Bluetti EB3A Power Station Review: Feature Packed / Ultra Compact / Low Price! Bluetti Power Week

[@mavirek]

We bought this for emergency backup power. We had 2 reasonable expectations: recharge our our tiny communicators/TVs (i.e., iphone), and recharge our portable fans. It does both without breaking the bank, costing btw $200-300. But smaller, handheld power banks could do that too; so why spend hundreds instead of $20-100 for the latter? Because in addition to all the other things that can plug into this toaster sized battery (e.g., DC, AC, USB, car lighter, etc.); this has UPS (i.e., uninterrupted power supply). You can plug your router/modem into it, plug the EB3A into the wall outlet, and you have insurance against loss of wifi in the event of a power failure. We have two EB3As: one with the modem/router; another with a baby cam we use as a security cam. During a power failure both stay on for more than an hour, so if we are away, we can still reach our baby cam features, such as temperature, humidity, listening, looking about, etc. The decision to buy a toaster-sized battery (in comparison to an industrial-sized lipstick power bank) was this UPS feature, which isn't offered on other competitors. Plus the EB3A would not be such a pain to recharge during a long blackout at emergency stations set up by local authorities because it has a Turbo recharge mode that gets the job done fast. Plus the battery can be recharged from a running car, solar panels, a bicycle DC-generator, or saying SHAZAM. (That last one may be an exaggeration.). OVERALL, we like that in a pinch, our wifi remains available to reach our baby cam (baby not included) if we are away. And if we're home, we can disconnect the wifi in favor of powering fans to combat the heat (we live on the surface of the Sun) and recharge our iPhones, which take the place of a TV, radio, computer, telephone, flashlight and fidget. It's UPS with benefits. Ps. Some have noted the weird fan noise. We concur. But using a simple external computer fan--whisper quiet--blowing into the EB3A intake vent (apparently the one shaped like a circle and high up on the left side; as opposed to the exhaust vent situated low on the right side shaped like a triangle) cooled down the battery so well, we don't hear the internal fan come on anymore.

[@richardc488]

Based on your review I purchased one!

[@BR_Outfitters]

Thanks so much! I too thought they forgot the a.c. charger. Turned on your review and found it. Excellent.

[@togeika]

Good review. For home use, I'll connect this to my two 12v forklift batteries connected to two 100w solar panels. When I camp with my motorcycle/sidecar, the unit itself, with portable solar panels is the perfect size.

[@johntate5284]

Hey, I have 2 of these. First thing out of the box you need to update all the firmware before you charge the unit. The early ones (i got some of the first ones) did not display the true battery level, and thus you could actually run them down and may not be able to restart them again for a while). It looks like Bluetti is now doing this before they go out but always best to be sure because it looks like your DC run down of 80% is a little below 85%. The firmware update is the last option under the settings menu. These have been as low as $209, which pretty much eliminates all the other competition, but $239 is still pretty good. Great review!

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Yeah, I initially didn't even realize it had App control! Once I realized that, I immediately installed it was super impressed with the functionality. Updated the FW that same session. Good stuff!

[@feenerandy]

Just bought one based on this review. Will be delivered next week. Thanks for the honest Reeview!

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Glad I could help!

[@Bizzare77777]

Will it power a 900 watt microwave for a few mins once activating the surge feature??

[@__WJK__]

Another great video! Side note/something that would be really great to see (imho) would be to take some of the power stations and recharge them under real-world conditions, by using the recommended (max) solar panel output for each unit AND then simply let the unit/s recharge for however long they need, regardless of the solar conditions going on outside. This way, people can get a better idea of what to expect from a real world recharge vs going by the "ideal" studio or lab specs.

