Product: Kennwood LiFePO4 Portable Power Stations
Model:
Condition: New
Kenwood Portable Power Station
Low maintenance with Automatic Power Supply System keeps the battery near full charge without constant plugging and unplugging, ensuring it’s always ready for use
Battery Management System provides first-class safety with advanced protection, enhancing battery efficiency and lifespan
Simple and fast charging allows hassle-free and efficient power replenishment for uninterrupted use
Convenient 4 types of outputs offer versatile compatibility for various devices and appliances
Foldable handle creates a small footprint for compact storage and easy portability, perfect for travel
High-contrast bright LCD ensures clear and easy-to-read display for real-time power monitoring
Toggleable LED light provides built-in illumination for added convenience in low-light situations
Instant power backup during blackouts automatically switches power supply to connected essential appliances for seamless operation
Compact and travel-friendly design with an AC adapter-less charging cable enhances portability for easy use on the go
800Whr seems tempting, but not a fan of an integrated AC charger (more irreplacable things to fail), and probably not pure sine wave like the far more expensive energizer one.
@caffeineguy You prefer having to carry a separate power brick everywhere? I would find that much more annoying than having a ubiquitous PC compatible power input option that can be found just about anywhere. Even if that were to fail somehow, you’d still have solar and 12V input options.
@kuoh yes, I’d prefer an external, replaceable power brick or something that uses the same or similar input as the solar input. Because if the integrated AC supply is built in, it’s less portable and more vulnerable to being useless
@caffeineguy I’m not sure if you’ve considered the common use case of pass through power with automatic failover (UPS) that power station users frequently want. I don’t know if these units have that ability, but to get 800W out without draining the battery, it has to get 800W+ in. A reliable external 800W+ AC to DC adapter is going to be quite bulky and heavy, not to mention the robust DC input connections needed are not insubstantial. I actually have a 1500W DC charge only power station that I rarely use because of the power brick and the fact that it’s either charge or discharge, but not both at the same time.
I’ve seen more external power bricks fail than internal supplies and these units do have solar inputs and I saw at least 1 image with a 12V adapter, which would mean even if the AC charger failed, you could still recharge this unit with the alternate inputs.
@kuoh Yeah, having these things be used as UPS’ is sometimes hit or miss… I’ve got a pile of actual UPS units around, plus a SW3012 3000W Inverter/Charger for an RV that’d be a decent off-grid system. It’s interesting that the photos are too poor to make out and useful details, and that the link to the ‘manual’ is just a link to JVCKenwood. As usual meh effort to move these things.
@caffeineguy I also have a healthy supply of traditional UPS units from 600W to over 1500W, but those are generally designed for very temporary battery use and are typically quite inefficient, not to mention much heavier comparatively. With the storm related power outages of the past few years, I’ve found the portability and UPS feature of lithium based power stations to be extremely useful. A prime example being my traditionally powered garage door opener. For less than the cost of replacing it with a new battery backed opener, I found that I could just keep it connected to a small power station which was in turn connected to the wall outlet, so that when power was out, I could still drive out with little hassle and count on it still opening when I returned hours later where a typical small UPS would’ve been nearly or completely depleted if utility power had not returned.
Also with a traditional UPS, there is only 1 recharging option, whereas power stations almost always have discrete DC if not solar input options as well for extended outages. I doubt I’ll be purchasing any more traditional UPS units in the future, but good value power stations will always remain on my radar, especially when they have battery lifetimes that often outlasts lead acids by 3 to 5 times. These Kenwoods however, are not what I’d consider a good value considering the price, name brand and short warranty period. Their stereos and head units 15 to 20 years ago perhaps, but certainly not today.
If I could find any info on what form factor the internal battery used, I’d be more interested. I hate the idea of throwing out an entire pile of e-waste simply because the LiFePO4 has reached EOL, when sourcing replacements has become easy, cheap and ubiquitous, especially if they’re doing something like current UPS batteries, like a pair of 12V “F1” or “F2” bricks.
But probably it’s their own custom form factor, for which replacements are impossible to find, and that’s one of several reasons they don’t make this anymore.
