Some links may be affiliate links. We may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these.
A Versatile Charging Companion for Keeping Your E-Bikes and More on Full Batteries.
More and more it seems that modern life requires a source of electricity. From e-bikes to toothbrushes, we’ve electrified seemingly everything but coffee tables (someone probably has).
However, the electrical grid is not always readily at hand, and sometimes it goes out. The Bluetti AC200P Portable Power Station is a power inverter that can handle all the duties of a generator without the noise, fumes or emissions.
In our e-bike-first lens though, we were highly interested in the potential such a device could have to be an excellent companion for weekend-long bike trips in rural country where power outlets are in short supply. Could this be your new best friend on camping trips with plans of riding your e-bike a lot? See the full Electric Bike Report Bluettic AC200P review to find out.
What it is
Fundamentally, the Bluetti AC200P Portable Power Station is a battery. That sounds straightforward enough, but this is the mother of all batteries. With a charge of 2000Wh, this is more than three times the charge of the average e-bike battery.
In our review of the Bluetti AC200P Portable Power Station we will look at its technical specs, its considerable abilities and who it is suited to as well as what it can enable someone to do.
The nature of the battery
The first thing to understand about the Bluetti AC200P Portable Power Station is that this isn’t just a big lithium-ion battery. This uses different battery chemistry to deliver electricity. This is a lithium-ferro-phosphate battery, also known as lithium-iron-phosphate.
Lithium-ferro-phosphate batteries differ from lithium-ion batteries in a few significant ways. First, they enjoy a much longer cycle life. That is, lithium-ferro-phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries can be charged and discharged up to five times as long. Supporting five times as much use reduces the environmental impact in addition to making the buyer’s dollar go farther.
Another big advantage to LiFePO4 batteries is that they are much more stable. Thermal runaway isn’t an issue, as they are non-toxic and non-flammable. They can also be disposed of more easily and don’t require either nickel or cobalt, which both come with a host of environmental issues including toxicity and habitat destruction.
Tech specs
The question with the Bluetti AC200P Portable Power Station is less what it can charge than what it can’t charge. While it’s a stretch to say that the only thing it won’t charge is a Tesla, it’s not a big stretch.
While we will get into how to charge it soon, first we will take a look at all that it can charge.
Here’s a list of all the different outlets the Bluetti AC200P Portable Power Station is equipped with:
- 6 x 120V AC outlets
- 1 x 12V/25A DC
- 1 x 12V/10A DC
- 2 x 12V/3A DC
- 2 x 15W wireless charging pads
- 4 x 5v/3A USB-A
- 1 x 60W
In other words, someone could charge two phones, their earbuds, power a laptop and a refrigerator and still have enough juice left to run a blender and hair dryer while still having outlets left over.
Anyone who has ever tapped a toe in impatience while waiting for their e-bike’s battery to finish recharging is probably wondering, “How long does it take to recharge a 2000Wh battery, all weekend?” And the answer is no, it’s not as bad as that.
Users have multiple ways to recharge the Bluetti AC200P Portable Power Station, and that flexibility increases its user-friendliness, in part, because they can be combined. Here are the charging options:
- 400W AC Adapter: 5.5-6 hours
- 700W Solar Array: 3.5-4 hours (with good sun, optimal orientation and low temps)
- 100W 12V Car Outlet: 20 hours
- 200W 24V Car Outlet: 10 hours
- 1200W Double Solar Array: 2.1-2.5 hours (with optional charging enhancer)
- 800W Dual AC Adapters: 3-3.5 hours (with optional dual AC chargers
This covers the basics of charging, but what’s important here is that it demonstrates how multiple chargers can be combined to speed charging. Out in the hinterlands, campers of little patience can combine the solar array with the 24V car outlet to shrink charging to beneath three hours.
What is it capable of?
Most people who eye the Bluetti AC200P Portable Power Station will probably be thinking about their home in the event of a power grid failure, (especially folks on the West Coast who deal with wildfires). Losing a refrigerator’s-worth of food is so … 19th century. But that’s not our interest in this inverter.
For the e-bike rider, the Bluetti AC200P Portable Power Station opens up the possibilities for recharging an e-bike. Expanding the opportunities to recharge also expands the riding scenarios, eliminating the need to return home to recharge after each ride. Campers could take in a full day of riding and recharge their e-bike in plenty of time for another all-day adventure.
It means doing a full ride on PAS 5 and then doing another full ride on PAS 5 the next day.
But that’s not all, not by a longshot. Let’s paint a little picture: Three friends drive into the mountains for a camping and e-bike weekend. And let’s say it’s Memorial Day Weekend.
It’s Saturday morning. Everyone rises, and out comes the Bluetti AC200P Portable Power Station. It powers the coffee maker and the electric grill, because they are in a national forest where fires aren’t allowed due to fire danger. Everyone enjoys coffee and huevos racheros. Then they fill their water bottles, grab some snacks and head out on their e-bikes to explore the logging roads and trails. They roll back into camp for a late lunch. All the while the Bluetti has been recharging thanks to the solar array and it’s at full charge. All three riders plug their chargers into the inverter and begin recharging their e-bikes. Happy hour arrives (it may only have been 3 pm) and out comes the blender for daiquiris and the grill master serves up burgers, mac and cheese and then bakes a cobbler for dessert.
Sunday morning, it’s rinse and repeat. But not until everyone has posted pics to Instagram on their phones that—guessed it—were recharged with the Bluetti.
Or maybe it’s a motorhome with a family of four and they don’t want the noise from the propane generator scaring the birds away. From lights to the refrigerator and stove, it all runs on the Bluetti AC200P Portable Power Station. And with six AC outlets, all four e-bikes can recharge simultaneously.
Who is it for?
Who isn’t it for? That’s the question. This isn’t the exclusive domain of the doomsday prepper, though they will want one. Bluetti AC200P Portable Power Station makes sense for anyone who may lose power for reasons such as wildfires, storms and other acts of God.
It’s a game-changer where camping is concerned. The convenience factor could make the prospect of camping attractive to people who aren’t campers. In fact, it’s good for anyone traveling by vehicle. It can run a portable fridge even as it keeps other electronics topped off with a full charge. As it turns out, a car’s 12V output can’t charge two tablets as they are being used.
The secret weapon
Our review was meant to include the solar power array included in the AC200P Solar Generator Kit. That kit includes three quad-fold solar panels good for up to 700W of solar power. Achieving a full 700W input is dependent on how bright the sun is, the orientation of the panels and the temperature (if it’s too warm, the charging rate will drop).
Unfortunately, the solar array is in a distribution center somewhere, so that part of the review will come later.
Conclusion
What stands out about the Bluetti AC200P Portable Power Station is that it packs such a huge charge and offers so many different outputs for that power that it asks the user to think more creatively about how to combine needs and activities. To charge an e-bike as the Bluetti powers a pump to blow up an inflatable SUP is minor-league stuff.
This is the stuff of off-grid fantasies, not just weekend camping trips. The wilds are calling.
Reader Interactions
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Source link
