Don’t Buy a Portable Power Station Until You Watch This - Anker SOLIX C1000 Lessons

[@OutdoorAuto]

Anker Solix C1000 Power Station - geni.us/WENBQ APL55 Dual Zone 12 Volt Iceco Fridge - geni.us/sqefN - CODE: NATEJMUELLER for 12% Off

[@spindrift2719]

I have had Anker battery banks and others for 10 plus years and the ankers are the only ones that still charge ( fully) and work to this day for my fishing/hunting and hiking/biking trips . 🙌🙌

[@highpro1394]

Dude you are seriously one of the best overlanders that does a great job explaining all things overlanding 👍👍👍

[@EJM2525]

I'm a firm believer in the Anker Solix offerings. I own and use 6 (not a typo) C1000X units and a larger F2600 as well. These provide UPS and backup power in multiple areas of my house for Fios ONT, computers, routers, tv, emergency sump pump, fridge, etc. All of these units can be portable. The F2600 even has a retractable handle and wheels for ease of movement. Unlike a single central unit, I can lend any of these power stations to family and friends to help them through a power outage. I can charge these with portable solar panels, weather dependent, or even plug them into my Tesla's power ports or inverter to recharge. (I mention the Tesla because it's large 80Kw high voltage battery will automatically recharge its small 12/16v car battery and keep it topped up for days, probably weeks. This allows me to recharge any of my power stations many, many, many times.) These multiple power station units are stackable. The system is highly flexible. There is no single point of failure. Very pleased with this setup and it suits my needs.

[@John-ke2jm]

I've been using a variety of Anker products for years now. It's the ONLY brand of small phone battery pack charger I will even buy, as well as usb C and lightning cables. They just make quality stuff, all across the board.

[@sballalien]

Fantastic video! I own the Anker SOLIX C1000 and still learned a lot.

[@colinp6231]

I bought the Pecron 1000pro last summer before I knew anything about all the different brands of power supplies. We got it to take camping to fill up our air mattresses and charge our phones. It worked really well for what we needed. I didn't really use it during the winter, but i would pull it out once a month to plug in the battery. A majority of the time it would still be at 100% and occasionally it would be 99%. Over the summer I have used this daily to run the pump on my pool along with a pecron solar panel. I've never had a problem with it over heating or feeling hot. What I like about it is it's very simple. No downloading apps to use it, and it does the job I need it to do. I'm wondering if the Pecron you got is a bad unit , and maybe you need to talk to Pecron to get it fixed or replaced. Your video is very helpful because I am planning to buy another larger unit, and it provided good info to keep in mind and what features to look for.

[@fscottgray9784]

I have been using a couple of Blue Etti AC180. I wanted one that would run most any appliance and have at least 1000watt hour battery. The AC!80 will do 1800 watts continuous and 2400 surge. The sale Price on these is $650 and I have not found anything that comes close to price for what the AC180 offers. LIfePO4 batteries. I recently found that vehicle on board 120 volt power inverters used by most car companies will not charge these power banks. This is due not only to the small 400 watt size on most vehicle but also because they do not offer a Pure Syne wave 120 volts so the power banks will not recognize it and won't charge. YOu can either add a pure syne wave inverter of a larger size and with pure power or buy a small pure syne inverter and use a smaller wattage to charge your power bank slowly.

[@fscottgray9784]

I think the Anker unit is a great unit and with its recent price drop a great unit to buy .

[@Sungie264]

Interesting. I have the Bluetti AC180 and it charges just fine from my truck cigarette port. It take awhile though but i found out it charges deceptively well during long road drips. I do drive a full size truck though so maybe that has something to do with it.

I have the same unit and took advantage of the same exact sale you’re referring to! I feel like I I struck gold!

[@fscottgray9784]

@@Sungie264 It is the 120 volt inverters that won't charge. A 12 volt will only put 100 watts into a power bank. If you could use the 120volt on the silent charge mode you could put 300 watts of power in.

[@TRalstoon]

I was researching alot as well. I got an Anker C1000 for $550 on labor day sales!