@gdorn Most power stations are not designed to have user replaceable internal batteries, probably for safety, reliability and liability reasons. At best, they might offer external expansion modules, but there are as many shapes and sizes of lithium battery packs as there are craters on the moon and minimal standardization. When the time comes, you could always opt to take it apart and cobble together your own system with an alternate battery pack of that era, but for most the hassle isn’t worth the reward or risks.
“Full Charge Approx 2.5hr” which suggests charging on the order of 300W.
" Just plug in the BN-RK800/BN-RK510 between your outlet and essential appliances like a nightlight, and Automatic Power feed switching backs up super instantaneously during power outages" Seems to suggest a decent UPS mode of operation that isn’t running the inverter all the time. Though I can think of far more relevant things like a nightlight, especially since it has a built-in nightlight.
“Sine wave inverter provides a stable power supply to prevent damage to home appliances”
RK800 Arrived 50% charged. Seems to charge on AC at ~465W. Fan kicked on after about 5 minutes of charging, mildly obnoxious, probably a 80mm or something.
AC Input port says 1225W input, so presumably, it can support an 800W load in pass-through mode AND recharge at ~400W+.
Examining the included Cigar Lighter to DC input cord (Center pin inverted style barrel connector, yellow), I noticed it was awful similar looking to my Lenovo adapters of yesteryear. With a “12-28V 240W” input I grabbed the first Lenovo adapter I had around (65W), plugged it in, DC Input light lit right up, and it stepped its way up to about 78W (a bit high), before dropping down to a presumably happier MPPT 45W.
I’ll have to procure some connectors to make a solar panel cable, but looks like it’d be a decent option with a pair of rigid 100W panels. (They’d have to be in parallel or risk exceeding the 28V input)
Sadly, plugging the AC cord in with the DC charging cut off the DC with a relay click so it’s a one-at-a-time charging option, with no preference for ‘free’ solar.
The inverter is only 700W, so the most important test… “Can I run my Saeco to make a shot of espresso with this thing?” Seems unlikely.
GOOD: AC passthrough mode will run well as a UPS for stationary backup
GOOD: 465W Integrated charger is powerful enough to recharge in a few hours
MEH: Integrated charger can’t be slowed down, and runs the somewhat obnoxious fan
BAD: Only supports AC OR DC charging, not both.
MEH: 700W inverter limits usefulness. “Will it Blend?” manual says yes, but will it caffeinate is a far more important question… /me digs around through some former IRK boxes/IRK piles… (Victor + Victoria ceramic coffee pot + “Mealthy” water kettle? 1500W! Nope) /me digs more (Still untested “Cook’s Essentials” espresso machine?? /me grabs manual (wow, this Meh return IRK item actually has a manual??) … 1050W. Meh… Probably a nope too. )
Final test… while its under warranty, might as well abuse it a little, right? Will it run a 20yr old GE ~6000btu window air conditioner?? I plug it in on battery power… Ehhhnnnnhhnnnnnnn noise-- and click. Nope. Red warning light. Set Aircon to fan only, turn it back on, runs fan at 46W. Turns ‘cool’ dial, tries to start compressor for 1/2sec-- buzzzznnnrrrnn-- E03, red warning flag, and a flashing AC light. Nope…
One final ditch try-- Plug the kenwood back in to the wall, so it’s running in bypass mode, Starts A/C, Runs the A/C full bore in bypass mode (display shows ~300W output, ~800W input), then disconnect A/C input… Running the Air Conditioner off the inverter only… Victory! A few minutes go by and it seems to have ramped up to 420W; neat, seems happy. Plug AC input back in… relay clicks over, AC output cuts off, aircon stops… So… If the motor starts on bypass AC, it’ll switch over and run the aircon on battery, but won’t switch back to ‘bypass mode’ when AC is restored.
TL;DR: “Automatic Power feed switching backs up super instantaneously during power outages” is somewhat true-- “super instantaneously” is probably measured in 10s of milliseconds, maybe up to 100s of milliseconds, and it won’t “switch back” as instantaneously it seems.
Some useful writeups above, esp caffeineguy just above (including the comment which I think was his own post).
Mine came with no documentation or instructions other than the warranty card. I charged the unit up and tested a normal AC load and one of the USB-C ports, all seemed well.
I am jealous of your DC charge hack - I just disposed of a bunch of old chargers, wouldn’t be shocked if I’d had one of those. Doesn’t really matter given that it won’t allow dual charging, I guess.
Maybe I’ll plug in inline for my fridge. Pass through hopefully all the time, but in the event of an outage, it should extend my refrigerated food’s lifespan for 10 or so power free hours. I am a little curious about how it knows to switch on the AC inverter.
(I lost a fridge load of food to an extended outage earlier this year, which led directly to this purchase.)
Specs
Product: Kennwood LiFePO4 Portable Power Stations
Model:
Condition: New
Kenwood Portable Power Station
Kenwood 100W Portable Solar Panel
Kenwood 700 Watt Portable Power Station
Kenwood 600 Watt Portable Power Station
Kenwood 100 Watt Portable Solar Panel
What’s Included?
OR
OR
OR
Price Comparison
$329.95 (for Solar Panel) at Amazon
Warranty
90 days
Estimated Delivery
Thursday, Oct 2 - Monday, Oct 6
i wanted this for so long im so happy
$199 for 806Wh is mighty tempting…
In fact, it proved too tempting for me.
Holy shit…it’s been forever since I’ve seen the Kenwood brand,
!
@PHRoG I have a pair of Kenwood-branded ear buds from meh. But other than that… decades. I am happy with that purchase, fwiw.
Great deal on the power bank…but that solar panel is overpriced.
800Whr seems tempting, but not a fan of an integrated AC charger (more irreplacable things to fail), and probably not pure sine wave like the far more expensive energizer one.
@caffeineguy You prefer having to carry a separate power brick everywhere? I would find that much more annoying than having a ubiquitous PC compatible power input option that can be found just about anywhere. Even if that were to fail somehow, you’d still have solar and 12V input options.
KuoH
@kuoh yes, I’d prefer an external, replaceable power brick or something that uses the same or similar input as the solar input. Because if the integrated AC supply is built in, it’s less portable and more vulnerable to being useless
@caffeineguy I’m not sure if you’ve considered the common use case of pass through power with automatic failover (UPS) that power station users frequently want. I don’t know if these units have that ability, but to get 800W out without draining the battery, it has to get 800W+ in. A reliable external 800W+ AC to DC adapter is going to be quite bulky and heavy, not to mention the robust DC input connections needed are not insubstantial. I actually have a 1500W DC charge only power station that I rarely use because of the power brick and the fact that it’s either charge or discharge, but not both at the same time.
I’ve seen more external power bricks fail than internal supplies and these units do have solar inputs and I saw at least 1 image with a 12V adapter, which would mean even if the AC charger failed, you could still recharge this unit with the alternate inputs.
KuoH
@kuoh Yeah, having these things be used as UPS’ is sometimes hit or miss… I’ve got a pile of actual UPS units around, plus a SW3012 3000W Inverter/Charger for an RV that’d be a decent off-grid system. It’s interesting that the photos are too poor to make out and useful details, and that the link to the ‘manual’ is just a link to JVCKenwood. As usual meh effort to move these things.
@caffeineguy I also have a healthy supply of traditional UPS units from 600W to over 1500W, but those are generally designed for very temporary battery use and are typically quite inefficient, not to mention much heavier comparatively. With the storm related power outages of the past few years, I’ve found the portability and UPS feature of lithium based power stations to be extremely useful. A prime example being my traditionally powered garage door opener. For less than the cost of replacing it with a new battery backed opener, I found that I could just keep it connected to a small power station which was in turn connected to the wall outlet, so that when power was out, I could still drive out with little hassle and count on it still opening when I returned hours later where a typical small UPS would’ve been nearly or completely depleted if utility power had not returned.
Also with a traditional UPS, there is only 1 recharging option, whereas power stations almost always have discrete DC if not solar input options as well for extended outages. I doubt I’ll be purchasing any more traditional UPS units in the future, but good value power stations will always remain on my radar, especially when they have battery lifetimes that often outlasts lead acids by 3 to 5 times. These Kenwoods however, are not what I’d consider a good value considering the price, name brand and short warranty period. Their stereos and head units 15 to 20 years ago perhaps, but certainly not today.
