Bluetti AC180 Power Station
1,152 Wh LiFePO₄, 1,800W Max AC, 100W USB-C, 4×15W USB-A, 15W wireless, 12V DC/10A & Ultrafast AC Charging
Bluetti AC180 Power Station (1,152 Wh LiFePO₄ battery, 1,800W Max AC output, 100W USB-C, 4×15W USB-A and 15W wireless outputs, 35.3 lbs./16kg, $999). bigger. I'd get mine at Amazon or at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay, or get it directly from Bluetti.
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Bluetti AC180 Power Station. bigger.
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Introduction top
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This Bluetti AC180 is a solid power station that does everything from wireless phone charging to powering hair driers, studio strobes and full-sized microwave ovens without flinching.
This can run anything you can plug into it. The only limits are that it can't run heavy loads for that long; while it easily runs a full-power hair dryer or full-sized microwave, it will only do it for about a half an hour. It probably can charge my iPhone for a month or two; how long it runs depends on how much power it draws, and it clearly reads-out how much longer for full charge or until the battery is dead right below the percentage on the front panel meter - or in the app.
I find power stations like these very handy not only for weathering blackouts with lots of power; they're also handier to grab than an extension cord whenever and wherever I need power, like in the yard for a party, working under a car in the garage, working behind any sort of equipment or any odd or remote place I need temporary power.
If you want to run longer, feel free to buy expansion batteries that work with this power station.
It charges fast from AC. Even in its regular (not Turbo) charge mode, mine charges from 0% to 100% in an hour and 21 minutes. Bravo!
It works great and is well designed and well behaved. It's bigger and heavier than the Jackery Explorer 1000 which has almost as much battery capacity, but this AC180 has 80% more maximum power output and also has an internal ultrafast AC charging system.
Just plug in an AC power cord (no adapter needed) and it can charge in just an hour if you need it! It charges at up to 500W from its DC (solar) input, and also can work as a basic uninterruptible power system (UPS) for simple things like lighting, small fridges or fans.
If you need more than 1,800W for short periods with resistive loads, there's a "Power Lift" mode that lets it supply up to 2,700W of AC power.
I'd get my Bluetti AC180 at Amazon or at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Bluetti AC180 Power Station. bigger.
New intro top
New technology LiFePO₄ battery offers about 2,500 charge cycles and is much less likely to catch fire compared to common Li-Ion batteries.
Good intro top
LiFePO₄ battery with about 3,500 charge cycles and which is much less likely to blow up compared to common Li-Ion batteries.
2,700W "Power Lift" mode.
Outputs work fine while charging, in fact, when plugged into AC it direct-connects the AC line input to the AC output and works as a simple, high-powered UPS!
Accurate and useful meters (but AC output meter only reads VA, not actual Watts).
Selectable charge rates.
Charges from two sources at once, and regulates them both proportionately depending on the selected charge rate.
Charges well from solar panels.
Super fast real-world charging from AC power. Even in the regular (not Turbo) charge mode mine charges from 0% to 100% in an hour and 21 minutes. Bravo!
Very accurate and well-regulated 120V output, not the weaker 110V output of many other sources like Jackery.
App works great; you don't even have to log in, create an account or pair bluetooth; it just goes!
5 year warranty in USA if registered with Bluetti.
Bad intro top
Backlit LCD hard to read outdoors (looks great inside).
Backlit LCD turns off after 60 seconds, after which you either have to tap the Power button to wake it up again, or use the app to read status.
The fan runs whenever AC power output exceeds about 100W, so I wouldn't want to use this where I need silence. I don't know of any generators or large power banks that don't make noise; we use extension cords and put them far away if we need quiet.
Missing intro top
"Watts" AC output meter simply reads VA, not actual Watts.
No UL safety certification, although I see FCC and TUV and other certifications.
There are no wheels and no pull-out handle (like luggage) for moving this heavy thing around.
No built-in light.
Only one USB-C output. So? Buy a multi-outlet USB-C PD charger or the Xcellon and plug it in an AC outlet if you need more USB outlets.
Specifications top
I'd get my Bluetti AC180 at Amazon or at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Battery
LiFePO₄
1,152 Wh: 32 V at 36 Ah.
Bluetti AC180 Power Station. bigger.
The four USB-A outlets are rated 15W each, for a total of two 15W outputs. I'm not sure what they're trying to say other than you're probably not going to get more than 30W at once out of all four USB-A outlets.
Connectors
AC Input
Standard IEC / HP socket.
DC Input
7.9 × 0.9mm (DC7909) coaxial socket.
Comes with a cord adapting two MC4 solar connectors to 7.9 × 0.9mm (DC7909) coaxial.
Size
13.39 × 9.72 × 12.48 inches.340 × 247 × 317 millimeters.
Weight
35.3 lbs. (16 kg).
Included
Power station as shown.
Standard AC power cord.
12V car charging (cigarette lighter) cable.
Solar Panel charging cord (two MC4 to 7.9 × 0.9mm (DC7909) coaxial).
Small manual and warranty booklets.
Warranty
5 years if registered with Bluetti.
2 years if not registered.
(this can and will vary by country).
Environment
10 - 90% RH for all conditions.
Charging
0º ~ +60º C (32º ~ +140º F).
Discharging
-20º ~ +40º C (-4º ~ +104º F), derated to 1,500 W above 30º C (86º F).
Storage
-20º ~ +40º C (-4º ~ +104º F).
Price, USA
Also at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Bluetti AC180 Power Station. bigger.
Performance top
I'd get my Bluetti AC180 at Amazon or at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Capacity
Rated capacity is accurate.
