Anker 521 Portable Power Station Upgraded with LiFePO4 Battery, 256Wh 6-Port PowerHouse, 300W (Peak 600W) Solar Generator (Solar Panel Optional), 2 AC Outlets, 60W USB-C PD Output, Outdoor Generator

I bought this as an auxiliary power source for use in a vehicle--I need to carry a 12 volt refrigerator with me (special dietary needs, road food, etc.), and occasionally charge up Milwaukee tool or DSLR batteries even if the vehicle is not running. The packaging of the 521 is ideal, although I wish the two 120V outlets had "real" 3-prong outlets. The size is perfect when a vehicle is loaded up--it uses little space. I ran two tests with the refrigerator connected to the 12 volt outlet. The refrigerator operates in both ECO and MAX modes. The ECO mode draws 30-35 watts while operating, while the MAX runs at anywhere from 40-50 watts. I ran the refrigerator indoors somewhat near a heat outlet, to simulate being inside a warm vehicle. The refrigerator is rated to deliver 256Wh of power, so I calculated that worst case would be the refrigerator running constantly for 5.5 hours. Turns out that with the refrigerator cycling on and off, it ran over 20 hours before the battery was down to about 2-4% capacity. EDIT: I had a charging issue that was partly my own misunderstanding and partly my car's wiring. I was at first unsuccessful in getting the 521 to charge from both inputs. First, I had to use a USB-C PD charger, which provides higher voltages than standard USB chargers. This allowed a full 65 watts on the USB-C input for charging. But I would add the 120 volt charger that came with the 521 in tandem with the USB-C charger wasn't getting the ~120 watts of charging. I later realized that for battery health, the 120 watt charging through both DC inputs only happens when the battery's state of charge is lower. If it's nearly fully charged, it cuts back to only a single DC input. Yet, I still could not get both to work in the car. I have a 150 watt 120-volt inverter in the car, which plugs into a rear accessory outlet using a lighter plug. It turns out that if I have both the 521's 120 volt charger and a USB-C PD charger plugged into the inverter, the inverter stops working. Likewise, if I use a separate USB-C charger that plugs into the accessory outlet (I have a 1:3 adapter with a voltage readout), the inverter cuts out. It seems the inverter is cutting out when voltage drops below a nominal value like 12.8 volts. In essence, the wiring from the fuse box to the accessory outlet cannot provide full wattage without voltage sag. When I plug the USB-C PD adapter into an accessory outlet in the center console (which is on its own 15 amp circuit), I can get 120 watts of charging to the 521. I will wire up my own circuit with 6-gauge wire to run a 300 or 400 watt inverter and a pair of accessory outlets, as this will eliminate the voltage drop. With ~120 watts, this provides a quicker recovery for the battery while the refrigerator is operating, which is exactly what I needed.

I've unboxed and charged up my Anker 521 PowerHouse and it's pretty awesome. It's pretty light for what it is. Seems to be pretty sturdy as far as electronics go. I charged it up fully with the wall plug to 100% like it said to do. (likely to calibrate the battery management system so the battery % is accurate and the actual capacity is maximized) I powered a bunch of LED AC lights while charging my laptop, phone, a smaller anker powerbank, and some other devices plugged into the car power hole and it lasted for several hours. I feel like it actually lasted longer than I expected for not being a huge device. It will power LED lights for many hours. I bought some Ultra efficient 4 Watt Philips LED bulbs and it says it will power two lamps with those bulbs for over 16.2 hours at 90% State of Charge!! Great for power outages or for staying in off the grid Airbnbs which is what I bought this power station for. I saw another review that stated it draws power even when nothing is plugged in and after testing it I've found that isn't the case unless you have the AC outlet button turned on when you aren't using the AC outlets so it's a none issue. In case you are curious it said it was drawing 5W when there was nothing plugged in and the AC outlets were turned on but then when I plugged in two 4 Watt LED lamps it said it was putting out 10 Watts so it seems it's more efficient with a load but again you can use the other ports without having the AC outlets turned on and there's no extra draw. This is a none issue. It seems to charge up in the timeframe advertised with the wall plug charger but I haven't tried the dual plugs using that in combination with the USB-C plug on the front. If that doesn't work as advertised I'll update my review. I like the light on the front and handle on top but I do wish there was a carry case available for it. Maybe there is but it wasn't listed with it on the anker website so I'm assuming there isn't. The light on it is nice and the SOS feature is setup in a great way, I like that you just do a quick press to turn on and off the light and to activate the SOS mode you have to hold the button for 2 seconds so you don't have to cycle through either of those modes to get to the other. I would recommend this, it seems like it's pretty fool-proof and seems like it'll automatically shutoff if you try to charge it in damaging temperatures so it's pretty worry free as long as you don't store it with a low state of charge for long periods which can damage all Lithium based batteries.

