We have used the ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!
Thank you, I have at least 40 hours of research. And you finished this for me with a unit that does it all. Every day I think I have the one. I put it in my list for Amazon. And you came into my life and answered all my question. I thank you so very much. I am buying EB3A now. I have the 55 and 70 in my cart for a week. I was looking for more Lfp, which only makes since to go with that, but there is not very many. Im going to charge my 800 cpc celestron telescope and computer at times smart phone on a beautiful mountain full of stars and galaxy. Clear skies next week.
Todd, terrific review of the EB3A and I guess Bluetti has been listening to consumers because I have been waiting to make a purchase until I found the solar station that had everything I wanted and once Bluetti make the changes to their midsize models like the EB70s and others I will be all in. The bulky power brick and the fan doesn't turn off and is a power consumer, power indicator with no percentage of charge, obsolete USB ports and one or two other things was just not acceptable. This new EB3A has all the features I want of a Jackery and more, but with the nice Bluetti folding handle that make it easy to pack and store. Thanks for listening to the consumer Bluetti and I hope to see the new features in your midsize solar stations soon !
Hi all! Just a quick bit of good news on the DC output for the EB3A. I re-tested the 0.2C DC output a few times and am revising my measurements to 232wh (of 269wh) for a surprisingly good rate of 86%. The 180wh I measured originally is a mystery - either the battery or my meter was out of calibration. I also noticed that I incorrectly labeled the AC50 as the EB50 at one point. Sorry for any confusion.
@@briizcustoms9543 Yes. This is only rated at 269wh so it's less than those others. The measurement I'm amending is my test where I drain the battery to see how much energy I actually get out of the rated capacity. 80% is pretty average, this was 86%. For those other units you're looking at, assume you'll get 20% of the rating unless you have more accurate data.
I just got this until during Amazon Prime days, it seems like a great unit. It does make some funky noises. All the reviews mention that, so it makes me think maybe it's ok. Thanks for your great reviews.
I have an Ecoflow River Max and this Bluetti should be the final incentive for Ecoflow to offer LiFePO4 as either an upgrade or option on their future models in 250-750 wh range. That said I am very pleased with the features of the Ecoflow and it will last me many years.
I agree. I really like Ecoflow but would prefer LFP batteries, especially for the midsize+ like the whole Delta line. They mentioned they are moving over so I think we'll hear something eventually
@@todd.parker I have had maybe 20 lithium generators over the years between 200 and 1200 wh, and with the delta pro I am finally ready to get a real backup power system. Looks like the best LiPo4 solar generator money can buy in the 3-4kwh range
Yep 100% agree, I was going for an EcoFlow River before spotting the EB3A, between 500 cycle Li-ion and 2500-3000 cycle LiFePO4 there's no real choice to be made . . . the one thing the EcoFlow River has going for it is the fact that you can extend the battery from 288wh to 576wh . . . but once you look at the price of the EcoFlow battery extension (£250 UK) you realise that simply getting a second unit isn't that much more expensive (add £80 to that battery price and you can get a whole second unit) which gives you much more flexibility, the ability to 'split' the unit and use it in two places, double the ports and so on . . . so for me the EB3A does have a battery extension option, which is another EB3A ! : ) You can even run it just like an extension (as a single unit) by feeding one EB3A, let's call it the slave unit, into your main unit . . . All in all - for that price range - it pretty much beats everything on the market in 2022.
I have a feeling they will be replacing those units with ones that have these features. The new display is nice but the internal charger (no brick) is an even bigger feature that will need more of a redesign
@@todd.parker at $250 with a coupon on amazon I immediately told my new Jackery 300 to hit the road back to returnsville and ordered an EB3A. I can wait till they update their larger stations. I was going to order a EB70, but since there were no free returns on Amazon for that unit and all the other things people don't like about the current Bluetti design (power brick, lousy display, no app) I decided to see how much I can get out of the 300 W class power stations. I've got an Ego power station and a bunch of batteries (what a crude dinosaur that thing is) to run big items for now. Not sure if I'll go to the EB70 class or maybe something bigger later on.
Very informative, thanks. I just received my EB3A a week ago and downloaded the app. I noticed that the charging input on app doesn’t match the input on EB3A but I do enjoy this little unit mainly to power my 12v 42 quart car fridge to maintain 34 degrees and fridge uses about 35 to 60 watts when compressor is on. It would last about 15hrs. Thanks again for sharing. 😊
Another firmware update I would strongly recommend is the ability to set the SOC range. Especially important if using it as a UPS. LiFePO4's don't like to sit at 100% SOC long term. I'd like to set the max SOC at 80% when using as a UPS when it's plugged into the wall 24/7.
I forgot to mention that in the video but I agree 100%. I asked Bluetti about that, hopefully they will add that. I’m going to do a comparison with the River Mini and will definitely call that out
yeah but...calendar aging will wear them out faster than cycling. So basically take em down to 0 and up to 100% yer never going to wear them out, before the next latest and greatest thing comes out. that's Will Prouse's take on it anyway.
Great review. I'm glad what Bluetti has done with this new generator & is far ahead of Jackery, EcoFlow & others who have totally & stubbornly ignored moving ahead with advanced LiFePo4 batteries & more efficient upgrades. However, the low wh of this unit is a deal breaker for me, but I will purchase one with a higher w & wh unite.
@@todd.parker Hey Todd, spoke with a Ecoflow Rep, asked about Lifepo4, and they said they will be offering (4 ) Lifepo4 power stations this year. Excellent videos.
We all can agree that Lifep04 batteries are superior, but these 'upgraded' features have been on the ecoflow for awhile now. At 500-800 before dropping to 80% capacity still would get you years of use.
WTH....Bluetti said I can't do my review video until June 14th LOL.... Edit: After watching the entire video, I loved the video, excellent job showing off the power station with style :) :)
Eeek, I cleared posting this so hopefully all is good. I think most UA-camrs are waiting to post their reviews until it goes on sale so they can have affiliate links. I don't really care about that and figured it would be good to get the information out early for folks considering it. Thanks for the compliment, I've been watching your videos and they are great. You are a review machine, I can't believe how many you post while keeping the quality so high.
@@todd.parker Puzzling for sure....maybe we all have different contacts with different strictness? I asked about posting my video early and she said post it June 14th and not earlier. Excellent use of background / B-roll footage on this one by the way. Your reviews always show that quality and great tests on the parasitic drain for the DC and AC testing.
@@Jasonoid Huh, strange. This rollout has been...interesting since some people were able to buy these early on Amazon and even post reviews before mine. Let's hope I didn't ruffle feathers. Glad you liked the b-roll, funny how much time I'm willing to spend on that to avoid being on camera! I'd like to see more reviewers focus on the standby losses because the electronics in these seem to be getting less efficient over time, probably because they are more powerful and have to to convert voltages but people seem very surprised at how short their real world battery like is vs. the specs.
@@todd.parker I just noticed that today, you didn't really talk to the camera, mostly voiceovers and broll (which is totally fine, especially when you do it well like you do). It took me awhile to get used to talking to the camera and showing my face, it's a big barrier for sure lol... It still feels so weird to be talking to a camera alone in a room!
YES! The EB3A is the unit with most features that made me add it to my wishlist cart! The UPS, the pass-through charging (PTC, already, ok?), the predictive power display (PPD), the power lift mode (PLM), plus all the other nice/cute features. The only feature I need for true, modular off-grid power is a remote generator startup/shutdown (RGSS) feature and modular plug-in battery packs to increase the storage capacity of this wonder power station... Awesome! 👍
I snagged two of these from Amazon during Prime Day 2023. They were running some kind of stacked coupon if you bought 2. I got them both for $338 plus tax.
Love that display. I'm literally holding off buying the AC300, mainly because I hate that touch display. Can't justify the cost with that display unit. Looks outdated IMO.
I made the purchase , I have to say that I think it’s so so . It charges up really really fast . On the other hand it seems to discharge really really fast as well . The wireless charger seems to discharge the unit fast . The build quality can not compare to the Jackery’s . I prefer my AimTom and my Jackery Explorer 300 269 watt hours is being generous for sure . I have no way of checking it but I really have my doubts . This unit would be great if you have could add more battery storage . No dc or solar charger cable .
