How Long Can You Run A Portable Power Station
You can get close to the answer with some basic math. If you have a power station that is rated at 1,000 watt-hours, and you plug in a device, let’s say a tv, rated at 100 watts, then you can divide that 1,000 by 100 and say that it will run for 10 hours.
However, this isn’t usually the case. The industry ‘standard’ is to say that you should take 85% of the total capacity for that math. In that case, 850 watt-hours divided by 100 watts for the tv would be 8.5 hours.
The reality is that you should expect somewhere between 8.5 and 10 hours in this example.
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Perfect Power Next Solar Generator
The Perfect Power Next has all the benefits of the PowerSource, such as:
cart kit sold separately
#1: Maximum Power in Minimum Time
I cannot emphasize this enough. The Perfect Power solar generator can be set up in just a few minutes. Then, all you have to do is start plugging things in. It will run both AC & DC appliances anywhere… anytime!
#2: Backup Power When You Need It Most
It’s called a solar backup because it’s designed to come to your rescue when power trouble starts and your lights go out. Run a refrigerator to keep your food from going bad… or… even run a sump pump in the basement if you have to get rid of excess water.
#3 Portable Power
Your Perfect Power is a portable solar generator. If the going ever gets too tough where you are and you decide to get the heck out of Dodge, you simply throw it in the car and take off to a safer destination, knowing you have power wherever you go.
#4: Replaces Gas Generators
No noise, no fumes, no maintenance and most importantly… no fuel required. Simply roll it to whatever location needs the power and start plugging in appliances. It has a massive maintenance-free battery as well as an indestructible outer case. It’s a solid piece of equipment that will last a lifetime.
#5: Backup Power Available When You Need It
#6: Many Uses For The Perfect Power
#7: Just Point Plug And Power Up!
#8: Life-Saving Power When You Need It Most
#9: Power For Emergency Communications
#10: Constantly Being Recharged By The Sun
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Which Portable Power Station Is Best
The best portable power station that you can buy will entirely depend on what you’re looking for. For the majority of campers and vanlifers, you should go for the Jackery Explorer range. Jackery are best known in the industry for reliability and quality and have a range of sizes to suit 95% of buyers.
Leading Innovators Of Solar And Mobile Power Solutions Since 1996
From our beginnings as a small Canadian distributor of solar energy products, Go Power! has grown to become one of North Americas leading suppliers of recreational and business solar solutions.
Now a part of the Dometic family of products, Go Power! provides a full range of high-quality solar chargers, inverters, controllers and power accessories dependable and cost-effective mobile power solutions when grid power is unavailable or unsustainable.
Also Check: How To Check Solar Panel Efficiency
Who This Is For
A portable power station is the best option if you need to juice up common personal electronics and small appliances while spending long periods of time away from household AC outlets, or if you want to have backup power ready to go in case of an emergency.
These devices are basically large batteries in protective boxes, with AC outlets and other ports built in. Theyre much bigger, heavier, more powerful, and generally more rugged than our power bank and portable laptop charger recommendations. That gives them more versatility for activities like camping with lots of electronic gear, working in a remote corner of your home, screening a movie in your backyard, or staging a scenic photoshoot.
In an emergency, they offer some major advantages over gas-powered portable generators, despite not being as powerful. Portable power stations are silent and free of emissions, which means you can use them safely inside a house during a blackout. And since theres no motor, you dont have to keep gas handy, or perform the oil changes or other minor maintenance a combustion engine requires. Battery-powered generators are a good alternative for projects requiring heavy-duty power tools, but they tend to be bigger and heavier than the top contenders in this guide.
Lipower Mars 1000 Portable Power Station Review: An Ultra
To me, using portable solar generators are like playing life with cheat codes on. I can have my electricity literally anywhere I want it, whenever I want it. If I run out, I can just make more for free . Having tested the Mars 1000 portable power station from LiPower, Im happy to see that prices for such cool and useful technology are headed in the right direction, namely down. And with LiPower offering an exclusive discount for Electreks readers, a portable power station of this capacity has never before been this affordable.
I wont bury the lede here.
While many portable power stations set the standard pricing at around $1/watt or $1/watt-hour, the LiPower Mars 1000 significantly undercuts them.
The normal sale price is $899 on both and LiPowers site, which is already a deal considering it offers 1,100 Wh of capacity and 1,000 watts of pure sine wave inverter AC power.
But LiPower is generously offering an even better deal for Electreks readers. Theyre dropping the price to just $691 if you use the code ELECTREK on LiPowers site or the code SHAUWMY8 on . Both codes are good until the end of May.
A total of 1,100 Wh of stored energy and the ability to deliver 1 kW of AC power opens a lot of possibilities.
Thats enough power and capacity to run most basic appliances off-grid for several hours. In a pinch, it could even run your refrigerator for several hours. And thats just on its initial charge wait until we get to the solar panels in a moment.
