total of 1,200w. The big downside to this is cable management. This is probably one of the biggest flaws of the entire system. If you want your CellPowa 2500 to be indoors where you can use it, and you need your solar panels 100ft away in a clear area where they can get the best sunlight, you’ll need 3 sets of 100ft cables to make it work. Because of the 3 input ports, it makes it difficult to keep things tidy while charging with solar.

Outlets

The BigBlue CellPowa 2500 is capable of running a lot of equipment at the same time. It has six 120v NEMA 15 plugs just like you find on the wall outlets in houses. But it also has two 18w USB-A ports, two 45w USB-C ports, and two 100w PD USB-C ports for extra fast charging of USB-C devices. It also has one typical DC cigarette lighter port rated to 10a as well as two 5.5×2.1mm barrel ports.

Having all of these outlets and ports makes it very easy to be charging multiple phones, tablets, laptops, fridges, freezers, and so on all at the same time. And it can be charged from either the wall charger or the solar input at the same time that equipment running off of the unit.

Extra Features

A neat feature that is becoming much more common on solar generators and power stations is a Bluetooth App to control and monitor the BigBlue CellPowa 2500 with. It’s not fully functional at this stage of development but BigBlue ensures it will be very nice to use once the main units are shipping out from their Kickstarter campaign.

One very unique feature that we have never heard of before in a solar generator is a special SOS GPS feature. The CellPowa 2500 has a unique button for help. There is a GPS located inside of the unit and in case of an emergency you can activate the SOS beacon which will alert local authorities, search and rescue, forest rangers or whoever is the response team to come find your location. This is a very neat feature but is still unclear if the GPS option can be toggled off when you don’t want it to be activated. In a situation like that, it seems like it should be possible to turn the GPS on, then send out the SOS so that you’re not being tracked by BigBlue everywhere you go.

It does come with a color touch screen which helps give it a modern look similar to the Bluetti AC200P units. However, the majority of the screen is filled with the battery percentage. The input and output wattage readings are in the bottom right corner of the screen and are very small and hard to read. You must be right next to the unit to see what that info is. The AC and DC power options are turned on and off with the touch screen, so the downside is if the screen dies for any reason, the entire unit is inoperable.

It comes with an 18-month limited warranty but it’s unclear as to what’s included in the limited warranty. It’s typical for warranties to cover any manufacturing defects so it’s safe to assume that is what is included in the 18-month period.

One feature that some people will like and others will dislike is that cooling fans are always operating when the unit is turned on. This means if you’re not running a load and no heat is being generated, the fans are running. Also if you’re running a heavy load and the unit making lots of heat, it’s being cooled very well. The downside is that when the fans are always running unnecessarily, they are using up power for no reason. Units like the Titan solar generator have a heat sensor that tells the fans when to turn on, turn onto turbo speed, and turn off based on what’s happening inside the unit and how it needs to cool. We can only hope that BigBlue will update this feature as the finished units ship out.

Conclusion

The BigBlue CellPowa 2500 seems like a pretty decent unit. For average use to use during an emergency it has a large enough inverter to power essential items and a large enough battery to get through the night while running that essential equipment. The solar input is high enough to recharge the entire system in a little under 3 hours which means that it can easily be recharged and run essential equipment during the day.

Click Here to Buy on Kickstarter

The inverter efficiency is a bit concerning and the fact that 3 sets of solar panels with dedicated cables have to be used to reach the 1,200w solar input is a bummer too. Once we get one of these units in hand we will be able to test if the CellPowa 2500 can be over-paneled and see how well it can run an RV, cabin, and home backup items.

If you feel this unit fits your needs then we highly recommend you go to their Kickstarter campaign and get this unit while it’s greatly discounted. If you’re unsure, then we recommend you wait and see how the finished unit turns out and see if it’ll work for you.

Continue ReadingBigBlue CellPowa 2500 Early Review

BLUETTI EB70S 800W 716Wh Portable Solar Power Station

Overview

The Bluetti EB70S is a good portable solar generator for travel, portability, and on-the-go use. However, it is not ideal for running a home or emergency prep for the long term.

