Hi, what are you looking for?
NREL-Led Breakthrough Pushes Perovskite Solar Cell to Greater Stability & Efficiency
Federal Working Group: Rapid Response Team to Support Energy Communities in The Four Corners
How to Start Your Career in Clean Energy
Off Grid, Big House — No Worries
Tesla Data Inform World-First Study
Federal Working Group: Rapid Response Team to Support Energy Communities in The Four Corners
How to Start Your Career in Clean Energy
Tesla Data Inform World-First Study
Electrolyzer Supply to Increase Green Hydrogen Availability
Biden–Harris Admin Launches New Offices to Lower Energy Costs & Deploy Clean Power Nationwide
New Lithium StoryMap & the Future of Electrification
Enhanced Geothermal Technology Cracks The 24/7 Energy Code
Decarbonizing Data Centers — It’s Fun!
Most Renewables Now Cheaper Than Cheapest Coal
Kenya Elections: Electric Mobility, Utility Scale Battery Storage, Energy Efficiency & Green Hydrogen Feature Prominently
How Bad Is The Battery Manufacturing Process For EVs?
Off Grid, Big House — No Worries
Questions About IRA Benefits? Rewiring America Has The Answers
Biden-Harris Admin Launches $675 Million Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Program to Expand Domestic Critical Materials Supply Chains
10 Big Cleantech Benefits in Inflation Reduction Act
Biden–Harris Admin Launches $10.5 Billion Investment to Strengthen America’s Electric Grid
Electric Vehicles Don’t Break The Grid, And They Can Help Boost It
Stryten Energy Applauds Investments in Energy Security & U.S. Manufacturers With Passage Of Inflation Reduction Act
First V2G (Vehicle to Grid) System on Launches NYC Grid
Comparing The US & China On Climate, Economy, & Other Outcomes Should Be Deeply Humbling For America
Understanding The High Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act (HEEHRA)
Questions About IRA Benefits? Rewiring America Has The Answers
10 Big Cleantech Benefits in Inflation Reduction Act
A Cheap Clean RV Option Emerges
Why It Makes Sense To Put A Transmission In Dodge’s Upcoming EV Muscle Cars
Sweden Plugin EV Share At 46.1% In August
How Bad Is The Battery Manufacturing Process For EVs?
Mobility Fintech Moove Joins Forces With Uber UK To Add 10,000 Electric Vehicles In London
Oliver Blume Takes Charge At Volkswagen Group
XPeng Sales Up 96% & NIO Sales Up 28% … Or You Could Say 33% & 82%
Gooloo GTX 280 Compact Power Station — CleanTechnica Review
CleanTechnica Tested: Vanpowers Super Power Pro 2000 Portable Power Station
Lion Safari UT 1300 Battery Review
CleanTechnica Tested: The Lion Safari ME Portable Power Station
Tesla Aero Hubcap Replacement: Hub & Lug Nut Covers — Quick Installation & Review (Video)
Sweden Plugin EV Share At 46.1% In August
Tesla Model Y & Model 3 Two Best Selling Vehicles In California
Electric Vehicles = 10% of New Vehicle Sales Globally!
Top 10 Cities For Solar Power Per Capita in USA — Charts
Which Legacy Automaker Is Selling Most EVs As Portion Of Overall Sales In USA?
Gooloo GTX 280 Compact Power Station — CleanTechnica Review
CleanTechnica Tested: Vanpowers Super Power Pro 2000 Portable Power Station
Lion Safari UT 1300 Battery Review
CleanTechnica Tested: The Lion Safari ME Portable Power Station
Tesla Aero Hubcap Replacement: Hub & Lug Nut Covers — Quick Installation & Review (Video)
2022 Nissan Leaf S Plus — CleanTechnica Review (VIDEO)
Ford F-150 Lightning — CleanTechnica Review
Tesla Q4 Shareholder Conference Call — Watch & Listen Here
Volkswagen Group — In-Depth Conference Call Highlights Company’s Focus On Transition
Bill McKibben On Unions, Tesla, & Elon Musk — CleanTechnica Interview
Most power stations and solar generators we review are pretty big. The largest ones are something you can’t really carry more than a few feet, but which give massive amounts of power. In one case, I was able to run a small electric toaster oven to bake potatoes for over an hour. At the smallest, power stations I’ve tested before now could run a CPAP or nebulizer machine and charge some mobile devices. But even those tend to be fairly bulky and don’t fit well in a backpack along with other things.
Recently, Gooloo sent me their GTX 280 portable power station (there’s a $120 discount code at that link for the next few days). Unlike others I’ve tested, this one focuses on being compact above just about everything else, while still providing a useful amount of battery storage. Despite being the smallest power station I’ve tested, it still has 280 watt-hours of storage, which is enough to do quite a bit with.
The station comes with several accessories and cables. Most importantly, it comes with a separate inverter for 110-volt US-style house power. This separate unit helps keep the unit compact. It also comes with two USB cables and a set of jumper cables that the unit can use to start a car.
