@Deftoned989 if you live in an area that loses power regularly due to weather, 991WattHours will power your phone/laptop/ mini fridge/ small appliances for multiple hours.
if you lose power during the sunny part of the day, it can recharge without the grid
@Deftoned989 Here’s the use case: I used a small one like this to power my tools while building on my farm building. I didn’t need to stop every 5 min. to crank up the gas generator, which is what I was having to do previously. I could go for hours before a recharge was needed.
@bugger Ooooohh-- a whopping 20 sold. Yeah, 6 is a bit much for this thing. The solar panel is only worth maybe $150, you can get 2x100W for like $115 if you don’t care about portability, so 4 for the battery and 1 for the panels, then it’s tempting.
I’m going to recycle some comments from past offers, and also unconsciously steal the work of others. Three main topics I can think of: chemistry, use cases, value.
Chemistry: I generally prefer lithium iron phosphate (or LFP) batteries to these lithium ion ones, esp if you’re going to use the battery (excuse me, generator) often. However, these lithium ion ones are less expensive, are more energy dense, and per some writers create less fire risk (sorry no citation). They can be a good value for infrequent emergency use.
Use case: for me and I think many folks, the highest value emergency uses for these are communication (charging cell phones, which doesn’t use much power) and powering your refrigerator (which uses a ton). (Special shout out to people who need them for something critical like a CPAP.) The USDA’s recommendations for how fast you should throw out your refrigerated food after an outage were shocking to me - many food groups were clustered around 4 hours without power, even without opening the fridge. Refrigerators also have very uneven power draw, surging at first and only running part of the time. Net, for me, this power station is only about half the minimum capacity I’d want to extend my food safety window (and even that would still be less than one day without a way to recharge). The solar panel helps a little, but even with that, this battery will only power a full sized fridge for a few hours. Not overnight.
I haven’t checked, but I doubt this unit would be sufficient to run a sump pump for any decent amount of time. It would run a few fans well, and an AC either not at all or very briefly.
Value: this unit comes in around $0.60 per watt hour (but includes a panel). I wouldn’t swear to this, but I think I’ve seen a really aggressive sale (on this site?) that was as low as $0.25-0.30 per watt hour for this chemistry, no panel. I don’t think you see that price often, though. Also no memory of how nice a unit that was.
Net: for me, not a good enough option for my primary use case. Still a nice tool to have in the arsenal, and at lower $/watt hour, I’d be tempted for other use cases.
@sfwineguy
" per some writers create less fire risk (sorry no citation)…" This is hard to refute directly w/o source, but here goes:
How are LiFePO4 batteries safer than other lithium batteries?
Phosphate-based batteries offer superior chemical and mechanical structure that does not overheat to unsafe levels. Thus, providing an increase in safety over lithium-ion batteries made with other cathode materials. This is because the charged and uncharged states of LiFePO4 are physically similar and highly robust, which lets the ions remain stable during the oxygen flux that happens alongside charge cycles or possible malfunctions. Overall, the iron phosphate-oxide bond is stronger than the cobalt-oxide bond, so when the battery is overcharged or subject to physical damage then the phosphate-oxide bond remains structurally stable; whereas in other lithium chemistries the bonds begin breaking down and releasing excessive heat, which eventually leads to thermal Runaway. Lithium phosphate cells are incombustible, which is an important feature in the event of mishandling during charging or discharging. They can also withstand harsh conditions, be it freezing cold, scorching heat or rough terrain. When subjected to hazardous events, such as collision or short-circuiting, they won’t explode or catch fire, significantly reducing any chance of harm. If you’re selecting a lithium battery and anticipate use in hazardous or unstable environments, LiFePO4 is likely your best choice. It’s also worth mentioning, LiFePO4 batteries are non-toxic, non-contaminating and contain no rare earth metals, making them an environmentally conscious choice.
"The size generator you need to run a sump pump depends on the pump’s power rating, including its starting and running watts. A generator that can provide the required amount of power can keep your sump pump running during a power outage.
What size generator do I need?
Starting watts: A sump pump’s starting watts can range from 1,300–2,150 watts.
Running watts: A sump pump’s running watts can range from 600–1,000 watts.
Generator size: A 1000-watt generator with 2000 surge watts can run a sump pump. A 2500-watt generator can also power a sump pump.
Why is starting power important?
Sump pumps usually need more power to start than to run continuously. For example, a pump that needs 800 watts to run might need 1,500 watts to start.
Other options for sump pump power
A battery backup sump pump can keep your sump pump running for a few hours during a power outage.
A whole house generator can provide power to your sump pump and other critical appliances."
You can probably find a better battery, but the price for a 200w solar panel and 1200w battery is acceptable to me because I don’t have to hunt down something similar and put separate pieces of crap together.
