Athanasius in Ukraine gets a lot of use out of theirs because they have intermittent power issues due to the ongoing war. He was able to charge up batteries for his cordless chainsaw from one. Without the power station he would have changed his plans and done something else or been cutting wood by hand.
Like many things, the market is organized by various "price points". Currently, $200 will get you a 300 Watt-hour unit with a robust battery technology.
But what will 300 Watt-hours get me?
It can run two LED, 800 Lumen bulbs for 15 hours (overnight in the winter).
It can run a small electric blanket that is used to warm massage tables for 15 hours.
It can run a 6 Joule, low-impedance electric fence energizer for 30 hours.
It can run a 32" TV for 5 hours so it is not enough juice to run a video-based security system overnight.
From a command-and-control standpoint, it provides enough power to recharge a VERY large number of cellphones or hand-held radios or rechargable AA batteries.
It can run a 20" box fan for 5 hours.
It can run a 1/4 horsepower motor for almost 2 hours so you better hope the power comes back on if a storm knocks out your sump-pump. Incidentally, this price-point will not deliver enough wattage to start a conventional sump-pump due to inrush current at start-up.
It can recharge 2, 20V 6.0 amp-hour batteries for my cordless tools.
It cannot run an air conditioner or the fan on a furnace. It cannot run a microwave or a water heater.
I am on-the-fence about spending the money on something like this. The system seems hellbent on building data centers in excess of our power generation capacity. The spike in petroleum prices is causing a rush toward Electric Vehicles which will drive more demand.
Consequently, I expect more power-outages in the future. It probably makes sense to get something like this before the rush.
Any thoughts from my readers?
They are great for short camping trips or emergency use (e.g. low price point to stick capital in the closet). That being said, you and me, are worrying about longer-term losses of grid power. You need a way to charge those units back up.
ReplyDeleteAt that price-point, you're really not able to get into solar anything, except the quick-charge units at Harbor Freight, etc. Great for a few cell phones, maybe an hour of lap-top power, but not much else. Call it a shitty-version of those power-cubes, but it can charge itself back up on a sunny-day (something the power cubes cannot).
I'd be more inclined to go a bit bigger, get yourself a 1000 watts of panels and a cheap inverter (~$500). You're not tied to power generation by someone else.
https://youtu.be/sMZ_o24TPyA - This video shows how well a small inverter generator and a medium sized power station work together, a 5 gallon can of gas might last a week or more - I had never considered buying a power station until i saw this video, but the price is still pretty high
ReplyDeleteFor the problem you're looking at you need to work backwards. First determine how much or how many things you want to keep powered up during an outage. Then buy a power station to match that and some method of recharging that power station by solar or a small generator. This is a real rabbit hole that gets expensive quickly .
ReplyDeleteHonda has a line of small generators that have a reputation for being Bulletproof but they are expensive. Make sure you get a generator that that is an inverter generator so that you can run your electronics directly off of the generator if your battery isn't available.
Have you considered a few solar panels, connected to batteries, and an inverter? We have small window sized panels, my husband charges an old marine battery and several old truck batteries. This set up was cheap at the time. It will power several lights, recharge batteries and phones. Can’t run a household at this level , but maybe something more extensive would help you.
ReplyDeleteSouthern NH
/\/\/\/\ THis is the way to go:
DeleteA couple of deep cycle batteries and a decent inverter. Add some solar panels (and a decent battery charger/maintainer) and you can essentially run forever. Cheaper per watt, if not as pleasantly and conveniently packaged.
THis lets you have a better surge capability because you can get the proper inverter for that type of load. Adding more batteries adds to your storage capacity. You can even have different inverters for different load needs
"Power stations" are for people who know nothing, and don't want to learn, and think that they can have long term generation in a box they can forget about in a closet.
I'd be interested in purchasing a power station for my daily used CPAP air apparatus. Without it, the next day is feeling very tired. If I could get 16 hours of time (two nights), that would be worth it methinks.
