Bought one last time they had these, the solar cable connector came broken, had to send whole thing back because it came broken and warranty wouldn’t cover. Got a full refund but still…
@escalante “Lithium ion” is a generic term that applies to any of the lithium chemistries. It’s a way of being nonspecific. I don’t know which type is actually present, but I suspect they’d fearure it if these used LiFePO4.
@escalante@werehatrack Not necessarily-- NMC or NCA batteries still have better power density. In ‘portable’ power solutions, NMC batteries have their place; and in EVs, they have higher range/better energy density.
I’m always curious… what’s the expected lifespan on one of these type of batteries? Would someone have to expect to buy a new one every, say, 10 years or so due to battery degradation?
@haydesigner A few hundred cycles, technically. If you don’t overcharge it, don’t leave it at very low charge, and drop it down to ~50-60% for long term storage, it’ll last a while
We got the non solar panel version of this when meh offered it to use in our boat. It powers fans and even our coffee maker! Great purchase! Can only assume this one is too!
@BradyisGoat A fridge draws ~750W, and this battery claims to have 991Wh, so slightly longer than 1 hour, from full capacity.
This also claims 1200W as its running capacity, but that it can burst beyond that for a few seconds. So starting up a fridge might be possible, but looking for a 2000W version would be better.
@BradyisGoat@klamont It probably depends on the fridge. We have a new-ish model and its power draw pattern was to pull ~300W for 30 minutes, then go down to 15W in an “idle” mode once it reached a stable temp, then back to 300W. It started up the fridge just fine (we saw 1500W initially). Still probably wouldn’t recommend relying on this if a fridge is your main use case.
@BradyisGoat I ordered one of these the last time it was here. It arrived 3 days before we had a power outage from TS Debby. I connected my large LG refrigerator to it at 6am. Our power was back on by 3pm and the battery was down to 49%. It was pouring rain so I didn’t bother putting up the solar panels but yes you can charge while it is working if you had sun. I also brewed a cup of coffee which is a surprisingly huge power draw. The refrigerator draws a lot when it comes on but most of the time is pretty low.
@BradyisGoat@user33988307 Some newer refrigerators use different cooling systems that are much more efficient and also don’t have the large start-up current that the old compressors used (where your lights dim for a second each time it turns on). I have a new Samsung that says “Inverter System” and so it is a DC motor that is much more efficient and does not make the lights dim when it kicks on. Also very quiet. I got rid of two old refrigerators (different houses) that still worked fine but were 20-30 years old. Didn’t measure but I’m sure power use is much less, and mostly you can barely hear if they are running. It used to be unbearable to watch TV or read in the next room if the old refrigerator was running. (well, for me anyway, I’m sensitive to annoying appliance noise).
I don’t like that the warranty is only 90 days on the Sidedeal solar panel. That seems more in line with a refurbished item, even though it does not say it.
Our power just got turned back on this morning, after a 3 day outage, due to terrible storms here in Michigan. I used this battery brick to power up my fridge and freezer for a half hour every six hours, and it worked like a dream. Everything remained cold, and I didn’t need a gas powered monstrosity like most of my neighbors.
As a middle aged female, it’s exactly what I needed. If I didn’t already have one, I’d buy another one.
@orphum@punkynpye We bought a dual-fuel Firman last winter, and run it on propane. It’s not that powerful, but can run a dorm fridge, modem, lights, and fans for 8-10 hours per 20 lb tank, and it’s WAY quieter than our old gas-powered monster. Thinking of getting a 100 lb propane tank for the inevitable hurricane…
@orphum@punkynpye That was one of the benefits of the Honda generators – much quieter (not silent of course) and more efficient. They also use the term “Inverter” (mentioned in what I wrote about some new Samsung refrigerators above). It just means it converts voltages electronically. Classic generators have to run at a fixed speed (1800 or 3600rpm) to make something close to the expected 60Hz AC. And always basically loud. And not efficient especially if you aren’t using a high % of max power. There are now tons of clones of the classic Honda (which has also gone through many redesigns over the years, but it was the first from a known brand).
Picked up one the last time it was offered. A couple weeks later we got hit with 100mph straight-line winds that took trees out across the city. We didn’t get our power back for 5 days, during a 100-degree heat wave.
This little guy did a decent job. A few things we realized:
You can charge it and power devices at the same time. The LCD makes it obvious how much energy is going into/coming out of the device.
It can start a fridge back up, but doesn’t have capacity to power it overnight; we got about 7 hours of runtime out of it.
We were able to bring it back up to capacity during the day with the solar panel, but even on a full-sun day and angling the panels at the sun, it maxed out around 120W. I’m considering picking up another panel to try and bump that up higher.