[@LucWijdeveld]

The video stops quite abruptly. But everything you explain is completely correct. The first Anker Solix that I bought was the F1200 (757), I had been well prepared for the purchase, I watched a lot of KZbin and it also suited the purpose of off-grid use perfectly, the 1500 watts continuously for my coffee, air fryer, microwave, I even bought the set of solar panels, I shouldn't have done the latter. 4.5 hours in full sun takes too long with 100 watt panels, because there is not always full sun, but this does not have an expand battery option. Then I bought (more for home use) the F2000 with the expand BP2000 to charge it via the solar panels on the roof of my house and use stored power for the evening, which works perfectly! The third Anker has been ordered, the C1000 with the BP1000, which will now be used off-grid. The F1200 is in the kitchen and is ideally suited for this.

[@brokentinsel]

Just ordered that exact Anker unit. Mostly for power outages. I'm sure it'll go camping and to the job site as well. Thanks

[@DanielStinebaugh]

I've always like anker as a brand, (and their sister eufy) and the fact that they are willing to put their product out there and sponsor a like for like comparison with their competition, is very telling. Thanks for this! I'd love a review of different outdoor shower options!

[@coleeto2]

Be careful with the Eufy cameras, they have security vulnerabilities! I agree about the Anker cables and such in my experience

[@OutdoorAuto]

Yeah... I agree, I have been shopping the comparison idea for a while and nobody else would do it.

[@charleytodd5792]

I’d really like to hear about the vehicle recharging speed and options for these units. That seems to be the biggest challenge for my use case

[@HighEnergy]

Exactly, especially in the situation he was talking about of being on the road for 10 days. That's a lot of driving/charging. Do you really need the expansion battery?

[@Tactical-hg7ov]

Im a pecron guy. Priced right and they just work. Maybe you got a bad pecron. I have mine charged for 3 months turned it on and have 100% on all 3 of mine. Pecron for the win!

[@OutdoorAuto]

Yeah, mine has been pretty bad... could be a bad unit... but I still don't like the giant external power supply and few other things about it...

[@crankshaft007]

Something is wrong with his unit if it’s discharging that much over night. No other reviewer has had this issue

[@perrymahnke886]

Awesome video & thorough explanation in words a 62 year old can understand. Just because I'm old people assume I know what I'm talking about but now I can refer them to your video. As always, thank you for sharing your experience & knowledge.

[@overlandtowater]

Great timing. I'm starting a new project using a short bus and am currently trying to decide what I want to use for the power in this new build.

[@flocksbyknight]

24V alternator charging while driving makes sense as well

[@chris0x00]

Nice video for anyone looking to buy a portable power station. Thank you for creating and sharing this content to help folks make better informed purchases. A couple of thoughts to add: @3:11 While the explanation is helpful, the efficiency of the inverters can also have a significant impact on real-world run time comparisons for the same load. This touches on the related topic of considering the need for the product. Rather than trying to find a one-size-fits-all device, it could make sense to buy a unit with less peak power handling potential in exchange for more efficiency at the average wattage draw of the intended application. For example, running a small air circulator doesn't require a beefy inverter, and you might achieve better overall capacity-adjusted run-time using something that only provides 100W of peak inverter output in that application. Likewise, in case where there is a single intended application (such as running a fan), finding a power-efficient fan would likely make more sense than investing in higher battery capacity. @6:06 There are many Li-ion battery chemistries. LiFePO4 is still Lithium-ion; you probably mean to compare it with NCA (also Lithium-ion, but with a different chemical composition). NCA has a less resilient crystalline structure but offers improved cold weather performance and higher energy density than LFP. @11:06 The slow self-discharge that you are describing in the Anker unit is almost certainly something the battery is doing on its own rather than a feature of the BMS (both NCA and LFP self-discharge in storage). Unlike NCA, longer-term storage at 100% in LFP is generally less stressful (and is recommended by some manufactures). Anker suggests topping it up regularly to counter this self-discharging. As far as I know, it wouldn't make sense for the unit to intentionally self-discharge, but I'm no expert. Keep up the good work!