Thanks for the feedback. I agree that all Bluetti products tend to self-discharge quickly which is why I try to quantify that and draw attention to this metric. I don’t think they are overstating the battery capacity but as you turn ports on, the electronics use power. The wireless is on the same switch as the USB and DC ports so that adds overhead
I'm really happy that I've delayed purchasing any power station that comes with an external power brick & doesn't have Lithium Iron Phosphate battery chemistry. Warm Regards from Reno, Nevada
excellent review Todd of the Bluetti EB3A.... trying to decide between this EB3A EB70. Already hauling the AC200P and EB240, so looking for an addition that is more portable for smaller jobs.
@@todd.parker yes I agree 100%. The EB3A is loaded with features that I wish were on the eb70.... With the amount of updates that come from Bluetti, I'm sure they'll be another release in the next 3 months.
Great little unit that has features which should make it into the next EB55, 70s and bigger units. The only downside is the size to power ratio, given the EB55 and AC50s are almost the same size at double the capacity. I'd guess moving the charger inside and other electronic upgrades plus less energy dense batteries can lead to that.
Yeah. I feel like the electronics in this unit are better suited to a larger 500-700wh unit. I'm assuming they will be upgrading the EB55 and eventually larger units to this feature set which will be awesome. The internal charger may not take up as much space as you'd think if they are using Ecoflow's trick of using the inverter in reverse for charging. I think the powerful electronics and LFP together are making this bigger and maybe the box isn't super tightly packed?
Wow.. they would have this right after I bought my EB55 🤦🏽♀️. I mean I still need the higher watt hours but I have a feeling they will release an updated version soon!
Same here with the EB70... I know about the EB70's shortcomings but it is a really good powerstation and I am very content with my purchase - it works fine. But when I think about a Bluetti Eb70A or a Bluetti EB100A I don' think that I can hesitate to buy it...
@@blackbalerion Yeh. I waited like a whole year and a half too. I was really concerned about keeping power for my bipap and my EB55 is lacking the. Most important feature when using medical devices… actual shown percentage vs those incremental percentage bars!
Wow this looks perfect for me. I've used a couple of power stations for van camping and know the limitations. I totally agree with your important usage points particularly having an adjustment to keep the display on longer. I wouldn't buy the previous Bluetti's because of the noisy charging bricks. I assembled two 1.3kw LiFePo4 batteries for low rate discharge supplying my 12V fridge, blanket, lights, and recharge phones, drones. The 200w solar input and 600w inverter just adds to usability. With pass thru charging, wouldn't this be great to add capacity to this little unit. The UPS function and wireless phone charging is icing on the cake! I want it now, when can I order this? Great review by the way, thanks.
Thanks, seems you have a good setup! Using the car adapter cable to trickle charge this unit from your big batteries and just using it as a simple front end for connecting power is a very good use of this. It will be on sale starting June 15.
I didn't mention that I have 200w of solar panels mounted to my van roof rack. This keeps my big batteries topped off with just a few hours of desert daylight. The 600w inverter will also allow me to charge my eBikes!
I Really hope this model features are incorporated in the larger units soon! But they better increase the WH’s. I’d buy It over todays eco flow equal. But they better hurry , because eco flows new river 2 models are coming out in 2 weeks and they will now have the lithium iron phosphate batteries !! It’s gonna be a fight to win over Bluetti fans!
100% agree. When I reviewed this, I assumed Bluetti would have updated the EB50/70 with this new design quickly but Ecoflow has beat them to the punch with not only a new River 2 but a whole new LFP line. Things move quick!
I don't fully understand how to compare capacity specs across different devices. The Bluetti EB55 has 537Wh and 24Ah while the Goal Zero 500X has 505Wh and 46.8Ah. Similar Wh, but the Ah is almost double on the Goal Zero. The Ah spec means that my 12V fridge (which draws about 1 Amp) would run for 46.8 hours on the Goal Zero, but only 24 hours on the Bluetti. How can the devices be about equal in Wh, but the Goal Zero has almost double the capacity in Ah?
Comparing aH is confusing if the battery voltages are different. That's why is simplest to multiply the battery pack voltage by the Ah to calculate watt hours (wh) because that can be directly compared across models without needing to know the voltage. Most companies use wh for this reason, including GZ. Your fridge uses on average 12wh (12v x 1ah) so use that to divide the total wh to get runtime (figure in 20% losses)
The app is great but. We just had a large storm hit us. Power was out as well as internet for a week. Cell towers where knocked out as well for 2 days and very very weak service for 3 days. Something to think about . Also lost all my outside ring cameras for a week. So checking outside became old school.
You’d definitely need a much larger unit for any length of backup. This is better for charging a laptop or phones during a weekend, not emergency power
Just one I thought I made my mind up on getting the EB70S ! Now they throw this one out. But just your opinion , because I’m not really familiar with any of them , but did want something to take out on some light overloading and camping trips , How does this one compare to the bigger models?
I’d suggest saving up and getting a 1kwh unit like a Ecoflow Delta 2 or similar option from Bluetti or Anker. A fridge uses a decent amount of power so having more battery and a bigger AC inverter will mean you won’t outgrow it as fast
I don't think the internal charger adds that much bulk to the unit if they use Ecoflow's technique of using the inverter as the charger. I do agree that the balance between the battery size and output power is a bit off. This same unit with a 500-700wh battery would be perfect.
@@todd.parker in these times its good for people to start buying this portable solar generators can literally be a life savior. Most folks don't have 5-12 grand to buy a 2-3 of the high end ones with crazy solar power. You can buy 2x Eb70s for the emergency and buy the solar panels and spend only like 1400 bucks.
@@grandcanyon2 yep, it’s becoming more important to have at least some power backup with all that’s going on and Bluetti units are a great value. The EB150 is another great deal
@@todd.parker River Pro. Did a couple AC tests. Would get under 500 watts if less than .2C drain. Best I got was 540. DC is suppose to be really good though. Curious to see your JP40 test as I have the same. I'm guessing the early bird pricing might be $200. Or I can just wait till they incorporate all these great changes to their larger models.
Yeah, was going to suggest waiting for these features in a 700wh unit because this would only run the fridge due maybe 8 hours (I got 6.5 with the fridge, light, and fan).
@@todd.parker Yes, I'm really in no hurry. Once I get my JP40 to 32/34 it only draws about 14 watts/hr with an ambient of 75 degrees so it might get through a night an pray for a sunny morning to recharge. The DC efficiency of 70% seems rather poor though. Someone tested the Ecoflow and was hitting 90%.
hi todd, excelente review, my only question is: is the charging modes only for AC charging?? I hope so cause i wanna charge this battery in my car with dual charging but with silent mode cause my AC port is a 150W 110v, plus the 100w DC port, so i can charge it at 200W without blowing the car inverter fuse
I've calibrated the battery twice fully discharge and charged the watts going out still 40 to 60 watts more than what the watt meter is reading what's causing that .
You can leave it plugged in, especially if you are using it as a UPS but you will get longer life by storing it long term at 60-80% and charging to full when you think you might need it. If you charge it, then turn it fully off, it will slowly lose a tiny bit of energy but it's not much.
I understand it’s rated to 2500 cycles to 80% but my question is how many cycles could you realistically get to before it becomes dead or pointless to use ? I imagine I’d keep using the battery even after it goes down to 50% and that’s especially true for the larger models.
For sure. You've only lost 20% of the capacity at 2,500 cycles so you should get 5,000-6,000 cycles before it's half gone but it's probably usable down to 30-40% if you're ok with that
Interesting looks like they are finally catching up to ecoflow something tells me we're gonna have a few companies competing to be the Honda of the solar generator world which means we're going to be getting some very good advances in technology.
Great Review ! I just received my EB3A . I ran a test on the AC output by running a 40W fan. It ran for 4.5 hours and only delivered 170 KWH before shutting down. Does this seem within a reasonable limit considering its rating of 268 KWH. I am thinking of returning it ...