We didn’t run a ton with it. Generally hung out in our basement with a room light, charged a laptop/phones, and a personal fan. Probably could run a router too, but our internet line was down as well. Never got below 20% capacity (and finally made us switch out our last incandescent bulb for LED)
tl;dr it’s not a replacement for a full-on generator, but it can keep you sane when you have sufficient sunlight.
@KSchweitz It could power either a slush machine that you could load Margarita mix into, or a really big blender that you could use to make a margarita that way.
Steve O’s Outdoors on youtube has a review of this model. It was provided to him by Energizer for review, but he seems to give it an honest go. He tests the solar panel and runs a variety of appliances, like coffee maker, vacuum cleaner, and a regular sized refrigerator. It’s pretty impressive.
I ordered two of these and I’m wondering if one I received wasn’t a used/returned unit? The suspect unit came with a manual folded in half in a different sized bag, the power cable didn’t have a plastic prong protector on it, the battery was at 0% (new one at 37%), and the plastic film was missing from the LCD display. There’s also either a white scuff on the back from the previous owner, or maybe a factory blemish?
Specs
Product: Energizer 1200W Generator & 200W Solar Panel Bundle
Model: ENBG1000BUN
Condition: New
What’s Included?
Price Comparison
Was $1400 at Costco
Warranty
2-Year Battery Biz
Estimated Delivery
Tuesday, Sep 3 - Thursday, Sep 5
This is a shocking deal if you get a defective one.
is Powersorce… short for Powersorcery?
aw you fixed the typo already
@agnesnutter You got it! Nice catch by the way – I modified this about 30 seconds after launch
Bought one last time they had these, the solar cable connector came broken, had to send whole thing back because it came broken and warranty wouldn’t cover. Got a full refund but still…
Serious question. Is this any good or is it going to be a huge disappointment?
@tweezak this is meh, so I’d give it 50/50 odds. Tempted to get this to power my shed though.
@tweezak eh… It is an alright deal with that folding panel but not amazing because of the unknown age of the battery.
This has old battery technology. Look for LFP or LiFePO4 batteries.
@escalante Or look for the more mobile version, C-3PO. Doesn’t do much for charging your devices, but can likely talk to them.
@escalante @mcanavino nice, what you did there!
@escalante “Lithium ion” is a generic term that applies to any of the lithium chemistries. It’s a way of being nonspecific. I don’t know which type is actually present, but I suspect they’d fearure it if these used LiFePO4.
@werehatrack They are probably NMC or NCA battery chemistry. If they were LFP, they would have stated is since that is what people want nowadays.
@escalante @werehatrack Not necessarily-- NMC or NCA batteries still have better power density. In ‘portable’ power solutions, NMC batteries have their place; and in EVs, they have higher range/better energy density.
The banner pic shows a bunny face on the “generator.” Because it’s an Energizer, maybe?
$1199 at Amazon
Amazon Link
@TheStas I’m in for one
@TheStas With zero reviews…
@TheStas Thank you. I am truly tempted … There i$ a disturbance in the for$e. $omething I have not felt $ince …
I’m always curious… what’s the expected lifespan on one of these type of batteries? Would someone have to expect to buy a new one every, say, 10 years or so due to battery degradation?
@haydesigner 10 years, yeah. Depending on use and how long these have sat in a hot warehouse, maybe a bit sooner.
@haydesigner A few hundred cycles, technically. If you don’t overcharge it, don’t leave it at very low charge, and drop it down to ~50-60% for long term storage, it’ll last a while
Selling “Duracell” branded solar panels on sidedeal and suggesting that they can be connected to an “Energizer” battery pack… Blasphemy!!!
@bbf But it works.
@werehatrack I didn’t say it won’t work. Just that it was Blasphemous.
Imagine how many stroopwafels you could get for $600.
@rickjennings64 You don’t have to imagine. Based on past pricing, you could get approximately 2400 stroopwafels for $600.
Well look at that, they are selling a generator!!!
@Drez143 Not.
We got the non solar panel version of this when meh offered it to use in our boat. It powers fans and even our coffee maker! Great purchase! Can only assume this one is too!
The folding panel on sidedeal seems like a better deal then this, assuming you already have one of these boxes o power from a previous deal
Maybe for a simple coffee maker but need to check other appliances since many need 1,800 watts (a no go for my espresso…)
realistically, how long could this power a full sized fridge/freezer? And can it be charged with the solar panel while powering devices?
@BradyisGoat A fridge draws ~750W, and this battery claims to have 991Wh, so slightly longer than 1 hour, from full capacity.
This also claims 1200W as its running capacity, but that it can burst beyond that for a few seconds. So starting up a fridge might be possible, but looking for a 2000W version would be better.
