Portable Power Stations

[KevinC]

Any one else here use portable power stations as an EPS? I've posted about my hurricane issues last year but never really asked if anyone else uses one for emergency power. I have several EcoFlow units as my second line of defense for power fails (a UPS is the first line since most of my EcoFlows don't switch fast enough). I've got one for my wife's medical gear which will last about 17 hours, one for the fridge that will last about 7-8 hours and one for the entertainment/modem/router that will last about 4.5 hours. I have standalone LiFePO4 batteries to at least double the run time of each and generator power to recharge everything.

And please no replies about how this won't work or it's a bad idea. I've had this setup for over a year now with no issues. Just curious if anyone else here does this.

 

[mikewazowski]

We're just starting to look at these units as a primary power source for an off-grid cottage and in the winter, as an emergency power source for our home. At the moment we're looking at starting with the Anker Solix F3000 which can be expanded if the need arises. The F3000 got fairly good reviews and we like the 30A 12vdc outlet it has. After a scare with our propane fridge, we started looking at DC fridges and this unit will easily power it for days.

 

[buddrousa]

Kevin Mike are there any possibilities of using any solar to help the batteries last longer?

 

[vagrant]

I have a 1024W and a 512W Ecoflow. I have used the larger one for the fridge/freezer and the smaller one for lights. To supplement those I have several 1280Wh LFP batteries. If the weather is nice, I have 600 watts of solar to keep things topped up. If not so nice, I have a generator that can top things up. Computers have their own UPS as well a separate one for the Internet modem and router. I have additional smaller LFP batteries and folding solar panels that keep phones and handheld transceivers/receivers topped up.

Transmitters, scanners and receivers already have their own solar and battery already in place. They sip the juice except for 50W FM transmit...which I would not use.

In addition to all of that, I use a 32Ah LFP battery with my 12v fridge (Alpicool) when camping. I stress tested it last year when it was 109°F. For three consecutive days I used a 100W solar panel and controller with that 32Ah battery. Everything was outdoors, with the fridge in the shade. It kept the water in the fridge cool at 38°F. I opened and closed the fridge at least three times each day to get some water.

Solar is nice where I live in sunny California. Still, it's those tricky 65 non-consecutive days a year when we get inclement weather where I'm at.

 

[mikewazowski]

Kevin Mike are there any possibilities of using any solar to help the batteries last longer?

Yes, I'm currently using solar to recharge a small Bluetti unit. I'll have to upgrade that when I go to a bigger unit. Also have a generator onsite to top things up if we get a few cloudy days.

 

[jeepsandradios]

I was a hard to change user but have switched to the Jackery units and been very happy with the performance. In the past I had batteries, chargers and inverters and everything was work. The jackery is simple and works great. I have one for my vehicle cooler and when we travel the fridge is plugged into it and the charger in the vehicle. In the camper its used to charge phones, lights and radios. I do havea small solar panel for one of them I used in Grand Canyon to help keep it topped off as well. The nice thing with the Jaskery is 90% of the time I grab the 300 but have others for more power when needed.

As for emergency power I already have a stby gen at home, a couple of Honda 2K quiets and lots of ol school batt in a box versions I had built.

 

[KC1UA]

Digging up this thread so apologies in advance; if an admin wants to split it off into a new one that's fine as well.

After watching about a hundred or so YouTube videos from various third party sources, I decided to purchase this one that has good reviews overall and seems sufficient to run my fridge for a period of time that I'll likely never exceed.

Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station - 2,048Wh | 2,400W

Ultra-Efficient Power for Longer Runtime: Only 9W idle power consumption , powering a dual-door fridge for up to 32 hours. Up to 4kWh Expandable Capacity:

www.ankersolix.com

I've got a pretty hefty DuroMax XP13000DX generator. It runs on gasoline or propane which is a really nice feature (although a propane tank warmer is a must in the cold). The thing is, I live in "quarter-acre lot land" and after 2200 or so keeping it running is not only a pain in the patoot, but also in a word, loud. It will serve to keep the power station charged when it is running and as necessary, and I may consider some solar panels at some point as well.

We are fortunate that our power does not go out often. However when it does the power Gods usually make up for lost time. In the winter of 2015, after a rather obnoxious blizzard, there was no power in the 'hood for five consecutive days. One of these portable power stations, had they existed back then would have really come in handy. I can't say I'm really looking forward to trying my new one, which will arrive tomorrow, but I'm really looking forward to trying my new one, which will arrive tomorrow. Thankfully it can be experimented with pretty painlessly.

Of course now this has my creaky wheels turning, just because that's what happens sometimes, and I'm having a look at this Anker Solix to run in a UPS configuration for a good portion of the radio room.

Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station - 1,024Wh | 2,000W

Discover Anker and shop chargers, batteries, hubs, docks, portable power stations, conferencing gear, and more.

www.ankersolix.com

It, like its big brother, seems to get overall glowing reviews. I have to do some math to see how much I can run and for how long. Another thing I need to consider is that I'd simply plug my Astron RS20A into the thing so it would be a seamless (10 milliseconds according to reviews) switchover in the event of a power failure. The RS20A has eight scanners, 1 IC-R8600, and six Motorola MaxTracs or Radius (receiver only) connected to it. It can handle them all without a problem. The thing I don't like, and that has been mentioned, is that I'm going from what is a DC power station, through its inverter to AC, and then back to DC via the RS20A. Not the most efficient way to do things, but "probably" okay to keep things simple as alternately I'd need to do some rewiring. Also, there is a DC outlet on the C1000 Gen 2, but it's apparently only rated at 10A. I'd also probably run a laptop off of it as well, as I can use my phone's hotspot for connectivity if my internet is out.

It would likely be smart on my part to get the new C2000 Gen 2 charged up and experiment with it to see how it does powering all of this stuff, and then calculate how well a C1000 Gen 2 might work. Hard to say. I'm still learning about these things and may be way off the mark, but they are intriguing.

Of course once I have them the power will likely never go out again, but that's why it's called insurance.

I'd be interested in remarks on the above, and if anyone else is using one of these or any other brand in a UPS configuration that might offer more for around the same price.

 

[KevinC]

Of course once I have them the power will likely never go out again, but that's why it's called insurance.

^^^^This^^^^ Since I got all my backups after the hurricane in 2024 we've lost power for about a total of 4-6 hours.

One thing to keep in mind is the efficiency of PPS's is usually around 80-90%, so subtract that from your total Wh's. I also have mine set to only charge to 90% and shut at 10% to be easy on the batteries. If I know a weather event is coming up I top everything off to 100%, but normally keep them at 90.

Once you learn the ideocracies of them you'll love them.

 

[KevinC]

I just started an experiment, which may be completely useless, a bad idea and a waste of time, but you never know.

My electricity plan has free nights and weekends, so I decided to set up smart outlets to cut power to the EcoFlows that are hooked up to my fridge and downstairs entertainment (TV, cable box, soundbar, modem/router, Ooma and one small light) for the amount of time they will run the devices and return power once my free nights starts to charge them back up. I won't have any less electricity use because the batteries have to charge back up, but that will be done in my "free" period.

So I'll have about 4 hours on the entertainment and 7.5 on the fridge a day where I'll be "off the grid"

My quick calculation shows this may save me about $10 a month on my electric bill. Is it worth it? Probably not.

 

[GTR8000]

My quick calculation shows this may save me about $10 a month on my electric bill. Is it worth it? Probably not.

Interesting concept, makes perfect logical sense to run what you can off stored battery power during your on-peak utility hours, then charge back up during the off-peak hours. Just make sure that the ~$120 a year in potential savings outweighs the wear and tear on the batteries going through ~260 charge/discharge cycles per year.

 

[KevinC]

Interesting concept, makes perfect logical sense to run what you can off stored battery power during your on-peak utility hours, then charge back up during the off-peak hours. Just make sure that the ~$120 a year in potential savings outweighs the wear and tear on the batteries going through ~260 charge/discharge cycles per year.

These LiFoPO4 batteries are good for over 4,000 complete charge/discharge cycles and still have 80% of their capacity.

 

[KC1UA]

To follow up on my post, I received my Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2...and as I couldn't leave well enough alone, an Anker Solix C1000 as well. For the latter, I went with the original, not the Gen 2 on that model as it allows for expansion to a second battery and the Gen 2 does not.

I finally had time today to run the C1000 in the shack. I only ran my Astron RS20A power supply, which as mentioned provides the power for all of the scanners, and actually three more I hadn't taken into consideration, which is another reason why I need to rewire! I run a Rangecast server and have three scanners for it; so they are part of what the RS20A powers. The C1000 gave me close to eight hours of power. It ran two Motorola MaxTracs, two Motorola GM300's, my SDS200, three BCT15X, two BCD996XT's, 2 BCD436HP's, and at the outset my Icom IC-R8600 receiver. At a maximum all of this consumed about 150 watts of power. The 8600 was the biggest offender, and power consumption dropped off by about 30 watts when it was shut off.

Eight straight hours off of the C1000 with all of this running is, in my opinion, pretty darned good. This is likely not the ideal way of doing it as I'm using the inverter to get to 120VAC and then the Astron knocks it back down to 12 volts. At some point in the near future I'm going to wire something up and see how much I can push things with the 12VDC 10 amp accessory plug the C1000 has.

I can always recharge the C1000 on the fly when my generator is running if necessary, so I think I've got things good and covered in the event of a long term failure. For computer use I will run a laptop and use my phone's hotspot for internet access.

