Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 vs 1000 Plus: the expandable one or the cheaper one
Two Jackerys one word apart, holding near enough the same battery, except that one of them takes add-on packs and the other cannot. Which you want comes down to whether you will ever buy the pack.
Buy the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 unless you expect to add a battery, in which case the Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C) is the box built for it, with the caveat that we found no verified listing for the bare unit and so cannot tell you what it costs. Both land on the same verdict against this plan, Clears the best case only: each covers an efficient fridge in a cool kitchen for 8 hours, and neither covers a hard-working one without a refill partway through. The Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 is the step up if a full day is the target, and it has a verified listing at $999. Nothing on this page changes the start, because all three clear the top of this plan's surge.
The Amazon links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through one we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It does not change which units are picked. How that works.
| Model | Usable | Output | Short of worst case | Weight | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The cheaper one | Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 | 910 Wh | 1,500 W | 1,890 Wh | 24 lb | on Amazon |
| The one that grows | Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C) | 1,075 Wh | 2,000 W | 1,725 Wh | 32 lb | no verified listing |
| The step up | Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 | 1,736 Wh | 2,200 W | 1,064 Wh | 39 lb | on Amazon |
Who this is for
You are looking at two boxes whose names differ by one word, on the same shelf, for the same job: one refrigerator carried through a working-day outage of 8 hours that ends before bedtime. The question here is whether the expandable one earns the step up, and what you gain from it if you never buy a pack.
Leave if you need that fridge carried through the window at its worst. None of these three does that, and our refrigerator page lists the 8 stations we track that clear the hard case. Leave too if a furnace blower, a well pump or central air is part of the plan, because nothing on this shelf answers those. If you are cross-shopping brands rather than Jackerys, our one-kilowatt-hour class comparison puts the Explorer 1000 v2 beside Anker and EcoFlow.
Side by side, from the makers’ own documents
“Not captured” means the maker’s page we captured does not state it: a gap in our record, not a zero, and never filled from a sibling model. “No verified listing” means no Amazon listing for the bare unit passed our identity check yet.
| Model | Battery | Continuous output | Peak output | Weight | Solar input | Expandable | Warranty | Chemistry | Verified listing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 | 1,070 Wh | 1,500 W | 3,000 W | 24 lb / 10.8 kg | 400 W | no (maker states not supported) | not captured | LiFePO4 | $559 |
| Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C) | 1,265 Wh | 2,000 W | 4,000 W | 32 lb / 14.5 kg | 800 W | not captured | not captured | LiFePO4 | no verified listing |
| Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 | 2,042 Wh | 2,200 W | 4,400 W | 39 lb / 17.9 kg | 400 W | no (maker states not supported) | not captured | LiFePO4 | $999 |
Against the same plan
A refrigerator for an 8-hour working-day outage, sized on the harder end of every range.
Almost all of this plan is one compressor. Running, a fridge sits between 100 and 700 watts, which none of these boxes notices. The test is the instant the motor starts and pulls several times that for a fraction of a second, from 600 to 2,900 watts, and a station's peak rating is its only headroom then. All three Jackerys cover the top of that range, so the start decides nothing here.
The energy side is a range too. An efficient fridge in a cool kitchen cycles about a fifth of the time and wants 160 watt-hours; an old one in a warm kitchen, opened all day, runs half the time and wants 2,800. Jackery publishes no usable figure, so the site sizes from a conservative share of nameplate, 910 of the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2's 1,070. Of 58 stations checked, 45 cover the easy end and 8 the hard one, none of them here.
