Anker Portable Power Station, 300W/388.8Wh PowerHouse II 400 for $259.99 AC + FSSS

sduser2002

May 11, 2021 7:47 AM

310 Comments

Joined Jul 2010

sduser2002May 11, 2021 7:47 AM

310 Comments

Quote from deeznutz206

:

This is not a good price $0.67/Watt

Here is a better deal $/Watt wise. $0.53/Watt

Chafon 568WH Portable Power Station $299 AC:
https://www.amazon.com/CHAFON-153..._1_3?tag=s... [amazon.com]

Pair this with their 80W portable solar panel which is currently 35% off for $89.99 and you have a nice setup
https://www.amazon.com/CHAFON-Por...1_5?tag=sl... [amazon.com]

Buying random generic offbrand stuff is not comparable to buying an Anker item which a reputable and large company stands behind.

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deeznutz206

May 11, 2021 6:36 PM

1.8K Comments

Joined Dec 2010

deeznutz206May 11, 2021 6:36 PM

1.8K Comments

Quote from sduser2002

:

Buying random generic offbrand stuff is not comparable to buying an Anker item which a reputable and large company stands behind.

Chafon is not a random generic brand. There are plenty of videos on YT reviewing their portable power stations. I have their older 364WH model which is over 2 years now and it has performed great. Just because you haven't heard of them doesn't mean they are bad.

Another factor for the Chafon power station that I linked is in the Q&A section they said "Hi, the DC port will not automatically turn off even though it doesn't sense any power draw." Which might be a good thing for those that are running the portable fridges.

Anker is good but they are overpriced. Go ahead and keep paying their crazy prices if you want. I was just letting people know that there are other brands out there that are cheaper and still reliable.

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rchan326

May 12, 2021 1:46 AM

373 Comments

Joined Dec 2008

rchan326May 12, 2021 1:46 AM

373 Comments

tempting but waiting for a steal on the 800 model

privater

May 12, 2021 4:31 AM

994 Comments

Joined Oct 2010

privaterMay 12, 2021 4:31 AM

994 Comments

I've researched a bit on those power stations, I found even with discounts like this, the features of Ankers' are lacking. 300w is such a low bar for anything around outdoor cookings. The 60w USB PD also not future proof for laptops, only one outlet and its slow recharge rate.

In the end I opted for ecoflow River, which has 600w rated output, a gimmick but working feature to convert and use 1200w electric stoves and 100w USB PD for silent DC output.

EF ECOFLOW Portable Power Station RIVER, 288Wh Backup Lithium Battery with 3 600W (Peak 1200W) AC Outlets & LED Flashlight, Clean & Silent Solar Generator for Outdoor Camping RV Emergencies Home https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H1TY...UTF8&psc=1

1

rypajo

May 12, 2021 2:42 PM

1.1K Comments

Joined Apr 2014

rypajoMay 12, 2021 2:42 PM

1.1K Comments

Quote from privater

:

I've researched a bit on those power stations, I found even with discounts like this, the features of Ankers' are lacking. 300w is such a low bar for anything around outdoor cookings. The 60w USB PD also not future proof for laptops, only one outlet and its slow recharge rate.

In the end I opted for ecoflow River, which has 600w rated output, a gimmick but working feature to convert and use 1200w electric stoves and 100w USB PD for silent DC output.

EF ECOFLOW Portable Power Station RIVER, 288Wh Backup Lithium Battery with 3 600W (Peak 1200W) AC Outlets & LED Flashlight, Clean & Silent Solar Generator for Outdoor Camping RV Emergencies Home https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H1TY...UTF8&psc=1

The expandable battery is pretty slick on this. Curious why this one isn't discussed more? Arguably better solution all-in-one solution than my DIY version for similar price point albeit if one of my components goes bad it can be easily replaced and my battery has an extra 100wh storage.

1

privater

May 12, 2021 11:23 PM

994 Comments

Joined Oct 2010

privaterMay 12, 2021 11:23 PM

994 Comments

Quote from rypajo

:

The expandable battery is pretty slick on this. Curious why this one isn't discussed more? Arguably better solution all-in-one solution than my DIY version for similar price point albeit if one of my components goes bad it can be easily replaced and my battery has an extra 100wh storage.

One reason would be Anker have premiums for its legacy on battery in general. However with such similar price range, ecoflow's reviews online are lot more and popular both in Amazon and YouTube. I knew this brand from some great diy battery reviewer like "diy solar power with will prowse"

1

silver00

May 13, 2021 9:51 PM

88 Comments

Joined Sep 2011

silver00May 13, 2021 9:51 PM

88 Comments

Does anyone have an idea how long an LED bulb would run on this (60-watt incandescent lumen equivalent). Would it run a lamp for 2 hours? 10hrs? 2 days?

frozenrubber

May 14, 2021 5:36 PM

54 Comments

Joined Apr 2020

frozenrubberMay 14, 2021 5:36 PM

54 Comments

Quote from silver00

:

Does anyone have an idea how long an LED bulb would run on this (60-watt incandescent lumen equivalent). Would it run a lamp for 2 hours? 10hrs? 2 days?

how many watts draw is the light.