I have two of these. Each will run my 20 year old top/bottom 28 cubic foot fridge easily for 6 hours. Just don’t leave the door open and try and cool the whole house.
For short term power outages, it’s great. If the winds are strong or there is some other pending disaster, I can plug the fridge into the battery and the battery connected to power. If the power goes out, the battery will keep the fridge going for six hours.
With two batteries that’s 12 hours. Beyond that I have a gas generator that’ll power the other home appliance, fridge, etc and recharge the batteries.
If armageddon hits, and I run out of gas (siphoned from our cars), I can always use the solar panels.
Now all I have to worry about is running out of emergency food/water and the zombies.
@Kevfin I believe you can ward off zombies with trackrs. You attach the trackrs to feral neighbors, leave an andriod cell phone outside with the app turned on and the app will lead the zombies right to them. Meanwhile that gives you time to escape.
@Kevfin
Same- except that we have a well, which actually requires a 220-V line intermittently to refill the pre-pressurized holding tank- which our genny has, but at least of these would be a nice addition, so SWMBO wouldn’t have to go out and set-up the big genny for short outages. Also, our kitchen refrigerator has an add-in circuit in the basement, so we could set this up like you say as a[n] UPS.
Now I’m just waiting for the bursar [“from the Medieval Latin word bursarius, which means “purse-bearer”. per Google.”] to say Yay or Nay…
As an aside, for Christmas one year, SWMBO bought me a hat from Zombietools.com- which was the only thing we could comfortably spend $ on there, although they do make some pretty [and pretty much indestructible] bladed weapons- hence the name: Zombie Tools…
@Kidsandliz Feral neighbors running around with trackers on would be cool. Just not sure how to attach it to them. Probably a lot like trying to pet a feral cat.
@PhysAssist I’m lovin the SWMBO - which, being married, I totally get and looking at Zombietools.net has me drooling. Forget tracking feral neighbors, I’m buying an axe!
In case someone needs a helping hand to figure out how long this thing will power something for, it’s not that tricky. See the Battery Size? 991Wh. This is 991 watts for 1 hour, or 1 watt at 991 hours.
Remember those old 100w incandescent bulbs? You’d get 9.91 hours off this thing. That should help with the math thing.
Here’s an eye opener. Compared to that 100w bulb, you can plug in an LED light (13w) instead and it will run for 3.5 days, or a basic 55" LED TV (~80w) around 12 hours for a good binge session, but you may want to plug in your laptop (50w) too, but both together you’d get 7.6 hours.
These are not bad numbers at all, honestly. But, while marketers like to call these generators, it can give a false sense of running capacity.
Modern full size fridges are running about 150W. This is over a 24 hour total. Except for newer models, this is actually fluctuating on and off… 300w on for 30 minutes, 300w off for 30. It would be safe to assume some “cushion” due to temperature rise during that first hour, hoping it’s just a quick outage, and then there’s the defrost cycle that adds an extra 100w or so. Considering all that, I would budget 200w, meaning about 5 hours on this battery. If you have an older fridge or one with bells and whistles, this can plummet down to 2.5 hours or less.
If you are interested in this for use in a commercial building or property, keep in mind that a “generator” is against fire code to operate inside the structure without specific infrastructure in place. Nevermind that this isn’t actually a generator, just a battery pack… because it is labelled by the OEM with the word “generator” on it, NFPA 110 is applicable. In US states you may fail your business permitting, building code inspection, or fire inspection if any “generator” is placed, operated, or even plugged in to recharge indoors without the requisite dedicated room, fireproofing, ventilation, etc etc. Yes, as my Bostonian sister-in-law says, “it’s dawhknob-eating retahded” but letter-of-the-law.
Commenters in previous sales have speculated the stupid marketing decision to mislabel large battery packs as “generators” is why there’s a glut of these being unloaded in the secondary market.
@blaadnort
Totally agree that it’s named an inapropos way.
I’m saving: "it’s dawhknob-eating retahded” for later use…
I lived and worked in and around Boston for about a year, and in spite of some really interesting local dialects, terminology [the bubbler used for water fountain as e.g.], food items [I loved the D’angelos Sub Shop Lobster Salad Submarine sammies], and some very nice people- the total number of bodies, just the mass of humanity- with all their cars and dwellings was too much for this country boy to take for much longer- and it made firm my resolve to never ever go to NYC ever…
How long will this power the control circuits and blower on my gas furnace?
The longest power outage we have had was during a cold snap when all the auxiliary electric furnaces on the heat pumps kicked in and crashed the grid.
(Don’t trust a heat pump to give you more than 40° over ambient.)
(Also, don’t trust the power grid to actually handle an emergency.)