The separation is everything else. The Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C) holds more battery than the Explorer 1000 v2, pushes more continuous and peak output and is the only one with a port for add-on packs, and it is the heavier to carry. Charging needs care: Jackery's marketing copy, spec table and FAQ give three different wall times for the Explorer 1000 v2, the Explorer 2000 v2 gets the same treatment, and none at all reached our record for the Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C). Warranty separates nothing: no term in our record, the same three years plus two free on Jackery's pages.
| Model | Covers the energy | Carries the running load | Clears the surge | Worst-case shortfall | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 | best case only | worst case | worst case | 1,890 Wh | Clears the best case only |
| Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C) | best case only | worst case | worst case | 1,725 Wh | Clears the best case only |
| Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 | best case only | worst case | worst case | 1,064 Wh | Clears the best case only |
Where the energy goes, load by load
| Load | Hours | Running watts | Duty cycle | Energy | Share of worst case |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator/freezer | 8 | 100–700 | 20–50% | 160–2,800 Wh | 100% |
Energy = running watts × duty cycle × hours, at each end of the range. The right-hand end of every row is what the plan is sized on.
The cheaper oneJackery Explorer 1000 v2
The cheaper one
$559 at Amazon, September 16, 20261,070 Wh (910 usable)1,500 W continuous3,000 W peak24 lb
The Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 is the one with a verified listing behind it at $559, and the lighter body of the pair. It reads Clears the best case only against this plan exactly as the other two do, so the extra battery above it buys longer, not different. What you give up is growth: Jackery states plainly that there is no add-on pack for this model, so what arrives is what you will always have. It suits the person who wants one box for one fridge, wants to know the price before buying, and has no intention of building a system around it.
Against the worst case it is 1,890 Wh short: about 4.7 hours of full sun at its 400 W solar input, or roughly 9 hours from one 200 W panel, and real panels deliver less than their rating.
The listing we verified as the bare unit; the price is on Amazon.
A refrigerator for an 8-hour working-day outage:
- Energyonly in the best case
- Running loadyes, even in the worst case
- Starting surgeyes, even in the worst case
Living with it
Jackery's own pages do not agree on how long a wall recharge takes. The marketing copy sells an emergency fast-charge mode and a time to match, the spec table on that same page gives a longer time for ordinary charging, and the FAQ gives a third, longer again. Two independent testers measured it and did not agree either, and the quicker result needed the emergency mode switched on by hand, which that reviewer warned against doing habitually.
It hands over when the grid drops in a few hundredths of a second, and Jackery says outright that this is not a no-break supply and not for a desktop or a server; one reviewer's outage test did not hand over at all, which we treat as a single report worth checking on your own gear before you need it. It draws standby power whenever it is switched on, and it will not charge below freezing. Pass-through works, though one review found a heavy load on the outlets drags the charging rate right down. Two things owners learn late: Jackery advertises more solar across a six-panel array than this unit's DC input will accept, so it is easy to buy panels it cannot use, and the FAQ's very quiet fan figure did not survive one tester's meter at higher output.
- Idle draw
- About 18W idle power drawfaq.jackery.com
- Switchover when the grid drops
- Switches to battery in under 20 ms; not a true UPS for serversfaq.jackery.com
- Pass-through charging
- Yes, can power devices while recharging with no battery-life impactfaq.jackery.com
- Wall recharge
- About 1 hour claimed; spec sheet says 1.6 to 1.7 hoursjackery.com
- Noise
- Rated 22dB; one tester measured about 55dB under loadfaq.jackery.com
- Charges between
- 0°C to 45°C (32°F to 113°F) for chargingjackery.com
- Low-load shutoff
- Outputs auto-shut off after 12h with no load; adjustable in appr.jackery.net
- Expansion
- No add-on battery pack option availablefaq.jackery.com
- Warranty
- 3-year warranty, extendable to 5 years totalfaq.jackery.com
What owners report, from public threads and long-term reviews; not our own testing.