It might make it overnight but it depends on a lot of factors. It has a pretty tiny battery so you I usually recommend a 500-750wh battery to run a compressor fridge for any length of time
Well my Bluetti EB3A arrived today. No power cord. Very disappointed. Amazon is working on it. And the solar cable I guess is backordered. (Out of stock). Somebody screwed up. Does anyone know if the Jackery power cord works on the Bluetti. The input MPPT ports look similar. The Bluetti came charged at 65% so there is that.
I think it’s a problem with all Bluetti units TBH. You can buy aftermarket adapters that seem to fit better but it seems like something they should address
I wished I’d watched this review before I recently bought this model. Since it advertises at 200 watts I was expecting 200 watts. Little did I know that it has a limit of only 8.5 amps input current from any solar panel. They don’t make 200 watt panels under that. Neither can you put two 100 watt panels together and still be under that limit. Also I got shorted an ac charge cable and can’t use it until they send me one. Two emails in to them with no reply yet. Their hassle free guarantee is only for defective units. I read on a forum that no one gets 200 watts from these. Bluetti’s 200 watt panels don’t even work for the EB3A. I’m really disappointed.
Yeah it’s usually very difficult to achieve the max watts companies advertise because getting the panels with the right specs is very tricky. I wish these all had stronger chargers for more flexibility in panels and wiring. Keep emailing them, it’s your best bet.
@@todd.parker Bluetti returned my email about the missing charger. Turns out it was embedded within the foam packaging with more packaging covering it. So many miss it that they have a video showing where it is. As for the panel compatibility, Bluetti still recommended their $500, 200w panels with amp rating over owners manual limits. I pushed on about the amps and their reply: “The pv input open circuit voltage of EB3A is 12-28V, and the open circuit voltage of PV200 is 26.1V, so it won't exceed the limit.” So it looks like only the volt limits matter, at least to the Bluetti rep.
@@hunagirl6 good to hear they replied. I’ve heard lots of people aren’t finding the charger buried at the bottom…not a great design. Yes, for panels voltage is a hard limit but with current you can exceed the rating and it will just pull what it needs so more is better
A better metric is the C rate because it takes the battery size into account. 1C = charging at the battery size (ex 268w) so it would be a 1 hour charge rate. As you charge faster than that, it can start to reduce the life of the battery somewhat so Bluetti warns of that in turbo mode
On the lowest setting it will use maybe 200-600w depending on the knob position. It works great and it nicely adjustable. You’d want a larger unit if you need runtimes over 30 minutes or so
I bought 2 of these units for camping that way when one unit is charging i can use the other one. I paid $516.00 for 2 of them. So that's 1200 watts of power for a good price i think. I also have the original Bluetti AC200 from Indiegogo campaign. My biggest complaint about these units is how much power they use even when not drawing power or sitting idle. I wish they could fix this it degrades the efficiency.
Yeah, I cover that in my video. Bluetti tends to have higher standby losses but it's compounded on this unit because they have such a large inverter relative to the battery size. That's the price you pay for that 600w of power.
I know this is probably a silly question but I'm want to buy it to run a heated blanket when I camp in my truck when snowboarding season comes around and I'm hoping a full charge will let the heated blanket run a full night on a high setting? Will this be my solution for that? Thanks in advance for how ever answers and Super Great Review, very well Done A++++
Hi. Check how many watts it uses on high but my guess is it won’t last all night. Basically, 25w per hour is all this might handle for 8 hours. Depends on AC or DC but both are similar
@@todd.parker thank you so much, from research I've Done it average from 15 watts but if it can give me 7 to 8 hours that will be good enough and worth it, I think I'll go ahead and buy it then, I really appreciate your quick response, definitely subscribing now
I’d say no. Power lifting is still limited by the 600w inverter and drops the voltage to increase the amps so to run a 1200w appliance the voltage would be 60hz. I feel like the way they advertise this feature is very misleading. It’s only really good if you want to run a 750w heater or something. Rather than tripping, power lift will run it somewhat
@@todd.parker Thank you. This way, i could reuse my Goal Zero solar panel ;) I had a GOAL ZERO Yeti 200X, but this is impossible to get it repaired : "No spare parts" Goal Zero is really overrated and overpriced ; Their customer service is really ZERO I am looking for a new power station... This one looks interesting.
Could you run your heat gun test on this to test actual watt hours please and could you test the new display to see if it accurately displays the kill a watt reading and test a low wattage item to see if it registers on the display meter. That would be stellar…thank you!
I tested the AC output in watt hours and calculated the percentage (77%) you get back vs. rated capacity in the video. The display doesn’t completely agree with the watt meter (also in video) but that’s pretty typical. I did t test the lower threshold of when it registers power. I’ll try to test that going forward. I’m going to do a comparison video against the River Mini and will include that
@@todd.parker thank you, i must have missed that while multi tasking. I did just receive the eb3a not knowing it’s rating at 77% which is a disappointment. Looking forward to watching your river vs eb3a comparison because I almost bought the river. Feels like the eb3a is an ecoflow killer. The real deal would be a comparable eb70s or ecoflow river pro with lithium phosphate and the screen of the eb3a.
@@LoveRise in fairness the River Pro is only 75% efficient on AC so this is pretty typical. I do hope EF converts to LFP batteries this year, that’s a big one for me
My EB3A quit after about 8 months so i will not be buying anymore Bluetti products, i was getting ready to order an AC180, but now im switching to another brand.
They really need to bump up the max amps on the solar input port to 10A at least. Need to be able to charge this more efficiently in the car while driving with a DCDC converter 12V to 24V 10A.
@@todd.parker Yeah fair enough, I was more forward thinking to when they release the 500wh and 700wh versions of this new design. The current units are capped at 8A as well, which rules them out for me unfortunately. So hopefully Bluetti will up it, or EcoFlow will introduce LiFePo4 batteries. That's where my money is gonna go. Great review by the way. Cheers
hello, i just saw a wireless coffe cup on amazon, it does have its own pad, but, would the cup work on the fifteen watt wireless phone charge pad? thanks
Hard to know with the specs but this has a small battery so I’d say an hour or two at most. This will a good to charge a laptop and a phone, not run bigger appliances for any length of time
If I bought that Bluetti EB3A could it continuously power a Mining Rig (Powered by a Be Quiet STRAIGHT POWER 11 1000W Gold Power Supply) being 120V at 325Watts?? And Plugging in a Solar panel at 200 watts???
You’d want a much bigger unit to power that. At 325w, the battery only has about 40 minutes of runtime so if a cloud passed by, it would drain the battery quick. You should have a unit that is at least 700wh to give you some buffer and not wear out the battery
Assuming the Bluetti EB3A will sit idle for months at a time for a SHTF moment (typical FPL blackout), is it okay to store it at 100% charge? Or does it have to be discharged to 50-60% for longterm (4-8 months) storage? 🧐
I think the recommendation is to drain it to 60-70% max for long term storage. I tend to leave it close to 75-80% so I have a decent amount of energy in case of random power outages without stressing the battery too much.
@@jmb-cm7mr Over time, storing it at 100% will degrade the cells and shorten the life a bit but there is a tradeoff between having it charged and ready for an outage vs. preserving it's lifespan. When manufacturers box their units and put them in the warehouse, they store them around 40-60% to keep the battery as happy as possible but I tend to store mine at 80% because it's quick to top it off and preserves longevity. If you look in the manual, it should have a suggested SOC for storage but it's up to you.
Heh. Yeah I think I prefer how the charging ports and AC output are on the sides of the Ecoflow River Mini so the front can be cleaner. Pros/cons to both I suppose
@@todd.parker tried all 3 switches on the front that go green, but it's no big deal, for $209, everything that is working is still a great buy. I was just needing a new charge controller and bought the unit for that.
Just purchased the EB3A over the EcoFlow River mini. I got it for powering my water kettle and 7" electric frying pan. I have another larger Oupes solar generator, but I blow the inverter unless I turn on/off the kettle while heating the water every 20 seconds. Here is a suggestion. Show a small water kettle in use next time. I keep seeing people camp with 1000-2000 W solar generators and they still use a propane stove to boil water. Please... Don't they know that their solar panels can recover that energy in under an hour? Thanks for your review. BougeRV has a new solar generator coming out July 10th for about $40 more than the EB3A. They informed me of it, but wouldn't provide the specifications required to compare it to the EB3A. My portable foldable 120W panels gave me 3 cords and adapters to charge multiple devices. I do like that I can charge via USB C AND regular solar with my Oupes solar generator. That's what I wished the EB3A had to make it better. TIP! I trickle charge my big 583 Wh solar generator at 12 watts using my cell phone charger using my USB C power port. ⚡🔌
Good call on the water kettle. I have a small one I can use. I agree that bi-directional charging via USB-C is a nice feature. I’m working on a EB3A vs. River Mini video now, stay tuned
@@todd.parker OK well maybe the other reviewer got a bunk one. This new model is exactly what I've been wanting Bluetti to do for quite a while, the usual poor display is what's kept me from buying their products.