Battery

While the other comparable solar generators of its size have Lithium NMC batteries, the Bluetti EB70S power station has a LiFePO4 battery. While a heavier battery than the Lithium NMCs, the LiFePO4 battery will last significantly longer than its competitors, meaning that were this unit to be drained every day down to nothing, it would last for almost ten years before going down to 80% efficiency, as it is rated for over 3,000 cycles. 

While this is a nice feature to have, it is debatable whether this is necessary, as it cannot power a full house, and is more useful for travel than home or emergency prep use. In the event of an emergency, despite its long life, the Bluetti EB70S solar generator would be unable to power a house simply because it doesn’t have the output ability or battery size. Despite this, however, it remains a good solar generator for travel and portable use.

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Recharge

The Bluetti EB70S solar power station comes with multiple ways to recharge. It comes with a wall plug that will charge it in roughly three to four hours, as well as a 12v car adapter that will allow it to charge in roughly seven to eight hours, convenient for long trips where power will be needed, adding to its portable functionality. Having the car charger is another great way to be charging the unit while it’s running a DC fridge while on the road trip. 

It has a max input of 200 W from solar panels, and with advanced MPPT technology that ensures faster solar recharge rates, this power station can be fully recharged via solar in three to four hours with the full amount of solar panels, though that can be affected by cloud cover.

General Info

At 12.6 x 8.5 x 8.7 inches, the Bluetti EB70S is a convenient size for transportation, featuring a sturdy handle that folds down into the top for easy portability. Though it does weigh more than some of the comparative generators such as the Ecoflow River Max and the Jackery, which are both slightly smaller, the battery life makes up for the extra weight, and even though it weighs more than the other units, it is still light, weighing only 21.4 pounds, which is still a convenient weight for carrying when needed. The weight is well worth it for the LiFePo4 battery, compared to Jackery and River Max’s Lithium NMC/Lithium-ion batteries, which are lighter but will not last as long.

It has a 12-month warranty, allowing plenty of time for testing before the warranty expires. It comes with a corded wall charger, a car charger, a USB-c to USB-c cable for fast charging small devices, a solar panel connector, and a simple, easy-to-read and understand user’s manual.

Ports

For a smaller unit, the Bluetti EB70S has a lot of ports, adding to its functionality. It comes with four 120 V AC outputs that can supply 700 W. These AC ports also have a peak output capacity of up to 1400 W, which is a nice added safety feature. 

The Bluetti EB70S also has one DC, 12 V, 10A car port. It also comes with two DC, 12 V, 10 A, outports that measure 5.5 mm x 2.1 mm. There are two USB-A outputs with 5 V and 3 A capabilities, which are convenient for charging phones. A unique feature that the Bluetti EB70S has is two 100 W type-C PD outputs. 

Most similar models don’t feature a 100 W type-c charger. The closest comparison is the EcoFlow River Max, which only has one, whereas the Bluetti EB70S has two, adding functionality for charging rechargeable batteries. The Bluetti EB70S has a 15 W wireless charging pad, which can be used to charge compatible phones if the other USB-A ports are being used, something which is both convenient and unique to this solar generator and the BougeRV 716wh solar generator (which is identical to the Bluetti EB70S). The Bluetti EB70S also has LED lighting that can be set to full bright or SOS flash mode for emergency use. The input port is a 12-18v, 8 A, 200 W Max port, which can be charged in a variety of ways (see Recharge).

Strengths

The 200 watts of solar input is impressive for a solar generator of this size. The Ecoflow River and Bluetti EB55 are the only comparable solar generators that have the capacity for equal solar input. The Jackery and other comparable solar generators have only 100 watts of solar input, allowing the Bluetti EB70S solar generator to charge far faster than its competitors. 

Another strength of the Bluetti EB70S is that it can both charge and discharge at the same time. Allowing you to charge the solar generator at the same time it’s plugged into and charging from solar panels, the wall, or a car. This means that the Bluetti EB70S can be running non-stop, not needing to stop to charge as long as whatever is running is taking less from the power station than what is being input.