I bought this for frequent trips to the Everglades. It works amazing. You can get about 15 phone charges out of it. I can charge all three batteries on my dji air3s from dead to full once. It can run multiple things at once and shows your current output. Has a built in light that is easy to use. The outlet and car port must be turned on manually. I did try to overload the battery and it auto shut off. Battery can be charged in about an hour and seems to hold a full charge well (no leakage). You will hear the fan turn on but it’s not loud at all. I paid $130 on sell and I’m very happy with it Hand for size

Initial Review: I have been looking for a smaller "solar generator" that will be used daily to transfer solar power from my big, fixed, LFP battery - the later sits in my basement connected to panels on the side of my house. Key features needed were easy to carry, relatively fast charging, pass-through charging, PD output - plus the standard AC, 12V, and USB outputs. The Anker fit all of these plus the LFP battery is an advantage for a unit that will get cycled many times a week. I've had it for a week now, and it does basically do what I want, but it has limitations. The biggest is the lack of a real "off" mode: if I fully charge it and leave it in economy mode with all ports off it still uses 1 to 2% per day. My EcoFlow units and Jackery units have a true off and drop by less than that in a week. For that alone it drops 2 stars. More minor concerns: 1. Max AC ouput is only 200W, so I can't run anything needing more than that. Many units, even with the relatively small battery in this unit, can put out more than that. 2. The max power input is about 65W (by solar, AC, or PD); yes, I can get around that by combining solar/AC with PD input, but I wish I could use higher solar input so I could get full advantage from at least a 100W panel. Note that when looking at the solar input side I couldn't find anything about the max input voltage - while you can use a panel providing more current than the max input (it will only take what it can use) excess voltage can fry a unit. I looked in the manual and on the Web site and couldn't find anything. I sent an email to support, asking for the max VOC allowed, and their response was I could use a "any (12V-28V) solar charger with DC 7909 Male connector" - not a great response as a solar charger typically has a controller, which would conflict with the one in the unit, and there are lots of MC4 to DC7909 adapters available (and no mention that the voltage that matters is the VOC). Still, it means I can use my "12V" panels that have VOCs from 18V to 25V (a have a few panels) without problem. So, for my purpose the unit is fine for what I paid ($209) but others may be better for your needs. Final note: many focus on the 3000 cycles of the LFP over the 500+ cycles of a typical NMC unit, but for most this is irrelevant. Few will go through a charge cycle more than twice a week, which means 104 cycles a year or 5+ years to reach that 500 cycles, and even then, the battery doesn't die at 500 cycles, it just drops to 80% of the original capacity. Don't buy one just because it has LFP unless you charge through a cycle more than twice a week. Update: I tried to charge it by solar for the first time today. I tried two different panels, both of which work with my Jackery 240, and neither worked with this unit. In one case, the jack that was tight in the Jacker wobbled in the Anker, so it may be a connector issue with both. I've contacted tech support. I also saw some odd behavior with AC output yesterday: I tried to top up my EcoFlow unit from 75% to 80% for storage, plugging it in to the Anker. The EcoFlow was set to slow charge mode, so it should have pulled well under 200W, yet it just sat there clicking, unable to pull enough power to start. I was able to charge it with the 12V outlet from the Anker, but need to test the AC output more; maybe the EcoFlow pulled more than expected to start charging by AC. Update 5/21. I can't charge this with solar. Tech support said I need a 7909 connector, not the 8mm one which is pretty standard - and they don't sell a cable for solar charging or have one to recommend. I bought an 8mm to 7909 adapter and tried that today: doesn't fit. So, the Anker is going back. So much potential here, from a company that is normally great, but this one product is flawed. Update 5/30. After a lot of communication with Anker tech support, they provided one of their solar panels to try. It is a nice panel and works well with their unit and with my EcoFlow unit. I think that the solar charging issue I have comes down to an oddity with the connector, and if you have the right adapter the unit charges well with solar (within the limits of the 65W max input). Their panel comes with the adapter, and I assume that such adapters will be more readily available soon. So, if you don't need solar charging or either buy their panel or find the right adapter, it is a good unit. Not perfect because of the 65W solar limit and 200W max output, but pretty good, and it comes with great tech support. So my, my review goes up to 4 stars. Update Sept 19, 2022: The unit has been in use daily, primarily to top up my phone, tablet, and similar things, plus to top up tool batteries by DC or AC output. Working fine. I did some capacity tests with a 70W bulb and was pleased to see that it has a pretty efficient AC inverter, with low power loss. Another positive: with the right adapter cable, I can reliably charge this at 65W by solar, in addition to DC and AC. But a big negative: the display cannot track low power/USB usage. If all I do is use it for topping up phones and tablets by USB all week, it will stay at 99% and then switch off at zero. I don't see the same with problem with AC usage. (Recalibrating by a full charge, drain until power off, and a full charge, makes no difference.) Not a huge issue for me: when it dies unexpectedly from USB use I'll just use another battery unit while this one is being charged, but it is a problem.