KuoH
If I could find any info on what form factor the internal battery used, I’d be more interested. I hate the idea of throwing out an entire pile of e-waste simply because the LiFePO4 has reached EOL, when sourcing replacements has become easy, cheap and ubiquitous, especially if they’re doing something like current UPS batteries, like a pair of 12V “F1” or “F2” bricks.
But probably it’s their own custom form factor, for which replacements are impossible to find, and that’s one of several reasons they don’t make this anymore.
@gdorn Most power stations are not designed to have user replaceable internal batteries, probably for safety, reliability and liability reasons. At best, they might offer external expansion modules, but there are as many shapes and sizes of lithium battery packs as there are craters on the moon and minimal standardization. When the time comes, you could always opt to take it apart and cobble together your own system with an alternate battery pack of that era, but for most the hassle isn’t worth the reward or risks.
KuoH
https://www.kenwood.com/usa/portablepowerstation/bn-rk800-bn-rk510/
Assuming the meh items in question are the same models (which is what a screenshot suggests)…
I guess I’m in:
/image fun-unhappy-wizard
RK800 Arrived 50% charged. Seems to charge on AC at ~465W. Fan kicked on after about 5 minutes of charging, mildly obnoxious, probably a 80mm or something.
AC Input port says 1225W input, so presumably, it can support an 800W load in pass-through mode AND recharge at ~400W+.
Examining the included Cigar Lighter to DC input cord (Center pin inverted style barrel connector, yellow), I noticed it was awful similar looking to my Lenovo adapters of yesteryear. With a “12-28V 240W” input I grabbed the first Lenovo adapter I had around (65W), plugged it in, DC Input light lit right up, and it stepped its way up to about 78W (a bit high), before dropping down to a presumably happier MPPT 45W.
I’ll have to procure some connectors to make a solar panel cable, but looks like it’d be a decent option with a pair of rigid 100W panels. (They’d have to be in parallel or risk exceeding the 28V input)
Sadly, plugging the AC cord in with the DC charging cut off the DC with a relay click so it’s a one-at-a-time charging option, with no preference for ‘free’ solar.
The inverter is only 700W, so the most important test… “Can I run my Saeco to make a shot of espresso with this thing?” Seems unlikely.
Final test… while its under warranty, might as well abuse it a little, right? Will it run a 20yr old GE ~6000btu window air conditioner?? I plug it in on battery power… Ehhhnnnnhhnnnnnnn noise-- and click. Nope. Red warning light. Set Aircon to fan only, turn it back on, runs fan at 46W. Turns ‘cool’ dial, tries to start compressor for 1/2sec-- buzzzznnnrrrnn-- E03, red warning flag, and a flashing AC light. Nope…
One final ditch try-- Plug the kenwood back in to the wall, so it’s running in bypass mode, Starts A/C, Runs the A/C full bore in bypass mode (display shows ~300W output, ~800W input), then disconnect A/C input… Running the Air Conditioner off the inverter only… Victory! A few minutes go by and it seems to have ramped up to 420W; neat, seems happy. Plug AC input back in… relay clicks over, AC output cuts off, aircon stops… So… If the motor starts on bypass AC, it’ll switch over and run the aircon on battery, but won’t switch back to ‘bypass mode’ when AC is restored.
TL;DR: “Automatic Power feed switching backs up super instantaneously during power outages” is somewhat true-- “super instantaneously” is probably measured in 10s of milliseconds, maybe up to 100s of milliseconds, and it won’t “switch back” as instantaneously it seems.
Some useful writeups above, esp caffeineguy just above (including the comment which I think was his own post).
Mine came with no documentation or instructions other than the warranty card. I charged the unit up and tested a normal AC load and one of the USB-C ports, all seemed well.
I am jealous of your DC charge hack - I just disposed of a bunch of old chargers, wouldn’t be shocked if I’d had one of those. Doesn’t really matter given that it won’t allow dual charging, I guess.
Maybe I’ll plug in inline for my fridge. Pass through hopefully all the time, but in the event of an outage, it should extend my refrigerated food’s lifespan for 10 or so power free hours. I am a little curious about how it knows to switch on the AC inverter.
(I lost a fridge load of food to an extended outage earlier this year, which led directly to this purchase.)