ReplyDeleteFYI: bought a small power station (500W) in 2023 for my dear late mother-in-law to run her oxygen station - connected all the time to line power, served as uninterruptable power supply, and kept the oxygen going during power outages (frequent where she lived). I imagine a small power station would work for ensuring power to CPAP. "Just" need to do the math - find the power draw of the CPAP (watts) and buy the station that has a capacity of (Watts) times (Hours of use needed).
DeleteHere's what I find useful for my portable 1000W power station. I am in my 70s, not the most physically robust, but can still get around, can still sorta heft around retail hay bales, live in a rural setting. Reasonable weight at 29 pounds, good carry handles. VERY quiet under load, barely hear the cooling fan running, drowned out by nature usually. I have mostly corded electric tools, so running the station out in the field is good for things like running a table saw, impact hammer (pounding in steel fence posts, e.g.), heavy duty sawzall, lights, small sump pump. Lasts longer than I can. I suppose I can "just" put an inverter (12-120VAC) on the UTV electic system, but the amperage demand would fry the alternator quickly. For small welding jobs, I drag along the old ICE inverter to power the MIG welder. Additional benefit is running the propane furnace and freezers/refrigerators QUIETLY during power outages if I don't want to broadcast to the masses the running of the whole-house genset. And, of course, many charges of electronic gear, and running of radios. Can run Starlink mini for days. Been using and happy with it since 2024 for a total cost then of $600 for the powerstartion and a 200W solar panel.
ReplyDeleteI have built a few systems and You can put together a custom power station with Amazon parts and build it exactly for your needs. Sam’s Club and Costco have great prices on deep cycle lead acid batteries. Regardless I would make sure you can use generic batteries for replacements when the system need maintenance.
ReplyDeleteSample videos:
https://m.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEA&search_query=build+your+own+power+station&ra=m
I have two power stations and solar to charge them. I also have a dual fuel inverter generator to charge them on cloudy days. I took the approach above and worked backwards. Each has its task. One station is for the fridge and freezer. The other is for fans and rechargeable items.
ReplyDeleteThat is a 25amp hour battery. It's a box with a lithium battery, an inverter, a way to charge the battery, switches, outlets, blinking lights, a handle and a place to plug a solar panel into it.
ReplyDeleteLithium batteries are coming down in price and more is better if you're depending on this. I often see solar panels for sale on craigslist... Depending on it's purpose, you could DIY & get more/cheaper.
A Kill-a-Watt meter on Amazon is as low as $10 and it can show you what you actually are using/need for specific items (like keeping the fridge, deep freeze or gas furnace blower) that you might want to keep running during a power outage.
I have to admit that these days I worry most about keeping the fridge running after a hurricane then things I worried about 50 years ago. A power station of some sort (DIY or purchased), a couple of solar panels, a solar controller and wires can live quietly in an out of the way spot (with minimal maintenance) until it's needed.
When I started with solar in my van, I propped the panel out in the sun and used a 50' extension cord to bring the juice to the battery, the 50' DC run had a voltage drop of 0.1 volt. It worked well.
Depends on what critical needs you want powered and for how long.
ReplyDeleteAt my place I currently have two power stations. The first one was to be able to power CPAP for 2 nights and also keep a few led lights on for those 2 nights. I can recharge with my 100 watt solar panel with a bright sunny afternoon.
I've recharged batteries for my electric chainsaw with it in the woods. Looking at a battery powered tiller.
Second one is 5.2 kilowatts with a 1.6 kilowatts solar array. I can run my deep well pump, several 20 amp house circuits for lights and such. I can keep my coffee pot, 2 refrigerators a large chest freezer going for at least 3 days without any solar inputs before recharging it with my generator.
I've done homemade solar set ups many times but if a forest fire was a problem I can load them into my travel trailer and leave.
Michael the anonymous