After fully discharging, the Bluetti EB70S remains surprisingly cool, not even feeling warm to the touch on any portion of the surface. The fans are quiet and not annoying at all, an important feature of any generator that will be used for portability or travel, particularly if it will be used when camping or in an RV or trailer.

The 200 W of the Bluetti EB70S solar generator is capable of running a laptop, a USB charger, a fan, LED lights, and other small appliances, making this convenient for travel and adventuring. 

Weaknesses

The Bluetti EB70S can run a fridge, but only for about six to eight hours. Helpful in a pinch, but long term, it’s not strong enough to run a house or major appliances for long. A minor annoyance, though it doesn’t affect the function of the solar power station very much, is that of the display screen. 

The display screen doesn’t stay on, and there is no button to turn it on. This is a common complaint on many solar generators. Though they have nice display screens, they won’t stay turned on, and it makes it very difficult for the user to see what’s going on with their generator.

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The inverter is not quite as efficient as desired, running a little low at about 75% efficiency at a 1c rate (1c rate meaning it is running at the capacity that it is rated as, or full capacity). Were it to be run with a lighter load it would be more efficient, but it’s important to know just how much a generator can handle before you decide what to buy (or what not to buy).

Comparable Units

Two other units that are similar in size and capability to the Bluetti EB70S are the EcoFlow River Max and the Jackery 500. Both are midsize solar generators, good for portability like the Bluetti EB70S, but neither has the charging speed, number of ports, or lifespan of the Bluetti EB70S. 

With a 200 W solar input capacity, the Bluetti EB70S has the same solar input capacity as the EcoFlow River Max (which can take 200 W), but more than the Jackery 500 and most other solar generators similar in size and capacity. The two 100 W type-C PD ports are unique to this solar generator, with the only comparable being the EcoFlow River Max, which has one, and the identical BougeRV 716wh, which has two.

The two ports allow the Bluetti EB70S to be more efficient in charging small devices, whereas the other comparable solar generators have both less charging speed and less capacity for charging things like cell phones and other small devices.

Purchasing

The Bluetti EB70S is currently available and in stock ready to ship. Though it is similar to the EcoFlow River Max and the Jackery, the Bluetti EB70S will last significantly longer due to the  LiFePO4 battery, rather than the Lithium NMC batteries of the EcoFlow River Max and the Jackery. 

For a comparative price, the Bluetti EB70S will last 2,500 cycles more than the EcoFlow River Max (rated at 500 cycles), and 2,500 more cycles than the Jackery 500 (also rated at 500 cycles), which is particularly useful if you are an avid traveler in need of constant portable energy, as this means you will not have to replace your solar generator for quite some time, making it a more cost-efficient choice.

Conclusion

Though the EcoFlow River Max has the capability to take the same amount of solar power at 200 W, the Bluetti EB70S has a battery that will long outlast it. With more ports and more cycles, the Bluetti EB70S seems to be a more utilitarian choice, allowing for longer life and more versatile use than the competition for a portable solar generator. While not ideal for powering a house or being the sole source of power in an emergency, the Bluetti EB70S is a great choice for on-the-go and portable use.

Continue ReadingBLUETTI EB70S 800W 716Wh Portable Solar Power Station

Personal Review of the BigBlue Cellpowa500 LiFePo4 Portable Power Station

The Big Blue CP500 is a new lightweight solar generator that is one of the top-performing power stations to hit the market recently. Only bested by one or two other units, which I will explain shortly, the CP500 is definitely worth taking a look at for the price.

It has some unique capabilities like fast wall charging, LiFePo4 batteries, expanding and collapsing carry handle, and much more. Pairing it with the Big Blue 100w Folding Solar Panel is a good option as well since the Big Blue 100w Folding Solar Panel has been one of the top-performing folding panels tested.

Inverter

The Big Blue CP500 has a properly sized inverter that is rated to push out 500 watts none stop for as long as the battery lasts. It will peak at 1,000 watts meaning it’s capable of running some inductive loads, even things like smaller hair dryers, small space heaters, ebike chargers, and much more. It definitely isn’t recommended to use the CP500 for emergency backup power, it’s not large enough for that.