@2many2no probably an hours. Mine has a 15A circuit, but the blower running is probably closer to 10A, so that’d be 1200W; 1200Whr battery / 1200W = 1 Hour. (Granted, is your furnace going to run continuously, or just for a half hour or so??) You could theoretically take it upstairs/outside and charge, then back down to your furnace.
I bought one last year to use when we have a power outage. Only time I used it was on a guys campout and it worked good for about 3 days. Used it to inflate air bed (a Meh purchase) and to power our music which played constantly through the day and late evening, and the projector for movie night. Yes, we rough it! The let down came when we tried to recharge with the solar panel, apparently it needs full sun for most of the day to get enough chage.Meh.
Over all yes it’s pretty o.k , but I now have a gas generator to recharge the battery during home outages.
So Can I plug in my sump pump to this battery pack and leave the battery pack plugged in to a wall outlet so that in the event of a power failure I’ll have a fully charged battery backup for the sump pump?
I assume these are designed to NOT overcharge while they’re plugged in?
And how long will it last? (1/3 HP motor running for 20-25 seconds about every 10 minutes)
I just don’t understand these. For a bit more than twice the price, I can get an 11,000 watt tri fuel generator that will run for hours on gas, propane, or until the zombies cut the natural gas lines. The solar panel makes it interesting, but only slightly more functional.
@Springbank Here’s my use case… I have another brand with more capacity for my needs, but…
I use one overnight when camping in a teardrop at a location that has quiet hours and no “shore power”.
This lets me power devices and even run A/C overnight and I charge during the day…
When not camping, I use it as a UPS in my house, it’ll keep a few critical components and internet running if the power blips. Doesn’t replace my gas gens in the event of an actual long term outage, but has its place.
@JL2112 I have one of the 200w, $99 ones that I brought for charging phones and laptops. I quit camping years ago, but I can see where it could be useful for that. This seems too big for my tent camping back in the day, and too small for most home use.
@Springbank I wouldn’t choose this specific power station, but these types of devices are useful in the early stages of an outage when you just don’t know if it’s going to be hours, days or weeks before power restoration. It’s much easier and quicker to move this to an area where you just need a bit of temporary power, than to wheel the gas generator out of the garage, fuel up, hook up to the power inlet, warm up the engine, throw the breakers, shutdown, drain fuel, clean, store, etc. Don’t forget that 11kw generator also comes with some additional expenditures not many people are accustomed to like needing wiring to the breaker panel and/or a transfer switch, oil changes, other maintenance needs, not to mention a goodly supply of propane or usable gasoline on hand unless you’ve also paid for the necessary plumbing for natural gas and upgraded the meter.
Not many people are willing to invest in that level of preparation which may not be used for years or ever, until after they have had to endure an extended or multiple outages. For others, they’re willing to adapt to reduced usage scenarios and go with something like today’s option which can offer a bit of utility independent recharging so long as the weather conditions permit. When all is said and done, the gas generator solution will generally cost a lot more than just the initial purchase price, so it’s simpler to start small with a power station which can still be utilized later even after upgrading to a traditional generator or some other type of whole house backup power solution. At least that’s my take and why I have now ended up with both solutions.
@kuoh That’s where I’m at. A year ago, I bought a small “up to 600w” unit for 160 and its 110w solar panel (200!) to stick my toes in the water. A few months later, a tornado left us without electricity for a week. The battery worked great keeping electronics charged and running a fan, and the solar panel recharged it more quickly than I had anticipated.
I did get the gas generator out when it became apparent we were in for the duration. I’d like to have a large enough battery unit for the fridge and coffee machine, but I think the next leap for us will just be a whole house backup. The battery unit I have is a couple dollars cheaper on amz right now and I’d still recommend it for excellent portability around the house.
Solar seems to be where price for these solutions escalates quickly, so I was happy to snag another 100w panel from HF last June for 85. Someone here linked a 200w solar pack for 116 which looks like a great deal and reviews are pretty good.
@kuoh I can see that, but what you are talking about is a “Whole House” unit, not a reasonable sized portable unit. I haven’t lost power for more than two hours in the 30 years I have lived in my house. Neighbors one street away, with a different power company, have been out as much as three days. I can live without AC or heat, but losing the contents of a freezer and fridge would be painful. I can hook up a natural gas generator to the tap for my natural gas grill, so for me fuel is not a problem. I have heavy duty extension cords that I could run to the fridge and freezer and switch them to run enough to keep food from thawing, and to the gas furnace if I had to. In a major disaster, you are going to be screwed anyway, since keeping your phone charged is a waste of time when all the cell towers are down.
@Springbank I’m not sure an 11KW tri-fuel generator is considered a reasonable portable size for most people. Even though they have wheels, they usually weigh over 200 pounds and take up a good chunk of space. A 4KW is generally more than sufficient to run a household fridge, deep freezer, TV, several lights and when carefully load balanced, a portable AC or microwave. At least that was my starting point before going for several days without utility power during the height of summer. The entire area was dark, but cell signal was still available, though occasionally spotty and data was less than dialup speeds at times, presumably due to everyone else trying to reach contacts and acquire info.
