Bluetti AC180 charging station: have power, will travel

Portable power packs come in all sizes, but Bluetti’s new AC180, despite being described as mid-range by the manufacturer, punches above its weight in terms of features and convenience.

With a capacity of 1,152Wh and the ability to charge at 1,440W in its Turbo mode to fill the tank to 80% in 45 minutes, it doesn’t take long to charge the AC180 up with enough power for a full day spent charging your other devices. You can do it while you’re packing your bags, and there’s enough power in this pack to charge a laptop 17 times, or run a fridge for 17 hours. You can even use it to power a coffee maker, if you remember to pack the filters.

At 16kg and about the size of a four-slice toaster, the AC180 isn’t the smallest or lightest power bank out there, but then it’s not meant to be. This is a charging station that’s certainly portable enough to take on an adventure – though you may want to leave it in your camp despite the built-in carrying handle – but has the size to provide serious power, making it a top choice if you’re going off grid, or on boat or RV trips that will take you miles away from the nearest outlet.

Invert to convert

Inside the AC180 there’s an advanced bi-directional pure sine wave inverter, and the pack will work perfectly with solar panels, including but not limited to those produced by Bluetti itself. It will take 500W of solar input, allowing a complete recharge from the sun in around three hours as long as the weather is in your favour. The Bluetti PV420, for example, puts out 420W at peak from its monocrystalline solar cells, and makes a good companion for the AC180 if you’re working or playing away from the power grid. The AC180 comes with all the cables you need to charge it anywhere, including solar power connectors and a car lighter socket plug alongside the usual three-pin wall plug. You can fill it from a generator too.

The Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO) cells used by the AC180 are rated for 3,500 or more charging cycles, enough to get through ten years of everyday use. This style of battery is known for its stable performance, long life and excellent power density, allowing power packs to carry more energy in a smaller space, and discharge it more evenly, than other battery technologies. There are no poisonous or rare earth minerals involved in their construction, making them more environmentally friendly than those that contain nickel or cadmium.

Charge everything

When it comes to charging your devices, the AC180 is versatile. It offers two 240V three-pin AC sockets for the full 1,800W, a USB Type-C port that can output 100W, four 15W USB-A ports, and a car lighter socket that could come in very handy for telescope mounts or air pumps. There’s a 15W wireless charging pad built into the top of the chassis too, so you can rest your phone on top for a quick charge.

Using the Bluetti app, you can take control of the AC180 using your phone. Connected wirelessly to the power station by Bluetooth, you can set the charging mode (Turbo, Standard and Silent are available, with Silent putting out a truly quiet 45dB, making it suitable for use in the cramped confines of an RV) as well as monitoring power consumption.

If you find yourself in cold conditions, the Bluetti AC180 should continue to operate down to -20°C, though it’s not recommended to charge it while it’s that cold. It’s rated for IP65 ingress protection too, meaning it will keep out dust, sand and other particulates, and has a degree of waterproofing that should protect it from a shower of rain.

While the usual maximum power output of the AC180 is 1,800W, it also has a Power Lifting Mode that increases this to 2,700W, enough to run space heaters, hairdryers or electric blankets. And if the power goes out at home, the 20ms switchover time means the AC180 is ideal to use as a UPS. If you need more capacity, the AC180 is compatible with Bluetti’s B80 (806Wh), B230 (2048Wh), and B300 (3072Wh) expansion batteries, so you can keep your devices going for longer.

On sale in the UK from June 24, the Bluetti AC180 rechargeable power station comes with a five-year warranty, and can be purchased direct from the Bluetti website.