Comparison EcoFlow RIVER 3 Max vs BLUETTI AC60

- Charging station. Portable charging stations are powerful “power banks” that can establish autonomous operation of an arsenal of home appliances, organize the supply of electricity in the country, during road trips or forays into nature, and charge many mobile phones overnight. Charging stations differ from traditional UPSs in their automatic operating modes. The power of such devices varies widely from approximately 100 to 3600 W. Mobile stations are charged from a regular household outlet, solar panels, car cigarette lighter socket, generator, or via a USB type C port with Power Delivery support. As for the configuration, the charging station can be supplied either by itself or additionally with a solar panel, battery pack, inverter or inverter and solar panel. In addition to the built-in battery of the charging station, you can also purchase a battery pack separately.

— Battery pack. An additional battery pack to increase the total energy capacity of the charging station and, as a result, extend the period of autonomous power supply to consumers. Often, battery packs are produced for a specific model or family of charging stations in accordance with the dimensions of the device. Their design, as a rule, is stacked: a block with an additional battery is connected to the charging station f...rom below or from the side.

— Charging station with battery pack. The standard configuration of such charging stations includes an additional battery pack, which allows you to increase the energy intensity of the device. Note that, if necessary, the additional battery can be easily detached from the charging station and it can be used without an external battery.

— Charging station with solar panel. Charging stations with a complete solar panel suggest the possibility of replenishing energy reserves in battery cells from the celestial body. Out of the box, they come with a folding solar panel that can be deployed on a sunny lawn and charge the device when there is no electricity in the outlet. Depending on the power of the charging station and solar panel, as well as weather conditions and daylight hours, the charging procedure can last from several hours to a full daylight hours (or even more).

- With an inverter. The delivery set of such charging stations includes an inverter, which is used to convert direct power energy from solar panels into alternating power for domestic needs. Note that in this case it is assumed that there is only one inverter - solar panels for charging a portable power station from the rays of the heavenly body will need to be purchased separately. Charging stations with an inverter and a solar panel are also available (see below).

— With inverter and solar panel. Advanced configuration, which implies the presence of a charging station, one or more solar panels and an inverter for converting energy from them. In this form, the portable power station impresses with its energy independence - it can be charged directly from the sun’s rays, even during a long absence of electricity in the outlets, and the charging station is ready for this right out of the box.

The delay (usually in milliseconds) between the power going out from the outlet and the moment when the station starts feeding connected devices from its battery, maintaining "pass-through" power. The shorter this time, the higher the chance that devices won't notice the drop at all: for routers, cameras, NAS, and PCs, this is critical because a long pause can cause a reboot, loss of connection, or even filesystem errors. Essentially, this is the same parameter as in a classic UPS, but for charging stations, it greatly depends on implementation: models with a more "UPS-like" switching scheme switch considerably faster, while some stations formally have a UPS mode but actually create a noticeable break or activate the output only after "realizing" the network's loss. In practice, this point helps distinguish a charging station that is truly suitable as a UPS for sensitive electronics from an option "for lights and charging": for example, for home internet and video surveillance, minimal switching time is important, while for lamps, charging phones, or a heater, a brief pause is typically not critical.

Total number of outlets with output voltage. This is, in fact, the number of devices that can be simultaneously connected to the charging station without the use of splitters, extension cords and carriers. Accordingly, weaker charging stations have one or two sockets in their submission. Powerful charging stations already have three or more sockets “on board”.

Full-size USB-A connectors are popular in computer technology, commonly used in charging adapters for 230 V household networks and 12 V car sockets. These outputs have become widespread in charging stations for charging gadgets.

— The total number of such ports can be quite varied (1 USB, 2 connectors, 3 ports, and even 4), as they allow for charging and, in some cases, powering various low-power devices — smartphones, tablets, power banks, lamps, and more.

— Current Strength. The maximum current delivered through the USB-A connector to the charging device. Note that different ports of the charging station may output different currents (for example, 1.5 A and 2.1 A). In such cases, the highest current strength is usually specified.

— Power. The maximum output power in watts (W) that the charging station is capable of delivering through the USB-A connector to a single charging gadget.

USB type C ports are smaller compared to classic USB ports and have a convenient reversible design that allows connecting the plug either way. USB type C was initially created to implement various advanced features: increased power, fast charging technologies, etc.

Since the port is relatively new and quite powerful (you can find USB type C with 60W, even 100W and 140W), the total number of such connectors is often limited to one port, or sometimes two).

— Current. The maximum current delivered through the USB type C port to the device being charged. Note that different ports of a charging station may deliver different currents (for example, 1.5A and 2.1A). In such cases, the highest current is usually specified.

— Power. The maximum power in watts (W) that the charging station can deliver to one charging gadget. The high output power of the USB type C port allows for faster charging. However, the device being charged must support the corresponding power; otherwise, the speed of the process will be limited by the gadget's specifications.

In wireless charging mode, energy is transferred to the gadget being charged through an inductive surface, which is usually built into the upper plane of the charging station case. There can be one slot for wireless charging or several of them are provided. The range of this technology does not exceed a few centimeters. However, this method of charging eliminates the fuss with wires and reduces wear on the connectors. One of the key disadvantages of this format is considered to be low power and, accordingly, slow charging speed.

Power connector with two round connectors, used to replenish energy reserves in the battery cells of the charging station. For the most part, the input port of the XT60 is for charging the device from solar panels using the appropriate cable.

Additional input connectors provided in the design of the charging station in addition to those described above.

Nominal battery capacity, in fact - the amount of energy that is supposed to be stored. The larger it is, the longer the battery life of the charging station will be, all other things being equal. On the other hand, this parameter also affects the dimensions, weight and price of the battery, despite the fact that an energy-intensive battery is not always required. By the indicator of capacity in watt-hours, you can compare batteries with each other.