Portable power stations like this Bluetti EB70 have made life for us small-boat owners so much more civilised, writes Hugo Andreae...
No longer do we have to put up with noisy, smelly petrol-powered portable generators every time we need mains power away from shore. With their powerful lithium ion batteries and built-in inverters, you can simply plug into one of the best portable power stations and away you go.
Having already tested products from both Jackery and Ecoflow, I was keen to give one of Bluetti’s more affordable power packs a go.
The heart of the Bluetti EB70 is a 716Wh LiFePO4 battery with a 240V AC output of up to 1000W.
The pack weighs 9.7kg but it’s impressively compact and comes with a comfortable folding carry handle and rubberised feet so it won’t slip on a hard surface.
It’s also very well equipped to power and/or recharge almost all portable devices thanks to a pair of three-pin AC sockets, two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, a 12V cigarette lighter socket and a wireless phone-charging pad.
An illuminated LCD screen shows the current state of charge to the nearest 20% as well as input and output flows in watts. There’s also a built-in light for use at night.
For smaller items such as charging phones, handheld VHFs or laptops, the EB70 works a treat with sufficient power and sockets to charge multiple items at a time for dozens of cycles.
Televisions, power tools and slow cookers should also be fine. It’s only when you get to more power-hungry items that the Bluetti EB70 starts to struggle.
Although it’s possible to find camping kettles and hair dryers with 800-1000W ratings, I found that a 1000W high pressure inflator pump would only work for a few seconds before triggering an overload cut-off whereas the 1000W Jackery Explorer seemed to cope fine, probably because it has a higher surge rating of 2000W compared to the Bluetti’s 1400W.
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Verdict
Perhaps the answer is to upgrade to one of Bluetti’s more powerful packs like the AC180, which delivers a bigger 1800W punch and a 1440Wh battery for a relatively modest extra outlay of just £150 more.
Details
MBY rating: 4/5