Simple formula:
(388.8Wh * 0.85) / (total watt draw of device(s)) = runtime in hours

A LED equivalent to a 60W incandescent is usually ~8.5W. So that would be 39 hours of runtime

sduser2002

May 15, 2021 2:43 AM

310 Comments

Joined Jul 2010

sduser2002May 15, 2021 2:43 AM

310 Comments

Quote from deeznutz206

:

Chafon is not a random generic brand. There are plenty of videos on YT reviewing their portable power stations.

All that means is that they have sent their products to youtubers to review, which often has the implication that the review should be positive as gratitude for literally getting a free item that would otherwise cost a few hundred dollars.

Quote :

I have their older 364WH model which is over 2 years now and it has performed great.

That's a nice anecdote, but here's another anecdote, literally from a youtube video which you encouraged me to go find:

"After 3 years of not being used but occasionally recharged, this 346Wh Chafon Lithium Portable Power Generator that I was sent for a review ended up dying. Because it was literally never used, I was curious what was the problem and thought it would be fun to take a look inside one of these to see the components and inner secrets. And unfortunately Chafon was hiding quite a few!" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oyogb1t5k2g)

Quote :

Just because you haven't heard of them doesn't mean they are bad.

Nice try oversimplifying the argument. As the video above points out, there are many similar products to what Chafon makes, with the same exact shell/exterior, but with random other brand names. That says that they churn out random stuff to be white-labeled by whoever will pay them, or they are someone buying and slapping a name on something that some other company makes. This doesn't bode well for caring about quality, consistency, and customer service to build up their brand reputation.

So, actually, yes, they exactly are a random generic brand.

Quote :

Another factor for the Chafon power station that I linked is in the Q&A section they said "Hi, the DC port will not automatically turn off even though it doesn't sense any power draw." Which might be a good thing for those that are running the portable fridges.

The same applies for the OP Anker product. What's your point?

Quote :

Anker is good but they are overpriced.

When you desperately try to reframe "large reputable company that has proven that they stand by their products" as "overpriced", then you deserve to gamble with a company who's website is literally this -- http://www.chafonmall.com/ [chafonmall.com] -- where you can also buy a Chafon camping shovel, if you need, but they can't even spell "privacy policy" correctly.

That you think saving a few bucks is worth rolling a dice for a product used for emergency or camping/outdoors power situations epitomizes penny-pinching that isn't what slickdeals should be about.

Hint: if you have any problems, good luck getting any help, and maybe at best if you get through to someone that understands you and cares, they'll be nice and offer that if you send the product overseas to them, they'll replace it -- which will literally not be worth the shipping cost for you to do that. Meanwhile, Anker has established distribution channels in the United States, and a deep expertise and reputation for portable power products.

EDIT:

LOL, the original review video from 3 years ago [youtube.com] that preceeded the Chafon teardown youtube video I linked above coincidentally doesn't tell people that he got sent the item for free. hmm....

Also, this is what you consider a quality "reliable" product from Chafon??
"**Please note - when charging this device, make sure to go by the LED indicator for when it is fully charged and not the % display. It may say 100% on that display but still not be fully charged**"

3 years later, this youtuber wanted to charge up the product to get ready for an emergency, and it dies. He calls the company "shady" and says they probably don't honor their warranties anyway.

Other gems from the takeapart video [youtube.com]:

inside the item uses wood screws forced in at an angle
"no engineering or design that shows the company cared about quality or longevity,"

"aluminum straps clearly installed by hand by a 5-year-old"
the battery management circuit board was manufactured in 2014 for a product sold in 2017 (or at best case scenario, which is still shitty, the circuit board was manufactured more recently, but the design is from 2014)
based on the math of of the capacity of the batteries inside, the product's actual capacity isn't the advertised 346Wh, but just 311Wh --- so the entire basis of your argument of cheaper cost per Wh is bunk.. -- this is what you get from companies selling random generic crap.
conclusion of the video/reviewer: "chafon produces junk products, along with all the other brands this same power bank is sold under"

So, this is what you're encouraging folks to buy??

Such a slickdeal to save a few bucks!!!

Last edited by sduser2002 May 14, 2021 at 08:43 PM.

4

sanramon94582

May 27, 2021 2:14 AM

42 Comments

Joined May 2008

sanramon94582May 27, 2021 2:14 AM

42 Comments

Code does not work

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Anker Portable Power Station, 300W/388.8Wh PowerHouse II 400 for $259.99 AC + FSSS

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