I purchased this specifically to run an Airmini CPAP while camping, and I desired 2 nights of capacity. I don’t review many products, but because this one matched up with my camping CPAP needs perfectly, decided to write one. My testing at home, using the regular Airmini AC adapter (not the DC adapter for Airmini, I haven’t bought one of those yet) resulted in 66% of charge left after one 8 hour night of use. My CPAP pressure is between 8 and 9. I recently used the Anker 521 for two nights while camping, again with the standard AC Airmini adapter. I used the built in light for about 10 mins, but didn’t charge any phones or other devices. I only plugged in the AC adapter when I was going to use the Airmini, and unplugged it when I got up in the morning. The first night was 6hrs 45 min of Airmini CPAP use, the second night 9 hours 20 min. After both nights, the charge was 38%. The temp the first night was in the high 20s F, and the second night, low 30s F. So I didn’t experience any loss of capacity due to the lower temperatures than my at home testing. Right now I’m very pleased with the Anker box. Next trip I will use the built in light longer and probably charge my phone a few times. Things I really like about the Anker 521, and why I chose it for my Airmini power supply: Can turn on or off different sections of the power box, to save power when not using the other types of power (12v, USB, AC, etc) Has a trickle charge (regular) and eco mode (my terms, can’t remember the actual Anker terms) for power output modes. In regular, even if your device doesn’t draw much power, the Anker stays on. I wanted this, as many battery boxes would turn off after 3-4 hours because someone’s CPAP didn’t draw enough current, and the battery box then turned off. I wanted it on, when I told it to be on! LiFePo4 battery is supposedly safer than standard Li batteries. Built in light was plenty to see inside my tent. Weight and size I considered to be great given the power output. I believe the unit can be plugged into the wall and also powering devices, performing like an UPS. I don’t need this currently, so didn’t test it, so can’t say for sure. Cons: none yet! I’d love to try this with a solar panel, but don’t have one yet. Conclusion: I’d buy it again!

