CleanTechnica Tested: The EBL Portable Power Station
Portable power stations open up a wide range of new options for bringing tools, technology, and toys to new places. Battery producer EBL is moving into the space with the powerful new 1 kilowatt-hour, 1,000 watt EBL Portable Power Station Voyager 1000. EBL sent us one of their new power stations for us to run through the paces in the real world to see how it held up.
Right off the bat, the new power station looks like a great value, with its hefty storage capacity and output power capabilities at an affordable price point of $999. EBL is running an introductory promotion of $500 off on Amazon, which is a fantastic deal.
Disclaimer: EBL provided the Voyager 1000 to the author for the purposes of this review.
Charging With Solar Or Grid Power
We put this unit to the test right away, using the included solar panel adapter wire to connect a folding 40 watt, 12 volt solar panel connected up to the EBL Voyager 1000. The panels quickly ramped up to the full 40 watt rating and had the unit charging at 40-41 watts while in direct sun. This time of the year, we get about 12 total hours of sunshine though we didn’t get the full output for all those hours. With this compact folding solar panel, we would be able to recharge the EBL Voyager in two and a half days of sunshine, replenishing about 400 Wh per day.
Stepping things up, I purchased a Renogy 100 watt, 12 volt solar panel to add to the system and was able to crank 101 watts of power into the unit. At this rate, it would recharge fully in a full day of sun here in southern California in three out of four of our “seasons.” Your mileage will obviously vary based on your local conditions and location, but the 100 watt panel feels like a good pairing for this particular battery pack.
For slightly faster charging, we plugged the unit into the wall with the included power brick and were immediately up to 150 watts of full power charging, recharging the unit from zero to full in about 6.5 hours. That’s a great option when you need a quick charge or are taking advantage of an available power outlet, although solar is still my preferred method for recharging the battery as it is free and works whether you’re near a grid connection or not.
Recharging the unit from an automotive 12 volt cigarette adapter is also possible, thanks to the included adapter. That’s a great option for car camping scenarios or for use in an RV when it’s time to drive and it’s challenging or impossible to recharge with solar.
Discharging
On the utility side of things, we didn’t pull any punches and quickly connected the EBL Voyager 1000 to a GoSun Chillest fridge. This fridge is a tank and boasts a 45-liter capacity and an integrated battery pack. From room temperature, the Chillest pulled around 40 watts constant to get down to the temperature set points for the fridge and freezer sections, at which point the compressor turned off. At that point, the compressor would only kick on for about five minutes out of every 20 minutes to keep temps down, pulling between 29 and 40 watts from the Voyager 1000.
The GoSun Chillest isn’t the most efficient fridge, but it’s perfect for keeping drinks and food cool for a day out at the park, or with an external battery pack like the EBL Voyager 1000 for a long weekend camping trip. Pairing that with solar extends the fun and utility of both devices.
To really put it to the Voyager 1000, we plugged in our home hot water kettle. This is a staple for us at home as we use it daily to make tea, coffee, ramen, oatmeal, soups, and much more. I plugged it and quickly after turning the unit on, usage on the display of the power station showed a discharge of 829 watts. That continued for the duration of the heating period and the EBL kept up.
It is rated to an output of 1,000 watts so it’s expected to handle this type of load, but reassuring to see it happening in real time. With a full charge, the Voyager should be able to heat a full kettle of water about 12 times without being recharged. Depending on the use case, that may or may not be sufficient but as a backup power solution for home or as a primary power source when on the go, it’s an impressive unit considering the affordable price.
Overall
The EBL Voyager 1000 seems like an absolute bargain on Amazon with the current coupon taking the price down to $500. EBL has offered our readers $500 off using coupon code “Powerstation” to lock in a Voyager 1000 for just $499 from the company’s website.
At 15.67 x 10.31 x 10.79 inches and 23 pounds, the Voyager 1000 is a nice compact package that makes it easy to move around to the park, beach, or into the kitchen during a power outage to keep critical devices online.
- Weight: 23.1 pounds
- Dimensions: 15.67 x 10.31 x 10.79 inches
- Charging Inputs: 12/24v solar, 150 watt 110v with included charger, 12v automotive charger
- Charging Time: 8-12 hours on 110 volt power, 10-12 hours with a 100 watt solar panel
- Outputs: 2 x AC Outlets, 3 x QC3.0 USB, and PD60W port
- Capacity: 999Wh/270000mAh
- Warranty: 12 months
- What’s in the package: 1* EBL Voyager 1000 Portable Power Station, 1*AC Adapter, 1* 12v Car Charger Cable, 1*Solar Panel Parallel Adapter Cable, 1* User Manual
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