On one charge, mine can deliver a total of 943 Wh from its AC outlets, and takes 1.37 kWh to recharge back to 100% from AC power.
The geometric average of 943 and 1,370 is 1,136.6 Wh, which is close enough to the rated 1,158 Wh.
This also shows that converter and battery efficiency averages 82.965% for charge or discharge, or 68.85% overall. This is normal.
Power pack makers never highlight that you never get out what you put in. 20% is usually lost to heat while charging or discharging, and so you only get 65% to 70% out from whatever you put in.
Power
It didn't flinch in the least running a 1,600 W hair dryer, my 1,600 W microwave oven or running my 500 Ws studio strobe system, which draws an immense amount of surge power as it recycles after each flash pop.
Noise
Fan noise measures about 48 dBA at 1 meter in a typical room, which in English means it's somewhat annoying if you're close to it, but not terribly so. As an emergency supply it's fine, but for daily use I'd put it in the next room with an extension cord.
Charging
Unless you change it in the app, it charges at up to 500W from DC (specified) and up to 1,070 W (measured) from AC.
At 1,070 W from AC mine charged from 0% to 100% in an hour and 21 minutes, which is FAST! It hit 80% after just an hour, and the hours-till-charged indicator was accurate all along.
Even at this "standard" 10 A charge rate my 18 gauge 10 A power cord was warm from all the power, and my home's voltage drooped to 108V under the load.
You also can plug-in a DC source at the same time. If you do, it regulates itself to charge at about 1,100 W maximum from the two combined sources just for the sake of battery health.
There's a TURBO charge mode that runs at 1,440 W (rated, 1,450 W measured) to charge from 0% to 100% in about an hour, but this is pushing it and not suggested for regular use for the sake of the battery.
The fan runs while charging at these rates. If you want the fan to stay silent, there's a "Silent" charge mode that charges at 440 W (measured). I calculate that it ought to charge from 0% to 100% in about three hours, which is not too shabby either.
Using the 200W rated PV200 panel mine charges from 0% to 100% in about a day at an average of about 150 W.
Output Regulation
I'm very impressed: its output varies almost not at all with power drain. In fact, this AC180 is a stiffer AC supply than my own home!
While my house sockets drop to 108V when charging this at 1,100 W, the AC180 stays at a solid measured 120V regardless of power drain from zero to 1,800 W.
Meters
The meters and timers are all accurate, except one very big oversight in that the "Watts" AC output indictor is simply showing VA rather than actual Watts.
In English, while VA is the same as Watts for an electrically simple (resistive) load like a heater or incandescent light bulb, with other more electrically complex loads like fluorescent lights, electronics, computers, microwave ovens, variable-speed motors and lights on dimmers, the actual wattage delivered will be less than the indicated (VA) value.
If you want a real wattmeter, I use a P3 Kill-A-Watt brand meter.
UPS Use
There is a 20 ms (1/50 of a second) power dropout as the AC180 switches from AC line power to its own battery power.
This is fine for lights and motors and heaters, but it probably means that computers and electronics will reset as if they were turned off and turned on again when this happens, so this AC180 isn't a great idea as a UPS for advanced electronics. For that, I prefer products by made APC as they don't have a dropout as they switch.
App
The app is surprisingly good. Ignore the bad reviews from a year ago; as of August 2023 it works way better than expected.
The app just wakes up and goes, with no need to log in, no creating an account, it collects no user data and you don't even have to pair bluetooth — it just goes!
One thing missing is the time remaining indicator, but everything else works great.
Usage top
I'd get my Bluetti AC180 at Amazon or at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Charging
Use the Standard mode, which is the default. The TURBO mode charges so hard that it's not good for the battery to use it all the time.
The Silent mode takes longer, but the fan doesn't have to run. Even in Silent mode it only takes about 3 hours for a full charge.
Set these from the app, or you can use multifinger commands on the AC180 control panel.
It's fast from AC, and takes longer with the Bluetti PV200 200W Solar Panel. With the PV200 panel system mine charges from 0% to 100% in a day, which is just about perfect. Feel free to use more panels if you need it faster or work under clouds often.
Discharging
Ideally cycle it every three months to keep the battery healthy.
If you put this away for more than three months at a time, ideally do this with about 40% to 60% charge.
If you run it down to 5% or less, please recharge it as soon as you can, waiting not more than 48 hours.
App
Just download and open the app, click OFFLINE, agree to the Ts & Cs and you don't have to register or even pair bluetooth; it just goes!
UPS
The AC input is direct-connected to the AC output when there's AC power connected. If the AC power stops, it takes a blink of an eye (20 ms) to swap back to battery power.
This isn't a problem for fans or heaters or other simple things, but losing power for this short period may be enough to make your computer or other electronics reboot as if they were unplugged and plugged back in, which is what's happening. Therefore I don't suggest this as a computer UPS; use something from APC instead.
Printed Manual
See also Bluetti's User Manual.
Recommendations top
I'd get my Bluetti AC180 at Amazon or at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
This is a solid power station that can run anything you can plug into it.
The only limits are that it can't run heavy loads for that long.
While it easily runs a full-power hair dryer or full-sized microwave, it will only do it for about a half an hour. It probably can charge my iPhone for a month or two; how long it will run depends on how much power it draws, and it clearly reads-out how much longer for a charge or until the battery is dead right below the percentage on the front panel meter - or in the app.
If you want to run longer, feel free to buy expansion batteries that work with this power station.
I'd get my Bluetti AC180 at Amazon or at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
More Information top
Bluetti's page on the AC180.
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