Anker has done it again by putting another great product out there!! I finally did the test I was waiting for 😁 This baby charges pretty quick no matter what percentage its on......mine was at 16% & it only took 1.5 hrs to charge back to 100%, that was car charging, awesome!! Performance is flawless 👍 I've charged my phone numerous times, my tablet, even my portable solar chargers (2) & my usb portable fans, this box lasted 4 whole days on 1 charge 😁 Portability is great & lightweight, looks heavy but it's not! It's a great little box that gives you plenty of uses which has 2 usb ports, 1 c port, has 2 outlet plugs, 1 car socket which works very fast!! I got it for $200, very good value for the money. You can take this box anywhere you need charging, has eco mode, very bright light.....Overall I'm extremely happy w/this charger, money well spent 😁 THANK YOU ANKER for another great product you've made, I have several of your products & I ❤️ them all....Job well done on this box!!! I HIGHLY recommend especially to the campers & hikers, it won't disappoint you!!!

Buggy and doesn't match expected capacity... Already owning a Jackery 240, I chose this for my second power supply of this size because of its LiFEPO batteries and nifty front facing light, with the understanding it would be a little bigger and heavier due to battery chemistry but also have an extra 16 watt hours of power and all the safety/endurability improvements of that battery chemistry. After all, LiFE batteries last for several times as many charge/discharge cycles as standard lithium ion (like in the Jackery 240) and are more heat tolerant before they enter into a runaway reaction (i.e. overheat and spontaneously combust). It's way too early to confirm that this battery system can manage the 3,000 cycles that Anker claims and most other manufacturers only claim 2,500 cycles for theirs, but I like the warm white front facing LED lamp and still hope the unit will last a long time. I also hope that it's as durable as they claim, as that was another selling point. This is where my positive impressions end, unfortunately. Another task for this unit was to replace the Jackery 160 that I'd kept by my desk with my internet router and PC monitor plugged into it, serving as a UPS (uninterruptable power supply) so that short blackouts wouldn't disrupt my working remotely from home. For one of these units to do this they must have "pass through" charging, meaning that they can simultaneously charge or keep their internal batteries topped up while also powering whatever's plugged into them. Some lesser/older models don't have this feature, so if you use them to power something and then plug them in to recharge themselves, they'll shut off the power to whatever's plugged into them. Pass through is great for having instant backup power and/or using them to power things during rolling blackouts, as they can charge themselves during the periods when the power is on without you having to intervene. This provides much better peace of mind when you're using the device to run something critical in a power outage rather than just out camping. My two Jackerys work great for this and so does a Bluetti I also own. But with the Anker, regardless of whether I set power saving or "eco mode" on or off, it would cut the inverter intermittently when left plugged in. It does this to things powered via USB as well only, because there's no on/off for the USB outputs, they resume receiving power after a moment's pause. I thought I'd received a bad unit and returned it for a new one but the replacement behaves identically. And speaking of plugging it in, compared to the other portable power stations I own, this one's transformer is on the plug itself, gets quite hot and uses a thinner gauge cable between itself and the unit. Cheap. FYI: The input barrel plug is the same size as the ones for the Bluetti EB70S and Jackery 160 and 240 units. Still on that topic, you can indeed charge the Anker via both its charger and a USB-C cable, simultaneously. Using my iPad charger I managed to push the 62 watts from the AC adapter up to 77 combined. A more powerful USB-C charger pushed this over 100 watts. But one of the advantages of the LiFE chemistry is that it can charge faster, so why the cheap power supply that outputs the same as the Jackery 240 with its inferior battery chemistry in the first place? The up side of this is that you can charge it via USB-C if you lose the AC adapter or use a solar panel with only USB outputs. Finally, the capacity. It's bigger and heavier than the Jackery 240 and boasts 256 watt hours of capacity to the Jackery's 240 wh. Yet with them both fully charged and then used to power window fans drawing 49 watts each, why was the Anker showing 61% battery remaining when the Jackery was reporting 72% left? I guess that doesn't necessarily mean that they're lying about the unit's capacity, but if they're not then the inverter is definitely significantly less efficient in the Anker -- And if that's the case, why does it read the same outgoing wattage? So to wrap up: Compared to a $30 less expensive Jackery 240 with older battery tech it's bigger and heavier and doesn't work properly as a UPS. It claims to have over 6% greater battery capacity yet actually revealed itself to be 15% its lesser. With LiFE cells rated at 2,500 full charge/discharge cycles before they drop to 80% capacity vs. standard lithium ion batteries only having 500, I suppose they'll be capacity equals in 500-700ish full cycles. Son, I am disappoint. UPDATE 2022.12.29: A new fun thing about this is that it also now shows 100% for around half of a discharge cycle, then increments down to a bit below 50%, then suddenly cuts power and reports a flashing 1% remaining. Charging with both inputs it prematurely disables the USB input and shows 99% for a large portion of the charge cycle while the AC charging brick flirts with 160 F temps. They really just don't seem to have implemented anything properly and at this point I regret the purchase and have dropped my rating to one star -- And that's having paid less than what it's going for now, now that the $50 coupon is no longer available. UPDATE 2025.04.05 Aaaaand...It's dead. I've probably cycled this 100 times over the last few years, and today it continually tells me it has 100% battery but then flashes 1% when I try to use the power. Plugging a USB C cable in to charge it, it refuses to accept the charge because it apparently thinks it's fully charged already. The reset button on the back didn't do anything to remedy the situation. The battery cells may support 3,000 cycles, but the electronics sure don't. Fortunately, I still have the Bluetti power station that I mentioned in my first review. It's seen more usage than the Anker and works flawlessly to this day.