The attachment of the inverter is pretty simple. You just plug it into the cigarette-lighter style 12-volt plug on the side of the unit, and then plug something into it. The separate inverter also has two USB ports, including a 30-watt USB-C connection. In a car, you can use the inverter to charge the battery pack portion of the unit.
When you don’t need to plug something into the inverter, there are still plenty of options for power. The main battery unit has a 100-watt USB-C PD plug that is bidirectional. This allows you to charge the unit with a typical laptop charger, or use it to charge that same laptop. It also has a 12-volt plug, and a connector for the jumper cables. Finally, there’s the cigarette lighter plug the inverter plugs into, but you can just use it directly, too.
I tested the USB-C port, and it works well. It not only powered my laptop, but still had plenty of output power left for other things.
For this review, I did my usual amateur radio test to see if it had spurious emissions or other issues, and this also gives me an opportunity to test multiple power outputs at once.
As with other promised features, this works well, too. It kept my laptop up at 100% while providing plenty of power for my QRP amateur radio. I played around a bit on the HF bands (connected to a big, long antenna in my yard) and I managed to get a signal out as far as Hawaii and all around North America. While I’ve done better in the past (I didn’t get into Europe or Asia this time), that’s more of a function of space weather than power.
In other words, the power station did great. It provided plenty of power for the computer, my digital interface, my radio (both receive and transmit), and the charger for the radio’s internal battery pack. There was no weird noise on the air or other problems with this power unit.
One thing I noticed was that the unit provided 15 volts instead of 12 or 13. That’s fine for just about anything designed to run on 12 volts, and in some cases a little better. But, if you do have any of the rare devices that can’t handle 15 volts, be sure to not plug it into this unit. Once again, this is pretty rare, but if you’re concerned, check with the manufacturer of any 12-volt device you’re worried this could be too much for.
If you’re going to use this device for emergencies, it has one other cool feature: a built-in lantern. The light comes from a small diffused area on the opposite side of the unit from the plugs. To turn it on, give the power button a long press. Subsequent presses put it into flasher and SOS modes if needed.
The light was a lot brighter than I expected, and didn’t seem to use much power from the battery pack. You’ll probably want another light of some kind for emergencies (like the biolite lights I recently reviewed), but if this was all you had, it would work well.
When it comes to power output on the 110-volt inverter, it’s got a strict limit of 120 watts. That puts it behind more bulky power stations like the Jackery 300 I’ve tested, so if you need more power, definitely go with a larger power station with a bigger built-in inverter. But, even for things that don’t pull much power, sometimes it won’t work.
When I tested the unit with a larger fan I have in my house, it wouldn’t start the fan. Plugging it into the larger Jackery units I have, it started up no problem, and the fan only pulls about 60 watts. The problem with trying to run this on the GTX 280 is that the initial jolt of energy it takes to get the fan turning exceeds the 120 watt limit briefly, and then settles down to 60 watts. So, devices with an electric motor will sometimes give this unit problems.
I also tested it with a nebulizer, which pulls about 80 watts. That device had no problem starting at all, so it could power most nebulizers, CPAP machines, and other medical devices that are under the 120-watt limit. Just don’t expect to run bigger electric motors, like in a fan.
This power station is going to end up riding in my emergency bag, or “bug out bag.” It’s small and light enough that it can give me portable power options without having to add a bunch of bulk and weight to the bag. This leaves room for important things like a solar panel, food, water, and communications equipment that I have in the bag.
The only thing I’d like to see is compatibility with more solar panels, the way Jackery units come. The only way to charge this unit is via USB-C PD, so if you want to turn this power station into a small solar generator, you’ll need to find a solar panel kit that can output to USB-C PD to charge this up. This is probably not included because a solar charge controller would take up more room, and this device needed to be small, so that’s probably not a bad thing if you plan ahead.
All images by Jennifer Sensiba.
Jennifer Sensiba is a long time efficient vehicle enthusiast, writer, and photographer. She grew up around a transmission shop, and has been experimenting with vehicle efficiency since she was 16 and drove a Pontiac Fiero. She likes to explore the Southwest US with her partner, kids, and animals. Follow her on Twitter for her latest articles and other random things: https://twitter.com/JenniferSensiba
#1 most loved electric vehicle, solar energy, and battery news & analysis site in the world. Support our work today!
Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers.
When I get a portable power station, I like to test it to the max, or as close to the maximum as possible. So,...
We’ve reviewed a number of power stations and solar generator kits here at CleanTechnica, including most of what Jackery offers. Previously, I’ve reviewed kits...
When I reviewed the Jackery Explorer 1000 solar generator, I didn’t know how many different solar generators and power stations I’d end up reviewing....
A few days ago, LIPOWER sent us one of its PA300 power stations for review. Like many other power stations in its size and...
Copyright © 2021 CleanTechnica. The content produced by this site is for entertainment purposes only. Opinions and comments published on this site may not be sanctioned by and do not necessarily represent the views of CleanTechnica, its owners, sponsors, affiliates, or subsidiaries.