- Independent testers measured real AC recharge between about 1 hour 2 minutes and 1 hour 35 minutes, sometimes slower than Jackery's marketed 1-hour figure unless Emergency Charging Mode is manually enabled.thesolarlab.com
- One reviewer reported the unit did not automatically switch to battery backup during a power-outage test and had to manually reconnect devices, despite the advertised 20 ms UPS switchover spec.backuppowerhub.com
- Reviewers disagree on noise under load: one called it fairly quiet, while another measured about 55dB and the case growing noticeably warm once output passed 1000W.backuppowerhub.com
- One review found Jackery advertises up to 600W of solar input across six panels, but the unit's actual maximum DC input is only 400W, unchanged from the prior generation.thesolarlab.com
- Under heavy pass-through loads, charging input power drops significantly; only light loads around 100W let the unit keep charging near its full rated rate.thesolarlab.com
What independent testers measured
We do not test units ourselves. These are figures published by testers who did, with the maker’s claim beside them where the tester gave it.
| Measurement | Result | Tester |
|---|---|---|
| Usable capacity, measured | 910 Wh measured output (vs 1,070 Wh advertised) (maker: 1,070 Wh) | OutdoorGearLab |
| Also measured | 85% capacity efficiency, calculated by OGL from their measured 910Wh output vs the 1,070Wh advertised rating (not an inverter/AC conversion efficiency spec) | OutdoorGearLab |
| Wall charge, empty to full | Measured charging rate of 563 Wh/hr; took almost 2 hours for a full recharge (charging method/AC vs other not specified in text) | OutdoorGearLab |
| Weight, measured | 24.4 lbs (listed as "Measured Weight" in OGL's spec table) | OutdoorGearLab |
| Noise under load, measured | No dB figure given; qualitative observation only - fans stayed nearly silent even near max wattage | OutdoorGearLab |
- OGL scored it 67/100 (#7 of 14 in their power station category), calling it a decent, user-friendly option for camping/emergency backup for brand-loyal Jackery buyers, but says slower charging and a limited feature set make it less compelling in the crowded 1,000Wh class. OutdoorGearLab
- Concludes the Anker Solix C1000 (Gen 2) wins on outright performance, but says the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 is a dependable, rugged choice for buyers who value its lighter weight (23.8 lbs) and slightly higher base capacity (1070Wh); NOTE: page shows no first-person testing language (no "we measured/tested") - appears to be a spec-sheet comparison, not hands-on lab testing. PowerStationLab
What you give up
Expansion, entirely. The maker says there is no pack for this model, so its capacity is fixed on the day it arrives. It also has the smallest battery here, the lowest output and the least solar input, which makes it the first to run out and the slowest to recover. The Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C) sits beside it with more of all three and would be the pick for anyone growing a system, if only we could tell you what the bare unit costs.
Figures from faq.jackery.com, captured August 12, 2026; recall screen: no published recall names this exact model (screened 2026-08-12) (how we screen, CPSC).
The one that growsJackery Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C)
The expandable one
1,265 Wh (1,075 usable)2,000 W continuous4,000 W peak32 lb
The Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C) is the only box here with a dedicated port for add-on battery packs, and it backs that up with more battery than the Explorer 1000 v2, more continuous and peak output, and twice the solar input. The catch is the one that bites at checkout: we found no verified listing for the bare unit, only bundles and near-namesakes, so this page will not quote a price for it. It suits someone buying the first piece of a system rather than a single box, and willing to go to Jackery's own channels to find out what it costs.
Against the worst case it is 1,725 Wh short: about 2.2 hours of full sun at its 800 W solar input, or roughly 9 hours from one 200 W panel, and real panels deliver less than their rating.
No Amazon listing for the bare unit has passed our identity check, so no price and no Amazon link.
A refrigerator for an 8-hour working-day outage:
- Energyonly in the best case
- Running loadyes, even in the worst case
- Starting surgeyes, even in the worst case
Living with it
Expansion is the reason to buy it. Jackery documents three more packs on a dedicated port, each holding about what the unit itself holds, so a full stack is roughly four times the battery you start with, and the packs are recognised without setup; one six-month tester added a pack and found the two behaved as one battery. Each pack runs several hundred dollars, so filling every slot costs more than the station.