True, my reasoning for buying a 10+ KW generator and I’m guessing many other non-commercial buyers as well would be for a whole home solution, where snaking multiple thick gauge power cables through doors and windows long term is not practical, especially during intense storms and summer/winter extremes. Portable units are generally less than a quarter to a third the cost of a comparable sized permanent outdoor unit and easier to store, service and install for infrequent use, hence their recent rise in popularity and cost. Unfortunately, many urban and suburban home gas meters are not configured for the flow rate a large generator needs at full load, especially if the home is electrically heated. That is why a meter upgrade, usually at your own cost, is also needed. In addition, the shutoff valve of an NG grill supply line is often undersized as generator operations was not the original design intent, so there’s another potential upgrade requirement. If you haven’t already, I would recommend testing through the grill supply line and confirm that it is actually able to supply the required flow under a full load, not just start the generator, before you actually need it.
Every time these come up I look at it, wonder if I would ever really use it, read the comments, do some math, decide it’s a great thing to have as an emergency back up (especially since we just went through an unexpected hurricane a few months ago) and decide to get one. Then I remember that I don’t have $600.
Be aware Lithium-iron-phosphate batteries don’t like to be charged in the cold (below freezing); fortunately, this is NOT LFP, but these are NMC Li-Ion, so more tolerant of temperatures. Best way to ‘store’ them is 50%, 80% if you’re using them regularly. Not a great idea for the batteries to store them fully charged at 100% (better off stopping at 80%, or running them back down to 80%)
This will run a fridge, coffee maker, gas furnace w/ blower (only one of those at a time) for a little while (few hours, few pots, an hour). An oil powered furnace with just a circulator pump and exhaust fan will run much longer. (However, you’d likely have to replace the hard wired connection with a plug and receptacle to be able to ‘plug in’ either furnace type).
All that said, a 200W panel is only worth about $150 (EcoWorthy has 2x100W for $116 on the 'zon), making this a pretty expensive battery for $450, especially when black friday/cyber monday had brand new, more popular ones available with a bit more than a 90 day warranty.
IMHO, This would be a mediocre deal at $499 and/or if they sold the battery by itself for $399.
Could the lithium-ion batteries be swapped out for LFPs down the line? I am guessing the answer is a resounding NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!, but I can’t help but Iiiiiiiii, wanna know.
@cfg83 No, mainly because the BMS is designed for 3.2 vs 3.6V batteries. A typical “12V” NMC battery is 3cells x 3.6V, so 10.8-12.6V. A typical LFP battery is 4cells x 3.2V, so 12.8-14V nominally.
Did anyone else have theirs arrive with 0% battery? Also, the quick start guide says 2 hours to charge in a standard wall outlet… When I plug mine into the wall, it says 5 hours 23 minutes. Either my wall outlet is no good or did I receive a bunk unit? tysm in advance for any feedback
Specs
Product: Energizer 1200W Generator & 200W Solar Panel Bundle
Model: ENBG1000BUN
Condition: New
What’s Included?
Price Comparison
Was $1400 at Costco
Warranty
90 days
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Feb 3 - Tuesday, Feb 4
The $600 Power Bank is back!!
What’s the use case for this? 2 hours of AC power for $600 seems like a lot. But I’m also assuming I’m not understanding the application of this item…
@Deftoned989 I think that means it charges in2 hours via AC? (I hope)
@Deftoned989 if you live in an area that loses power regularly due to weather, 991WattHours will power your phone/laptop/ mini fridge/ small appliances for multiple hours.
if you lose power during the sunny part of the day, it can recharge without the grid
@communist @Deftoned989 plug a charger into one of the outlets and it will run forever…
@Deftoned989 Hurricanes. That’s my use for it.
@Deftoned989 Here’s the use case: I used a small one like this to power my tools while building on my farm building. I didn’t need to stop every 5 min. to crank up the gas generator, which is what I was having to do previously. I could go for hours before a recharge was needed.
Quick! Someone tell me if I need this!
/giphy breathtaking-offensive-rhinoceros
That Costco picture was taken from a TikTok video
. Towards the very end. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8F7NggG/
Let’s be honest, you bought WAY too many of these and are still trying to unload them, right? This comes up over and over
@shirlema I bought an earlier battery pack that looked the same except the color and branding was for Duracell. Seems like Meh got them from the OEM.
@shirlema And they won’t take a hint and drop the price.
$499.00 and it’s a deal MEH
@bugger $499.01
@bugger Ooooohh-- a whopping 20 sold. Yeah, 6 is a bit much for this thing. The solar panel is only worth maybe $150, you can get 2x100W for like $115 if you don’t care about portability, so 4 for the battery and 1 for the panels, then it’s tempting.