I bought this to help us get through the power outages we seem to have on an ever increasing frequency. I used it to power some lights, recharge phone, and run our very small tv (which we use to get news and weather info). It works great! I used our car to recharge it. I plan to buy a bigger version with solar panels! This is an excellent quality product.

I recently purchased the Anker Portable Power Station, and I am thoroughly impressed with its performance. As someone who frequently camps and goes on outdoor adventures, having a reliable power source is crucial. This power station has exceeded my expectations in every way. Key Features: High Capacity: With a 256Wh capacity, this power station can charge my phone multiple times, power my laptop, and even run small appliances like a mini fridge for several hours. It's perfect for extended trips off the grid. Multiple Outputs: The variety of charging options (AC outlet, USB-A, USB-C, and DC car port) is fantastic. I can charge everything from my smartphone to my drone to my laptop without any issues. Compact & Portable: The design is sleek and portable, and at just under 7 lbs, it's easy to carry in a backpack or store in my car. It’s also surprisingly quiet when in use—no loud fan noise like some other power stations I’ve used. Fast Charging: I was amazed at how quickly this power station charges both itself and devices. It’s perfect for quickly topping off my devices between outings or after a long day. Solid Build Quality: The Anker brand has a reputation for quality, and this power station definitely lives up to it. It feels sturdy and well-made, with a durable outer shell that gives me confidence it’ll hold up over time. Cons: The price is a bit higher compared to some other options on the market, but in my opinion, it’s worth it for the reliability, efficiency, and convenience it offers. It could benefit from a higher power output if you plan to use larger appliances, but for most everyday electronics, it does the job perfectly. Overall, I highly recommend the Anker Portable Power Station to anyone looking for a dependable and efficient power solution while on the go. Whether you're heading out for a camping trip, road trip, or just need a backup power source for emergencies, this power station has you covered!

I bring this with me when doing craft shows and camping and it’s way better than carrying around a bunch of power banks. Recharged multiple devices multiple times and still had juice left over. Only thing it hasn’t been able to power was a small home printer.

I found this works excellent and as advertised. I purchased this shortly after a power outage caused by an ice storm here in Ontario Canada and have given it a full test on how well it charges, works for charging and powering other devices finding it does what I need for the most part. Great item for camping or keeping things like cell phones and laptops running as well as providing a light during emergencies at home or while away.

The power station work well, I have plugged in an extension cord with other devices and it held up pretty good. The one thing that I’m happy about is that if I lose power it will give me temporary power for a while. As well that fact that it also has a Solar generator, another option to electricity when in need of it.

J'ai commandé ce produit dans le but de gonfler mon paddleboard soit par prise classique soit avec une prise 12 volts et ça fonctionne très bien. De plus la lumière est très pratique le soir. Je m'en suis servi depuis à d'autres occasions et c'est vraiment parfait et le transport est très facile.