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Thanks for the kind words, and yeah, that's an excellent suggestion. The thing that I worry about with that is results are going to vary heavily from day to day and region to region, so it's very hard to get a sense of what your actual experience will be on any given day. But I take your point. Still might be good to show real world from my location. I'll keep that in mind on the next power station video. :)

[@__WJK__]

​@@ReeWrayOutdoors​- Well, if it helps any, no one ever really/truly knows what kind of weather they are going to encounter when they take their solar charge station/s on vacation + campers don't typically/always know if their campsite is going to be free, partially free or totally shaded by canopy. That said, running the test under a weeks worth of cloud cover and/or a few day of non-stop rain would, of course, make little sense but it would technically still provide some interesting data :^)

[@Bizzare77777]

@@ReeWrayOutdoorsWill it power a 900 watt microwave for a few mins once activating the surge feature??

[@francisdemata1514]

Is it possible to connect an inverter having a high wattage of 2000W from the 12v cigarette socket inorder to run a devices having a wattage of 1200w to 2000W?

[@DanJSwartz]

Thanks for your review. I bought one a little bit back and love it. Light, and portable. It complements my AC200Max. Love the UPS aspect of it.

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Great to hear!

[@blake9358]

Nah mateeeee! Aussie Jack here! Just get a 200Amp hr lithium ion battery connect it to a 300 watt solar panel via a MPPT Solar charge controller and connect your battery to a 1500 watt pure sine wave inverter and you can power everything in your campervan caravan. Bob's your uncle 🤠🇦🇺

[@glendasmith7480]

Absolutely fantastic review. Thank you so much!!! Hope you for MORE reviews on Bluetti power stations!!!!

[@3ccdmike]

I got one coming from Bluetti for $160 refurbished. I like the face I can add a Marine battery to the 12v input to add more runtime if I need. I have some sitting around.

[@mrwonderfullgj]

I bought it for it's reasonable price. Also, I like to have a little insurance for small appliances. I basically keep it on standby. Also bought the PV 120 Bluetti Solar Panel.

[@mrbr549]

Great review, very thorough I bought one a couple months ago, and I love it. !

[@cowania]

Excellent, as always. :) I was wondering if I was gonna feel any buyer’s remorse over the EB70 that I bought about 4 months ago… but I think the extra watt hours I got in that unit were worth it. Nevertheless, this one is very appealing at that price - particularly that it can take 200W solar input, for a smaller battery.

[@robertcuthill8484]

I ordered the EB3A just today. Didn't realize the mc4 cable came with it. I was about to order one. Good thing I didn't. Thanks great review!

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Glad I could help

[@robertcuthill8484]

@@ReeWrayOutdoors Just to check and make sure I went back to the site I ordered mine from (paid $209) and here in the description it said "ask seller about free solar charging cable". So I did so. I guess b-c the price was so cheap they did it that way. Again, glad I saw your review otherwise I would not have even thought about it. Saved me $22. Thanks!

[@bkanegson]

My experience with this unit is, that the user interface (app and display panel) plus quality inverter and charging ability are so good, that it is worth using as a head unit, in conjunction with an outboard battery for greater storage capacity, that might cost more than the EB3a itself.

[@timheilig6091]

Hi, im new to these and just ordered this one, how would you hook up another battery to it? Mines pretty much going to live in a camping trailer, so a larger battery next to it would work great.

[@bkanegson]