/showme a Meh warehouse with a pyramid of 1200 watt Energizer generators
@mediocrebot The rest of the warehouse is totally empty? Probably not realistic.
@mediocrebot @phendrick I don’t know, they seem to be fresh out of TrackRs
@mediocrebot @phendrick agreed, where is the dais for human sacrifices and the corner with two (2!) Margarita machines?
@phendrick That image reminds me of the “Lost pallet of Nooks” from Year 1 of Woot being acquired by Amazon
/showme a Meh warehouse with a pyramid of 1200 watt Energizer generators and a forklift buried in TrackR devices and candy corn
@mediocrebot
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’m going to recycle some comments from past offers, and also unconsciously steal the work of others. Three main topics I can think of: chemistry, use cases, value.
Chemistry: I generally prefer lithium iron phosphate (or LFP) batteries to these lithium ion ones, esp if you’re going to use the battery (excuse me, generator) often. However, these lithium ion ones are less expensive, are more energy dense, and per some writers create less fire risk (sorry no citation). They can be a good value for infrequent emergency use.
Use case: for me and I think many folks, the highest value emergency uses for these are communication (charging cell phones, which doesn’t use much power) and powering your refrigerator (which uses a ton). (Special shout out to people who need them for something critical like a CPAP.) The USDA’s recommendations for how fast you should throw out your refrigerated food after an outage were shocking to me - many food groups were clustered around 4 hours without power, even without opening the fridge. Refrigerators also have very uneven power draw, surging at first and only running part of the time. Net, for me, this power station is only about half the minimum capacity I’d want to extend my food safety window (and even that would still be less than one day without a way to recharge). The solar panel helps a little, but even with that, this battery will only power a full sized fridge for a few hours. Not overnight.
I haven’t checked, but I doubt this unit would be sufficient to run a sump pump for any decent amount of time. It would run a few fans well, and an AC either not at all or very briefly.
Value: this unit comes in around $0.60 per watt hour (but includes a panel). I wouldn’t swear to this, but I think I’ve seen a really aggressive sale (on this site?) that was as low as $0.25-0.30 per watt hour for this chemistry, no panel. I don’t think you see that price often, though. Also no memory of how nice a unit that was.
Net: for me, not a good enough option for my primary use case. Still a nice tool to have in the arsenal, and at lower $/watt hour, I’d be tempted for other use cases.
@sfwineguy
" per some writers create less fire risk (sorry no citation)…" This is hard to refute directly w/o source, but here goes:
How are LiFePO4 batteries safer than other lithium batteries?
Phosphate-based batteries offer superior chemical and mechanical structure that does not overheat to unsafe levels. Thus, providing an increase in safety over lithium-ion batteries made with other cathode materials. This is because the charged and uncharged states of LiFePO4 are physically similar and highly robust, which lets the ions remain stable during the oxygen flux that happens alongside charge cycles or possible malfunctions. Overall, the iron phosphate-oxide bond is stronger than the cobalt-oxide bond, so when the battery is overcharged or subject to physical damage then the phosphate-oxide bond remains structurally stable; whereas in other lithium chemistries the bonds begin breaking down and releasing excessive heat, which eventually leads to thermal Runaway. Lithium phosphate cells are incombustible, which is an important feature in the event of mishandling during charging or discharging. They can also withstand harsh conditions, be it freezing cold, scorching heat or rough terrain. When subjected to hazardous events, such as collision or short-circuiting, they won’t explode or catch fire, significantly reducing any chance of harm. If you’re selecting a lithium battery and anticipate use in hazardous or unstable environments, LiFePO4 is likely your best choice. It’s also worth mentioning, LiFePO4 batteries are non-toxic, non-contaminating and contain no rare earth metals, making them an environmentally conscious choice.
Video:
Citation:
https://www.relionbattery.com/knowledge/how-are-lifepo4-batteries-safer-than-other-lithium-batteries?srsltid=AfmBOooOcEiH5NgH45l0Gr93wDfExwziV7DfL0Eomzs91LJFm8VoD-1N
I’m sorry, it’s probably my fault that you didn’t have a credible source…
Mea Culpa!
Addendum:
What Size Generator to Run Sump Pump? –
Source:
https://www.generatormechanics.com/what-size-generator-to-run-sump-pump/#:~:text=A 2000-watt generator could,5000 wattages)%20for%20better%20performance.
Per Google’s ‘AI’:
"The size generator you need to run a sump pump depends on the pump’s power rating, including its starting and running watts. A generator that can provide the required amount of power can keep your sump pump running during a power outage.
What size generator do I need?
Starting watts: A sump pump’s starting watts can range from 1,300–2,150 watts.