[@JohnDoe-1000xt]

good info..easy to understand..my take on brand..ANKER..BLUETTI..ECOFLOW..can't go wrong..watch for sale prices..Thanks

[@maxtwombly766]

Another great informative video. Well done.

[@wt9653]

I don't buy power stations by size or specs. I don't even listen to what the others say. I only buy the ones that come on sale at a ridiculous price. Example: Bluetti ac180T (swap solar power station) regular price 1499. I bought it for 699 on Kickstarter. Ecoflow Delta 2 with the alternator charger and 100w solar panel for 829. The deal of the century. Ecoflow Delta 2 Max with alternator charger for 699. The regular price is 2448. 😂

[@kptheprelander]

I purchased a Bluetti EB55 in 2022. Used it for a week long camping trip and it worked great. Ran the fridge and charged phones the whole week. Fast forward to the present, and it no longer works. It holds a charge just fine, but it shows a short... lesson learned, don't cheap out...

Bluetti is like the second best brand though. After Ecoflow. Maybe contact them.

[@kptheprelander]

I did, still going back and forth. Hopefully, they can make it right.

[@kptheprelander]

So they honored their warranty after having the unit for almost 2 years. The new unit arrives this week. It's nice to see a company do the right thing.

@@kptheprelander that’s actually awesome to hear.

[@Ellifiknow]

I've never heard anything good about Bluetti customer service. You hear about bad experiences all over KZbin and Internet forums.

[@Russianmafia10]

3:00 you almost got that right, a 100 watt bulb uses 100 watts continuously, after an hour, it has consumed 100 watt hours

[@OutdoorAuto]

Oh… that’s what I was trying to articulate… guess I didn’t say it clear enough.

[@codychilders8307]

That is the way I understood it.

[@robbousquet1889]

@@OutdoorAuto Yeah, as an Electrical Engineer, I was going to comment the same as above. For standalone battery power systems, most EE's use Joules instead of Whr's. I'm sure you know this, but a Watt is a measure of power and Joules/sec, so 1 Whr is 3600Joules. A 1000Whr battery has 3.6MJ of energy and a 100W bulb uses 360KJ in an hour. I think it's easier to keep track of Joules consumed relative to total energy capacity versus keeping track of Whr's.

[@tommyhatfield2882]

Very good video. These units are great for what they are "designed" to do. The advertising is a bit deceptive to say the least.

[@pn312]

I don't think that an external 110 to 12v power supply is necessarily a bad idea. Not having to carry the extra weight when you're not going to need it off-road can be beneficial. That being said, I have used Jackery, Goal Zero, Bluetti, Ecoflow, and a few months ago I bought an Anker C1000. I really like the Anker so far. The Bluetooth app is a nice feature. Ecoflow has been working well for me also. Fyi, while lithium ion batteries have significantly less life cycle capacity, they are somewhat lighter than lithium iron phosphate for the same amp hour capacity.

[@jamesmurphy4431]

Appreciate the information. Very useful!

[@SteveWest-dc8vs]

I just ordered an Anker C1000 for a Hiker Trailer that I purchased last month. I’ve watched dozens and dozens of Power Station videos - your video is the best because it was the most informative. I have read some negative comments that the Anker C1000 turning off after an hour if the DC draw is low. I do worry this could be an overnight issue in the camper when the DC power is light. It sounds like some adjustments can be made within the app to prevent this automatic turn off. Would value your experience and insight on this possible issue with the Anker C1000 turning off. Thanks for thoughts and a great video.

[@ib516]

Think of the Watt hour rating (wh) as the gas tank size, and the watt output (w) of the inverter as the engine size.

[@ZH-Rocks]

Very nicely explained❤

[@MeriMorMick]

Thank you for explaining things clearly without all the techno babble. Why buy the expansion battery when for almost the same price you can have another c1000?