@@timheilig6091 The solar/ DC input on the Bluetti is type DC7909. You could create a cable with that connector, or modify an available Bluetti solar cable ($10) by cutting off the MC4 connectors and splicing on alligator clips or ring terminals. Might want to get inexpensive cable with those ends and splice them together for a long enough cable. Adding an in line fuse on the positive (red) side recommended. The Bluetti would accept 200w from the battery this way. Simplest (though not necessarily most efficient) way to charge the outboard battery would be to get a 110v charger appropriate for the battery type (eg LiFePo4) and use excess capacity from your panels and Bluetti on good sunny charging days to flow through charge via the 110v inverter of the Bluetti. You could also charge the outboard battery (and the Bluetti) from the mains when that source is what is available. This could greatly expand the overall capacity of the Bluetti. Only caveat is, the Bluetti puts out 600w max watts and can only draw in 200w through the port. So the outboard power is limited in how much can flow into the system. But for light draws, it will greatly expand the storage capacity. Also you may want to separately monitor the voltage of the outboard battery to insure it does not get drawn down too far, as the only limiting factor will be the Bluetti's requirement for 12v input. Would damage the battery to overdraw. With LiFePo4, for example, 12.5v might be a safe lower limit of discharge. So you will want to monitor that voltage and not allow it to get too low before disconnect/ recharging. If I were doing this, I'd probably look to use a 100ah LiFePo4 battery. 3-4X the capacity of the Bluetti battery added power storage. Quite a lot relatively, but since the Bluetti can handle 200w solar input, it can charge its own battery very quickly and have excess capacity to charge the outboard. The solar port can accept up to 28v, so a 24v battery would also work, as long as your charger for the outboard is also 24v. . You could also opt to input power through the Bluetti's AC charge port to get higher current flow in, by using an inverter on the outboard battery and outputting through that to the Bluetti's AC charge port. But that would be less efficient due to loss through the inverter. In theory, the Bluetti could actually accept both inputs, AC and DC simultaneously for 430w total input, but IMHO, higher input risks shortening the battery life of the Bluetti. I'd not do that often. Personally, I'd keep it simple and moderate my draw to avoid taxing the system. Hope this helps and not TMI. Full disclosure, have not done this myself. But in theory, should work.

[@Bizzare77777]

Will it power a 900 watt microwave for a few mins once activating the surge feature??

[@bkanegson]

@@Bizzare77777 Too much load for the 600w EB3a. Instinct is, larger capacity power station with higher inverter output called for in the application; preferably with headroom well above the 900 watt demand.

[@markpuffer9615]

I too have had mine for a spell and love it. Great for travel ... I've had power go out at numerous hotels as we travel. Great to run the 12v fridge while we stop to eat. Keep my AC 200 Max company as well.

[@tumbleweed1976]

Do you have a time for how long your 12v fridge was able to run off this battery? Thank you.

[@vinnyavalanche]

Paired mine with my jackery 300 both take same car charger and solar panel input.

[@FerintoshFarmsPhotography]

Integrated AC adapters lead to heat damage over time, its why a lot of things have them external.

[@rtjlupolove66]

My eb3a broke in the first week.. where the wall plug plugs in behind that river flap… I plugged it in and heard a snap noise then the lower left display said short in red…

[@louisasanchez6219]

Does the unit need to be On for the UPS to function? Can the UPS turn the unit On? Must I be there to Manually power the unit On? Thanks for your great videos!

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

It's remains on when grid power is connected, as I recall.

[@blueee100]

Can this work without having a smartphone? Is there a default charge speed and what is that?

[@Mapleaple]

So I plugged in the charger cable to another solar generator instead of the wall outlet. Made a daisy chain. But what I'm not understanding is when its in UPS mode I thought it would pass right through the bluetti not denigrating the life of the battery unless a power outage. Like it will use my crappy solar generator and save my nicer bluetti from denigrating. But from testing its the same as charging the battery from solar via dc. Doesn't matter if it's dc or ac charged.

[@Flowing23]

Great review, thank you. May I please suggest that you don’t start to chop up your videos with advertising/promotion and subscription request in the middle of your review. It is very distracting and too much like a lot of lesser KZbinrs. Your videos are great and I believe that will work for you. Thank you.

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

I appreciate the constructive feedback! I'll have to pay more attention to how the ads are being implemented. That's not something I've paid all that much attention to up to this point. I do always uncheck the 'non-skippable' ads because I definitely don't want to force people to sit through them if they don't want to. But I'll try and look further into how they're being inserted (I haven't seen them for months now because I pay for KZbin Premium).

[@northcountry32]

I bought a EB70S after returning my ecoflow river pro with extra battery due to the battery sink issues and the over intrusive app that for some reason needed full acces to my phone by a chinese company... so far so good on the Bluetti , what type of permissions does this app require? Great job on the channel!