Running watts: A sump pump’s running watts can range from 600–1,000 watts.
Generator size: A 1000-watt generator with 2000 surge watts can run a sump pump. A 2500-watt generator can also power a sump pump.
Why is starting power important?
Sump pumps usually need more power to start than to run continuously. For example, a pump that needs 800 watts to run might need 1,500 watts to start.
Other options for sump pump power
A battery backup sump pump can keep your sump pump running for a few hours during a power outage.
A whole house generator can provide power to your sump pump and other critical appliances."
You can probably find a better battery, but the price for a 200w solar panel and 1200w battery is acceptable to me because I don’t have to hunt down something similar and put separate pieces of crap together.
I have two of these. Each will run my 20 year old top/bottom 28 cubic foot fridge easily for 6 hours. Just don’t leave the door open and try and cool the whole house.
For short term power outages, it’s great. If the winds are strong or there is some other pending disaster, I can plug the fridge into the battery and the battery connected to power. If the power goes out, the battery will keep the fridge going for six hours.
With two batteries that’s 12 hours. Beyond that I have a gas generator that’ll power the other home appliance, fridge, etc and recharge the batteries.
If armageddon hits, and I run out of gas (siphoned from our cars), I can always use the solar panels.
Now all I have to worry about is running out of emergency food/water and the zombies.
@Kevfin I believe you can ward off zombies with trackrs. You attach the trackrs to feral neighbors, leave an andriod cell phone outside with the app turned on and the app will lead the zombies right to them. Meanwhile that gives you time to escape.
@Kevfin
Same- except that we have a well, which actually requires a 220-V line intermittently to refill the pre-pressurized holding tank- which our genny has, but at least of these would be a nice addition, so SWMBO wouldn’t have to go out and set-up the big genny for short outages. Also, our kitchen refrigerator has an add-in circuit in the basement, so we could set this up like you say as a[n] UPS.
Now I’m just waiting for the bursar [“from the Medieval Latin word bursarius, which means “purse-bearer”. per Google.”] to say Yay or Nay…
As an aside, for Christmas one year, SWMBO bought me a hat from Zombietools.com- which was the only thing we could comfortably spend $ on there, although they do make some pretty [and pretty much indestructible] bladed weapons- hence the name: Zombie Tools…
@Kidsandliz Feral neighbors running around with trackers on would be cool. Just not sure how to attach it to them. Probably a lot like trying to pet a feral cat.
@PhysAssist I’m lovin the SWMBO - which, being married, I totally get and looking at Zombietools.net has me drooling. Forget tracking feral neighbors, I’m buying an axe!
@Kevfin
They’re sweet aren’t they!?!?
Good on ya!
In case someone needs a helping hand to figure out how long this thing will power something for, it’s not that tricky. See the Battery Size? 991Wh. This is 991 watts for 1 hour, or 1 watt at 991 hours.
Remember those old 100w incandescent bulbs? You’d get 9.91 hours off this thing. That should help with the math thing.
Here’s an eye opener. Compared to that 100w bulb, you can plug in an LED light (13w) instead and it will run for 3.5 days, or a basic 55" LED TV (~80w) around 12 hours for a good binge session, but you may want to plug in your laptop (50w) too, but both together you’d get 7.6 hours.
These are not bad numbers at all, honestly. But, while marketers like to call these generators, it can give a false sense of running capacity.
Modern full size fridges are running about 150W. This is over a 24 hour total. Except for newer models, this is actually fluctuating on and off… 300w on for 30 minutes, 300w off for 30. It would be safe to assume some “cushion” due to temperature rise during that first hour, hoping it’s just a quick outage, and then there’s the defrost cycle that adds an extra 100w or so. Considering all that, I would budget 200w, meaning about 5 hours on this battery. If you have an older fridge or one with bells and whistles, this can plummet down to 2.5 hours or less.
If you are interested in this for use in a commercial building or property, keep in mind that a “generator” is against fire code to operate inside the structure without specific infrastructure in place. Nevermind that this isn’t actually a generator, just a battery pack… because it is labelled by the OEM with the word “generator” on it, NFPA 110 is applicable. In US states you may fail your business permitting, building code inspection, or fire inspection if any “generator” is placed, operated, or even plugged in to recharge indoors without the requisite dedicated room, fireproofing, ventilation, etc etc. Yes, as my Bostonian sister-in-law says, “it’s dawhknob-eating retahded” but letter-of-the-law.
Commenters in previous sales have speculated the stupid marketing decision to mislabel large battery packs as “generators” is why there’s a glut of these being unloaded in the secondary market.
@blaadnort
Very interesting comment there on the naming.
Shakespeare would be dismayed:
“What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”
@blaadnort
Totally agree that it’s named an inapropos way.
I’m saving: "it’s dawhknob-eating retahded” for later use…
I lived and worked in and around Boston for about a year, and in spite of some really interesting local dialects, terminology [the bubbler used for water fountain as e.g.], food items [I loved the D’angelos Sub Shop Lobster Salad Submarine sammies], and some very nice people- the total number of bodies, just the mass of humanity- with all their cars and dwellings was too much for this country boy to take for much longer- and it made firm my resolve to never ever go to NYC ever…
How long will this power the control circuits and blower on my gas furnace?
The longest power outage we have had was during a cold snap when all the auxiliary electric furnaces on the heat pumps kicked in and crashed the grid.
(Don’t trust a heat pump to give you more than 40° over ambient.)
(Also, don’t trust the power grid to actually handle an emergency.)
@2many2no probably an hours. Mine has a 15A circuit, but the blower running is probably closer to 10A, so that’d be 1200W; 1200Whr battery / 1200W = 1 Hour. (Granted, is your furnace going to run continuously, or just for a half hour or so??) You could theoretically take it upstairs/outside and charge, then back down to your furnace.
I bought one last year to use when we have a power outage. Only time I used it was on a guys campout and it worked good for about 3 days. Used it to inflate air bed (a Meh purchase) and to power our music which played constantly through the day and late evening, and the projector for movie night. Yes, we rough it! The let down came when we tried to recharge with the solar panel, apparently it needs full sun for most of the day to get enough chage.Meh.
Over all yes it’s pretty o.k , but I now have a gas generator to recharge the battery during home outages.
So Can I plug in my sump pump to this battery pack and leave the battery pack plugged in to a wall outlet so that in the event of a power failure I’ll have a fully charged battery backup for the sump pump?
I assume these are designed to NOT overcharge while they’re plugged in?
And how long will it last? (1/3 HP motor running for 20-25 seconds about every 10 minutes)
@Trinityscrew
See my note above about what an average sump pump needs for genny ratings.
I just don’t understand these. For a bit more than twice the price, I can get an 11,000 watt tri fuel generator that will run for hours on gas, propane, or until the zombies cut the natural gas lines. The solar panel makes it interesting, but only slightly more functional.
@Springbank Here’s my use case… I have another brand with more capacity for my needs, but…
I use one overnight when camping in a teardrop at a location that has quiet hours and no “shore power”.
This lets me power devices and even run A/C overnight and I charge during the day…
When not camping, I use it as a UPS in my house, it’ll keep a few critical components and internet running if the power blips. Doesn’t replace my gas gens in the event of an actual long term outage, but has its place.
@JL2112 I have one of the 200w, $99 ones that I brought for charging phones and laptops. I quit camping years ago, but I can see where it could be useful for that. This seems too big for my tent camping back in the day, and too small for most home use.
@Springbank I wouldn’t choose this specific power station, but these types of devices are useful in the early stages of an outage when you just don’t know if it’s going to be hours, days or weeks before power restoration. It’s much easier and quicker to move this to an area where you just need a bit of temporary power, than to wheel the gas generator out of the garage, fuel up, hook up to the power inlet, warm up the engine, throw the breakers, shutdown, drain fuel, clean, store, etc. Don’t forget that 11kw generator also comes with some additional expenditures not many people are accustomed to like needing wiring to the breaker panel and/or a transfer switch, oil changes, other maintenance needs, not to mention a goodly supply of propane or usable gasoline on hand unless you’ve also paid for the necessary plumbing for natural gas and upgraded the meter.
Not many people are willing to invest in that level of preparation which may not be used for years or ever, until after they have had to endure an extended or multiple outages. For others, they’re willing to adapt to reduced usage scenarios and go with something like today’s option which can offer a bit of utility independent recharging so long as the weather conditions permit. When all is said and done, the gas generator solution will generally cost a lot more than just the initial purchase price, so it’s simpler to start small with a power station which can still be utilized later even after upgrading to a traditional generator or some other type of whole house backup power solution. At least that’s my take and why I have now ended up with both solutions.
KuoH
@kuoh That’s where I’m at. A year ago, I bought a small “up to 600w” unit for 160 and its 110w solar panel (200!) to stick my toes in the water. A few months later, a tornado left us without electricity for a week. The battery worked great keeping electronics charged and running a fan, and the solar panel recharged it more quickly than I had anticipated.
I did get the gas generator out when it became apparent we were in for the duration. I’d like to have a large enough battery unit for the fridge and coffee machine, but I think the next leap for us will just be a whole house backup. The battery unit I have is a couple dollars cheaper on amz right now and I’d still recommend it for excellent portability around the house.
Solar seems to be where price for these solutions escalates quickly, so I was happy to snag another 100w panel from HF last June for 85. Someone here linked a 200w solar pack for 116 which looks like a great deal and reviews are pretty good.