@BradyisGoat @klamont It probably depends on the fridge. We have a new-ish model and its power draw pattern was to pull ~300W for 30 minutes, then go down to 15W in an “idle” mode once it reached a stable temp, then back to 300W. It started up the fridge just fine (we saw 1500W initially). Still probably wouldn’t recommend relying on this if a fridge is your main use case.
@BradyisGoat I ordered one of these the last time it was here. It arrived 3 days before we had a power outage from TS Debby. I connected my large LG refrigerator to it at 6am. Our power was back on by 3pm and the battery was down to 49%. It was pouring rain so I didn’t bother putting up the solar panels but yes you can charge while it is working if you had sun. I also brewed a cup of coffee which is a surprisingly huge power draw. The refrigerator draws a lot when it comes on but most of the time is pretty low.
@BradyisGoat @user33988307 Some newer refrigerators use different cooling systems that are much more efficient and also don’t have the large start-up current that the old compressors used (where your lights dim for a second each time it turns on). I have a new Samsung that says “Inverter System” and so it is a DC motor that is much more efficient and does not make the lights dim when it kicks on. Also very quiet. I got rid of two old refrigerators (different houses) that still worked fine but were 20-30 years old. Didn’t measure but I’m sure power use is much less, and mostly you can barely hear if they are running. It used to be unbearable to watch TV or read in the next room if the old refrigerator was running. (well, for me anyway, I’m sensitive to annoying appliance noise).
@BradyisGoat Yes the power works while charging through the wall outlet or solar panel concurrently.
I don’t like that the warranty is only 90 days on the Sidedeal solar panel. That seems more in line with a refurbished item, even though it does not say it.
@Kedwards33 Both this unit and the SideDeal solar panels have a 2-year warranty – sorry for the confusion!
2-Year Battery Biz
Our power just got turned back on this morning, after a 3 day outage, due to terrible storms here in Michigan. I used this battery brick to power up my fridge and freezer for a half hour every six hours, and it worked like a dream. Everything remained cold, and I didn’t need a gas powered monstrosity like most of my neighbors.
As a middle aged female, it’s exactly what I needed. If I didn’t already have one, I’d buy another one.
@punkynpye Our neighbors had a gas generator as well, and it’s unreal just how loud and omnipresent those things were
@orphum @punkynpye We bought a dual-fuel Firman last winter, and run it on propane. It’s not that powerful, but can run a dorm fridge, modem, lights, and fans for 8-10 hours per 20 lb tank, and it’s WAY quieter than our old gas-powered monster. Thinking of getting a 100 lb propane tank for the inevitable hurricane…
@orphum @punkynpye That was one of the benefits of the Honda generators – much quieter (not silent of course) and more efficient. They also use the term “Inverter” (mentioned in what I wrote about some new Samsung refrigerators above). It just means it converts voltages electronically. Classic generators have to run at a fixed speed (1800 or 3600rpm) to make something close to the expected 60Hz AC. And always basically loud. And not efficient especially if you aren’t using a high % of max power. There are now tons of clones of the classic Honda (which has also gone through many redesigns over the years, but it was the first from a known brand).
@orphum @pmarin @punkynpye Onan was making decent generator packs in the '50s, and I believe that Kohler did as well.
Picked up one the last time it was offered. A couple weeks later we got hit with 100mph straight-line winds that took trees out across the city. We didn’t get our power back for 5 days, during a 100-degree heat wave.
This little guy did a decent job. A few things we realized:
tl;dr it’s not a replacement for a full-on generator, but it can keep you sane when you have sufficient sunlight.
Ok, you win Irk.
/giphy aboard grainy toucan
Not once did it say it could make a margarita!
@KSchweitz It could power either a slush machine that you could load Margarita mix into, or a really big blender that you could use to make a margarita that way.
Clearly the thing to buy is this system that has 60% more watt-hours but only comes with a 100W solar panel… oh yeah, it’s just $3,000 what a bargain https://products.4patriots.com/power/generator-2k/2x-weight-in-gold
Steve O’s Outdoors on youtube has a review of this model. It was provided to him by Energizer for review, but he seems to give it an honest go. He tests the solar panel and runs a variety of appliances, like coffee maker, vacuum cleaner, and a regular sized refrigerator. It’s pretty impressive.
I ordered two of these and I’m wondering if one I received wasn’t a used/returned unit? The suspect unit came with a manual folded in half in a different sized bag, the power cable didn’t have a plastic prong protector on it, the battery was at 0% (new one at 37%), and the plastic film was missing from the LCD display. There’s also either a white scuff on the back from the previous owner, or maybe a factory blemish?