I don’t get it…it won’t power an RV AC, it won’t power an RV microwave, or anything that draws a lot of watts….so it’s only utility is as a small electronics charger which you already have with your vehicles power?
That’s a bit like saying bicycles shouldn’t exist because we have pickup trucks. This is perfect for charging a phone or laptop, powering a small TV when tailgating, running a CPAP, etc. when camping or away from power in general. If you want to run a RV AC unit you need something much larger and more expensive. Each has a purpose.
It’s listed on their site somewhere for around $15 but you can get any mc4 to 8mm adapter on Amazon. They are now including this cable since I did the video. If you panels are 8mm, you don’t even need it
This is way better in all regards. Charges 3x faster, better usb-c output, 2x stronger AC output, better battery chemistry with 4x the lifespan, etc. Jackery is way behind the times.
Question re CPAP if anyone out there uses a DreamMachine 1. My wife uses the DM1 and the base plate says 6.67A at 12DC. I am guessing this is the total draw including the heater plate for the humidifier. We'd like to use a portable power supply such as this for dry camping. Does anyone know what the draw is w/o the humidifier plugged in? Phillips can't answer the question which blows me away.. Ha.. No pun intended... well, yes.. intended. It appears I will also be using a machine.. taking my test Thursday night at the hospital. So, whatever, I'll likely need two supplies. This leads the another question.. Can I run two machines plugged into the 12vdc plugs on front of this power supply? Let's say they both run about 4 or so amps dc.. Thanks for any pointers here...
I can’t answer the CPAP question unfortunately but yes, you can connect 12v appliances to each of of the 4 outputs. I use 5521 to cigarette adapters. Each can output 10A, I tested that and it works fine but I wouldn’t push it for long at full power
I’d say focus on making videos in this niche with what you have. If you own units, make some reviews. You’ll find companies will start reaching out when you have enough videos ave subscribers
The only thing that bothers me is the 13.5 watt ambient inverter load with such a small battery. My primary use would be to power a cpap machine. I'm thinking it would pull it all the way down to 0% over the coarse of a night. I ordered one if these so I will find out soon enough... I didn't know about the 13.5 watt ambient power consumption when I ordered it.
That’s pretty typical overhead for AC. On larger units, it can be much more. You will get about 75% of the rated capacity back via AC (200wh) but that number changes based on runtime. This is a very small unit so my hunch is it won’t run your CPAP for 8 hours unless it uses about 25w per hour
We have used the ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!
Thank you, I have at least 40 hours of research. And you finished this for me with a unit that does it all. Every day I think I have the one. I put it in my list for Amazon. And you came into my life and answered all my question. I thank you so very much. I am buying EB3A now. I have the 55 and 70 in my cart for a week. I was looking for more Lfp, which only makes since to go with that, but there is not very many. Im going to charge my 800 cpc celestron telescope and computer at times smart phone on a beautiful mountain full of stars and galaxy. Clear skies next week.
Sounds amazing
Todd, terrific review of the EB3A and I guess Bluetti has been listening to consumers because I have been waiting to make a purchase until I found the solar station that had everything I wanted and once Bluetti make the changes to their midsize models like the EB70s and others I will be all in. The bulky power brick and the fan doesn't turn off and is a power consumer, power indicator with no percentage of charge, obsolete USB ports and one or two other things was just not acceptable. This new EB3A has all the features I want of a Jackery and more, but with the nice Bluetti folding handle that make it easy to pack and store. Thanks for listening to the consumer Bluetti and I hope to see the new features in your midsize solar stations soon !
I just got one, I’m playing so all the reviews I’ve been listening to will finally make sense to me. 😵💫😵💫
Hi all! Just a quick bit of good news on the DC output for the EB3A. I re-tested the 0.2C DC output a few times and am revising my measurements to 232wh (of 269wh) for a surprisingly good rate of 86%. The 180wh I measured originally is a mystery - either the battery or my meter was out of calibration. I also noticed that I incorrectly labeled the AC50 as the EB50 at one point. Sorry for any confusion.
Ahhh…that makes me feel better!🌹🌻🌹
So a battery bank that says 299wh and 500w run for a longer time than this battery bank before it has to be recharged?
@@briizcustoms9543 Yes. This is only rated at 269wh so it's less than those others. The measurement I'm amending is my test where I drain the battery to see how much energy I actually get out of the rated capacity. 80% is pretty average, this was 86%. For those other units you're looking at, assume you'll get 20% of the rating unless you have more accurate data.
U
Ok
I just got this until during Amazon Prime days, it seems like a great unit. It does make some funky noises. All the reviews mention that, so it makes me think maybe it's ok. Thanks for your great reviews.
I have an Ecoflow River Max and this Bluetti should be the final incentive for Ecoflow to offer LiFePO4 as either an upgrade or option on their future models in 250-750 wh range. That said I am very pleased with the features of the Ecoflow and it will last me many years.
I agree. I really like Ecoflow but would prefer LFP batteries, especially for the midsize+ like the whole Delta line. They mentioned they are moving over so I think we'll hear something eventually
@@todd.parker I have had maybe 20 lithium generators over the years between 200 and 1200 wh, and with the delta pro I am finally ready to get a real backup power system. Looks like the best LiPo4 solar generator money can buy in the 3-4kwh range
@@AuRowe yeah, the Delta Pro is the best. The new Power Kits look even better for whole home backup
Yep 100% agree, I was going for an EcoFlow River before spotting the EB3A, between 500 cycle Li-ion and 2500-3000 cycle LiFePO4 there's no real choice to be made . . . the one thing the EcoFlow River has going for it is the fact that you can extend the battery from 288wh to 576wh . . . but once you look at the price of the EcoFlow battery extension (£250 UK) you realise that simply getting a second unit isn't that much more expensive (add £80 to that battery price and you can get a whole second unit) which gives you much more flexibility, the ability to 'split' the unit and use it in two places, double the ports and so on . . . so for me the EB3A does have a battery extension option, which is another EB3A ! : ) You can even run it just like an extension (as a single unit) by feeding one EB3A, let's call it the slave unit, into your main unit . . . All in all - for that price range - it pretty much beats everything on the market in 2022.
Looks like a promising unit! Hopefully we will see updated eb55 and eb70 eventually.
My sentiments!
Agreed. This will be ideal in a 500-750wh unit. It’s a bit much for such a small battery
All they have to do is use the existing eb55 and eb70 and use this display...larger battery would be a bonus
I have a feeling they will be replacing those units with ones that have these features. The new display is nice but the internal charger (no brick) is an even bigger feature that will need more of a redesign
@@todd.parker at $250 with a coupon on amazon I immediately told my new Jackery 300 to hit the road back to returnsville and ordered an EB3A. I can wait till they update their larger stations. I was going to order a EB70, but since there were no free returns on Amazon for that unit and all the other things people don't like about the current Bluetti design (power brick, lousy display, no app) I decided to see how much I can get out of the 300 W class power stations. I've got an Ego power station and a bunch of batteries (what a crude dinosaur that thing is) to run big items for now. Not sure if I'll go to the EB70 class or maybe something bigger later on.
Very informative, thanks. I just received my EB3A a week ago and downloaded the app. I noticed that the charging input on app doesn’t match the input on EB3A but I do enjoy this little unit mainly to power my 12v 42 quart car fridge to maintain 34 degrees and fridge uses about 35 to 60 watts when compressor is on. It would last about 15hrs. Thanks again for sharing. 😊
just ordered this and pv 120 cant wait. thanks for such a thorough review
Wow, this is the best feature set Bluetti yet. They finally got almost all the checkboxes. It will be interesting to see who EcoFlow does next.
Yeah, they seem to be converging on a design and feature set. Ecoflow needs to move to LFP chemistry next imo.
@@todd.parker what is LFP?
@@Outdoor-Adventures www.bluettipower.com/pages/lithium-iron-phosphate-battery
It has to be LiFePO4 battery system on their lower models or they're going to get pushed out of the market.
Another firmware update I would strongly recommend is the ability to set the SOC range. Especially important if using it as a UPS. LiFePO4's don't like to sit at 100% SOC long term. I'd like to set the max SOC at 80% when using as a UPS when it's plugged into the wall 24/7.
I forgot to mention that in the video but I agree 100%. I asked Bluetti about that, hopefully they will add that. I’m going to do a comparison with the River Mini and will definitely call that out
yeah but...calendar aging will wear them out faster than cycling. So basically take em down to 0 and up to 100% yer never going to wear them out, before the next latest and greatest thing comes out. that's Will Prouse's take on it anyway.
@@mikemotorbike4283 I think for most people, that’s probably true.
LFP don't suffer at 100%.
LOVE that new display! I have the EB70 and will probably get this one too.
Yeah, it’s a huge improvement
Great review. I'm glad what Bluetti has done with this new generator & is far ahead of Jackery, EcoFlow & others who have totally & stubbornly ignored moving ahead with advanced LiFePo4 batteries & more efficient upgrades. However, the low wh of this unit is a deal breaker for me, but I will purchase one with a higher w & wh unite.
Yeah, LFP is the way to go. I hope EF upgrades this year, we’ll see. A bigger version of this unit will be killer, just waiting for that to come out
@@todd.parker Hey Todd, spoke with a Ecoflow Rep, asked about Lifepo4, and they said they will be offering (4 ) Lifepo4 power stations this year. Excellent videos.
We all can agree that Lifep04 batteries are superior, but these 'upgraded' features have been on the ecoflow for awhile now. At 500-800 before dropping to 80% capacity still would get you years of use.
Yes, and yes
Ooh, good to hear that confirmed.
If you want to use this unit as a UPS leave the ECO mode turned off to avoid interruptions of the AC inverter. This worked for me.
WTH....Bluetti said I can't do my review video until June 14th LOL....
Edit: After watching the entire video, I loved the video, excellent job showing off the power station with style :) :)
Eeek, I cleared posting this so hopefully all is good. I think most UA-camrs are waiting to post their reviews until it goes on sale so they can have affiliate links. I don't really care about that and figured it would be good to get the information out early for folks considering it. Thanks for the compliment, I've been watching your videos and they are great. You are a review machine, I can't believe how many you post while keeping the quality so high.
@@todd.parker Puzzling for sure....maybe we all have different contacts with different strictness? I asked about posting my video early and she said post it June 14th and not earlier.
Excellent use of background / B-roll footage on this one by the way. Your reviews always show that quality and great tests on the parasitic drain for the DC and AC testing.
@@Jasonoid Huh, strange. This rollout has been...interesting since some people were able to buy these early on Amazon and even post reviews before mine. Let's hope I didn't ruffle feathers. Glad you liked the b-roll, funny how much time I'm willing to spend on that to avoid being on camera! I'd like to see more reviewers focus on the standby losses because the electronics in these seem to be getting less efficient over time, probably because they are more powerful and have to to convert voltages but people seem very surprised at how short their real world battery like is vs. the specs.
@@todd.parker I just noticed that today, you didn't really talk to the camera, mostly voiceovers and broll (which is totally fine, especially when you do it well like you do). It took me awhile to get used to talking to the camera and showing my face, it's a big barrier for sure lol... It still feels so weird to be talking to a camera alone in a room!
YES! The EB3A is the unit with most features that made me add it to my wishlist cart! The UPS, the pass-through charging (PTC, already, ok?), the predictive power display (PPD), the power lift mode (PLM), plus all the other nice/cute features. The only feature I need for true, modular off-grid power is a remote generator startup/shutdown (RGSS) feature and modular plug-in battery packs to increase the storage capacity of this wonder power station... Awesome! 👍
I snagged two of these from Amazon during Prime Day 2023.
They were running some kind of stacked coupon if you bought 2.
I got them both for $338 plus tax.
Love that display. I'm literally holding off buying the AC300, mainly because I hate that touch display. Can't justify the cost with that display unit. Looks outdated IMO.
I made the purchase , I have to say that I think it’s so so . It charges up really really fast . On the other hand it seems to discharge really really fast as well . The wireless charger seems to discharge the unit fast . The build quality can not compare to the Jackery’s . I prefer my AimTom and my Jackery Explorer 300 269 watt hours is being generous for sure . I have no way of checking it but I really have my doubts . This unit would be great if you have could add more battery storage . No dc or solar charger cable .
Thanks for the feedback. I agree that all Bluetti products tend to self-discharge quickly which is why I try to quantify that and draw attention to this metric. I don’t think they are overstating the battery capacity but as you turn ports on, the electronics use power. The wireless is on the same switch as the USB and DC ports so that adds overhead
I cant wait to take this unit to the beach, hook up a 200w panel and a couple of Sonos play1s for all day use.
I'm really happy that I've delayed purchasing any power station that comes with an external power brick & doesn't have Lithium Iron Phosphate battery chemistry.
Warm Regards from Reno, Nevada
I wish I would have waited with you, lol. I use mine for my bipap.
Congrats! At first I thought I won and I was hype then I saw it was to your comment 🤣🤣🤣🤣.
No, this is just comment spammers. UA-cam has a huge problem with it
@@todd.parker oh lol. I was like I finally won something! No I didn’t 🤣🤣🤣
Yeah, it’s a huge problem on UA-cam. Scammers create accounts with the channels avatar and trick people
excellent review Todd of the Bluetti EB3A.... trying to decide between this EB3A EB70. Already hauling the AC200P and EB240, so looking for an addition that is more portable for smaller jobs.
The ideal would be an upgraded EB70. Unless you need ultra small, might be worth waiting a bit
@@todd.parker yes I agree 100%. The EB3A is loaded with features that I wish were on the eb70.... With the amount of updates that come from Bluetti, I'm sure they'll be another release in the next 3 months.
Great little unit that has features which should make it into the next EB55, 70s and bigger units. The only downside is the size to power ratio, given the EB55 and AC50s are almost the same size at double the capacity. I'd guess moving the charger inside and other electronic upgrades plus less energy dense batteries can lead to that.
Yeah. I feel like the electronics in this unit are better suited to a larger 500-700wh unit. I'm assuming they will be upgrading the EB55 and eventually larger units to this feature set which will be awesome. The internal charger may not take up as much space as you'd think if they are using Ecoflow's trick of using the inverter in reverse for charging. I think the powerful electronics and LFP together are making this bigger and maybe the box isn't super tightly packed?
Excellent review, thank you!
I really want one but I think waiting to see if a 500wh or 600wh becomes available would be better.
Bluetti comes out with new models and upgrades quickly so I’d wait a bit
Just An FYI, Amazon selling it for 209.99. 5/1/23. For those that want to buy one.
Awesome review. Thanks!
Wow.. they would have this right after I bought my EB55 🤦🏽♀️. I mean I still need the higher watt hours but I have a feeling they will release an updated version soon!
Same here with the EB70... I know about the EB70's shortcomings but it is a really good powerstation and I am very content with my purchase - it works fine. But when I think about a Bluetti Eb70A or a Bluetti EB100A I don' think that I can hesitate to buy it...
@@blackbalerion Yeh. I waited like a whole year and a half too. I was really concerned about keeping power for my bipap and my EB55 is lacking the. Most important feature when using medical devices… actual shown percentage vs those incremental percentage bars!
Yeah, my guess is this style will replace everything up to the AC200+ series this year, but that’s just a guess.
@@todd.parker Yeah, let us hope so!
