LostinTexas Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 Anyone fooled with one of these? I found a good quality unit and a panel. Why not? We have had a lot of hour or two long outages of late, since they replaced our power lines, and just want something for light duty. It will run the computers, phones, and probably more for a time. Very portable and should be decent enough for outings and short duration home use. Beats getting out the bigger unit for short stents. Any pointers for it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tous Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 First, we must know what 'one of these' is. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostinTexas Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 Thread title says it all? Well it is basically a glorified battery pack. Charges off DC, AC, or solar. This particular one is a 600W 268Wh unit that weights 11 pounds. They make smaller to MUCH bigger, whole house units. Interesting concept, really. BLUETTI Power Station 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tous Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 If the device operates from stored, AC power, it is not a generator. A generator supplies power in real time. There are several companies that sell whole-house solar power/storage systems and have for 20 years or more. In most cases, they are short-term convenience for a significant cost. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostinTexas Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 1 minute ago, tous said: If the device operates from stored, AC power, it is not a generator. A generator supplies power in real time. There are several companies that sell whole-house solar power/storage systems and have for 20 years or more. In most cases, they are short-term convenience for a significant cost. So,,,,,,, you got nothing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tous Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 If it's worth $300,00 to you, nab it. Just be aware of the limitations. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janice6 Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 3 hours ago, LostinTexas said: Thread title says it all? Well it is basically a glorified battery pack. Charges off DC, AC, or solar. This particular one is a 600W 268Wh unit that weights 11 pounds. They make smaller to MUCH bigger, whole house units. Interesting concept, really. BLUETTI Power Station A friend in computer repair at a large company gave me an uninterruptable Power supply for computers. I figured what the hell, and plugged it into the TV since I had another for my computer at that time. I checked the schematic and they had very good filtering so I wasn't worried about transients affecting the TV. We had a power failure and I watched TV while the couple of blocks around me were blacked out. The TV was near a bay window so I got some questions from the neighbors. I was amazed that a not too large UPS, would take that load for 2 hours. It worked well. Unfortunately they eventually failed (not Battery) and I couldn't get another free, so I don't have one now. They do work for a while, if you match it to your power needs. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tous Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 2 hours ago, janice6 said: I checked the schematic and they had very good filtering so I wasn't worried about transients affecting the TV. I use a UPS on most of my electronic equipment less because I need the power during interruptions, but because, as you said, they smooth out the transients and provide power that doesn't constantly cycle plus or minus 5 or 10 watts or more. That sort of variance is hard on power supplies. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minderasr Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 12 hours ago, LostinTexas said: Anyone fooled with one of these? I found a good quality unit and a panel. Why not? We have had a lot of hour or two long outages of late, since they replaced our power lines, and just want something for light duty. It will run the computers, phones, and probably more for a time. Very portable and should be decent enough for outings and short duration home use. Beats getting out the bigger unit for short stents. Any pointers for it? Keep an eye on PreppingDeals. If you're on Telegram, you can follow their feed. All kinds of great deals pop up there including power stations like the one you mentioned. https://www.preppingdeals.net/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmohme Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 I bought this about 5 years ago. I was needing a portable AC power supply. Basically a battery in a case with a power inverter. This one was exactly what I needed but it was also listed as a "Solar Generator". I knew what it really was, and just figured it would come with a too small solar panel that would charge the battery in a week or so. Turns out that you had to buy the too small solar panel separately, but it did come with a 110 power brick to charge it without the sun. It has worked out very well for me. My laptop batter lasts 4 to 5 hours of uploading pictures to my web site, and the battery carries me through the rest of the horse show. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Posted March 28, 2023 Administrators Share Posted March 28, 2023 Wouldn't the solar generator be the sun? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmohme Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 32 minutes ago, Eric said: Wouldn't the solar generator be the sun? Yes, I believe you are correct. Solar panels would just the means to capture and distribute it I suppose. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostinTexas Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 1 hour ago, Eric said: Wouldn't the solar generator be the sun? Yea, but we didn't come up with the name. The little one I have is rechargable in about 3 hours with the purchased separately solar panel. Nothing but a glorified battery backup with inverter built in for AC power. And comes in at 11 pounds and very quiet even when the cooling fan turns on. $210 after the "clipped coupon". And $55 off the panels. I'll give it a run and see how it goes. The limited playing around seems positive, but as mentioned, with certain limitations. It should get us through a few hours outage that has become common, and no need to drag out, gas up, and start up the generator. Never fails that things are nearing the end of power when it happens. Glad to see a few have some experience with similar devices. I'm familiar with battery backups for electronics and been part of them. This just seems a lot more versatile. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogart Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 I have one, it is basically a battery and inverter but it has enough power to run my roadtrek for almost 2 days boondocking, add on a couple 3 solar panels and with good sunny days and not going overboard no grid power is needed. Phones, laptop, and a few other battery devices as well. I paid a little over a grand for the whole set up and am happy with the results I am getting. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minderasr Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fog Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 There is a off grid couple on utoob, with a solar power system, whole house and shop. They say it was cheaper than extending the power lines to where they built by several thousand dollars. It's a huge set up, $50,000.00 or so. But if you figure in life cycle costs, and running the diesel generator in the winter, it really costs the same as utility power, but they don't have to pay a utility each month. Other than diesel and maintenance time, they won't have to lay out cash till the panels need to be replaced in 10-15 years, 20 if they are lucky. For home back up power get a little Honda. Find ethanol free gas and learn to put Stabil in it. Then cycle through your gas, put one can in the car and get fresh, with Stabil, every few months. Always have at least 10 gallons on hand and 20+ would be better. That is the cheapest back up system. Now practice using it. From there you have generators hooked up to gas utility, hooked up to propane tank, ones with built in tanks for gas or diesel, auto switching systems run through constant voltage changeover, and more. Most homes will be fine with the little 2000 watt Honda inverter based system and a little practice using it. Thing sips fuel and lasts for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostinTexas Posted March 30, 2023 Author Share Posted March 30, 2023 The whole idea, is having on hand power for a few hours without dragging out the generator. For an hour or two, and not having to walk out a door to find a power source is nice. None of them will run the AC, well till you get into much larger units. For longer outages, it comes out, but they don't happen often since we aren't prone to hurricanes and other things that are rather common. If the tornado leaves it, we'll use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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