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It is capable of running a full-sized home fridge for a few hours but nothing more than that at best. And sadly it cannot run any AC load while being charged. It doesn’t matter if it’s being charged from the wall adapter, USB C ports, or the DC solar/car charger.

The inverter is a pure sine wave so it is capable of running any load that is under 500 watts of continuous output. The most practical uses I have found for the Big Blue CP500 are for running laptops, recharging drones, recharging portable power tool batteries, running CPAPs, powering a DC fridge on a trip, and keeping mobile devices like phones and tablets powered up on the go. It also does work well for a single ebike to get about one more charge back into the ebike, depending on which ebike you use.

One of the most surprising features is that the inverter has an 87% efficiency rating. 85% is considered really good, anything over 80% is considered good to average. If it’s less than 80% I wouldn’t use it at all. I was actually able to run about 525 watts continuously which is more than what the inverter is rated to.

Battery

The battery is quite incredible. It is a 534wh LiFePo4 cell battery that is rated to last thousands of cycles. There is no doubt the LiFePo4 batteries are what most people are looking for. It is very safe, has an unbeatable cycle count, and can be discharged completely without damaging the cells.

But what is most impressive to me about the Big Blue CP500 LiFePo4 battery is that it was capable of pushing out the full 525w draw of the inverter for about 52 minutes non-stop. As mentioned above that gives it an 87% efficiency through the inverter which is pretty hard to beat.

Most lithium batteries will not be that efficient through the inverter and will slowly push out less and less power as it gets drained closer to 0%. Not with the Big Blue CP500, it pushed out the full 525w draw until it hit zero. Big Blue definitely did a very good job designing the battery and making it powerful enough to do everything as advertised which is not common in the solar generator and power station world.

Recharging

The Big Blue CP500 has a very impressive recharging capability. It can recharge with a wall charger like any other power station, but it can also recharge from both USB C ports at the same time as the wall charger which is different from most other units on the market. The wall adapter charger will charge at about 90 watts. Each USB C port will allow either 60 watts in or out. When charging it will obviously push the 60 watts into the battery. When recharging the Big Blue CP500 with the wall charger plus both USB C chargers I was getting 210 watts of input which is very fast.

Recharging the Big Blue CP500 with the wall and USB chargers will recharge the entire system in just 2.5 hours. You can use the USB C charging along with the solar or car charging as well but that seems to be less practical since that means the unit would likely be outside away from USB C plugs.

The Big Blue 100w folding solar panel did very well too. It was able to generate 88 watts of solar input in the middle of winter. Generally, solar panels don’t make as much power during the winter because the sun is lower in the sky. The fact that the Big Blue CP500 was able to get that much charge into it with the Big Big 100w folding solar panel is very good. That means during the summer it should be able to get much closer to the 110-watt max solar input for the CP500.

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Concerns

The Big Blue CP500 is definitely an impressive unit one that I would recommend to almost anyone for easy portable power. I do not like the fact that it cannot run AC power while being charged though. This means it can’t be used as a UPS as a battery backup. I can’t have my laptop plugged into the CP500, and then have the wall charger plugged into the CP500 at the same time because the CP500 will just recharge and not run my laptop. So I wouldn’t use it as a UPS.

I also wish it was easier to reach the 210-watt recharge input without having to use the USB C ports but at the same time, it’s incredible that it can do that through both ports at the same time. The EcoFlow River Max is the only unit that truly beats the Big Blue CP500 because the River Max will recharge at 300 watts just from the wall charger and has 200 watts of solar input and can run AC equipment while being charged. So if you’re needing those features then I recommend the EcoFlow River Max.

The bottom line, the price, is that it’s a good price. Generally found about $400 the Big Blue CP500 is very affordable for all the features you get. But for less than $100 more you can get the EcoFlow River Max which has the extra features as previously mentioned. Are those extra features worth the extra price? That’s up to you.

Conclusion

The Big Blue CP500 is a good unit. Not the absolute best one on the market for lightweight power stations or solar generators but definitely worth it to many people. It has a great battery, great inverter efficiency, and is very portable. Its shortcomings can be overlooked unless you absolutely need a UPS setup which most people don’t. And most people don’t need to recharge a system like the CP500 extremely fast which means it’s okay that it only has a 90 watt wall charger which is enough for most people.