I'm going to try to give the C2000 Gen 2 its first workout tomorrow on the big fridge in the kitchen, and see what we get for time there. The C1000 is now going to run as a UPS in the shack, it already has its own shelf tucked in behind and to the right of the big 19" rack I have.

Come at me, Mother Nature! - Well, with some respect anyway. This is Cape Cod and we are pretty fortunate weather-wise...although I did have an F1 tornado form above my house a few years ago before it went on to do damage in an adjoining neighborhood, and flood my basement with some incredibly torrential rain.

 

[KevinC]

To follow up on my post, I received my Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2...and as I couldn't leave well enough alone, an Anker Solix C1000 as well. For the latter, I went with the original, not the Gen 2 on that model as it allows for expansion to a second battery and the Gen 2 does not.

I finally had time today to run the C1000 in the shack. I only ran my Astron RS20A power supply, which as mentioned provides the power for all of the scanners, and actually three more I hadn't taken into consideration, which is another reason why I need to rewire! I run a Rangecast server and have three scanners for it; so they are part of what the RS20A powers. The C1000 gave me close to eight hours of power. It ran two Motorola MaxTracs, two Motorola GM300's, my SDS200, three BCT15X, two BCD996XT's, 2 BCD436HP's, and at the outset my Icom IC-R8600 receiver. At a maximum all of this consumed about 150 watts of power. The 8600 was the biggest offender, and power consumption dropped off by about 30 watts when it was shut off.

Eight straight hours off of the C1000 with all of this running is, in my opinion, pretty darned good. This is likely not the ideal way of doing it as I'm using the inverter to get to 120VAC and then the Astron knocks it back down to 12 volts. At some point in the near future I'm going to wire something up and see how much I can push things with the 12VDC 10 amp accessory plug the C1000 has.

I can always recharge the C1000 on the fly when my generator is running if necessary, so I think I've got things good and covered in the event of a long term failure. For computer use I will run a laptop and use my phone's hotspot for internet access.

I'm going to try to give the C2000 Gen 2 its first workout tomorrow on the big fridge in the kitchen, and see what we get for time there. The C1000 is now going to run as a UPS in the shack, it already has its own shelf tucked in behind and to the right of the big 19" rack I have.

Come at me, Mother Nature! - Well, with some respect anyway. This is Cape Cod and we are pretty fortunate weather-wise...although I did have an F1 tornado form above my house a few years ago before it went on to do damage in an adjoining neighborhood, and flood my basement with some incredibly torrential rain.

One note about charging with the generator. I’m not sure about Anker, but the larger Eco-Flows need an inverter generator to charge them. I found out the hard way.

 

[KC1UA]

One note about charging with the generator. I’m not sure about Anker, but the larger Eco-Flows need an inverter generator to charge them. I found out the hard way.

Thanks for that info. Inverter generators seem to be the recommended course of action from info I see at some third-party websites. Ironically Anker's information about charging with a generator doesn't specifically state that it should be with an inverter model.

The "modified" sine wave and reference to "dirty" AC from standard generators seems to be a generally bad idea for any purpose if in fact accurate, but to date I've never had any problems with either an old Craftsman or a current DuraMax dual fuel when running a fridge and other small appliances. There is an interesting option for using your vehicle to charge as well, which is definitely less expensive than buying an inverter generator, but I'd have to dig into that further also.

Anker SOLIX Alternator Charger

Fast Charging: Alternator Charger is up to 8× faster than using a car auxiliary port. A 2kWh power station can be 100% in only 3 hours. Three Flexible Ways

www.ankersolix.com

And there's always the solar option as well. My security cameras all stay charged with small el-cheapo solar panels but charging these devices is a bit more of a chore.

Sheesh, all of this $$ when we know the power is never going to fail again now that I have these.

(Knocking on wood...)

 

[mikewazowski]

The F3000 can fast charge off a generator with a 30A/120VAC output.

 

[AK9R]

There are some units, Aferiy is the brand name, that have 12 volt DC outputs using XT60 connectors. Might be useful for powering radios.

 

[DeoVindice]

I use a Jackery battery pack and 60W solar panel to power a Starlink terminal and charge various electronics for off-grid work. It also works nicely to power a base station radio. In a pinch we've used it to charge personal electronics during power outages as well.

 

[mikewazowski]

There are some units, Aferiy is the brand name, that have 12 volt DC outputs using XT60 connectors. Might be useful for powering radios.

The Anker Solix F3000 comes with an Anderson PowerPole connector capable of 12VDC/30A. One of the reasons I selected it for our off-grid cottage.