The manual prints a current rating for that expansion port that looks far too high for a link between batteries; it came from a scanned PDF we could not check against the page image, so we are not repeating it. The handover when the grid drops is rated in hundredths of a second, and Jackery says it is not a true no-break supply, nor for a server; in bypass it rates the input lower and asks for one device at a time.
Refilling it catches owners out: no wall-charge time reached our record at all. Solar is the quick route, a couple of hours in full sun off four panels by reviewers' reckoning and most of an afternoon under cloud, while the car socket is called useless as a primary method. The fan is quiet at light loads and clearly audible once the outlets work hard. The screen will not break out solar input, so you keep it paired to the app to watch the panels. It charges only above freezing. Jackery markets three years of warranty with two more free on registration; our record has none.
- Switchover when the grid drops
- About 20 ms EPS switchover; not for serversimages.thdstatic.com
- Pass-through charging
- Yes, bypass mode; not for servers, one device at a timeimages.thdstatic.com
- Charges between
- 0°C to 45°C (32°F to 113°F)images.thdstatic.com
- Low-load shutoff
- Shuts off after 12 h at low load, or 2 h with no loadimages.thdstatic.com
- Expansion
- Up to 3 extra batteries, about 5,056 Wh totalimages.thdstatic.com
- Warranty
- 3-year warranty, extendable to 5 years free with registrationimages.thdstatic.com
What owners report, from public threads and long-term reviews; not our own testing.
- Expansion battery packs connect automatically but cost about $399 each, so maxing out the 5 kWh system adds well over $1,000 beyond the base unit.backuppowerhub.com
- The built-in 12V car-port charging path is too slow for regular use, reportedly taking 14+ hours for a full charge that way.powerstations.review
- A 6-month tester ran a 1,100W microwave and 900W coffee maker simultaneously without issue, and the battery held 94-96% of its rated capacity.walkingsolar.com
- Several reviewers note fan noise stays quiet under about 500W but becomes clearly audible, though not harsh, once AC draw passes roughly 1,000W.backuppowerhub.com
- The onboard display doesn't show detailed per-panel solar input data, so owners must use the Jackery app to monitor solar charging in real time.backuppowerhub.com
What you give up
The price, in the sense that we cannot give you one. No verified listing for the bare unit exists in our data, only solar bundles and models wearing a similar name, so the comparison a buyer most wants, what expandability costs over the Explorer 1000 v2, is the one this page cannot make. It is also the heavier of the two to carry and the only pick here not yet screened against the recall database.
Figures from images.thdstatic.com, captured September 16, 2026; recall screen: not screened against the recall database yet (how we screen, CPSC).
The step upJackery Explorer 2000 v2
The step up
$999 at Amazon, September 16, 20262,042 Wh (1,736 usable)2,200 W continuous4,400 W peak39 lb
The Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 nearly doubles the battery of the Explorer 1000 v2 and lifts the output again, and it has a verified listing at $999, which the Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C) does not. It is not expandable either, since Jackery points buyers who want that to a separate line, so it is the answer when you would rather buy the capacity once than add to it later. It still reads Clears the best case only against this plan, which is the honest limit of what more battery buys here: a longer best case, not a different verdict.
Against the worst case it is 1,064 Wh short: about 2.7 hours of full sun at its 400 W solar input, or roughly 5 hours from one 200 W panel, and real panels deliver less than their rating.
The listing we verified as the bare unit; the price is on Amazon.
A refrigerator for an 8-hour working-day outage:
- Energyonly in the best case
- Running loadyes, even in the worst case
- Starting surgeyes, even in the worst case
Living with it
Buy it knowing how new it is. Jackery's own page had the base unit on pre-order when we looked, shipping later the same month, which is why no long-term owner threads exist for it yet and why everything here comes from two hands-on review sites. Its pages disagree on wall charging the way the Explorer 1000 v2's do, the spec table, the marketing headline and the FAQ each giving a different time, and a reviewer measured it slower than all three; the advertised fast charge only happens with the emergency mode switched on by hand.
It draws standby power while switched on, enough that one reviewer reckoned a full battery would sit for most of a week on that alone, and it will not charge below freezing. Bench testing held the full continuous rating without overheating but peaked well short of the quoted surge, though still above the top of this plan's starting range, so read the peak as a ceiling rather than a promise. Reviewers found the fan quiet and the weight manageable for one person, thought the app only marginally useful, and one disliked the case flexing under the carry handle. Our record has no warranty term; Jackery's page markets three years with two more free from its own site.
- Idle draw
- About 18W idle draw, confirmed independently near 17Wfaq.jackery.com
- Switchover when the grid drops
- Switches to battery in under 20 ms; not a true UPS for serversfaq.jackery.com
- Pass-through charging
- Can run devices while recharging; AC output capped at 1500Wjackery.com
- Wall recharge
- About 1.75 hours claimed; testers measured closer to 2.5 hoursjackery.com
- Noise
- Under 30dB in Quiet Mode; up to 45dB at full loadjackery.com
- Charges between
- 0°C to 45°C (32°F to 113°F) for chargingr.jackery.net
- Low-load shutoff
- Outputs auto-shut off after 12h with no load; adjustable in appr.jackery.net
- Expansion
- Not expandable; no add-on battery pack optionjackery.com
- Warranty
- 3-year warranty, extendable to 5 years totalfaq.jackery.com
What owners report, from public threads and long-term reviews; not our own testing.
- One long-term tester measured AC recharge at about 2.5 hours, slower than Jackery's claimed 1.7-1.75 hours; reaching the full 1,800W charge rate requires manually enabling Emergency Charging Mode.thesolarlab.com
- One reviewer found the housing felt soft and squishy under the carry handle in hands-on testing, contradicting Jackery's rugged, impact-resistant marketing for this unit.thesolarlab.com
- Reviewers said the 400W maximum solar input is undersized for a unit this size, making full solar recharge difficult on multi-day off-grid trips without falling back on AC power.thesolarlab.com
- At just under 39 lb, one long-term tester said they never hesitated to carry it around camp, unlike heavier competing power stations they were reluctant to move far from the vehicle.outdoorgearlab.com
- One tester found high-wattage devices like induction cooktops and eBike chargers drain the battery much faster than typical loads, and a single 200W solar panel isn't enough on extended trips.outdoorgearlab.com
What independent testers measured
We do not test units ourselves. These are figures published by testers who did, with the maker’s claim beside them where the tester gave it.
| Measurement | Result | Tester |
|---|---|---|
| Usable capacity, measured | 1,740 Wh measured power output (84% of advertised 2,042 Wh) (maker: 2,042 Wh) | OutdoorGearLab |
| Wall charge, empty to full | 0-100% in 2.5 hours via AC | OutdoorGearLab |
| Weight, measured | 38.9 pounds | OutdoorGearLab |
| Solar input achieved | 0-100% in about 10-12 hours under perfect sun with one 200W panel (the tester's typical real-world pairing) (maker: 400W max solar input capacity (theoretical 5-6 hr recharge at full 400W, per tester's own conditional statement, not independently verified at that wattage)) | OutdoorGearLab |
| Also measured | Fan runs quietly and infrequently (no dB figure given) | OutdoorGearLab |
- OutdoorGearLab calls it the power station most buyers should get, citing a strong balance of price and power output. (Editors' Choice (Best for Off-grid Camping)) OutdoorGearLab
- In OutdoorGearLab's roundup, the Explorer 2000 v2 is described as offering ample power for multi-day off-grid camping and extended blackouts. (Editors' Choice) OutdoorGearLab
What you give up
Weight and money, for the same Clears the best case only verdict the cheaper box earns. It is the heaviest thing on this page by a clear margin and the dearest with a price attached, and it is no more expandable than the Explorer 1000 v2, since Jackery sends people who want that to a different family. One reviewer also thought its solar input undersized for a battery this big, which makes recovery after a long outage slow.
Figures from faq.jackery.com, captured August 12, 2026; recall screen: no published recall names this exact model (screened 2026-08-12) (how we screen, CPSC).
Buying it right
A search for any of these models returns bundles, sibling models and, often, the same unit under two listings at different prices. We link only a listing whose own title states the bare unit and its exact battery and output; the box should say the same. Check the seller is the maker or Amazon itself, and that the model number on the label matches the one on this page.
Jackery Explorer 1000 v2
- The listing we verified: “Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 Portable Power Station,1070Wh,1500W”, $559 when checked. Title states 1070Wh and 1500W, matching our record exactly.
- “Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 and Extension Cable,1070Wh,1500W AC”, $499: a bundle, not the bare unit; the extra hardware is in the price.
- “Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 Portable Power Station,1070Wh,1500W (Dune White)”, $589: the same unit under a second listing at $589; we link the cheaper verified one.
Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C)
- “Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 Portable Power Station,1070Wh,1500W”, $559: a different model that a search for this one returns.
- “Jackery Generator 1000 v2 with 200W Panel, 1070Wh Portable Power Station”, $699: a bundle, not the bare unit; the extra hardware is in the price.
Jackery Explorer 2000 v2
- The listing we verified: “Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 Portable Power Station, 2042Wh, 2200W AC Output”, $999 when checked. Title states 2042Wh and 2200W, matching our record exactly.
- “Jackery HomePower 2000 Plus v2 Power Station, 2048Wh, 2400W AC Output”, $1,071: a different model that a search for this one returns.
- “Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 and 2x200W Solar Panels, 2042Wh, 2200W AC Output”, $1,639: a bundle, not the bare unit; the extra hardware is in the price.
What this page can’t promise
This page cannot tell you where your own kitchen sits in that fridge range, and that is the question deciding whether any of the three is enough. It cannot price the Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C) either, because no verified listing for the bare unit exists in our data.
Nothing here was tested by us. The spec figures are Jackery's own; what reviewers found is labelled as theirs, and a single report is flagged as one. Where a marketing page and the spec table behind it disagree, and Jackery's do on charging, we say so rather than quote the better number. The Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C) has not been screened against the recall database, and one figure in its manual we could not confirm.
Questions people ask
Can the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 take an expansion battery?
No. Jackery states the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 has no add-on pack, so its capacity is fixed for the life of the unit. The Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C) is the expandable one of the pair: it has a dedicated port and a maker-documented path to three more packs of about its own size. The table above shows which of the three carries an expansion route and which does not, taken from the makers' own documents rather than from listings.
Is the 1000 Plus actually worth it over the 1000 v2?
Only if you will really buy a pack, or want the higher output for something other than this fridge. Against this plan both read Clears the best case only, so for one refrigerator across 8 hours the Plus buys a little more battery and more headroom, not a different answer. We also cannot show you the gap in money, because no verified listing for the bare Plus exists in our data. If growth is not the plan, the cheaper box does the same job.
How long does one of these take to charge from a wall socket?
That depends which Jackery page you read. For the Explorer 1000 v2, the marketing copy, the spec table on the same page and the FAQ each give a different figure, and two independent testers measured two more; the quickest of them needed an emergency mode enabled by hand, which one reviewer warned against using routinely. The Explorer 2000 v2 has the same spread across its own pages and was measured slower again. For the Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C), no wall-charge time reached our record at all.
The names are almost identical, so how do I make sure I get the right box?
Match the part number, not the name. The listing we verified for the Explorer 1000 v2 carries JE-1000D; the Plus is JE-1000C, as its full model name shows. They are separate model families with different specifications, not two trims of one product. Check as well that you are looking at the bare station: most of the listings we rejected while building this page were solar bundles or cable kits whose titles read almost exactly like the plain unit.