 

Continue ReadingPersonal Review of the BigBlue Cellpowa500 LiFePo4 Portable Power Station

Is the Bluetti AC200Max the New King of Midweight Solar Generators?

The Bluetti AC200Max is one of the best medium-sized solar generators to come out to date. But is it enough to be the absolute best option? Does it offer the best efficiency, power, expandability, rechargeability, and all the other necessary components to be the best option?

The top competitors to the Bluetti AC200Max are the EcoFlow Delta Max and the Inergy Flex. There are many similarities between these systems including expandable battery packs, portability, and how many items can be run off of them at the same time.

Midweight Sized Solar Generators

What are midweight-sized solar generators? They are units that are too big for simple camping or day trips but not large enough to permanently run an off-grid cabin or have 240v power capability. They generally have inverter capacities from 1,500w to 2,500w and battery sizes from 1,500wh to 6,000wh.

Click Here for the Best Pricing on the AC200Max

Inverter

The inverter on the AC200Max is a very efficient and powerful setup. It is a pure sine wave, which is to be expected from modern solar generators, and will run any AC-powered device that you can run at home very easily. With a continuous output rating of 2,200w, it is less than the EcoFlow Delta Max at 2,400w but much larger than the Inergy Flex at 1,500w. This means it will easily run any household device that you would normally plug into the wall outlet. And if there is any heavy load such as a hairdryer, chop saw, or even some air compressors, it can peak all the way up to 4,800w which is 220% higher than the continuous output capacity of the Bluetti AC200Max.

It may not have the highest continuous output of all the midweight solar generators currently available but 2,200w is still plenty of power for the standard backup power setup for most people. This means it’s easily capable of running a fridge, freezer, lights, fans, CPAP, toaster, coffee maker, hairdryer and so much more without any trouble.

But one thing that is very impressive about the Bluetti AC200Max is its inverter efficiency. It is typical for a good solar generator to have about 85% efficiency out of the inverter. Meaning for every 1 watt-hour of battery capacity you’ll get out .85 watt-hours of actual power through the inverter. This inefficiency is normal and happens because the inverter is converting battery power which is 51v DC power in the Bluetti AC200Max to 120v AC power for devices. But the Bluetti AC200Max pushes out a solid 88% efficiency which is much higher than a typical good system. This means you’ll get more power out of the battery than another system like the Inergy Flex which only has about an 80% efficient inverter. The Delta Max has an 89% efficient inverter so basically the same as the Bluetti AC200Max, both are very good.

The 2,200w inverter runs four 18amp house style outlets (NEMA 15) and one 30amp RV (TT-30) outlet. But you have to keep in mind that the 30amp RV plug can only push out 18 amps of continuous power because the inverter is rated to 2,220 watts (2,200 watts ÷ 120 volts = 18.34amps). Meaning it is not a true 30amp plug but can connect to 30amp service plugs on RVs which is a nice feature.

Click Here for the Best Pricing on the AC200Max

Battery

The Bluetti AC200Max uses the heavy but very reliable LiFePo4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery that is tried and true. With up to 3,500 cycles on the battery before it reaches 80% efficiency, this unit will last for many years without any noticeable decay in battery capacity. If the battery were used 3,500 times by doing a cycle once per day it would take nearly 10 years for the battery to get to 3,500 cycles. That’s incredible!

Although cycles are an important feature for solar generators it is very important to understand that it is not one of the most important features. You have to consider that unless you’re literally living off-grid with this unit and using a lot of power off of it daily that you’re not likely going to reach that 3,500 cycle mark. The reality is most people need these types of units during emergencies, or for RVing for a few weeks each summer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But if you consider that you are using this fairly heavily then you’re looking closer to 100 cycles per year. This means you’re looking at over 30 years before you reach 3,500 cycles.

That is why it is important to have a good amount of cycles on the batteries but it is not a deal-breaker or a deal decider. It is more important to have a larger battery capacity, larger inverter, and fast solar recharge than to have a high number of cycles.