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Thanks for the kind words! All the Bluetti app seems to need is "Location and Nearby Devices" permission, which didn't strike me as unreasonable.

[@northcountry32]

@@ReeWrayOutdoors that sound very reasonable. The ecoflow wanted full permissions including contacts, files and cameras... seems strange and when I questioned them, they expedited my refund... ✌

[@cliftonhead9665]

Great video! Could you answer some questions. I'm new to using Bluetti EB3A. Really this will be my first portable power station. Can this unit charge my 7.5aH maintenace free lead and 12aH LiFeP 4 batteries. Better yet would the pwr station be able to power my ic 7300 radio, on its own, without using the batteries.

[@william38022]

I have two older 100 W Renorgy solar panels they’re 12 V should I wire them together in parallel or series to power this unit I also have seen where someone created a special plug and hooked one end into a 50 or mabe 100 amp hour battery and the other end into this unit for a longer run time do you think that’s safe? I just bought the EB3A today I should have it delivered by tomorrow or maybe the next day I’m kind of excited about that. I plan on using them to power a 12 V refrigerator/freezer in our Toyota Tacoma access cab pick up when we’re driving around in hot weather especially on a shopping trip to Costco over 50 miles away we could let the refrigerator run when we turn the truck off however if the external battery idea works I could bring it in the house and use it for other things television all night on the weekend ect. And I could charge everything for free with the solar panels I’m actually in the process of planning a home 600want Solar set up and this little power station could be a really nice complement to that I think(hope)

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

I would not connect those 12v panels in series to this power station as the open circuit voltage is probably over 20V each...and 40V could damage the charge controller on the EB3A. Putting them in parallel will exceed the Isc rating slightly but that will only limit your input power and not damage the EB3A.

[@william38022]

@@ReeWrayOutdoors ok thanks 👍 maybe I’ll just stick with One 100 W panel until I can get a 200 W panel and use it primarily just for that power station?

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

@@william38022 You could certainly do that. Putting those 2 100W panels parallel will also work, but you'd probably top out somewhere around 120-140W due to the 8A cap. But on this power station, even a 100W solar panel will fully charge it in a 1/2 day of good sun.

[@william38022]

@@ReeWrayOutdoors thanks 👍

[@lovasjj]

I would list the ac charge port in the front instead of back as an annoyance and the proprietary battery pack as a con.

[@lulukamz]

I've had one for a few weeks. My only complaint, besides the small power capacity, is that the app is only Bluetooth. I wish it had Wi-Fi. I would then be able to monitor the device from a greater distance.

[@Evirthewarrior]

The wifi thing is a con for a lot of people, they do not want to sign up for an app and give away their information. It is interesting to hear people talk about how they hate the wifi/internet needed aspect of Ecoflow, such as in a power outage or just giving away their information and they would rather have bluetooth only, then I come on bluetti reviews and I see people complain about bluetooth only and want wifi.

[@kevinwdriscoll]

Nice video, great product

[@rodh2168]

The lack of an included 12v car charging cord is also a con. Plus this unit is now $70 more expensive than a comparable Ecoflow River 2 unit.

[@leeinwis]

Yep car charger cost me 15 extra , charges at a capped 99w

[@kagnewmp12]

I have 3 Gas Generators that will power anything in my house and garage but as they are not Generac I have to go out in the storm and power outage and get them running and hooked up. I'm watching your video because I just ordered this Bluetti last night OCT 18 22 and want it simply for running things my Pellet stove and blowers on my wood stove and a few lights maybe. I might have missed it but can I charge this Bluetti in my truck or car. I know nothing about Blue Tooth but I have 4 grown kids that do. Thanks

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Yes, it does have 12V charging and includes a cable for that so you can charge it from a vehicle. Should be perfect for a pellet stove feeder and and some blowers.

