For some of us, outdoor living is a way to break free from electricity (and all of the devices that come with it). For others, it’s a way to get closer to people and nature, without compromising too much on creature comforts.
If you happen to fall in the latter category, you’re going to love the EBL 2400W portable power station (model H2400). Not only is it perfect for powering appliances and other electronics at the campground, but it also works great as an emergency backup system, in case your house loses power.
After testing it in a variety of locations and circumstances these past 2 months, here’s what I’ve discovered about the EBL power station.
EBL Portable Power Station Overview
EBL is a brand that covers all things batteries. From AAA batteries to the 2400W power station that we’ll be looking at today, they know a thing or two about portable power.
And it shows. Here are just a few of the specs you can expect to find on the H2400:
Overall, there are a lot of different types of “protection” that you’ll find on the unit. Overload, short circuit, over-charge, over-discharge, over-heat, over-current, and over-voltage are some of the most notable.
But aside from the safety features, I really like the aesthetics, intuitiveness, and versatility (I mean, it can charge 11 devices at once!) of the device. It doesn’t just look good; it actually boasts a certain amount of potency that you’d hope to find in a power station.
Still, is it really something that you can rely on in a blackout or when you’re off the grid? Is it a good fit for your portable power needs? And does the weight make it too difficult to use in an outdoor setting?
We’ll touch on all of these points and more, so let’s start by checking out what the EBL 2400W power station does really well.
Where It Shines
LiFePO4: You’ll hear me mention the LiFePO4 battery found in the H2400, but what does it mean? Well, the name is a shorthand version for describing what the battery is made from. It uses lithium (Li), iron (Fe), and phosphate (PO) as the cathode material to create a highly resilient, reversible electricity storage system. Reversible electricy meaning that it can be both charged and discharged.
As far as this type of device is concerned, there’s a lot to like about the EBL H2400. Not only does it make use of a LiFePO4 battery, but it’s also intuitively designed and provides a good variety of features for the price.
I’ve had a lot of fun using it to power some common household applicances for picnics and other camping adventures (as you can see in the above photo). At the same time, it’s been a valuable addition for my home life, providing a reliable source of power when a blackout recently occurred.
But, enough with the overview; let’s dive into the nitty gritty details of the EBL 2400W portable power station.
Power
The whole reason we buy portable power stations in the first place is in the name.
Power.
If your power station can’t provide consistent, long lasting energy to your electronics and applicances, you’re better off using it as an oversized paperweight. That being said, let’s talk about where the EBL H2400 stacks up on this power scaling.
Wattage: For simplicity’s sake, the “wattage” of your power station refers to the maximum energy output that can be produced at one time. The higher the wattage, the more items you can have plugged into it concurrently.
Again, as the name implies, the EBL H2400 is a 2400 watt (W) power station. Along with this model, I own the EBL 330W and the Jackery 500W, so I’ve been having fun comparing their respective capabilities.
Starting with the H2400, I’ve been able to power my crockpot and InstantPot at the same time, all while recharging my Varla electric scooter. Altogether, these three items were sucking just under 300W of power at any given point.
That’s a lot, and certainly more than my other power stations could have handled. But despite the massive energy drain, the H2400 could have kept it up for roughly 5 hours, if necessary. It’s an absolute beast that’s perfect for powering indoor and outdoor appliances alike. However, it’s definitely overkill if you don’t plan on using for heavy hitters like a fridge, a slow cooker, or even something like a sump pump.
For smaller jobs, I prefer my Jackery 500W, simply because it’s more portable and easier to carry. That being said, the most I can do with it is run a blender or a food processor – certainly not the game changing power I need while preparing an outdoor meal. When fully charged, it will only keep my space heater running for roughly 20 minutes, so… I spend most of the day with cold hands during the winter. Still, it’s a great option when you need something lightweight and versatile, especially for semi-demanding electronics.
And finally, there’s my EBL 330W power station. At the moment, I keep it on my desk to serve as a phone charger, but I also like to use it for recharging camera batteries, drones, and other small devices. It’s definitely not strong enough to power any large appliances, but it’s so lightweight and portable that it’s perfect for those less demanding tasks.
Overall, more power isn’t always a good thing. If you just need to keep your phone and camera batteries alive for a few days, you’re going to regret lugging around something as big and heavy as the H2400. On the other hand, if you want reliable power that will allow you to live comfortably outdoors, a 2400W power station will quickly become your new best friend.
Versatility
While not terribly uncommon, it’s still worth mentioning (and appreciating) how versatile the EBL H2400 is in practice. On the surface level, I love how there are so many outlets to plug electronics into, whether I need AC, DC, or USB.
I’ve never encountered a situation where I needed to use all 4 of the AC outlets, but it’s nice to know that they’re there. The 3 USB slots make it easy to charge smaller devices, and the DC outlet is great for odd and end items. I have a handheld vacuum cleaner that I like to plug into the DC socket, but it also works for electric coolers, some heated blankets, and anything else that takes 12V DC power.
The H2400 is also something that you can use at home and in the wild with the same amount of ease and comfort. While I wouldn’t recommend getting the power station wet, the AC outlets are covered by protective caps to mitigate any occurrence of dust or water damage.
