Anker 535 and Refurbished 555 Powerhouses

Earlier this year I purchased the Anker 535 Portable Power Station and I think it's great. The only thing is, I wish it had a bigger battery to allow me to use it more before I have to charge it. Well, that's not really a defect in the product because there's only so much a battery can do. If I wanted more power I just needed to buy a larger version. So that's just what I did. And I bought it for 40% off the retail price by purchasing a refurbished Anker 555 Portable Power Station through Anker's Outlet Store at eBay. Oh, what fun it is!
These products are from a category often called "Solar Generators" because you have the option of charging them using AC power (just plug them into the wall outlet in your house) or you can hook up solar panels and use them "off grid" anywhere you choose to set them up. Some of the big brand names you'll see in the solar generator market include Jackery, Goal Zero, Bluetti, EcoFlow and others. There's a wide variety of features. Often, the companies producing these battery and inverter all-in-one products will also produce portable solar panels made to match their solar generators. But you don't have to use any one, specific type of solar panels with these devices. As long as you have solar panels which match the voltage requirements of your solar generator you are good to go.
In this video I talk about the Anker 535, 512 Watt Hour Portable Power Station and the 555, 1024 Watt Hour version. Anker also sells a smaller unit, the model 521, and two larger units, the 757 and 767. All of these use "next generation" LiFePO4 or Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries, which should last at least 3,000 charge-and-discharge cycles before the batteries significantly lose their capacity to hold and deliver a full charge.
I've found that the prices of these devices remain fairly consistent EXCEPT the companies almost always have special discounts and/or coupons. So check the prices carefully and if you think the prices seem high then just wait a week or two and see if there's a coupon out there. Or you can try the refurbished market, as I did, and find significant discounts along with reduced warranties. But I decided to give the refurbished idea a chance. With any luck, my refurbished portable power station will outlast the warranty time period for a new device anyway. Check with me in about 5 years and we'll see if that's true.

[@jfizzle]

I have watched dozens and dozens of reviews for various portable power banks. Your video is the absolute best I have come across. Well done.

[@964tractorboy]

Great video. Look forward to seeing the Bluetti / Anker face-off.

[@mosfet500]

Thanks Greg.

[@Zkpe02]

I have 2 of the Anker 535’s and a Bluetti AC200P 2018WH with 2 Ampere 100ah 12V LifePo4 1200WH batteries which I use to extend the watt hours by 2400wh ….

[@ChipZilla69]

Best video I have seen. I'm looking for a powerstation to charge by bits and bobs in a garage that doesn't have utility and is not next to my house. I need to figure out what solar panels to pair with this that could be fastened to the garage roof for the 555.

[@Terraner-wq3do]

good to know, thanks😊

[@Foxfire_Pony]

Thanks for the video. I didn’t know about Anker’s eBay outlet store.

[@idletime]

G'morning Greg ☕☕ 😃 . Great video and quite interesting, I like it. I just bought a new to me 1998 Chevy Blazer LS 4 door w/ the 4.3 Vortec V6 in it. I'm planning on setting it up as an overlanding rig for my fiance and I. As far as power availability goes I want to set it up with dual 1000cca batteries in parallel with an on-board dc/ac converter w/ usb ports up front in the console between the front bucket seats. Out back I'd like to have a power station and a couple solar cells with about 200 watts of solar recharging capability for it when it's not running off the dc/ac converter. That should handle all of our power needs wherever we might roam 😀 .. ,

[@darrensandford4353]

Hi can you plug a 200w solar panel in the 555, what would you recommend thanks

[@MrAlmiranda]

for some reason you got my trust sir keep doing reviews, good job!

[@FiveElementsTactical]

Great review!!

[@jsnlgrrtt]

Thank you for the hard work

[@WR3ND]

I missed checking the $50 off coupon box. 🤦‍♂️

[@SOMANYTRASHH]

Return it and buy it again

[@WR3ND]

It hadn't shipped yet, so I was able to cancel the order. I ended up ordering the 555 instead of the 535 with the $100 off coupon. 👍 Cheers.

[@Patelivision]

Man I'm so disappointed in anker. All the privacy crap that's been going on with their eufy line of cameras means I'm done with them. They make the most reliable batteries

[@SuperMrgentleman]

I'm pretty sure the batteries don't have privacy issues