Anker SOLIX C800 Is a Great Portable Power Station
I’m not someone who really enjoys camping or appreciates nature itself, but I’m willing to tolerate the outdoors. (In limited quantities. From my teardrop trailer. Comes with TV and air conditioning.)
When I went camping, I picked up the nifty Jackery 240W power supply and was completely baffled that first morning when it didn’t turn on the heater or coffee pot. (Turns out the answer was a lack of enough watts and volts.) To power anything important, a camper like me needs a decent-sized power supply and a way to recharge from the mains.
Now that I know better, I’ve been testing 1000-3000W portables along with matching solar panels from brands like Jackery, EcoFlow, Anker, and Goal Zero to see if there’s a big difference in quality and value. The Anker SOLIX C800 PLUS portable power station is one I tested most recently, and it offers good value for money, with 1200W/768kWh power output for $649.
Massive, durable unit with useful connectors.
In our quest to get as much power for our buck as possible, we sometimes forget the truly fundamental quality of a portable power supply: it needs to stay portable. As the power of units increases, their weight also increases.
My measly 240-watt unit is so light that it can go anywhere and be easily carried in one hand. The C800 (and similar devices) is like carrying around a loaded cooler. You can do it, but it’s a two-handed weapon and requires some skill. The C800 weighs 22 pounds and measures 15 by 8 by 10 inches, so it needs a decent amount of space. (It fits well in your car’s footwell so you can keep it connected to your car charger.)
In terms of setup, the C800 is ready to use right out of the box; all you have to do is plug it in, although pairing it with the Anker app does offer some benefits. Power supplies don’t have to be bright or pretty, and I liked that the C800 was a little more understated than brighter units like the Jackery. Even though the device is hefty, it is still very easy to steal, so I like that it looks sleek. Anker claims that the unit can take a couple of hits if you drop it, and I believe them. The C800’s build felt solid.
An interesting feature of the C800 that I didn’t see on other devices I tested was the pop-up lamp. If you’re camping, the light that comes out of the top of the device works like a lantern on a pole with three modes: flashlight, spotlight, and candle. On a recent camping trip, I parked the device on a picnic table and turned on the light. As we all charged our phones, the light illuminated our dinners, which was surprisingly useful and a very nice touch. It’s supposed to also work as a tripod and selfie stick, which none of us had to try, but it’s good to have a multi-functional stand handy just in case.
Is the C800 powerful enough for you?
The C800’s 768W of power may seem like a lot, but it’s still relatively modest, especially when connected to a power-hungry device. For example, you’ll only get 45 minutes or so from a 1000-watt electric heater. You should reserve using the C800 for short bursts of power or for charging low-power devices such as tablets, phones and small speakers.
Such power plants also work well as a UPS or uninterruptible power supply. If you lose power, even momentarily, the UPS will maintain power to whatever is connected as long as there is power to the UPS itself. If you experience occasional outages, this is an exceptional way to prevent your modem and router from rebooting. For my first test, I used the C800 as a UPS for my modem, router, and various home hubs, then unplugged the power and sat by the phone waiting for notifications about reboots or outages. Everything remains under tension. SOLIX reports 20ms latency, but it wasn’t noticeable on my devices.
The Surgepad effectively boosts power up to 1600W.
Anker has been heavily promoting a technology in its SOLIX devices called Surgepad , which claims the device can exceed the maximum power output (1200W) up to 1600W depending on demand. On higher wattage devices, an initial burst of power is often required, but the device may require less power to stay on. The difference is noticeable, since for 1600 W you can buy a heater, electric kettle or hair dryer.
To test this, I tried three devices under 1200W, and then three devices over 1200W. As expected, the C800 powered my lower-powered devices without issue. The 1500 W heater turned on and continued to work. My rice cooker (1800W) surprisingly worked without any problems, but after a few minutes it turned off. The third device, a hair dryer, experienced the same thing – it turned on fine, but couldn’t maintain the required power – but items that stayed below the 1600-watt threshold were fine. Of course, to power these more powerful devices the device will also drain its power reserves faster, but I can see this being useful in a pinch.
I had two 100W solar panels for backup charging, but I only took one to test how well they charged individually. On a semi-clear day, the C800 charged in eight hours from a single panel. (It can generate up to 300 watts of solar power, which is equivalent to three panels.) Charging times vary greatly depending on panel placement and weather conditions. Of course, you can simply plug the device into a wall outlet or car charger and charge it up to 80% in a few hours.
In general, a good option for low-power devices.
Considering the price of these devices, I was pleased to see a five-year warranty on the product, which Anker claims will provide you with 3,000 cycles over 10 years. In my opinion, that’s a decent amount of mileage from the original cost, even if you never use it for more than a UPS at home. Even with the Surgepad technology, given the watt-hours, it’s best used for small appliances that can be used all day long rather than a mini-fridge for short periods of time.
I suspect we’ll see more and more homes in the coming years with these energy units for emergency backup and as a way to get power to where you need it. For these purposes, the C800 is worth the money.
Other power plants to consider: