Verdict
Pros
Cons
Acer ’s compact power place is a success on most level . It can store a honest amount of energy , power most mid - level contrivance , and is portable enough to be authentically useful on a bivouacking trip – leave you wo n’t have to carry it too far . If home backup power is your preference , it ’s a decent way to render uninterrupted power to one or two computer workstation . While it ’s a disgrace it does n’t offer any app control , you may fine-tune its most significant setting through push presses .
However , the APS312 is n’t specially effective when compared to other office station I ’ve test . It also come with a two - class warrant when many rivals offer five years . At the time of written material , Bluetti ’s AC50B offered standardized spec and performance with a five - yr guarantee , for £ 100 less , make it a much more appealing pick .
Key Features
Introduction
The 600W Portable Power Station is the first major power equipment I ’ve essay from Acer , a brand more typically know for its information processing system , lozenge and displays .
It ’s no one-half - bake first attempt , though : this is a well - consider - through supplying , suitable for intermediate bivouacking groups or for providing uninterruptible mogul in the home .
This might station sits in the low mid - range for both the amount of energy stored , and how much it can supply . Its peak AC power yield is 600 watts ( W ) ; enough to scarper most household gimmick except thing like wassailer , washing machines or timpani .
The exponent station ’s lithium iron phosphate ( LFP ) battery can hold up to 512 W hours ( Wh ) of bearing , about enough to power a low - vim bulb for two days or keep a small computer and monitor frame-up move for three hours . Acer says that , after 3,000 powerfulness cycles , the battery should hold back at least 80 % of the capacity it had when new .
As I ’d expect for a index station with these spec , the 600W Portable Power Station is quite compact and portable . It ’s moderately easy to extend from a railroad car to a tent , for lesson , where its range of port should be enough to top up phone and tablets – there ’s a build - in light , too .
Design and features
The Acer 600W Portable Power Station consider seven kg , is about the size of a wassailer , and has a handle that folds neatly out of the room . Unfortunately , the handle is n’t as encompassing or rounded as the ones on some competitors , so it cursorily gets uncomfortable — while it would be okay for heft up the mogul supplying from your car to a collapsible shelter , you would n’t need it with you on a walking vacation .
All of the power port are on the front panel . Here you ’ll find two AC ports that together share the 600W maximal output , along with two 12W - rated USB - A ports , and two USB - C slots good for 65W each . There ’s also a 10A fag - lightheaded panache socket with a maximal 126W output and , unco , two DC5521 DC socket rated at 3A each .
Above all these , there ’s an LED strip Inner Light with three brightness levels , together with an emergency mode that signals ‘ SOS ’ in Morse .
I was quite happy with this power post ’s concealment , which distinctly show the current battery per centum , along with the amount of power coming in and going out . The percentage flashes when charging . Underneath it , there ’s a sentence estimate to let you know how long the battery will last , or when it ’ll be charged , depend on the balance of inputs .
One annoyance – peculiarly if you ’re using it at night in a collapsible shelter – is that every clitoris printing press is accompanied by a short bleep . I could n’t find oneself a way to switch this off .
While competitor from Bluetti , Anker and the like offer app control , this power station has only a few button . A long mechanical press on the AC power clitoris switches between 50 Hertz ( UK ) and 60Hz ( US ) process , while the same on the light switch turns off the automatic closing .
This is of the essence if you ’re plan to practice any force supply as a backup for a medical gimmick or a mains - powered fridge , as otherwise , the AC larboard might mechanically shut out off during periods of low power use .
My 600W Portable Power Station arrived with a lead I ’ve not seen before , immix a car charger - way plug with two crocodile clips . I assume you could use it to charge a bland auto shelling from the onboard railroad car socket , but there ’s no citation of this in the manual of arms or on the Acer website , and Acer ’s UK PR squad were n’t able-bodied to confirm .
This power post apply the same durable LFP bombardment engineering as most of its rivals . If you were to in full charge and discharge it once each day , its quoted 3,000 - cps life would match to more than eight years of exercise . consequently , it ’s a letdown to find it comes only with a two - year warranty – leading competitors offer five eld .
Charging
This power post ’s stimulus port are protected under a flap on its rear board . plug into the mains , its batteries can charge at up to 600W , which should see a full charge arrive in well under two hours . Unusually , there ’s no choice over the recharging charge per unit ; you ca n’t , for instance , limit it to 300W to make use of a generator or encampment crotchet - up with limited power .
Next to the main interface , there ’s a DC input for the supplied car charge cablegram . This is limited to 8 amps , equal to 96W from a 12V cable car supply , so you ’d need to drive for more than five time of day to fully recharge an empty battery . This embrasure also affirm solar charging up to 200W , although my sample did n’t come with the necessary cable .
Take care when choosing panels , however , as the stimulant is limit to an open - circuit voltage of 20V , which many 200W panel will exceed . It ’s possible to combine AC and DC charging , although in any event the full stimulation mightiness is limited to 600W.
I emptied the 600W Portable Power Station ’s battery before connecting it to the main via an energy meter . It quite quickly stepped up to about 560W when charge , only slow down from around 90 % . In two recharge tests , the power station consume an average of 563Wh and took about an hour and 20 minutes to fetch up . Assuming its 512Wh battery expire from fully empty to completely full , that ’s an efficiency of 91.6 % .
This mogul station can provide up to 1,200W of bypass power when plugged into the briny . Acer says it can change to barrage fire power within 14 milliseconds should the briny input croak – that ’s not as quick as a dedicated uninterruptible mightiness supply ( UPS ) , but it ’s a petty faster than some competitor , and for sure quick enough not to cause my workstation setup any hiccups .
Like contend business leader stations , this one is n’t designed primarily as a UPS , so there ’s no hearable monition when its electric battery is work low , and no USB or internet link usable to trigger a safe shutdown in connected devices . I should also flag that , given its bypass power is doubly what ’s available in shelling mode , it would be potential to inadvertently link up more than 600W of equipment and only discover it at the unsound possible time .
Performance
I test every portable might station with a range of burden to measure how expeditiously they can issue power , and whether they ’re stable across a range of scenario . I found that the Acer 600W Portable Power Station was easy with anything I throw away at it up to and admit its maximal rat power . Only when tear , or when powering a fleshy shipment , did its fan become peculiarly noticeable , and even then they were n’t at all harsh .
That tell , I was n’t overwhelmed by this big businessman supply ’s efficiency . Although it was ok when charging , when discharging it supply far less than its blackleg 512Wh of output . Connected to a constant 500W load it provided just 408Wh before the battery was empty ( 79.96 % efficiency ) . I quantify a high of just 414Wh , recorded for a 200W AC lading , which is an efficiency of just 80.86 % .
I also test mightiness stations with a DC load , delivered via one of the USB - C port . This unremarkably gives a higher output as less power is lost in converting DC barrage power to mains electricity . Sure enough , here the 600W Portable Power Station delivered a total of 440Wh ( 85.49 % efficiency ) .
Across the display panel , I discover this power place less effective than its closest rivals .
One concluding thing to mention is that this big businessman station ’s mains larboard are orientated horizontally , rather than in the common position . It ’s very improbable to be a problem for normal hack and adaptors , but my top - enceinte mains power meter blocked both the on / off switch , and the second socket .
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Should you buy it?
This power station provides a good amount of memory , and has a reasonable output . It ’s portable , has a unspoiled brightness level , and comes with a good set of ports , so it ’s fine for camping trips .
While this power supply for sure is n’t bad value , it ’s undercut by some rivals offering similar feature and performance .
Final Thoughts
There ’s nothing wrong with this power station . For a light - medium tariff equipment , it has all the right specifications and managed to live up to all of them in my tests . It feel well - made , looks inoffensive , and is generally fine to live with .
However , I do n’t love it . I can survive without an app , and I could probably get used to its fundamental beep , but I ’m more bothered about this mightiness station ’s somewhat below - par efficiency . fox in a warrantee that is n’t up there with the contention , and the 600W Portable Power Station come out as something of an also - ran . And that ’s a shame , because it ’s fundamentally still a decent bit of kit .
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How we test
We test every battery station we critique thoroughly over an lengthy menses of time . We utilise received mental test to compare features in good order . We ’ll always separate you what we discover . We never , ever , accept money to review a product .
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FAQs
A 600W output is enough to power light , fans , fridges , and most TVs and computers . It may be enough for some locomotion kettles , but it ’s not enough to power full - sized kitchen or washing contraption .
It depends on what character of batteries it has . Standard lithium - ion prison cell might last for around 800 full charge Hz before they ’re down to 80 % or so of their stated capacity . That ’s only just over two years of heavy habit . Most portable barrage fire mightiness place use atomic number 3 iron phosphate ( LFP ) mobile phone , which typically retain 80 % of their capacity after 3,000 cycles – more than eight years of laborious purpose . We urge wait for at least a five - year warranty , and choosing slow charging pace if you have the alternative .
Full Specs