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What Our Customers Are Saying
Long Island Power Solutions has great prices, clean install and great service. Matt was there every step of the way during our solar power installation, answering all our questions and concerns from start to finish.
Aniello Toscano
Very professional and efficient. The sales professional Matt Debardeloden was great and patient and helped me navigate all the details.
Ashley Martino
Just got solar and we had a great experience with Tom Scala. He explained everything to us and answered all our questions and concerns. The installers were so professional and nice and cleaned up everything! I think it is a great investment.
Theresa Coakley
Justin the salesman explained everything clearly. Installation was quick and clean. Survived the first storm no problems. Bill answered all questions and is always available.
Robert Sokol Jr.
Highly recommend this company. Used them to install solar panels. Every step of the way they were very proactive, clearly explained the scope of work, materials being used, timeline, cost etc. What I was pleased with the most was that they delivered everything exactly as they said they would.
Igor Sominsky
Rigid Eclipse 190w + 30a Mppt Controller Solar Kit
Charge batteries faster and maximize your solar charging performance with the new 190-watt Eclipse MPPT rigid solar kit.
Supercharge your solar array to 98% conversion efficiency with MPPT charging. Ideal for series configurations. Bluetooth® enabled remote* allows you to view and change essential battery stats from your handheld device.
Easy to install, and expandable, the Go Power! RIGID Eclipse 190W Solar Kit is the largest single panel 12-volt charging kit on the market. This powerful battery charger is great for maintaining the charge in all types of batteries and is ideal for extended RVing or dry-camping.
*Best paired with 200Ah of AGM Battery Power, or 100Ah of Lithium Battery Power.
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What Is The Best Portable Solar Generator For Home Use
The Renogy Lycan 5000 Power Box is the most powerful power station with an all-in-one portable design, specially designed for emergencies, power outages, and off-grid homes. The 4.8kWh solar powered generator for home with a rated output of 120V can easily power the most heavy-duty home and outdoor appliances with a continuous power output of 3500W and peak power of up to 7000W. It can also easily add more home backup batteries to expand your battery storage up to 19.2kWh energy to ensure you and your family are always protected.
And our Phoenix Power Station series offers more flexible options, the rated AC output of this portable solar generator series range from 200W to 1500W, which is able to meet the power needs of diverse scenarios, from camping, RV travel, to home backup.
How Many Years Do Portable Power Stations Last
How many years a portable power station will last depends on three key factors — how well the product is maintained, how often it’s used and the battery type.
We have researched and spoken with several manufacturers and most units boast a 500-cycle lifespan. In some cases, such as the Anker 757, a unit may use LiFePO4 batteries compared to the more common Li-ion battery and offer up to 3,000 cycles or beyond.
One cycle means using the product from fully charged to zero charge . Therefore, if you use your portable power station several times a week, it might only last a year or two. But if you use it less frequently, it could last for much longer.
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Rigid Eclipse 190e Expansion Kit
The RIGID Eclipse 190E Expansion adds another 190 watts of power to your full 190W Eclipse Solar Kit.
As your need for power grows, so can your RV solar system by adding additional modules to your existing Rigid Eclipse Solar Kit. Each Go Power! expansion kit includes a solar module, mounting hardware and expansion connections to quickly connect to the existing solar module on your RV roof. All Go Power! Solar Expansion kits are compatible with one another 100 watts or higher.
Can A Power Station Run A Refrigerator
Possibly, depending on the fridge and the portable power station.
For example, this standard LG refrigerator has an estimated annual energy consumption of 608 kilowatt-hours. That works out to 1.67 kilowatt-hours per day, or 1,670 watt-hours per day.
1,670 watt-hours per day works out to just under 70 watt-hours per hour. If you have a short-term power outage and only need to power your fridge, a 200-watt-hour power station could keep it running for nearly three hours. You’d need a power station with higher estimated watt-hours to run your fridge for longer. A mini fridge would last much longer than a larger model.
Always confirm the electrical requirements for your specific fridge and portable power station before trying this, especially your refrigerator’s peak and startup watts.
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Go Power Duralite Portable Solar System Compatibility With A Braxton Creek Bushwhacker Plus 17bh
Question:
Hi-I have a Braxton Creek Bushwacker Plus 17BH and Id like to purchase this 100 watt panel kit for charging the battery while dry camping. However, is this all that I need or do I need a converter? The battery is a Group 27 and the RV has the Go Power Solar Prep Package. There is a port on the drivers side photo of port attached.Thank you,
asked by: Hans F
Helpful Expert Reply:
Based on the picture you provided I believe you have the SAE solar plug port on your Braxton Creek Bushwhacker Plus 17BH so you should have no issues plugging your Go Power DuraLite Portable Solar Panel with Digital Solar Controller in using the SAE solar plug attachment. This kit comes with a solar charge controller that prevents harmful overcharging by adjusting the power generated by the solar panel before it reaches your batteries. It uses pulse width modulation technology to regulate the output through pulses that provide a consistent charge. This kit will recover approximately 30ah a day in peak conditions and is a simple set out and plug in installation for a quick setup. Ive attached a video where Evangeline will walk you through setup.