[@RamonaRambles]

Excellent video! Going to shre with my traveling buddies. We travel full time in our minivans. I have two Anker C1000’s. LOVE THEM!!! I charge my Bouge RV fridge/ freezer, my phones, fans, lights, bug zappers, varying cooking device, etc. Love the fast charging and the solar panels. QUESTION: If I want to put solar panels on my roof, would i still be able to use my C1000's. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@OutdoorAuto]

Definitely… you just have to figure out the best way to route cables for your setup.

[@RamonaRambles]

Thanks! I will be paying someone more experienced to do it. Open to recommendations (anywhere in the continental U.S.). I have a Chrysler Pacifica with sun/moon roofs so will probably need panels on a rack system. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@BattleshipSailorBB63]

Man, I love love LOVE your tire reviews! But I'm gonna have to disagree slightly on how badly you trashed the "competitor" unit here. First, even though you removed the insignia, I'm gonna let your viewers know that's a Pecron 600. There is a very simple, easy way to prevent the power draw you reference: and that is to physically turn the unit OFF when not in use. Each Inverter (AC and DC) has its' own power button just to the right of the display screen. Turn on only what you need, when you need it with a 1second button press. Turn back off with another 1 second button press. Like turning a light on/off when you enter and exit a room. I own the same unit (and the larger Pecron 1500 brother), and as I'm watching the video, I turned it on for the first time in probably 4 months. My Pecron 600 is showing 99%. After 4 months. I admittedly have zero reference to draw from, these are the first 2 powerr stations I've ever purchased and the only ones I own. But hey, from my perspective, they feel solidly built, price vs specs is relatively great value, and overall of course they're not perfect (yes, the power brick on the 600 is a pain, on the 1500 it is built in) but I have no regrets. Honestly, I don't think of Pecron as a "knockoff" Brand, but more as Undiscovered. Manual T-case vs electronic T-case? About like that.

[@CraigG21]

Lots of GREAT advice here! Especially like the first point - lots of deceptive advertising out there talking about surge power instead of battery size/capacity.

[@OutdoorAuto]

Yeah... almost everyone I know that buys these thinks the surge capacity is the size of the battery.

[@thebuddha4208]

I didn’t realize how heavy the power station was until I saw somebody else lift it. I was just pulling them around putting them up down. My sister tried couldn’t move it.

[@Ellifiknow]

Just look at every tear down video you can find on these solar generators and see which one is the simplest. Something on these solar generators is going to burn-out/melt/pop eventually and it would be best if you could figure the repair out yourself out in the field.

[@Sungie264]

Have a 1182 wh bluetti power station. Lovin it so far. Only a month old.

[@Sungie264]

Bluetti AC180 ***

That’s what I have! Amazing little unit!

[@richeastmain4031]

Ignore the peak or surge watts in these units. If it has a 600 watt inverter, that’s it, 600 watts. Unless you have a large, low frequency inverter you don’t really have any surge capacity.

[@SDMTB14]

What I would like to see is a cheaper unit with a smaller inverter, let say 500w but with a bigger battery, let say 1000wh. I cant think of anything I bring to camp that draws more than 500w but I do see more plausible needing to power those 500w for longer periods of time

[@fathertime209]

What is that beautiful River canyon at 1 minute? Looks like heaven...

[@CrippleCreekStudios]

Nathan, the video is 20:25 long, but at the very end it seems to stop abruptly, no summary conclusion from you. Am I missing something? (I really enjoyed it and will take what I learned to heart, but I felt like it suddenly ended).

[@OutdoorAuto]

this is good feedback... I'll spend some time thinking about it... Summaries of the same info you already presented tend to perform really bad on KZbin and I get a lot of comments from people telling me to stop repeating myself... so it is tough to figure out how to wrap up sometimes.... I also tend to just want to give people good info and then let them make their own decisions off of that info.

[@CrippleCreekStudios]

Understood. Thanks. It did feel like the video cut off, in my opinion. Maybe you don’t have to summarize, but some sort of conclusion, even if it s a simple “Thanks!”. Your point of starting out “small” and then getting an expansion pack battery was really good.

[@charleytodd5792]

Agree it cut off too abruptly but good content.

[@BobElgin]

Coloardo 2 weeks, base camp is 10000 ft elev , Boondocking, RV with solar hook up on side of RV, 200 watt solar panel hookup on side of RV. Will this work to charge while using TV and bluray and small projector???

[@pleinairbarnettoutdoors]

Hello from Canada 🇨🇦 - lifepo4 is great except in cold weather, can't charge below freezing unless sustained in a warm environment. -does pure sine wave matter?

[@brianpatrickyoutube]

Very informative video!

[@bryjbry]

Thanks for the info, I'm getting that shirt

[@John-ke2jm]

I'm guessing something happened with your video render or the KZbin upload. The video abruptly cuts off at the end mid sentence.

[@Tea_1745]

7:33 I can't wait till the graphene batteries become mainstream!

[@DVLITTLEPILOT]

I just got my external battery hooked it up seen both the C1000 and C1000X app said I need a firmware update I did it says v1.43 now I can't see the C1000X is there a way to back FIRMWARE OUT ? DELEDTED APP AND REINTALLED no luck Anker closed :(

[@LacDole]

Thank you!!

[@dgallag339]

I lost my buddy Austin the end of June and it still hits me out of no where and it hits like a tin of bricks sometimes.

[@OutdoorAuto]

I’m sorry to hear that. Hang in there.

[@dgallag339]

@@OutdoorAuto thanks and I just realized I posted this on your video and not the one I meant to sorry.

[@dubious6718]

The only issue with power stations is that none of them can charge DC to DC at full effect without modifications.

[@OutdoorAuto]

Yeah DC to DC is very inefficient. That comes into play with eBikes and eFoils for us… we just have to use the expansion battery for big trips with those things.

[@crankshaft007]

Some good points but some other very biased opinions that are not supported with evidence. Many other individual reviewers have completed reviews with out this issue you are having with discharge. You should be contacting the manufacturer for warranty replacement it has an internal BMS so calling it dumb is totally off base. All AC to DC transformers get hot, even the Anker gets hot inside. I think we need to be looking at $wh between the units. If the Anker is twice the price then hell ya they can have more of these great options. Almost all these manufacturers started with external AC charging brick. Personally myself I would rather leave my AC/DC brick at home and go on the road with out it build inside to save weight. ? Just because the unit doesn’t have expansion doesn’t make it a bad option? Many units are cheaper that do not have expansion option. My opinion is if you don’t have some actual tested numbers your options are just that. Secondary you haven’t said one bad thing about the Anker unit which leads me to believe you got paid off for this free unit.

[@TJ_Blazkowicz]

When do you livestream? I want to try to make the next one

[@ronaldrey8474]

Can this anker charge why discharging or charge why using ??? You didn't mention this and isn't that important or cause they paid you it so wasn't mentioned???

[@OutdoorAuto]

If you think I only say nice things because of a sponsor… you aren’t paying attention.

[@ronaldrey8474]

@@OutdoorAuto I'm just trying to get a question answered. Can this unit be charged why discharging or why operating please ??

[@codychilders8307]

I will be quickly removing that Pecron off of my shopping list. I was hopeful, definitely disappointing.

[@thebuddha4208]

What are you talking about? You just take the solar panel and put it on your roof put that in your backseat and it charges. 8:33

[@coleeto2]

Anker built a reputation for good phone chargers and security cameras that let people spy on you!

[@codychilders8307]

The sode I've been waiting for lol!

[@codychilders8307]

At the one minute mark .. Where is this?!

[@OutdoorAuto]

That is out in the Boise National Forest by Arrowrock

[@codychilders8307]

It's on the agenda

[@koehnboy]

Build your own!

[@fathertime209]

One more question, do these work well with solar panels? I'm thinking a long camping trip with my lightning pickup and having a way to recharge the truck's battery... Can you plug a vehicle charger into these and get a current flow from the Sun to the vehicle?

[@dubious6718]

All of them work on solar panels, just make sure you buy one with the universal plug.

[@coleeto2]

LiFePO4 batteries have been around since 1996, so not exactly new, but their stability is definitely what you want for something you take off-roading!

[@OutdoorAuto]

Yeah... but it is relatively new that they have been used in Power Stations and that is what the video is about...

