A reader—December 16, 2025
Since electric power was first put into use almost 150 years ago, society operated on a model in which electricity was used immediately as it was generated. This resulted in communities connected—and constrained—by the power grid, essentially a massive system of wires that reach into nearly every power socket in the country. Most of us have used batteries in some form all our lives. Less than 20 years ago, US companies started experimenting with batteries within the electric grid to improve power availability and reliability. Even more recently, tools like this EBL Portable Power Station are putting power directly into consumers’ hands, bringing the capacity to generate, store, and use our own power whenever, wherever, and however we choose. It’s a wow that is slowly transforming many aspects of our lives. This Power Station allows one to easily capture, store, transport, and use electric power, at one’s own convenience and possibly even free. I’ve been using power stations like this to power my ranch off grid since 2019. I’m not connected to the grid and am in no hurry to get there. One can get power into this battery using a solar panel, the charger provided plugged into a wall socket OR generator, or the auto charger provided plugged into one’s automobile. Lots of options is good! The maximum pace of charging is only 50-60 watts per hour, which is a little slow. It will take at least 6 hours to fully charge the battery. I’ve found that charging more quickly is extremely valuable. The amount of power one can store in and draw from a Power Station is the meal. Right now, I am powering my 2025 Apple iMac using this EBL Power Station. Everything is working well. The screen on the Power Station says the iMac is drawing 27 to 98 watts in real time, averaging maybe 50 watts. The ability to plug something in and see how much a device actually draws has been a great learning experience for me. We often add electrical appliances without considering their power needs, then complain when our power bills grow sky high. A device like this is a useful tool for better understanding how much power one uses in real time. Keeping the Mac on under steady power is a big gift to me. In my off grid set up, I’m often switching between battery and generator power throughout the day. I usually power down the Mac each time because it doesn’t have an internal battery like a laptop would. This Power Station will help solve that problem for me. When the Mac was running off the EBL Power Station and I plugged the Power Station in to recharge it, AC power to the Mac was immediately cut off. The manual says I can use the DC (cigarette lighter style) socket or the USB sockets to draw power while the Power Station is charging. Not being able to use the AC during charging is a limitation. There are many other ways I can use this Power Station, too. The main limitation is that I can’t run any device that requires more than 330 watts of power draw. I can’t run either my espresso machine or refrigerator, for example, even for short periods. Both draw peak power close to 1000 or more surge watts. Even though I have an energy-efficient refrigerator that draws only about 60 watts throughout the day, when it first comes on it draws that 1000 watts for a short time. I’ve learned that devices producing heat or cold use a lot of power. One of the things I like best about this product is the price. I generally see portable power priced at ~$1 per watt of power. My workhorse office battery is a 3000 watt Goal Zero that cost ~$3000 six years ago and still costs around the same amount today. This Power Station has nice features well packaged yet is priced at less than $0.67 per watt. I’m super excited about this Power Station as a gift for a teenager or virtually anyone who would benefit from being able to learn about and more personally manage their power. Read more
Bob B—December 14, 2025
This isn't a backup for your fridge or freezer in a power outage. While it might work, most large appliances with a compressor pull as much or more surge power when starting up than the 600W max of this unit. But a small appliance like a min-fridge should be okay, and a radio, laptop or lighting would be just fine. It features 110V outputs for small appliances or tools, 12V DC output for anything designed to run on a car battery, 5V USB ports and a wireless phone charger, and a very convenient 12-24V solar panel charging input in addition to the 12V car input and 110 AC input. However this is not as useful as you would think. First off, the 110V Ac output is not usable if the unit is charging, so you can't hook up a portable solar panel and use it as a power hub in the daytime. It's either charging or supplying power. You can use the 12V and 5V outputs while charging, but that's really not impressive. The overall capacity is 288Wh, but the actual delivery depends on the voltage. Comparing that to a 20V cordless power tool battery, that's the equivalent of about 15Ah or three or four 5Ah batteries. Running on 110AC power, it would carry a typical mini-fridge for 8-12 hours before depletion. Not bad, but then you either need to shut the fridge off or swap in a new unit while you charge this one because you can't charge and run at the same time from the 110AC ports. That being said, this still has considerable utility. It's light and has a convenient carry handle so it's very portable, and overall the protection circuitry and the flexibility make it a great thing to have in a pinch, even if you have to plug it into an outlet to charge it. The unit itself is a quality build, with solid constructions, good components and durable switches. But without the ability to run pass-through power it's not necessarily the best choice for a solar array setup even though it supports that. Bob's tip: to use the output ports, you must turn the unit on with the power button and then turn the ports on with the individual port control button for the port you want. This is explained in the instruction manual, but what it doesn't mention is that to use the inductive charger you must turn on the USB ports. Hope that saves someone some frustration. You can use the DC outputs including the inductive charger while charging it, just not the 110V AC outputs. Read more
Customer—January 4, 2026
I’ve been using this as a grab-and-go power source for short trips, car camping, and occasional home outages. Setup is simple: charge it from the wall, car outlet, or a compatible solar panel, then power on and plug in. The screen is clear and easy to read, showing remaining capacity and output at a glance, and the button layout is intuitive. Build quality feels reassuring for something this compact. The handle makes it easy to carry one-handed, and the casing feels sturdy enough for travel. Power delivery has been stable for phones, tablets, a laptop, camera batteries, small lights, and a fan. The AC output runs quietly with no noticeable noise or heat buildup, and charging smaller devices through USB-C and USB-A has been consistent. Wireless charging on top works well for quick phone top-ups, though a power bank would also suffice. Battery capacity is enough for everyday essentials, but not heavy loads. It cannot run high-draw appliances, so this is not a fridge or microwave solution. For its size, though, it holds up well during repeated use, and I have not seen sudden drops in charge or overheating while charging or discharging. Recharging from a wall outlet is straightforward, and topping it up in the car during a drive has been useful. For the price, this is reasonable as a portable backup rather than a whole-home solution. It’s best suited for camping, travel, or keeping critical personal devices powered during short outages, and it’s compact enough to live in the car without taking up much space. Read more
