BLUETTISolar Generator AC2A with 100W Solar Panel Included (Ships Separately), 204Wh LFP Battery Backup, w/ 2 300W (600W Power Lifting) AC Outlets, 0-80% in 40 Min, Portable Power Station for Camping

I purchased the Bluetti AC2A and have been using it for just over two weeks. I plan to use this for off grid and as a backup device. I needed a minimalist configuration that was portable, lightweight and transportable to an off grid seasonal property. My initial results of this unit are better than expected.The power station is made for outdoor use, and has a wealth of capabilities despite its small size. It's ideal for camping and hiking trips, or any other prolonged outdoor activities. Weighing just under 8 pounds, the AC2A is very lightweight, making it easy to transport and store in your bag. The LiFePo battery capacity is 204 wh and it has 300w pure sine inverter powerThe unit was well packaged and comes with standard accessories such as an AC charging cable, MC4 solar charging cable, grounding screw, and product documentation. You can add optional accessories including a car charging cable or a B80 Aviation Plug to XT60 cable. The B80 cable would be used if you purchase a B80 expansion battery to connect to the AC2A.Here are some tests as I evaluated the unit:Unit ChargingI solar charged the unit using 2 100w panels. These need to be wired in parallel due to the 12-28VDC limit with the AC2A. You can maximize the solar power to 200w. I was getting 135-140W with this configuration. Solar input can fluctuate based on the sunlight, panel positioning, and time of year.I charged the unit under AC mode and used the available modes. This included standard, silent, and turbo modes. I drained the unit and did some recharging using the available modes. In Standard mode it recharged in 1-hour 47 min. In Turbo mode, it charged in 1-hour 7min. In silent mode it recharged in just over 4 hours.I did some advanced turbo mode tests combining solar and AC and realized 276 watts. The XT60 solar port does allow for 12V battery connection with the proper battery cable. With standard mode the charging mode combination decreases to roughly 160 watts.Given I would use this unit off grid, I tested the AC mode with my 1000w gas inverter generator. I was able to fully recharge the unit under standard mode in under 2 hours. You need to ensure the gas generator has a pure sine inverter and THD (total harmonic distortion) is under 5%.Unit LoadsI tested the ability to run 110/120V AC appliances up to 300W on the unit. I’ve been able to run a small fan, TV, humidifier, lighting and home office computer system.I tested DC power charging my phone, IPAD, and flashlight. I tested both the USB-A (2) and USB-C ports. The power consumption of my off grid is less than 200W and I can leverage this as supplemental power provided, I feed it with solar, generator, or battery bank power.To conserve power, I used the ECO mode on both the AC and DC mode. The ECO mode testing included activation from the unit display console, phone app, and setting based on a period of time. All scenarios worked successfully.I experimented with power lifting mode with an induction cooktop. The setting cannot power a 600w induction cooktop.I found the ac charging cable to be too stiff to hold connection in the charging port. I used a EB3A cable for charging.Other Testing ScenariosI examined the general display features and how to turn on/off DC and AC. The LCD display is easy to read. Timeout for the LCD is configurable. I found the smaller icons for state, performance, and fault to be on the small side. It required some cross reference to the manual for information.I tested mode setting on the display which allows you to toggle AC+DC buttons to set features like Frequency, ECO mode, Charging Mode, and Power Lifting. This is a great feature as you can program the unit without use of the phone application.I reviewed the phone application and found it easy to navigate and change settings. It does have limits as its Bluetooth based and you must be in range of the AC2A unit.One important test conducted was to use the unit with my CPAP device. I have a Resmed Air11 and wanted to test this with a DC power adapter. I configured the DC power adapter with the AC2A. On the AC2A side, you have to account with turning ECO mode off. As a contingency, I used an extra 40ah battery to recharge the AC2A in silent mode. I left the CPAP settings on for humidifier and heated tube. The DC draw was averaged around 35 watts. With this setup, I was able to get over 5 hours of CPAP usage. I plan to continue testing settings with the CPAP humidifier and tube settings off to lower battery consumption. It's possible that adjusting CPAP settings may provide dedicated AC2A capacity without an external battery bank.What I like so farI like the compact design including the handle, user friendly display, size, and weight.I like the ability for mode selection setting off the display. It avoids reliance on the phone app to change settings on the unit.I like the fast-charging features including charging modes, solar, DC, and AC charging.I like the fact that the unit has a 5-year warranty. This is very unique for the portable power station marketplace.What could be improved?The AC charging cable shipped with the unit was rigid and difficult to maintain a tight connection. I used my EB3A cable which is a smaller gauge and a better fit.The messages on the console are small. It would be nice to have quick reference cards within the app especially for errors or warning. Currently you have to navigate to the online or paper manual as a reference point.The Power Lifting feature is a less essential capability on the 300w inverter. I would have preferred a slightly larger inverter or more battery capacity.It would be helpful to add features in the phone app that are tailored to the devices owned by the customer. A quick reference main icon pertaining to the AC2A or other owned Bluetti device would be of value. Allowing the customer to tailor icons on the app would be a welcomed feature. There’s an abundance of Bluetti marketing icons the customer may wish to hide.More optional XT60 accessories would be a useful addition. For example, adapter plugs that fit a XT60 to DC7909 adapter or a 4 in 1 MC4 connector cable would benefit Bluetti customers with different models.Overall, this unit is a keeper. It’s extremely powerful and full featured. The footprint is compact and allows for easy transport.

