Emergency 🔌 Backup: Portable Power Stations (Buying Guide) vs Gas Generators + OUKITEL P2001 Review

Are portable power stations really able to replace gas generators? What are their limitations? What appliances can high end power stations run? How long will the charge last? What are some situations where power stations are most important? Who needs them the most?

This is the video to watch if you're brand new to the concept. If you're trying to show someone why power stations might be worth the investment, this is the video to share!

00:00 - Are you prepared? Why you need back up power.
01:30 - OUKITEL P2001 Power Station: Intro + Unboxing
02:25 - What is a portable power station?
03:14 - Power Stations vs Gas Generators
04:18 - Where to use a power station?
06:29 - OUKITEL P2001: Feature Review
08:55 - Power Station Buying Guide: Specs
10:35 - How long will a power station REALLY run?
12:32 - Power Stations: Estimating Power Demands
14:29 - Power Stations: Charging features, Solar panels, Battery chemistry
15:50 - Power Station Buying Guide: Model Comparisons
17:45 - Final thoughts on the P2001 power station

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PRODUCT LINKS (# CommissionsEarned)
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Best Value: OUKITEL P2001
Discount Code: BABKKX6I

Other Power Stations:

Anker 757

BLUETTI AC200P

Energizer 2100W

ECOFLOW Delta Max (2000)

BALDR Portable Solar Panel

KillAWatt Meter

USB LED Light Bulbs

Electric Hot Plate

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For information on how to prepare for disasters & emergencies:

#albopepper #BeReady #PowerStation #PrepTips #WinterStorm #prepper #SolarGenerator #BuyingGuides

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[Albopepper]

These are the 2 products used to make up my solar generator:
(# CommissionsEarned)

Best Value: OUKITEL P2001
Discount Code: BABKKX6I

BALDR Portable Solar Panel

See my video description for additional links!

[jasonoid-official]

This was an EXCELLENT video covering what a power station is and why you'd want to get one. HUGE thumbs up on your video and testing! :)

[teenaneuner]

Hey, Al, This was a very interesting video. We live in a rural area and have been thinking about getting something for emergency situations. For years we have had our electricity go off during the winter because of ice or snow causing lines to go down. Then in the summer there are storms causing trees to break and knock down lines. We have had to huddle around a kerosun heater for hours all the while hoping our pipes didn't freeze and burst. We also have a well with a pump which left us with no significant amount of water to use when again, the power suddenly goes out. Needless to say it was easy to see ourselves in many of the situations you showed. Too many times people have had to suffer through harrowing circumstances. This type of product is almost becoming a real necessity. Thanx again for such a well rounded and unbiased video. You have really helped us to think more seriously about the importance of being prepared before it's too late.

[jonleiend]

I built a DIY version of this last year. It worked really well while I was replacing the service entrance for the part of my property that powers my well pump.

[asianlovebug]

New and improved YouTube channel here!!!! Subscribed

[beepboop]

This video kept my interest from start to finish.So much work and research went into it. Think I need one! 👍👍. GOOD JOB..!!

[NatureZone]

Excellent video! Perfect for my parents!

[busygirl]

Great video thanks. You put a lot of work into it and now I have a much better understanding how to utilize them.

[nodescriptionavailable]

Albo! One of my favorite and least prolific youtubers, I've been sitting on a 100 watt panel I bought for experimental purposes, was thinking about getting the marine battery set up going and what not, my how things have changed since I bought that panel... ...8 years ago! Lol, still in box. Arizona sun is plentiful but so is extreme heat, thanks for the video, I just started it but I know you'll be thorough 😃

[junkerzn]

Double thumbs up for using both generator and power station together. You want both. You want the power station to serve continuous, quiet power and give you a day's worth of backup for selected critical devices on its own. And you want a generator that you only have to run 2-3 hours a day to charge up the power station in case of an extended outage.

What you don't want is to depend on a generator alone during an emergency. It wastes fuel when it has to be left on all the time and its noisy. You'll actually use far less gasoline only running the generator 2-3 hours a day at 1100W to charge the power station than using the generator 24x7 constantly wasting energy running small loads. And on top of that, sure, have solar panels too.... having panels allows you to save gasoline and during an emergency that's important.