Has The Capacity To Generate Unlimited Power
There are two reasons for this:
Reason #1: First of all, the Perfect Power Next has our new AGM Fighter Pilot Smart Pod batteries that are 30% more efficiency than any battery of its kind.
Reason #2: Secondly, our new “Stackable” Smart Battery Pods… designed to boost your system’s expandability, add 167% more storage capacity by adding a single Smart Pod to your system. Add 334% more storage capacity by simply adding two Smart Pods. Get an astonishing 501% more storage capacity by adding a third Smart Pod. In fact, with the Perfect Power Next, you can literally daisy chain an endless number of Smart Pods to your system making the Perfect Power Next…
The Only Expandable Solar Generator Of Its Kind In The World!
Not only that, you can also add an extra solar panel to each battery pod unit!
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Other Units Weve Tested
Energizer PPS700 : OK performance and features overall, but one of the lowest tested capacities, making the usable capacity closer to 477Wh.
Anker PowerHouse 533 : Fast charging speeds , and Im also a fan of the extra wide display screen and rear-mounted light bar. Most expensive small portable power station.
EcoFlow River MAX : Blazing fast charging and a low cost per watt-hour make this a reasonable pick, however this unit did test lowest in measured vs expected capacity, putting it at 425 usable watt-hours. Whered those extra 151 watt-hours go?
RockSolar NOMAD RS650 : This is a basic, no-frills unit. If you just need power, period, this will work assuming it fits your capacity needs. Slow to charge and lower than average capacity rating at a probably-too-high price.
Speedwatt : Just kind of OK. Capacity is good, but we tested two separate units and both seemed to have some disconnect between the actual performance of the unit and the information displayed on the user screen. Currently listed as unavailable.
GoSun PowerBank 1100 : I really wanted to like this unit more, partially because of GoSuns extended offerings of solar-friendly devices, and as far as capacity goes, this runs in the middle of the pack, but man is it slow to charge. It took nearly 12 hours over twice as long as our largest power station that offers nearly twice the capacity. At $1,500, Id like to see a faster charging option and maybe more outputs or at least wireless charging.
What Is The Go Power Duralite
The Go Power! DuraLite-100 watt solar kit consists of two 50-watt monocrystalline panels in a folding case that delivers 100 watts of solar at 5.06 amps and 19.8 volts. This whole kit weighs far less than my tried-and-true older Go Power! kit at just 8.4 pounds, yet has a very high-quality feel.
To keep the folding halves together, there are magnets in the handles. The panels have legs that form stands in the back to keep the panels pointed to the sky.
There are two panel kits that formed what we were sent. The main kit includes a charge controller and cables to accommodate a variety of connections. Among the connectors included is the standard connector thats on the side of many RVs nowadays. But there are also connectors to attach directly to the batteries of the RV via both terminal screws and alligator clamps.
Further, the expansion kit includes a second solar suitcase and 12 feet of wire fitted with standard Anderson connectors on each end. All the connectors for this are industry-standard types, so these work well with other systems.
Recommended Reading: How To Install Solar System In A House
Gas Versus Battery Power
Power stations are battery operated , while gas power sources are generally known as generators. Though gas generators are typically less expensive and provide more energy for a longer period of time, they tend to be noisy and can be used only outside, a safe distance from your home, to keep carbon monoxide exhaust from getting inside. Gas generators are a great solution for temporarily providing power during an outage, but theyplus the fuel you need to run themcan be cumbersome to take on camping trips.
More From Popular Mechanics
Battery-operated power stations are often more expensive, but they also come with a slew of benefits. They are more eco-friendlyparticularly when powered by solar panelsquiet, and safe for indoor use. They typically come in a variety of sizes, so you can get a smaller, more portable pack for short camping trips or a day by the lake. For a battery station to get as powerful as a gas generator, though, you will have to spend big bucksoften well over $1,000. While these batteries are rechargeable, some may take more than 8 hours for them to charge.
Go Power Battery Monitor
GP-BMK-50
Go Power Battery Monitor GP-BMK-50. The latest in the Go Powers lineup of quality products, the GP-BMK-50 provides you with the status of your batteries and the ampere hours consumed. Pair this with the Go Power Bluetooth Dongle and get monitoring info on the go, when you need it! 5 Year Warranty.*Limited quantity, contact us for availability.
Go Power Battery Monitor GP-BMK-50. The latest in the Go Powers lineup of quality
Go Power Battery Monitor GP-BMK-50. The latest in the Go Powers lineup of quality products, the GP-BMK-50 provides you with the status of your batteries and the ampere hours
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