But one of the best features of the Bluetti AC200Max is its ability to use expandable batteries. Using the Bluetti B230 and B300 batteries you can expand the AC200Max to be up to 6,144wh with B230s and up to 8,194wh with the B300 batteries.

The B230 battery is the same battery that is in the Bluetti AC200Max of 2,048wh. It is just the battery packaged into another case and has external connectors to link up with the AC200Max. The B300 battery however is 3,072wh in capacity. And you can use either two B230s or two B300s attached to the AC300Max.

There doesn’t seem to be a way to use any other kind of battery with the AC200Max so you are limited to only using Bluetti batteries. But they are fairly priced and are LiFePo4 cells as well so they will last forever and are very high quality.

The downside though to using these LiFePo4 cells inside the AC200Max as well as in the B230 and B300 is that they are very heavy. The AC200Max alone without external batteries is 61lbs which is definitely quite heavy. Just by adding a single B230 battery, you’re looking right about 100lbs to handle. With a couple of B300 batteries, you’re well over 150lbs which makes it much more difficult to keep it portable, but they are expansion batteries that are externally mounted so it is easier to move them around than having a single system that is all linked together as one unit.

The batteries are not without their major flaws which I’ll talk about below in the weaknesses section.

Recharge

There are multiple ways to charge up the Bluetti AC200Max. The one that is most important is the solar recharge but it can also be charged with a wall charger, car charger, and even a lead-acid battery. It is unclear why Bluetti thought that it would be an important feature to be able to recharge the AC200Max from a lead-acid battery. But, it’s capable of doing that and that is a unique feature that is not common in other solar generators.

The AC200Max comes with a 500w AC power charging brick that is a bit heavy but does charge fairly quickly in just about 4 hours for just the base unit with no external batteries. The car charger puts in a little bit more than 100w into the battery at a time so it’s a very slow way to charge but nonetheless has that option. For midweight systems like this, car charging is very uncommon because it takes so long but is a nice feature for anyone using this system in a Van setup. At least while driving it can get a little extra charge.

The AC200Max has a high input of 900w input directly from solar. And with a special adapter that you can buy as an extra, you can get an extra 500w solar input into each expansion battery that is added. If you had two external batteries added you can have a total of 1,900w of solar input going into the whole system which is very impressive. That is only beat by the Titan solar generator which has a standard solar input of 2,000w, 3,000w inverter, and 10’s of thousands of watt-hours in battery capacity can be added to the Titan.

Click Here for the Best Pricing on the AC200Max

The AC200Max’s standard solar input of 900 watts beats the EcoFlow Deltas 800w max solar input and the Inergy Flex’s 400w solar input. The Flex is capable of adding more charge controllers as well just like the AC200Max but the Flex’s extra charge controllers are two years behind production so don’t hold your breath on getting those.

The AC200Max with no extra batteries can be charged in as fast as 2hrs and 20mins with its 900w solar input. It can be easily over-paneled which is a very nice feature to have on solar generators. With a solar input of 10-145v and up to 15amps it’s easy to get upwards of 1,500 watts in solar panels connected to the AC200Max.

Why over-panel? If the sun comes up at 8 am, but isn’t near its peak height in the sky until 10 am, that means from 8 am until 10 am you won’t be making the full power of your solar panels. As an example, if you can only get 60% of your solar panel-rated power into the AC200Max then in the early morning you’re not charging at the highest capacity. So if you had 1,000 watts in panels connected at 8 am you’d get 600 watts to go into the AC200Max. But if you had 1,500 watts in panels connected at 8 am, at 60% power input, you’d actually be getting 900 watts of solar input at the very beginning of the day.

This allows you to get more charging hours of full capacity throughout the day and makes it much easier to fully recharge the system on cloudy days or in adverse weather.

Over-paneling is one of the best features any solar generator can have and between the AC200Max, Delta Max, and Flex, only the AC200Max is capable of doing it. The Titan beats the AC200Max with up to 4,000w of solar panels being able to connect to it in over-paneling capability. But the Titan is considered a heavyweight solar generator, a different caliber, and more capable so it’s not a fair comparison.