The UPS function is awesome. Kudos on that classic cooler-master PC case I saw in your video by the way. I've actually gotten rid of my old APC units... and no love lost with those blasted lead-acid gel cells that wouldn't let you know they failed until an actual emergency occurs. In anycase, the P2001's UPS switching time is possibly the best on the market, less than 10mS (basically half a cycle on the zero-crossing of the AC waveform). You can't get much better short of buying a high-end dedicated UPS that synchronizes the inverter with the mains. Most other power stations with UPS or UPS-like features have much slower switching times and will glitch devices.

The parasitic draw with the AC inverter on for my P2001 is 15-20W or so. This is inline with other units with this wattage output. Generally speaking if you want low parasitic losses you have to stick to the DC outputs. For example, I have a little GoLabs running my cable modem in the garage and since the cable modem takes a 12VDC input I just connect the GoLabs DC output directly to the cable modem and don't use the wall brick at all. It can run that cable modem (which draws 5W or so) for 2-3 days.

On the flip side, this vampire current is actually really good if you happen to be using the P2001 in a cold environment because it will keep the battery at a decent temperature.

-Matt

[davenooner]

Good job! I saw nothing you missed. I of course made my own battery banks and whole setup. Our total battery bank capacity is over 20 Kwh. I did switch to LiFePo4 on the last 10 plus Kwh bank. So I run the well pump and some other things on the old lead acids until the day they will die off. With 1.6 Kwh solar and two backup generators, we should be able to keep our mini farm running for a while. It is a start for now. Once again...good job sir.

[Moes_Prep_and_Tech]

Jasonoid brought me here, excellent video, Especially the Parasitic Power draw, I'm waiting for somebody to make a chart of those one day

[davesterchele]

I have an Ego 4 battery slot Nexus that I use as a battery charger and as a power station. Works great, but it's heavy and does not have pass-thru charging and the solar charging system is very limited and relatively expensive. Still, I'm glad I have it. Since I have a bunch of batteries that sit on a shelf, I can one by one swap them in and out when using the Nexus for power. I would definitely NOT recommend it to use as just a power station, but if you happen to have a bunch of EGO batteries, it's worth getting in my opinion.

[chrisvanderwoerd]

As always an excellent, informative video. The only problem with your YouTube site is you don't have enough videos! I live in California and have a Tesla Powerwall so I usually don't even know if there is a power outage. However, it has it's limitations too. It can only handle the full house load for 12+ hours. But I suppose it would keep the refrigerators going a day or two if we didn't use any other power. And if it's cloudy or foggy, we may only get a partial, or no charge. So as much as I would like to be off grid, I'm glad it's hooked up to the utility company.

[issysissypoo]

A portable power station can definitely be a beneficial product in my life. Especially because of the erratic weather.

[kele]

I've watched a lot of "solar generator" videos (mostly for RV and van life, but I'm in a home). If I had the money, I'd buy the Bluetti AC500 right this minute. More than one in fact. Love that you're using one! Thanks for the video!!

[RDG]

Mate, could you check does the PE(ground) on sockets pass through from input socket to output sockets?
On my station, which is the same station but with other name, it doesn't. But in disassembly video I saw that there is a PE on output sceme with sockets, bit it doesn't have any connection with the PE on input socket. I just thinking do I need connect them, but lose the waranty becouse of disassemble of the station

[debbiee]

GREAT info !! more wonderful videos please

[davenooner]

Oh ... and yes your thinking the right way...watt hours is the way to think. If you use 100 watts for one hour you need to replace it with a charge of 100 watts input for one hour, or 50 watts input for 2 hours. Plus any losses in the system, like 10% or more. It is all about the math.

[Aranimda]

I live in a flat. No land or garden to put a fuel powered generator. Yes, I could put one on my balcony but it would disturb my neighbors with engine noise. So I went with a safe LiFePO4 power station and it is great. No noise, no fumes, 3000 watt, ups mode and everything indoors.