Since I bought mine for about 230 bucks Canadian, it’s been my main device charger and it can serve as a UPS.

I decided to buy it after we had a bunch of power outages within a short time span.

It has a 288Wh battery, with an inverter that can deliver 600 Watts of power.

It’s mainly used to keep my headphones, Google Pixel and iPad charged up however it can run my PC for a solid 2-3 hours before running out of power.

What do you think about power stations?

  • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de
    47·
    6 days ago

    It doesnt look/sound like you are using solar panels with it, but thats like the main reason to buy one of these. Currently you are just slowly degrading the battery while getting zero benefit out of it unless you have power outages ever day. Would make more sense to just charge it and let it sit unused until there is an outage, otherwise you actually use more power than you would without it due to conversion losses.

    • Cantaloupe@lemmy.fedioasis.ccOPEnglish
      13·
      6 days ago

      I do have a foldable 100W solar panel for it. Unfortunately the battery degradation is real. On one hand, having your computer on backup is nice, but that battery will remain plugged in and full 24/7 which will degrade it with time.

      I’m on the fence about using it as a UPS long term for this reason.

        • Cantaloupe@lemmy.fedioasis.ccOPEnglish
          5·
          6 days ago

          If I discharge it now and again while using it as a UPS, I don’t think it would make that much of a difference. It would on average be full which is still stressful on the LifePO4 cells.

          Keeping my computer powered with my power station is doable, and would protect my data from corruption, but the battery drains fast powering my PC, and if the power goes out while I am away or sleeping it’ll be depleted within a few hours. It also adds friction when I wanna use it for something else because I gotta power off my computer first.

          For the size of the power station I’ve got, I think it is best used for DC powered devices, or small AC devices. I mainly use it for bedside power. I plug my personal devices into it, and they all charge at maximum speed. I cycle it and charge it when it needs it. This way it can be moved and used for anything without friction, and isn’t full 24/7.

          The solar panel I have eases the idea of me forgetting to charge it and the lights going out after. The sun is an option in case that ever happens.