I dont know if standard features changed since this came out but my EB3A did come with solar cables
Wow this looks perfect for me. I've used a couple of power stations for van camping and know the limitations. I totally agree with your important usage points particularly having an adjustment to keep the display on longer. I wouldn't buy the previous Bluetti's because of the noisy charging bricks. I assembled two 1.3kw LiFePo4 batteries for low rate discharge supplying my 12V fridge, blanket, lights, and recharge phones, drones. The 200w solar input and 600w inverter just adds to usability. With pass thru charging, wouldn't this be great to add capacity to this little unit. The UPS function and wireless phone charging is icing on the cake! I want it now, when can I order this? Great review by the way, thanks.
Thanks, seems you have a good setup! Using the car adapter cable to trickle charge this unit from your big batteries and just using it as a simple front end for connecting power is a very good use of this. It will be on sale starting June 15.
I didn't mention that I have 200w of solar panels mounted to my van roof rack. This keeps my big batteries topped off with just a few hours of desert daylight. The 600w inverter will also allow me to charge my eBikes!
@@todd.parker How much is this device? June 15th is my bday, this would be a nice present to myself 😀
@@TheVegan15 I think retail will be $299 but it will be $249 at launch, even cheaper if you join the or Facebook group
I Really hope this model features are incorporated in the larger units soon! But they better increase the WH’s. I’d buy It over todays eco flow equal. But they better hurry , because eco flows new river 2 models are coming out in 2 weeks and they will now have the lithium iron phosphate batteries !! It’s gonna be a fight to win over Bluetti fans!
100% agree. When I reviewed this, I assumed Bluetti would have updated the EB50/70 with this new design quickly but Ecoflow has beat them to the punch with not only a new River 2 but a whole new LFP line. Things move quick!
The speakers sound amazing on this.
Your power station has…speakers?
I don't fully understand how to compare capacity specs across different devices. The Bluetti EB55 has 537Wh and 24Ah while the Goal Zero 500X has 505Wh and 46.8Ah. Similar Wh, but the Ah is almost double on the Goal Zero.
The Ah spec means that my 12V fridge (which draws about 1 Amp) would run for 46.8 hours on the Goal Zero, but only 24 hours on the Bluetti.
How can the devices be about equal in Wh, but the Goal Zero has almost double the capacity in Ah?
Comparing aH is confusing if the battery voltages are different. That's why is simplest to multiply the battery pack voltage by the Ah to calculate watt hours (wh) because that can be directly compared across models without needing to know the voltage. Most companies use wh for this reason, including GZ. Your fridge uses on average 12wh (12v x 1ah) so use that to divide the total wh to get runtime (figure in 20% losses)
Excellent review. Looks like a winner for a small unit.
Yeah, it’s a really good unit if you don’t need long runtimes
The app is great but. We just had a large storm hit us. Power was out as well as internet for a week. Cell towers where knocked out as well for 2 days and very very weak service for 3 days. Something to think about . Also lost all my outside ring cameras for a week. So checking outside became old school.
You’d definitely need a much larger unit for any length of backup. This is better for charging a laptop or phones during a weekend, not emergency power
Well done
I bought in 800 wats for 2 weeks ago.
Just one I thought I made my mind up on getting the EB70S ! Now they throw this one out. But just your opinion , because I’m not really familiar with any of them , but did want something to take out on some light overloading and camping trips , How does this one compare to the bigger models?
This is a better design but is probably too small for overlanding. I hope they upgrade their larger units to match
I with the light on the end to be used as a flash light.
I wonder how to connect solar panels. No reviews discuss it yet. I will watch for that here.
They just plug in as long as you panel has an 8mm cable. If not, there is a MC4 to 8mm adapter
Great vid ! Wich unit would you recommand to be abble to plug a fridge and or ac things of that nature
I’d suggest saving up and getting a 1kwh unit like a Ecoflow Delta 2 or similar option from Bluetti or Anker. A fridge uses a decent amount of power so having more battery and a bigger AC inverter will mean you won’t outgrow it as fast
Only thing I wish this thing had is PD Input charging, so you could charge it with a PD brick if you wanted. Otherwise, nice product.
Excellent review
Like the new display but I take an external charger over a larger capacity any time! 700W inverter with not even 300Wh of capacity isn't great.
I don't think the internal charger adds that much bulk to the unit if they use Ecoflow's technique of using the inverter as the charger. I do agree that the balance between the battery size and output power is a bit off. This same unit with a 500-700wh battery would be perfect.
perfect item for prepping if your broke but advise to get the eb70s version that is 568 bucks
The EB70S is a great unit. I’m testing one now and the only major differences with the EB3A is the external charging brick and 5 segment display
@@todd.parker in these times its good for people to start buying this portable solar generators can literally be a life savior. Most folks don't have 5-12 grand to buy a 2-3 of the high end ones with crazy solar power. You can buy 2x Eb70s for the emergency and buy the solar panels and spend only like 1400 bucks.
@@grandcanyon2 yep, it’s becoming more important to have at least some power backup with all that’s going on and Bluetti units are a great value. The EB150 is another great deal
Great review and timely. I'm sold, Ecoflow is going back, namely lack of LFP and greatly exaggerated AC output.
Out of curiosity which Ecoflow model?
@@todd.parker River Pro. Did a couple AC tests. Would get under 500 watts if less than .2C drain. Best I got was 540. DC is suppose to be really good though. Curious to see your JP40 test as I have the same. I'm guessing the early bird pricing might be $200. Or I can just wait till they incorporate all these great changes to their larger models.
Yeah, was going to suggest waiting for these features in a 700wh unit because this would only run the fridge due maybe 8 hours (I got 6.5 with the fridge, light, and fan).
@@todd.parker Yes, I'm really in no hurry. Once I get my JP40 to 32/34 it only draws about 14 watts/hr with an ambient of 75 degrees so it might get through a night an pray for a sunny morning to recharge. The DC efficiency of 70% seems rather poor though. Someone tested the Ecoflow and was hitting 90%.
@@todd.parker My sentiments, to wait for these features in an 800wh unit.
hi todd, excelente review, my only question is:
is the charging modes only for AC charging?? I hope so cause i wanna charge this battery in my car with dual charging but with silent mode cause my AC port is a 150W 110v, plus the 100w DC port, so i can charge it at 200W without blowing the car inverter fuse
I think the charging speeds only impact AC, yes
I've calibrated the battery twice fully discharge and charged the watts going out still 40 to 60 watts more than what the watt meter is reading what's causing that .
The meters on these kind of units aren’t very accurate and also tend to measure the power at a different place than a kilowatt meter.
No Anderson power poles, should would be great to have them.
Can you leave this plugged in charging all the time?
Also, if you fully charge it, will it drain any while turned off, not used ?
You can leave it plugged in, especially if you are using it as a UPS but you will get longer life by storing it long term at 60-80% and charging to full when you think you might need it. If you charge it, then turn it fully off, it will slowly lose a tiny bit of energy but it's not much.
Great review
What is the smallest amount of solar panels that can charge this
You could probably get away with a 50-75w panel and that would fill it on a good day.
I want them to pair this with a panel that will power a compressor freezer fridge.
That would work but this can’t run a fridge for longer that 12 hours so even with solar, that cutting it close. I’d want a bigger battery
I understand it’s rated to 2500 cycles to 80% but my question is how many cycles could you realistically get to before it becomes dead or pointless to use ? I imagine I’d keep using the battery even after it goes down to 50% and that’s especially true for the larger models.
For sure. You've only lost 20% of the capacity at 2,500 cycles so you should get 5,000-6,000 cycles before it's half gone but it's probably usable down to 30-40% if you're ok with that
@@todd.parker thank you sir I appreciate the response.
Interesting looks like they are finally catching up to ecoflow something tells me we're gonna have a few companies competing to be the Honda of the solar generator world which means we're going to be getting some very good advances in technology.
Yeah, I feel like we’re converging on a good design and feature set now between Bluetti and Ecoflow
Great Review ! I just received my EB3A . I ran a test on the AC output by running a 40W fan. It ran for 4.5 hours and only delivered 170 KWH before shutting down. Does this seem within a reasonable limit considering its rating of 268 KWH. I am thinking of returning it ...
Seems a bit low for sure. Re-run the test to see if it’s still that low
Is it not maybe that the eco ode setting is set to 4 hrs
I heard you mention compressor. I was looking to use this with an Alpicool C9 fridge. Would it run this overnight if already cooled down?