@kuoh I can see that, but what you are talking about is a “Whole House” unit, not a reasonable sized portable unit. I haven’t lost power for more than two hours in the 30 years I have lived in my house. Neighbors one street away, with a different power company, have been out as much as three days. I can live without AC or heat, but losing the contents of a freezer and fridge would be painful. I can hook up a natural gas generator to the tap for my natural gas grill, so for me fuel is not a problem. I have heavy duty extension cords that I could run to the fridge and freezer and switch them to run enough to keep food from thawing, and to the gas furnace if I had to. In a major disaster, you are going to be screwed anyway, since keeping your phone charged is a waste of time when all the cell towers are down.
@Springbank I’m not sure an 11KW tri-fuel generator is considered a reasonable portable size for most people. Even though they have wheels, they usually weigh over 200 pounds and take up a good chunk of space. A 4KW is generally more than sufficient to run a household fridge, deep freezer, TV, several lights and when carefully load balanced, a portable AC or microwave. At least that was my starting point before going for several days without utility power during the height of summer. The entire area was dark, but cell signal was still available, though occasionally spotty and data was less than dialup speeds at times, presumably due to everyone else trying to reach contacts and acquire info.
True, my reasoning for buying a 10+ KW generator and I’m guessing many other non-commercial buyers as well would be for a whole home solution, where snaking multiple thick gauge power cables through doors and windows long term is not practical, especially during intense storms and summer/winter extremes. Portable units are generally less than a quarter to a third the cost of a comparable sized permanent outdoor unit and easier to store, service and install for infrequent use, hence their recent rise in popularity and cost. Unfortunately, many urban and suburban home gas meters are not configured for the flow rate a large generator needs at full load, especially if the home is electrically heated. That is why a meter upgrade, usually at your own cost, is also needed. In addition, the shutoff valve of an NG grill supply line is often undersized as generator operations was not the original design intent, so there’s another potential upgrade requirement. If you haven’t already, I would recommend testing through the grill supply line and confirm that it is actually able to supply the required flow under a full load, not just start the generator, before you actually need it.
KuoH
Every time these come up I look at it, wonder if I would ever really use it, read the comments, do some math, decide it’s a great thing to have as an emergency back up (especially since we just went through an unexpected hurricane a few months ago) and decide to get one. Then I remember that I don’t have $600.
Man, all I want is the solar panel. I already have the battery.
@ltruelove Amazon has 2x 100W for $116 https://www.amazon.com/ECO-WORTHY-Bifacial-Solar-Panel-Monocrystalline/dp/B0CMBXJ93J
@caffeineguy Nice, Thanks!
Be aware Lithium-iron-phosphate batteries don’t like to be charged in the cold (below freezing); fortunately, this is NOT LFP, but these are NMC Li-Ion, so more tolerant of temperatures. Best way to ‘store’ them is 50%, 80% if you’re using them regularly. Not a great idea for the batteries to store them fully charged at 100% (better off stopping at 80%, or running them back down to 80%)
This will run a fridge, coffee maker, gas furnace w/ blower (only one of those at a time) for a little while (few hours, few pots, an hour). An oil powered furnace with just a circulator pump and exhaust fan will run much longer. (However, you’d likely have to replace the hard wired connection with a plug and receptacle to be able to ‘plug in’ either furnace type).
All that said, a 200W panel is only worth about $150 (EcoWorthy has 2x100W for $116 on the 'zon), making this a pretty expensive battery for $450, especially when black friday/cyber monday had brand new, more popular ones available with a bit more than a 90 day warranty.
IMHO, This would be a mediocre deal at $499 and/or if they sold the battery by itself for $399.
@caffeineguy Thank you for the 80% charging requirement. I am wanted in 3 states for murdering batteries, so I will make sure to follow what you say.
/giphy battery killer
I’m waiting to see these roll out in IRKs eventually!
sidedeal sells this for $800, which is a no-deal for me
Interestingly, the Energizer “generator” shares DNA with these Coleman “generators” on sidedeal too :
Could the lithium-ion batteries be swapped out for LFPs down the line? I am guessing the answer is a resounding NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!, but I can’t help but Iiiiiiiii, wanna know.
@cfg83 No, mainly because the BMS is designed for 3.2 vs 3.6V batteries. A typical “12V” NMC battery is 3cells x 3.6V, so 10.8-12.6V. A typical LFP battery is 4cells x 3.2V, so 12.8-14V nominally.
@caffeineguy Oh well. I like these details. Someday when it’s old and worn out, I might pop the hood and have a look.
Did anyone else have theirs arrive with 0% battery? Also, the quick start guide says 2 hours to charge in a standard wall outlet… When I plug mine into the wall, it says 5 hours 23 minutes. Either my wall outlet is no good or did I receive a bunk unit? tysm in advance for any feedback