I’ve reviewed a few portable power stations, which are big rechargeable batteries you can use to power your stuff if the electricity goes out or you are away from any sources of power (off the grid).
As the batteries inside these power stations have increased in capacity, and companies have figured out a way to recharge them faster and chain multiple batteries together, these systems have become a viable option for powering your entire home for days at a time. All it takes is a lot of money.
For the last few months, I’ve been testing the Zendure SuperBase V, a portable power station that uses semi-solid-state batteries. The SuperBase V has a battery capacity of 6,438 Watt-hours of stored power and it can provide up to 3,800 watts of power out to your devices. Two SuperBase V units can be chained together to provide an output of 7,600 watts of power. They have the ability to power any single device up to 5,000 watts. The power stations can provide 120-volt and 240-volt power.
According to Zendure, their semi-solid-state batteries can hold up to 42 percent more energy per pound than lithium ion phosphate batteries and they are less likely to pose a safety hazard if damaged.
The SuperBase V can recharge from multiple sources, including solar panels and AC (plugging it into a wall outlet). If you max out the solar and AC inputs, you can charge it up fully in an hour. It can handle up to 3,000 watts of solar, 3,600 watts of AC power and 3,600 watts from an EV car charger.
The SuperBase V is more than just a portable power station. You can purchase additional satellite expansion modules (extra batteries) to add to the capacity of the system. Each satellite battery provides an additional 6,438 Wh of power and they can stack on top of each other. You can add up to four additional satellite batteries to each SuperBase V.
In the examples from Zendure, you can pair two SuperBase V base units with four satellite batteries on each, for a total of 64,380 Wh of power.
The SuperBase V and satellite batteries can be wired to your house with an optional Smart Home Panel to provide instant backup power to your home, should the electricity go out.
The batteries can also be used to charge an electric vehicle.
The SuperBase V has 16 power outlets to charge your stuff. There are four 15-amp AC outlets, one 16A 240v outlet, one TT-30 (30A RV outlet), four USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, one Anderson DC output, a 12v DC port (cigarette lighter port) and two 5521 DC outputs.
It can act as a uninterrupted power source, as three of the outlets will kick on with no interruption in power delivery if the electricity goes out.
Let’s talk for a minute about the size of the SuperBase V.
It’s big.
I’d estimate it to the size of a fairly large suitcase and it weighs 130 pounds. Luckily, it is on four wheels, and the rear wheels are motorized, so when you pull it, small motors in the rear wheels push it along like a self-propelled lawnmower.
It is the heaviest power station I’ve ever reviewed. My house has four steps up to the front door, and it was all I could do to get the SuperBase V up into my house. Zendure also sent along one satellite battery, which weighs 121 pounds. Since the satellite battery clips to the top of the SuperBase V, the combined unit weighs just over 250 pounds. No wonder it arrived at my house on a pallet. Rolling it around my house is like trying to lead a baby rhino around on a leash.
I am writing so much about the weight because if your power goes out and you put the SuperBase V into use, you’ll need to recharge it, which may mean taking it outside to use solar power or taking it to a location away from your house to plug it in, perhaps at an EV charging station. You may need help getting it out of your house or loaded into a car or truck.
Display
The power station has an LED display to show everything you could want to know, including percentage of charge, input and output power in realtime, remaining battery life in hours and minutes, and remaining charge time. It also shows which banks of outputs are active, any error states, such as battery failure, high or low temperature warnings and any error codes.
You’ll also see icons for active Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connections, fan status, firmware updates and if the unit is in child lock mode.
There is a companion app for your smartphone to let you see a live view of all the power station information, including battery status and charging level, how much power is going in and out and what each port is doing.
Pricing
The SuperBase V6400 is currently $4,899, with satellite batteries costing $3,100. A maxed out system of one V6400 and four satellite batteries is currently $20,686. If you double that to a system with two V6400s and eight satellites and a smart home panel will set you back $44,829.
The SuperBase V has something for everyone. If you want a nice (yet large) power station on hand, you can do that. If you want a maxed out system to power your home or your electric vehicle, you can do that, too.
This is a great system that can power absolutely anything, including your washer and dryer or your home’s heat or air conditioning system. The length of time that stuff will run will depend on how much you want to spend.
