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Looking for a budget power station less than $250

GCWP

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Jan 26, 2022
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Hi,

I was looking into getting a budget power station for less than $250.
This will be my 1st and would like to try it out before spending on a better unit. Just trying out.
Not looking to really power anything and just for a backup if any power outage occur in my area.
Came across these 2 power stations.

Flashfish 292Wh 80000mAh Solar Generator Backup Power​

Flashfish CPAP Battery 166Wh 45000mAh Backup Power Pack 110V 150W Lithium Battery​

Are these any good?
Or are there any other better power station for the price?
 
Can you post links to the products so we can take a closer look at the specs? That first unit looks to have an 80Ah battery, the second unit looks like it's just a 45Ah extra battery.
 
A Goal Zero Yeti 150 is an option. There is a AGM battery inside, it can very easy and quick replace by yourself (is‘s descripted in the manual how to do it) and the whole thing is very reliable. I use some 150 since many years, one of them is running still with the original battery.

If you have luck you can get a Jackery Explorer 240 for this money. This is the best value for the €$¥
 
Since they all look about the same, I'd start with the one with the highest Watt Hours and whittle it down. Second step would be to ignore anything that says "Modified Sine" in the specs, you don't want that. After that would be the port availability, are the number of outlets and USB ports going to support what you need? Then go by number and average of reviews, and so on.

I can see you're trying to do this on a budget so you're avoiding the name brands, that's OK. It just means you need to do a little more research.

Things you're going to want in a unit (in rough order):
LiFePo4 battery
Pure Sine Wave inverter
The most Watt-Hours you can get, I wouldn't bother with anything less than 250Wh
Enough ports to do what you want and a few extra
Lots of decent reviews. A 4 star unit with 3,000 reviews is going to be better than a 5 star with 2 reviews.
Consider how you're going to want to recharge it. Are you always going to plug it into the wall? Car adapter? Can it take a solar panel? The more charging options the more versatile it will be.

That Baldur doesn't look too bad with the MPPT controller solar ready, I just wish it had a bigger battery but still looks like a good option for the price and number of reviews. Those higher end Flatfish's have the 24v supply which if you don't need it then you shouldn't be paying extra for the feature.

Just my $0.02
 
Package includes 1*298Wh Portable Power Station, 1*AC power adapter, 1*AC Power Cable, 1*Car Charging Cable, 1*DC to MC 4 Cable and 1*user manual(Solar panel is not included).

That's the first unit I've ever seen that comes with its adapter cable. Way to go Somikon!
 
Since they all look about the same, I'd start with the one with the highest Watt Hours and whittle it down. Second step would be to ignore anything that says "Modified Sine" in the specs, you don't want that. After that would be the port availability, are the number of outlets and USB ports going to support what you need? Then go by number and average of reviews, and so on.

I can see you're trying to do this on a budget so you're avoiding the name brands, that's OK. It just means you need to do a little more research.

Things you're going to want in a unit (in rough order):
LiFePo4 battery
Pure Sine Wave inverter
The most Watt-Hours you can get, I wouldn't bother with anything less than 250Wh
Enough ports to do what you want and a few extra
Lots of decent reviews. A 4 star unit with 3,000 reviews is going to be better than a 5 star with 2 reviews.
Consider how you're going to want to recharge it. Are you always going to plug it into the wall? Car adapter? Can it take a solar panel? The more charging options the more versatile it will be.

That Baldur doesn't look too bad with the MPPT controller solar ready, I just wish it had a bigger battery but still looks like a good option for the price and number of reviews. Those higher end Flatfish's have the 24v supply which if you don't need it then you shouldn't be paying extra for the feature.

Just my $0.02
Is there any solar generator that you guys are using and recommend me to check out and do research on?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HHFFL7...colid=1VIUK64TFN2W&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P1JTTR...colid=1VIUK64TFN2W&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it https://www.amazon.com/Portable-192...ency/dp/B0924MVGKY?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Reg...0450569638f08&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
I was looking at the wattfun because it has LiFePo4
 
thanks for the video link, in that case I will not want the flash fish.
I am not looking at the jackery because they charge too slow with solar.
You're not going to find many 300Wh power stations that charge quickly with solar.

Anyway, I have a cheap Golabs R300 and it's a nice unit and actually slightly more 'proven' than the other [randomly generated brand name] power stations on Amazon.
 
i was planning to charge cordless power tool batteries with this and run 2 lights in the shed
 
These portable power stations are very cool. Great technology.

Just make sure your input amps or wattage rating on your power tool battery charger matches your power station output. In many cases continuous output is a little less than the unit's wattage rating. Some have surge capacity for starting motors and such as well.

I'm rather new to all of this too, having recently installed a 600w inverter in the RV. It's continuous rating is 540watts AC, and pulls 48A DC. They can be a real power hog.

My ebike battery charger is rated for 4A AC, which it will pull at full load, but as soon as the pack comes up and the current tapers off, the inverter draw drops in half or less.
 
I bought two refurbished Bluetti EB70 units from MaxOak, one from MaxOak.net and one through their AliExpress store. It looks like they only have refurbished li-po units available at the moment, but their lifepo4 units pop up pretty regularly.


I did a little testing, and the units I received seem to work like new.
 
I bought two refurbished Bluetti EB70 units from MaxOak, one from MaxOak.net and one through their AliExpress store. It looks like they only have refurbished li-po units available at the moment, but their lifepo4 units pop up pretty regularly.


I did a little testing, and the units I received seem to work like new.
That link is their eb240 - 2400Wh one for $499
Which I would rather have anyway.
Good for home backup as well as for travel. More capacity.

The RV bank is 2800W.

One YT reviewer didn’t know what a xt60 plug was on the eco power ones - kept calling it ‘proprietary’. :rolleyes:
Got better reviews than the bluetti ones though.
 
Hi,

I was looking into getting a budget power station for less than $250.
This will be my 1st and would like to try it out before spending on a better unit. Just trying out.
Not looking to really power anything and just for a backup if any power outage occur in my area.
Came across these 2 power stations.

Flashfish 292Wh 80000mAh Solar Generator Backup Power​

Flashfish CPAP Battery 166Wh 45000mAh Backup Power Pack 110V 150W Lithium Battery​

Are these any good?
Or are there any other better power station for the price?
You can buy used Rockman 200 or Paxcess 330 for cheap on Ebay about $50 - $100.

Aliexpres has the Bluetti EB70 - 700 watt LIPO4 battery renewed for $206.

There are great deals out here especially if you are good at troubleshooting or repurposing.

The problem is once you buy one the next latest and greatest model comes out. That's why I prefer to buy used or for parts only. I save lots of $$$ going that route.
 
You can buy used Rockman 200 or Paxcess 330 for cheap on Ebay about $50 - $100.

Aliexpres has the Bluetti EB70 - 700 watt LIPO4 battery renewed for $206.

There are great deals out here especially if you are good at troubleshooting or repurposing.

The problem is once you buy one the next latest and greatest model comes out. That's why I prefer to buy used or for parts only. I save lots of $$$ going that route.
Do you have the link to that one? Thanks!
 
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