Extra Features

The Bluetti AC200Max has many great features such as a very interactive and informative touch screen. It shows plenty of information from the load output, the recharging input, battery percentage, battery cell balances, and much more. Some people have reported that their touch screens have frozen and were not usable for many hours at some times. It is likely a bug that is no longer an issue but was most likely just an issue in early models.

The AC200Max as well as all of Bluetti’s power stations come with a 24 months warranty which is the current industry standard.

It has a very sleek and interactive Bluetooth app that allows you to connect to the unit, monitor, control, and adjust settings all from your smartphone. This is becoming more and more popular with solar generators and power stations today and works very well. As long as you’re within the short range of about 30ft from the unit you can see everything from your phone through the Bluetti app.

Weaknesses

The biggest concern besides the touch screen locking up and not being used are the external batteries. The issue is that if for any reason the total battery capacity on the AC200Max drops all the way down to zero, only the onboard battery inside the AC200Max will recharge when the sun comes back up and hits the solar panels. For some reason, the external batteries do not get any charge at all after hitting 0%. They have to be jump-started using the AC wall charger. Once they’ve been jump-started they will then begin charging from the solar panels.

That means if this was to be used at an off-grid cabin, van, RV, home, or anywhere, and you drained the battery down to zero which can definitely happen, you have to manually reset the external batteries. That is nearly a deal-breaker if this is to be used for emergency backup power, off-griding, or boondocking. At our off-grid cabin, there are times we are not there for weeks, or there is bad weather for weeks. On the one good day there’s sun in the midst of bad weather I can’t afford to be wondering if my system was fully drained and not charging the extra batteries.

The cable management. This is a big issue if you have expendable batteries. Each battery has a very heavy-duty cable that connects it to the AC200Max. Then if each battery has an additional solar charger connected to it plus the solar cables themselves, it can become quite the rat’s nest of cables. It simply requires a lot of cable management which for many people is not a strong suit or is not wanted to be dealt with in the middle of an emergency.

Also, the weight of the entire system is necessary to address. With the base unit alone being 61lbs it’s not going to be easy for many people to move it around. Having a furniture dolly may help but in the end that will only work on flat surfaces. Even the Titan which is considered a heavyweight system can be broken down into smaller parts and have a max weight of 35lbs per piece making it very easy to transport and setup again. Especially since the Titan doesn’t use external cabling to connect to extra batteries, they simply stack on top of each other. And because the Titan already has 2,000w of solar input built into the unit itself there are no external charge controllers to have more of a mess of cables.

Click Here for the Best Pricing on the AC200Max

Pricing

Factoring in the inverter size, battery capacity, and solar input which are the three most important features of any solar generator system, the Bluetti AC200Max is well priced. At about $2,099 for the average price you’ll only end up paying around $1.44 per “unit wattage.” That is very close to the Titan’s $1.42 per unit wattage which has been considered the “best bang for the buck” for years now.

Conclusion

The Bluetti AC200Max is a very good system. It’s efficient, expandable, quickly rechargeable can be over-paneled, and has a good price per unit wattage. It’s nearly tied in capability with the EcoFlow Delta Max. The AC200Max has a slightly smaller inverter at 2,200w whereas the Delta Max has a 2,400w inverter. But the AC200Max has a max battery capacity of over 8,000wh and the Delta Max can only go up to just over 6,000wh. And the Delta Max has 800w max solar input without the ability to over panel. And the AC200Max has 900w of max solar input and can be over paneled. The AC200Max has 3,500 cycles and the Delta Max 800 cycles. So nearly in every way that matters the AC200Max beats the Delta Max.

As far as midweight solar generators are concerned, it would appear that the Bluetti AC200Max is currently the very best option available. The Inergy Flex doesn’t hold a candle to the AC200Max.

If you find you want a little more inverter power, more than twice the solar input for the base unit, and more expandable battery capacity than any other unit currently in existence, then the Titan solar generator would be the next best option.

But the Bluetti AC200Max can absolutely stand on its own as the best midweight system.

Continue ReadingIs the Bluetti AC200Max the New King of Midweight Solar Generators?