Why is there no price for the 1000 Plus?
Because we could not verify one. The listing check looks for a bare station matching our spec record, and for the Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus (JE-1000C) every candidate was a solar bundle, a cable kit or a different model wearing a similar name, so the price stays empty rather than carry a bundle's number. The Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 and the Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 both cleared that check, which is why they show $559 and $999.
Other plans we sized
- Home backupThe best portable power stations for home backup
A fridge, the internet, a few lamps and everyone's phones through a day without the grid, indoors, with no engine to run. Sized on the harder end of every range.
- Camping and road tripsThe best portable power stations for camping
Two nights of phones, a laptop and a few lights is a small job with a wide range, and the range is what catches people out. All three picks cover the easy end of it on one charge; the hard end takes a panel at the site or a full charge before you leave.
- CPAPPortable power for a CPAP machine: one night, and three
A CPAP is a small, steady load, so this comes down to battery size and one switch: the heated humidifier. Covering a single night is settled; covering three, or running the heat, takes a bigger box.
- Portable generatorsThe best portable generators for home backup
Three generators judged on the one number that decides the job: the watts on tap for the second a fridge and a chest freezer both restart at once. Not battery capacity, and not the running total.
- ComparedThe one-kilowatt-hour class: Jackery 1000 v2, Anker C1000, EcoFlow DELTA 3
The most-searched 1 kWh power stations on one table, run against the same fridge plan, with expansion, solar input and warranty from the makers.
- RefrigeratorHow much battery it takes to run a refrigerator, and which power station does it
A fridge is the appliance everyone wants kept running, and the one whose appetite varies most from house to house. Size it on the harder end of that range and the choice of station mostly makes itself.
- Sump pumpThe best portable power stations for a sump pump
A sump pump is a motor that starts hard and then runs in bursts: the starting surge decides which station can start it at all, and the weather decides how much energy it drinks. Sized on the harder end of every range.
- FurnaceThe best portable power stations for a gas furnace
A gas furnace burns its own fuel and asks the grid only for the blower and the control board, which is the good news. The bad news is that both are wired into the house, so the battery is half the job and an electrician is the other half.
- Well pumpThe best backup power for a well pump
A well pump is the hardest start in an ordinary house, and it is wired in at 240 volts rather than plugged into anything. That is why this plan usually lands on a generator, and why every figure here is sized on the harder end of its range.
- ComparedJackery Explorer 1000 v2 vs Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2
The two 1 kWh units people compare most, from the makers' own figures, judged against one fridge plan, with the older C1000 and the DELTA 3 Plus for scale.
- Camping with a fridgeThe best portable power stations for camping with a fridge
Put a compressor fridge in the back of the car and it becomes most of the battery: it is the one thing in your kit that keeps drawing while you sleep. We size this page from the hard end of every range.
- GuidePower station or generator: which do you actually need?
This is the decision that comes before choosing a product, and it is the expensive one to get wrong in either direction. A battery bought for a well pump is wasted money; a standby generator bought to keep a router alive is a great deal more of it.
- GuideHow to connect a power station to your house
These four methods differ less in how much power they move than in what they can reach: a cord reaches a plug, transfer equipment reaches a circuit. The fifth thing people try, a cord into a wall socket, can kill the line worker restoring your power.
- GuideSolar panels for a power station: how many, and how long
Panels are where the optimism creeps into a backup plan. The arithmetic is simple enough to do on the back of an envelope, and the answer it gives you is the best case, not the likely one.
- GuideExpansion batteries: what an extra battery for a power station actually does
An extra battery for a power station is the cheapest-sounding fix for the wrong problem about half the time. It buys hours, it does not buy watts, and the pack you buy has to be the exact one your station was built for.
Jackery Explorer 1000 v2Our pick
Check price at Amazon