The caps have an IP54 rating, which indicates reasonable protection against dust and water spray. So, if it happens to get caught in a light drizzle of rain, it’s not the end of the world, as long as it doesn’t get too wet. However, extended time in the rain will damage the battery sooner or later, so it’s best to store it in a protected environment.
Charging Speed
I find the EBL H2400 to be surprisingly efficient. It’s easy to recharge, and it’s able to charge other devices quickly as well.
When completely empty, I’d say it takes me a little under 2 hours to fully recharge the H2400. That’s if I have it plugged into a wall outlet – a solar setup would take significantly longer, even assuming I had direct sunlight hitting the panel/s all throughout the day.
Still, considering how large of a capacity the unit has, I’m actually impressed by how quickly I can refill it. And when it comes to discharge, the power station does its job properly. I haven’t noticed any problems with powering or charging various devices – it simply feels like they’re plugged into a wall socket.
Noise
If you’ve ever owned a generator before, you know how noisy those things can get while they’re running. Not only is it annoying for you, but your neighbors will also look at you angrily if you’re causing a disturbance.
That’s why most campsites have sound limits set at 60 decibels (dB), which is roughly the loudness of a normal conversation. While I don’t know the exact dB levels that comes from the H2400, I have a pretty good guess at where they land.
For lighter loads, the power station won’t make any noise at all. This is when you’re charging your phone, or powering anything that takes less than 50 watts of energy. Once you break that 100 watt mark, the fan on the power station will kick on at regular intervals to ensure the battery stays within safe temperature ranges. At this point, my guess is that it’s only making noise between 20-30 dB.
The fan will also kick in when you’re charging the power station itself. You’ll hear it go on and off at intervals, landing in roughly the same dB range as when it’s discharging.
Solar Compatible
To the right of the display, there’s a PV Input, with “PV” standing for photovoltaic. It’s just a fancy way of indicating where you’ll plug a solar panel into the unit, if you want to recharge the battery using the sun.
The input uses a standard Anderson Powerpole connector, which will connect to a solar panel’s MC4 connector. An adapter is needed to faciliate this connection, and EBL is kind enough to include one with the power station.
Now, I personally own a 100W solar panel, which is what you see in the photo. It works pretty well at recharging the EBL (when in direct sunlight), though it would take roughly 3-4 days to bring the battery from empty to full using this method alone.
If you have a higher wattage solar panel, that recharge time will be a lot lower, so it really depends on what you have on hand. Unfortunately, a 100W panel is all I’ve got, but the H2400 is compatible with 120W, 150W, 600W, and 800W panels as well.
Ease of Use
Don’t worry, this unit is super easy to use, even if you’ve never gotten hands on with a power station before. But, using the photo above as a guide, let’s walk through some of the key functions to give you a basic understanding of what you’re working with:
On/Off
The On/Off button is pretty self-explanatory: just push and hold it for 3 seconds and the unit will switch on. However, if you have any electronics plugged into the power station, they won’t begin charging just because you turned the battery on. There’s another step you’ll have to take first, but more on that shortly.
Mode
Directly underneath the On/Off button is the Mode button. When you press it, you’ll take the power station out of its default “fast charging” mode, switching it to “slow charging” mode. If the unit is slow charging, it will charge at one quarter of the maximum allowable power.
Light
The last button underneath Mode will switch on the built-in light. This LED light is located on the back of the power station, and it comes with 4 differet settings: low beam, high beam, fast blinking, and slow blinking.
DC/USB/AC Output
Along the bottom of the power station, you’ll find the “output” section. This is where you’ll plug in your phone, your fridge, your slow cooker, or any other electronic that you want to charge and/or power.
If you look just above each output, you’ll notice a silver button: one for DC, one for USB, and one for AC. Once you’ve turned the power station on, and plugged in your device, you’ll want to press the corresponding silver button to begin the charging process.
For example, if you plugged your phone into the power station via USB, you’ll want to press the silver button above the USB output to begin charging your phone. If you don’t push the button, your phone won’t charge.
Potential Pain Points
Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a perfect product. While EBL certainly did a phenomenal job developing their 2400W power station, there is one glaring aspect that makes it rather difficult to use.
Weight
And I’ll be honest: this was an unavoidable pain point. I don’t blame EBL, because I’m genuinely not sure how they could have made the power station any lighter. Still, the unit does weigh 55 pounds, which makes it difficult to carry more than a few dozen paces at a time – unless you have a friend helping out.
My wife and I wanted to have a picnic before the end of summer, so we got the crockpot and pressure cooker out and took them to a nearby park. We thought it would be fun to make the meal outside, using the EBL H2400 as a power source for the appliances. Upon arrival, the only open picnic table was on the top of a hill, roughly 500 yards from where I parked the car.
And let me tell you, carrying the power station up that hill was pure misery. Still, it was doable (and we had a great time), but the less you need to transport it, the better.
Final Verdict
Despite being on the heavy side, the EBL H2400 power station is a force to be reckoned with. Powerful, versatile, and user-friendly, it’s a fantastic option for running appliances while camping or picnicking. And when you’re back home, you’ll be relieved to have it on hand when you need to power your fridge or sump pump during a blackout.
Is it a little pricy? Absolutely.
But in my opinion, it’s worth every cent.
Curious? Check it out below!
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