[@dubious6718]

Electric cars have been around since the 1900s.

[@surfguy777]

While anker is good, so many are better including the new Pecron models.

[@OutdoorAuto]

I am definitely not claiming anything is best especially since there are about three companies out there that just constantly leap frog each other... which is great... because it drives innovation. But, I have tested Pecron and they were easily and officially the worst Power Station I have used to date. No innovation, no care to quality internal parts, the worst power supply I have seen on any unit I have ever used and their battery manager appeared to have been programed by a 3 yr old... This is not me trying to be rude or even aggressive... it is just a genuine honest review... their product was garbage and showed very obviously that they are just copy cat power station builders with none of their own innovation or even expertise. I have their unit sitting on a shelf behind me, I can't even give it away because I know someone will count on it working right and it doesn't.

[@YoungBlaze]

lol why did this video end so abruptly

[@OutdoorAuto]

That was all the info I had… I guess I could have asked ppl to like and subscribe… but it was already 20 min long 🤷‍♂️

[@ShowemRight]

Makes too much sense, folks are better off going with the brands that are tried and tested .

[@marti_micfly7416]

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@falkfluegel5557]

You were going to gjve us all the details and warned us about the sponsorship. Great. Then you stopped actually talking about specifics and what to look for. It became much less believable. On a trip, charging while driving ( car alternator) seems very important and you may not need more battery. You didn't get into that, this in particular is a bit of a problem for many units.

[@joshzarbaugh]

Stay away from anker! They do not care about the people in the outdoor space. They are focusing heavily on homeowners. They will not be releasing or creating any type of battery management system for your vehicle like Eco Flow. If you are an overlander, save yourself the headache and just go with Eco Flow.

[@OutdoorAuto]

What @ecoflow is doing with the alternator charging is pretty cool, but also I would remind you that is overkill for like 98% of Americans.... Base Eco Flow, Bluetti, and Anker power stations most all charge around an hour at this point and throwing a solar panel out is really easy as well. One reason I have an Anker is the 1056Wh pack was on sale for $499... that was a killer price for a battery pack that actually meets all of my needs... gotta remember different strokes for different folks... lots of great gear out there.

[@joshzarbaugh]

I have that exact anker you are showing. I'm on my second one. My first one had to go back for warranty because the 12v socket would not hold any type of plug. I'm not even mad about that. I'm mad that I was introduced to their products at an overland expo but After ecoflow released their new product, I called ankor. when I called the company to ask them if they had any intentions on building the alternator set up like ecoflow had they told me they had no intentions on doing so, and they are geared towards homeowners. So I kinda just feel like I was lied to about their products, and I think they're lying two customers in the overlanding space. They do not care about overlanders or outdoors people for that matter. They will market to us then not support us. It's almost like, oh, here's some outdoor dummies that will buy this.

[@joshzarbaugh]

​@OutdoorAuto I guess what I'm getting to, is after meeting them at an overlanding expo. I feel that this company full of crap. Ankor, Just don't pretend to live in a space that you don't belong.

[@mortezaka9912]

The problem with these paid reviews is not what you say; rather, what you don't say. It is great that you disclose the paid arrangement early on. I am a fan of Anker and root for their success, but for instance, a viewer on this channel may not understand that the EcoFlow Delta 2 is cheaper at least right now, has a higher surge power (2700 vs 2400), more capacity with extra batteries (Anker is maxed at around 2kwh), more UCB C 100W ports... Other informative reviews that have actually tested these point to the fact that Anker is more efficient, meaning more usable watts, so there's a case to be made, but again, these paid videos leave a whole lot out and I wonder if I'd trust watching more from this channel. Even if the intent is to educate, there is so much about these generators that's left out of this video.

[@OutdoorAuto]

I guess that is why I generally try to focus on info that applies to many manufacturers rather then just lead you to one...

[@mortezaka9912]

@OutdoorAuto appreciate the response. I do enjoy your videos. Side note, just got the P rated falken AT4W for the 4runner. 2 ply sidewall. We will see how it goes:)