I purchased this as a replacement of a previous power station of similar capacity that wasn't a lifepo4 battery. It really does punch above its class in weight, features, and run time. The Bluetti AC2A is incredible, has all the right features you want and nothing you don't. Tested with a Starlink gen3 and a mini, combining to charge the unit with a 200 watt solar panel. Both were able to run all day until sun went down and the mini could go close to 6 hours afterward, 3-4 hours on the Gen 3. It's a perfect tent camping companion, keeping phones charged, internet running, laptops running longer, charge handheld gaming systems and tablets, handles all of it. Of course the capacity isn't huge but I haven't found that to be an issue so far for my needs, especially when pairing with the solar panel. The UPS feature is great for keeping the kids' sound machines going during a power outage which happens quite often where I live. I find myself often using the unit to give my phone a quick charge from the 100 watt USB C plug, works better than most of my other standard chargers.I'm tempted to buy two or three more of these to have around, they're that useful! I've had such a good experience with this one I might also go ahead and splurge for the AC70 or AC180 as a primary unit and the AC2A as the little travel brother.

( The following paragraph is a bit of an update May 2024/ I am way past my first day and this device continues to serve me on a daily basis. I had the equivalent battery from a respected brand and never felt compelled to use it as much as this one. I have since been compelled to buy the larger AC180. Combined together, the two batteries will keep my full size desktop computer with two monitors and my internet router, with a light and a fan running for a whole day. Today infact, we had several waves of storms come through Houston. And while several of my coworkers dropped off one by one as internet and electricity flickered I remained constant. And indeed my home did lose power briefly, and the lights were shutting on and off. The UPS mode on these batteries have worked in real time.)It has been only one day and this has saved me. I work from home and my power went out. This device had enough power to keep my desktop computer running for four hours. I could monitor my power from my ipad as I was working. I just happened to purchase the car/ xt60 adapter. This allowed me to use two Anker 521 solar banks as a bolster to keep me running a full work day. I love my Anker 521 s and their amber light, and their slightly higher capacity. However I lost power once for 48 hours. With a generator it still took way too long to top off these banks. The bluettie will turbo charge itself with that same generator in a really short amount of time. Eventually my power came back on. Instead of unplugging my computer I just plugged my bluetti back into the wall. The bluetti charged itself and once full it used the wall power for the computer. It really does pass the power through. Where my Ankers seemed to sip on the battery power potentially degrading the battery over time. This really could be used as a UPS, and i will plug into my bluetti when the next storm comes. For some reason my Ankers did cause my computer to shut down as if a surge had tripped them at least three times in eight hours. The Bluetti with the same 300 watt, but lower watt hour, did not have this problem. It was smooth sailing. My desktop computer was only using at max 30/35 watts. This Ac2A reminds me of the Ecoflow that I always wanted, the River Mini. However the mini did not have LIFEPO BATTERIES. They were only good for 500 cycles before degrading. This Bluetti is potentially good for 3k cycles. The Ankers have a conspicuous lunch box appearance. The small size of the bluettie and hidden handle would make me feel less conscpicuous if I needed to emergency charge at a coffee shop for instance. There was a Hurricane I went through where half the city grid was down. With a device like this I could have run to a family members house and zip zoomed a charge really fast. Heck just driving and charging would have almost had me to full. In emergencies speed charging is king! Here is another kick. I have power banks that output 65 to 100 watts. Potentially I could use a usbc/ xt60 adapter to support my bluetti with those banks. I will have to test that later. I know my ankers will siphon power from those banks with a usbc to usbc connection. Tax Return season is here and I am allready eyeballing the bluetti AC180. With this speed charge technology, if paired with a propane generator, I could survive a hurricane power outage in style. And keep the emergency devices topped off. Living through the Texas freeze gave me an interest in these devices.