 

[KC1UA]

Mother Nature gave me a chance to try both of my Anker units last night and overnight through about 0500 this morning. Heavy wet snow on tree branches and limbs that hang over an elderly above ground power distribution system is a recipe for problems. I could hear it coming while monitoring local PD, FD, and DPW channels, and right as the Rams and Bears went to OT, out went the power.

I think I'm most thrilled with the Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2. After it became apparent the power wasn't coming back anytime soon I connected my Whirlpool side by side large refrigerator to it. It ran without a hitch all night. When the compressor kicked in it was drawing about 130 watts, and sat at 0 watts otherwise unless the doors were opened, and then maybe about 10 max. I started with 100% power (since adjusted to treat the battery better during future charging). I left the fridge connected to it until 0930 this morning, so roughly close to 12 hours continuous use. The power station still had 60% battery left at that point. Because I'm new to this, nothing else was connected to the power station but in retrospect easily could have been. This to me is extremely impressive and allays any fears of long term outages. If I didn't mention it prior I had an outage here in 2015 that lasted 5 days.

I had already tested the Anker Solix C1000 and it operated as expected, powering seven scanners. I am going to change the way I have this set up and test again. I'm using the Anker's inverter and powering an Astron 20A linear supply to do this. Probably not very efficient going from 12VDC to 120VAC to 12VDC. So I'm going to wire up a system to be able to use the 12VDC 10A output of the power station instead. I'd think this would be more efficient, and if I stick to the amount of scanners that were running I probably won't exceed the amperage. I'll know if I do.

One note about charging with the generator. I’m not sure about Anker, but the larger Eco-Flows need an inverter generator to charge them. I found out the hard way.

@KevinC , you have my heartfelt thanks for this statement. A lot of research absolutely confirms this is a considerable problem, and it turns out the DuroMax open-frame standard generator I have is apparently one of the bigger offenders for "less than pure" sine wave emission. It's going up for sale to someone that may want to use it for job site related work, and I have a WEN DF680iX inverter generator on order. The WEN generators get overall excellent reviews and it should do what I need it to do without the fear of frying something. It's a dual fuel device that I plan on using exclusively with propane, and one of its main jobs will be to keep these power stations charged when/if a long-term outage occurs.

This has been a learning experience, to be certain, but I feel I'm going in the right direction, and I'd encourage anyone that's interested in doing this to consider one of the Anker devices.

 

[KevinC]

Mother Nature gave me a chance to try both of my Anker units last night and overnight through about 0500 this morning. Heavy wet snow on tree branches and limbs that hang over an elderly above ground power distribution system is a recipe for problems. I could hear it coming while monitoring local PD, FD, and DPW channels, and right as the Rams and Bears went to OT, out went the power.

I think I'm most thrilled with the Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2. After it became apparent the power wasn't coming back anytime soon I connected my Whirlpool side by side large refrigerator to it. It ran without a hitch all night. When the compressor kicked in it was drawing about 130 watts, and sat at 0 watts otherwise unless the doors were opened, and then maybe about 10 max. I started with 100% power (since adjusted to treat the battery better during future charging). I left the fridge connected to it until 0930 this morning, so roughly close to 12 hours continuous use. The power station still had 60% battery left at that point. Because I'm new to this, nothing else was connected to the power station but in retrospect easily could have been. This to me is extremely impressive and allays any fears of long term outages. If I didn't mention it prior I had an outage here in 2015 that lasted 5 days.

I had already tested the Anker Solix C1000 and it operated as expected, powering seven scanners. I am going to change the way I have this set up and test again. I'm using the Anker's inverter and powering an Astron 20A linear supply to do this. Probably not very efficient going from 12VDC to 120VAC to 12VDC. So I'm going to wire up a system to be able to use the 12VDC 10A output of the power station instead. I'd think this would be more efficient, and if I stick to the amount of scanners that were running I probably won't exceed the amperage. I'll know if I do.



@KevinC , you have my heartfelt thanks for this statement. A lot of research absolutely confirms this is a considerable problem, and it turns out the DuroMax open-frame standard generator I have is apparently one of the bigger offenders for "less than pure" sine wave emission. It's going up for sale to someone that may want to use it for job site related work, and I have a WEN DF680iX inverter generator on order. The WEN generators get overall excellent reviews and it should do what I need it to do without the fear of frying something. It's a dual fuel device that I plan on using exclusively with propane, and one of its main jobs will be to keep these power stations charged when/if a long-term outage occurs.

This has been a learning experience, to be certain, but I feel I'm going in the right direction, and I'd encourage anyone that's interested in doing this to consider one of the Anker devices.

I got a 1500W inverter specifically to charge the PPS units, the two other ones I have can power non-sensitive equipment.

Speaking of the fridge, what gets you on those is the ice maker and defroster, they draw a lot of power. I also swapped out the 40W bulbs in the fridge to LED's that draw about 4W each, every little bit helps.