[@DLong-wp8su]

My DC SHORT and turn off 5s. Is there away to reset DC? I have tried power drain to 0%/recharge, and various press+hold on buttons but no go. Does anyone know how to reset DC circuit?

[@Evirthewarrior]

No one ever talks about using say, a Bluetti or any other portable battery to recharge or extend the life of the unit via the DC port. It has a lot of features that are great, and none of the reviews are like "Oh btw if you have a battery with a DC port you can use that the recharge the unit." There are other ways but that would be the safest and easiest.

[@jime9305]

I plan on using my 48v ebike battery with a buck converter to do just that...I think most any battery or power bank could be adapted

[@leeinwis]

I got one a week ago, kinda mad you HAVE to use a app to access half the features .

[@CB-kd3dn]

The EB3A does seem like an Ecoflow River copycat except that the River set the bar quite high.

[@francisgauthier8045]

Ecoflow will recharging 80% in 1h , Bluetti in 30 mins. Otherwise, the soecs are identicals

[@ianmartin6023]

The USB C is output only

[@leeinwis]

😞😞

[@carlosguzman-md2mt]

Tennessee Williams you gotta on

[@jimgresham5529]

How much ?

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Right now, about $240 in the US

[@jimgresham5529]

@@ReeWrayOutdoors Not bad, Thanks.

[@dperry19661]

Mine is crap!!! The 8mm socket is too loose to make a reliable connection. $300 down the toilet

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Did you reach out to Bluetti about it? I'd be curious to know how they handle your situation.

[@dperry19661]

@@ReeWrayOutdoors They tell you tier2 will e-mail you within 48 hours. But it never happens. They have told me this lie 3 times so far. But today i found out tier2 is in china. So its seems i was screwed with a sandpaper condom. DO NOT BUY FROM THESE SCAMMERS!!!!!!

[@girlstreak4880]

I won't say it is feature packed as it does not have any provision to attach an extra battery.

[@LiquidTurbo]

You can easily do it yourself with any expansion battery

[@davidparker7156]

it was cheaper a few months ago...

[@trackman515]

You forgot that the fans are noisy s a con! You mentioned that at the front of the video and people that stick their tongues out are rude people that will give you the finger in traffic!

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

You're right about the fans. When they DO come on, they ARE noisy and I should have mentioned that as a 'con'. But your claim about people who stick their tongues out in photos being rude...seems a little...presumptuous. haha Maybe many people who do that are simply being playful and don't take themselves too seriously. :-P

[@laryangel4082]

Rrt

[@KampingKatie]

Bluetti has ZERO customer service. Whichever unit you purchase, I hope it isn't defective. Good luck.

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Hi Katie. I'd be interested in hearing more about your experience with Bluetti's customer service team, if you're willing to share.

[@KampingKatie]

​@@ReeWrayOutdoors I would be happy to. I bought an eb3a 600w directly from Bluetti. I left on my trip and then realized it was defective. It would not hold a charge. I tried calling (I tried all 4 extensions) all mailboxes were full and I emailed several times. I finally called my bank. I then received an email from Bluetti. I left the box and cigarette lighter adapter at home, so I could not ship it back to them for a refund, and their reps in Quartzsite, Az could not swap out the unit. I have since returned home and I have shipped the unit back to them (2/2/2023) through UPS (Bluetti did provide shipping labels) and through tracking I know it was delivered and received at their Las Vegas warehouse, yet they have not confirmed it. I had to contact my bank again (2/9/2023) and still not one word from Bluetti. I do think they make some very good batteries and have heard the 600 is the problem child. I understand electronics fail, but the lack of customer service is the problem for me. A friend I was camping with tried charging the unit and it would say around 98% full and all I could get out of it was to charge my phone a couple of times and charge a usb lantern. The unit was definitely defective. I'm sorry if I sound negative, but I think people should know Bluetti does not offer customer service. It's really a process. Thank you for allowing me to share my experience.