Further thoughts on the iGEN 1000s...
I'm investing in backup for when the grid goes down. A 1 kWh (1000 watt hour) portable power station is part of my solution, because although I have a dual fuel generator, I don't want to run it all of the time. I want to use the generator to quickly charge the power station, then use the power station to run the core of devices that I need, like furnace and refrigerator.
The need for quick charge disqualifies the Jackery 1000. I evaluated an Ecoflow Delta, but at this writing it sells for several hundred dollars more than does the Westinghouse.
I was delighted to run across the Westinghouse iGen 1000S. Its electrical specs are quite similar to those of the Ecoflow Delta, and in size and appearance (display, location of ports, dimensions and weight) it looks like it might be a clone or a second gen iteration of the Ecoflow Delta, with a different set of design compromises.
The official Westinghouse site says it has1008 Watt hours with 1500 continuous watts and 3000 peak watts. The Ecoflow Delta has about 1260 watt hours, with 1800 continuous watts and 3300 peak watts. In most applications, the difference isn't significant.
One of the dings of the Ecoflow vs the Jackery in reviews I've seen is that the Ecoflow, despite having a larger battery, actually offers less runtime than the Jackery when tested.
The Westinghouse Igen1000s has roughly the same runtime as the Ecoflow, but has a smaller battery.
The deciding factor for me is that the Westinghouse charges faster than the Jackery, and is less expensive than the Ecoflow. For my use case, backup when the grid goes down and fast recharge with a generator, and for my budget, this is the better choice for me.
I ran some very informal tests using a Kil-a-Watt power tester. Here are my results. The Westinghouse:
--Put out 850 watt hours before failure, at 430 watts draw from a little heater, with about two hours run time, almost as much as the Ecoflow and less than the Jackery.
--Charged from 0 to 69% in 90 minutes and reached 87% in 120 minutes, much faster than the Jackery.
--Charged at around 440w initially, charging watts reduce when the battery has more charge.
--Ran a heat gun at about 1460 watts no problem, much more running power than the Jackery. For instance, the Westinghouse will power a standard microwave oven and the Jackery won't.
--Ran a 25 watt fan 24 hours, for about 600 watt hours of output. This was disappointing, and may be caused by the overhead of the inverter and fans running for awhile.
--Ran a refrigerator for 10 hours, for about 600 watt hours of output.
--Took 1300 watt hours to charge.
I conclude that, like the Ecoflow, the Westinghouse is designed for relatively short, high output rather than longer lesser output.
Note that the Westinghouse can be paired and used with another one. I didn't test that.
This isn't a particularly good power station for lots of cycles. It's like the Ecoflow and Jackery in this regard.
At $999, it's considerably less expensive than the Ecoflow Delta, which can be found discounted regularly for about $1200.
We should also consider how solid a brand is. I suspect that someone bought the old Westinghouse brand and is market various products under that label. That said, the modern day Westinghouse does offer a broad array of products and appears to have some solidity. Jackery seems to get good reviews for customer service, Ecoflow not so much.
Here's an unboxing and review, not my work, but it shows you the device in use