It might make it overnight but it depends on a lot of factors. It has a pretty tiny battery so you I usually recommend a 500-750wh battery to run a compressor fridge for any length of time
@@todd.parker Thank you
Well my Bluetti EB3A arrived today. No power cord. Very disappointed. Amazon is working on it. And the solar cable I guess is backordered. (Out of stock). Somebody screwed up. Does anyone know if the Jackery power cord works on the Bluetti. The input MPPT ports look similar. The Bluetti came charged at 65% so there is that.
That’s a bummer. It’s a standard power cable used by desktop PCs and other products. If it fits, it’s probably fine.
The cigarette recepticle has made my EB70 useless as it is horribly lose, i get a headache writting this. Echoflow looks good.
I think it’s a problem with all Bluetti units TBH. You can buy aftermarket adapters that seem to fit better but it seems like something they should address
@@todd.parker Can you recommend some adapters? Yes Quality contol was nonexistant.
I wished I’d watched this review before I recently bought this model. Since it advertises at 200 watts I was expecting 200 watts. Little did I know that it has a limit of only 8.5 amps input current from any solar panel. They don’t make 200 watt panels under that. Neither can you put two 100 watt panels together and still be under that limit. Also I got shorted an ac charge cable and can’t use it until they send me one. Two emails in to them with no reply yet. Their hassle free guarantee is only for defective units. I read on a forum that no one gets 200 watts from these. Bluetti’s 200 watt panels don’t even work for the EB3A. I’m really disappointed.
Yeah it’s usually very difficult to achieve the max watts companies advertise because getting the panels with the right specs is very tricky. I wish these all had stronger chargers for more flexibility in panels and wiring. Keep emailing them, it’s your best bet.
@@todd.parker Bluetti returned my email about the missing charger. Turns out it was embedded within the foam packaging with more packaging covering it. So many miss it that they have a video showing where it is. As for the panel compatibility, Bluetti still recommended their $500, 200w panels with amp rating over owners manual limits. I pushed on about the amps and their reply: “The pv input open circuit voltage of EB3A is 12-28V, and the open circuit voltage of PV200 is 26.1V, so it won't exceed the limit.” So it looks like only the volt limits matter, at least to the Bluetti rep.
@@hunagirl6 good to hear they replied. I’ve heard lots of people aren’t finding the charger buried at the bottom…not a great design. Yes, for panels voltage is a hard limit but with current you can exceed the rating and it will just pull what it needs so more is better
LFP batteries can take 50A without even worrying so that won't affect the battery at 337W
A better metric is the C rate because it takes the battery size into account. 1C = charging at the battery size (ex 268w) so it would be a 1 hour charge rate. As you charge faster than that, it can start to reduce the life of the battery somewhat so Bluetti warns of that in turbo mode
Will this power a 55inch TV for 6-8 hours of tailgating? Also planning on getting the solar, and car charger as a backup.
Nope. A tv that size seems to use about 100w/hour so this would run due Lyra than 2 hours. You’d want a unit like the EB70S
I was about to order the 70s for my parents... Any idea if this will get put on the 70s?
I’m not sure but it seems it should be an easy upgrade, that is 80% there
Thanks
Can you expand on that heat gun use?
Remote location and need to use heat guns on lowest setting.
Thought regarding the featured heat gun ?
On the lowest setting it will use maybe 200-600w depending on the knob position. It works great and it nicely adjustable. You’d want a larger unit if you need runtimes over 30 minutes or so
@@todd.parker
Thx
Plans for next size up unit reviews applicable to latest or anticipated new models ?
@@MrBluoct Nothing concrete yet but I hope to!
I bought 2 of these units for camping that way when one unit is charging i can use the other one. I paid $516.00 for 2 of them.
So that's 1200 watts of power for a good price i think.
I also have the original Bluetti AC200 from Indiegogo campaign. My biggest complaint about these units is how much power they use even when not drawing power or sitting idle. I wish they could fix this it degrades the efficiency.
Yeah, I cover that in my video. Bluetti tends to have higher standby losses but it's compounded on this unit because they have such a large inverter relative to the battery size. That's the price you pay for that 600w of power.
That’s the price you pay for 600w
Great Video,interesting, I like the price. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you 🤗
I know Nonthing about solor. I have a 100 watt solor panel will it charge the EB3A or do I need 2 buy another 100 watt panel?
You can probably use that panel as long as the voltage doesn’t exceed the max for this unit. You may need to buy an adapter if it’s not 8mm
I know this is probably a silly question but I'm want to buy it to run a heated blanket when I camp in my truck when snowboarding season comes around and I'm hoping a full charge will let the heated blanket run a full night on a high setting? Will this be my solution for that? Thanks in advance for how ever answers and Super Great Review, very well Done A++++
Hi. Check how many watts it uses on high but my guess is it won’t last all night. Basically, 25w per hour is all this might handle for 8 hours. Depends on AC or DC but both are similar
@@todd.parker thank you so much, from research I've Done it average from 15 watts but if it can give me 7 to 8 hours that will be good enough and worth it, I think I'll go ahead and buy it then, I really appreciate your quick response, definitely subscribing now
My EB3A runs my blanket all night on the blankets low setting.
Can I run a blender (1200W) with a power lifting mode turned on? Will it not be destroyed?
I’d say no. Power lifting is still limited by the 600w inverter and drops the voltage to increase the amps so to run a 1200w appliance the voltage would be 60hz. I feel like the way they advertise this feature is very misleading. It’s only really good if you want to run a 750w heater or something. Rather than tripping, power lift will run it somewhat
Hello. Thank you for this review. Could you confirm that the solar panel input port is a 8mm (7.9x5.5) ? Thank You
Yes, standard 8mm many panels use
@@todd.parker Thank you. This way, i could reuse my Goal Zero solar panel ;)
I had a GOAL ZERO Yeti 200X, but this is impossible to get it repaired : "No spare parts"
Goal Zero is really overrated and overpriced ; Their customer service is really ZERO
I am looking for a new power station... This one looks interesting.
Should work great. And I agree re:Goal Zero. They used to be good and now feels like a ghost company. No new products, no support
With pass-thru charging capability, could this be used as a simple UPS device for a home computer station (monitor, CPU, printer, etc.)?
Yes, absolutely
@@todd.parker Thanks! Great review -- happy to subscribe and support your channel.
Could you run your heat gun test on this to test actual watt hours please and could you test the new display to see if it accurately displays the kill a watt reading and test a low wattage item to see if it registers on the display meter. That would be stellar…thank you!
I tested the AC output in watt hours and calculated the percentage (77%) you get back vs. rated capacity in the video. The display doesn’t completely agree with the watt meter (also in video) but that’s pretty typical. I did t test the lower threshold of when it registers power. I’ll try to test that going forward. I’m going to do a comparison video against the River Mini and will include that
@@todd.parker thank you, i must have missed that while multi tasking. I did just receive the eb3a not knowing it’s rating at 77% which is a disappointment. Looking forward to watching your river vs eb3a comparison because I almost bought the river. Feels like the eb3a is an ecoflow killer. The real deal would be a comparable eb70s or ecoflow river pro with lithium phosphate and the screen of the eb3a.
@@LoveRise in fairness the River Pro is only 75% efficient on AC so this is pretty typical. I do hope EF converts to LFP batteries this year, that’s a big one for me
@@todd.parker I have seen other YT do this test and get 85% how come your tested so low?
@@jmb-cm7mr Hard to say, I do a pretty standard 0.2C test but the number can change quite a bit if the load is a bit higher/lower
My EB3A quit after about 8 months so i will not be buying anymore Bluetti products, i was getting ready to order an AC180, but now im switching to another brand.
They really need to bump up the max amps on the solar input port to 10A at least. Need to be able to charge this more efficiently in the car while driving with a DCDC converter 12V to 24V 10A.
The battery is so tiny that even charging at 100w is plenty fast. Yeah, you can charge faster but it’s not great for the battery
@@todd.parker Yeah fair enough, I was more forward thinking to when they release the 500wh and 700wh versions of this new design. The current units are capped at 8A as well, which rules them out for me unfortunately. So hopefully Bluetti will up it, or EcoFlow will introduce LiFePo4 batteries. That's where my money is gonna go.
Great review by the way. Cheers
@@AlexSwan thanks. I agree that having higher voltage and amp limits is pretty clutch on larger units.
How do we turn on the eb3a’s Bluetooth
I think it’s just always on and ready to pair
Would this unit run a small 24” tv and DVD player for a couple hours?
It would run it, just not sure how long. My hunch is 2-3 hours assuming it’s a 75w load.
hello, i just saw a wireless coffe cup on amazon, it does have its own pad, but, would the cup work on the fifteen watt wireless phone charge pad? thanks
I'm not sure. If it uses standard wireless charging protocols like Qi then it might work.
@@todd.parker i believe it will, the pad is fifteen watts and the cup requires five to ten watts, ill get it next month
how long would it power a TV, router and PC in combination for?
Hard to know with the specs but this has a small battery so I’d say an hour or two at most. This will a good to charge a laptop and a phone, not run bigger appliances for any length of time
If I bought that Bluetti EB3A could it continuously power a Mining Rig (Powered by a Be Quiet STRAIGHT POWER 11 1000W Gold Power Supply) being 120V at 325Watts?? And Plugging in a Solar panel at 200 watts???
You’d want a much bigger unit to power that. At 325w, the battery only has about 40 minutes of runtime so if a cloud passed by, it would drain the battery quick. You should have a unit that is at least 700wh to give you some buffer and not wear out the battery
@@todd.parker Yes, I agree, thank you!!!
Where did you get the 55 21 connector? I'm looking for one
Yeebline Cigarette Lighter Power Supply Cable, 2-Pack Car Cigarette Lighter Female Socket to DC 5.5mm x 2.1mm Plug Jack Adapter a.co/d/2uFWrXn
Assuming the Bluetti EB3A will sit idle for months at a time for a SHTF moment (typical FPL blackout), is it okay to store it at 100% charge? Or does it have to be discharged to 50-60% for longterm (4-8 months) storage? 🧐
I think the recommendation is to drain it to 60-70% max for long term storage. I tend to leave it close to 75-80% so I have a decent amount of energy in case of random power outages without stressing the battery too much.
@@todd.parker I have a AC200 i always store at 100% have had it for 2 yrs and have never had a problem with it.
@@jmb-cm7mr Over time, storing it at 100% will degrade the cells and shorten the life a bit but there is a tradeoff between having it charged and ready for an outage vs. preserving it's lifespan. When manufacturers box their units and put them in the warehouse, they store them around 40-60% to keep the battery as happy as possible but I tend to store mine at 80% because it's quick to top it off and preserves longevity. If you look in the manual, it should have a suggested SOC for storage but it's up to you.
Great review, however, the low capacity of this unit is a definite deal breaker.
It’s designed to be a smaller unit so I don’t see that as a downside but it’s physical dimensions are a bit bigger than I’d expect fur that capacity
Why are the charge port in front? Why?
Heh. Yeah I think I prefer how the charging ports and AC output are on the sides of the Ecoflow River Mini so the front can be cleaner. Pros/cons to both I suppose
Can u review eb 200
I'll only be reviewing new products from Bluetti but maybe a revision is in the works?
Thanks The screen should stay on when in use thats a deal breaker for me
My EB3A seems to be defective, phone charger doesn't work.
Oh no! Did you turn on the DC ports?
@@todd.parker tried all 3 switches on the front that go green, but it's no big deal, for $209, everything that is working is still a great buy. I was just needing a new charge controller and bought the unit for that.
Just purchased the EB3A over the EcoFlow River mini. I got it for powering my water kettle and 7" electric frying pan. I have another larger Oupes solar generator, but I blow the inverter unless I turn on/off the kettle while heating the water every 20 seconds.
Here is a suggestion. Show a small water kettle in use next time. I keep seeing people camp with 1000-2000 W solar generators and they still use a propane stove to boil water. Please... Don't they know that their solar panels can recover that energy in under an hour?
Thanks for your review.
BougeRV has a new solar generator coming out July 10th for about $40 more than the EB3A. They informed me of it, but wouldn't provide the specifications required to compare it to the EB3A.
My portable foldable 120W panels gave me 3 cords and adapters to charge multiple devices. I do like that I can charge via USB C AND regular solar with my Oupes solar generator. That's what I wished the EB3A had to make it better.
TIP!
I trickle charge my big 583 Wh solar generator at 12 watts using my cell phone charger using my USB C power port. ⚡🔌
Good call on the water kettle. I have a small one I can use. I agree that bi-directional charging via USB-C is a nice feature. I’m working on a EB3A vs. River Mini video now, stay tuned
Now only if they made it bigger. EB90A :D
I’m sure that’s coming!
I watched another review on this unit the other day and that reviewer said it only did pass through charging with the DC outlet and not the ac outlet.
Hmm. I tested both the AC and DC while charging and both worked fine.
@@todd.parker OK well maybe the other reviewer got a bunk one. This new model is exactly what I've been wanting Bluetti to do for quite a while, the usual poor display is what's kept me from buying their products.
@@ryanmiller4890 I agree, this unit fixes all my complaints, can’t wait for larger units
I just retested and can confirm that you can use the AC, DC, and USB while charging
@@todd.parker AWESOME! Good to know!
I don’t get it…it won’t power an RV AC, it won’t power an RV microwave, or anything that draws a lot of watts….so it’s only utility is as a small electronics charger which you already have with your vehicles power?
That’s a bit like saying bicycles shouldn’t exist because we have pickup trucks. This is perfect for charging a phone or laptop, powering a small TV when tailgating, running a CPAP, etc. when camping or away from power in general. If you want to run a RV AC unit you need something much larger and more expensive. Each has a purpose.
@@todd.parker I just wasn’t understanding what it could be used for since all vehicles already have 12 v charging
can i use it and charge it at the same time?
Yes
Anyone know how much the solar charger cable costs for this unit?
It’s listed on their site somewhere for around $15 but you can get any mc4 to 8mm adapter on Amazon. They are now including this cable since I did the video. If you panels are 8mm, you don’t even need it
@@todd.parker Thanks Todd.
How is compare to the jackery 300?
This is way better in all regards. Charges 3x faster, better usb-c output, 2x stronger AC output, better battery chemistry with 4x the lifespan, etc. Jackery is way behind the times.
@@todd.parker thank you for the information and for taking the time to write back !
I really don't see any breakthrough or anyting special with the EB3A. I have seen everything with the River.
It’s a big deal for Bluetti because it catches them up to Ecoflow and also rocks a LFP battery
Question re CPAP if anyone out there uses a DreamMachine 1. My wife uses the DM1 and the base plate says 6.67A at 12DC. I am guessing this is the total draw including the heater plate for the humidifier. We'd like to use a portable power supply such as this for dry camping. Does anyone know what the draw is w/o the humidifier plugged in? Phillips can't answer the question which blows me away.. Ha.. No pun intended... well, yes.. intended.
It appears I will also be using a machine.. taking my test Thursday night at the hospital. So, whatever, I'll likely need two supplies.
This leads the another question.. Can I run two machines plugged into the 12vdc plugs on front of this power supply? Let's say they both run about 4 or so amps dc..
Thanks for any pointers here...
I can’t answer the CPAP question unfortunately but yes, you can connect 12v appliances to each of of the 4 outputs. I use 5521 to cigarette adapters. Each can output 10A, I tested that and it works fine but I wouldn’t push it for long at full power
You are good 👍
What does the device cost?
I think it will be $250 retail
Hello, I have a fledgling review channel. How do you get your review products? Thanks!
I’d say focus on making videos in this niche with what you have. If you own units, make some reviews. You’ll find companies will start reaching out when you have enough videos ave subscribers
Nice
The only thing that bothers me is the 13.5 watt ambient inverter load with such a small battery.
My primary use would be to power a cpap machine.
I'm thinking it would pull it all the way down to 0% over the coarse of a night.
I ordered one if these so I will find out soon enough... I didn't know about the 13.5 watt ambient power consumption when I ordered it.
That’s pretty typical overhead for AC. On larger units, it can be much more. You will get about 75% of the rated capacity back via AC (200wh) but that number changes based on runtime. This is a very small unit so my hunch is it won’t run your CPAP for 8 hours unless it uses about 25w per hour