When I reviewed another LiPOWER power station, I must admit that I was not very impressed. It worked, but I could tell the fit, finish, and build quality was much more AutoZone than most other stations. But, that being said, the price was right, and it still presented a good option for people who didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a small power station for emergencies, camping, etc. But, LiPOWER recently sent me one of their MARS-1000 Pro unitsand I have to say it’s head and shoulders above their budget stations in every way.
Specifications and information
The two biggest questions everyone asks about power plants are how much power they can produce and capacity. The LiPOWER Pro MARS-1000 exceeds the number 1000 in its name. It can produce a maximum sustained power of 1200 watts, with a surge capability of 2000 watts (which is important for many electrical devices that temporarily draw more power before settling into lower draw). I’ve found that for sustained operation, 1200 watts is a pretty hard limit.
The unit’s battery packs 1120 watt-hours of power, so it could theoretically last nearly an hour on full power. The battery cells are LiFePo4, or as the industry seems to call it now, LFP. LiPOWER says you can get over 3500 cycles out of the pack, and it’s rated to last a decade with normal use.
It has all the usual outlets you would find on a power station of this size. There are three 120-volt AC outlets, a number of different USB outlets (including a 60-watt USB-C PD), two 12-volt ports, a 12-volt cigarette lighter port, and inputs for the included wall charger. and solar gain. Two 100-watt panels can supposedly recharge it in 5.6 hours, but we haven’t reviewed solar panels and can’t verify that here.
One thing I really liked about the station is its two carrying handles. Like all power plants of such capacity, the MARS-1000 is heavy. It’s fairly typical to have a fold-down handle or one that’s permanently there for carrying with one hand, but this station has two very firm and strong handles for carrying it in front of you with both hands. If you don’t have two hands free, you can still carry it with one, but it will hang diagonally when you carry it (which isn’t a problem).
The outer case seems to be much sturdier and better made than the cheaper LiPOWER station I reviewed. It’s also a lot better looking, and the yellow exterior looks industrial instead of cheap. It fits on a bench or a truck tool box full of power tools on a jobsite.
It also seems to have a pretty decent cooling system built in, like other powerhouses in its class. But, when I put it to the test, it was pretty quiet, which is good if you don’t want to put up with a bunch of annoying noise. Their use of multiple small fans seems to be more resilient to fan failures in the field by having other fans still moving air if one were to shut down.
The LCD screen is much better than the odd backlit automotive dash-style display the PA 300 came with. It contains most of the important details you want, such as powered ports and the amount of incoming and outgoing power. The only thing I wish it had was a reading of the estimated time remaining, but you can do the math (1120 Wh * percentage gives you the remaining watt hours, then divide by the power consumption to get your hours remaining) and figure that out without too much trouble.
At present, they sell it for $900which is a decent price for these capabilities compared to most competitors, so I can forgive them for not including all of this information on the screen.
Putting the ability to the test
One thing I like to do with power plants is to push them to their maximum power. Any battery pack and inverter system can produce some power, but if they are having trouble, it will likely happen at full power.
The first thing I tried to do was cook bacon with it on an electric griddle which typically draws 1300 watts. I know it’s above the manufacturer’s rating, but sometimes you get more power than advertised. But, when they say 2000 watts of surge power and 1200 peak sustained power, they mean the truth. After a few seconds of drawing 1300 watts, he shut off the power to protect himself. But, you can’t be mad at LiPOWER for only keeping its word.
So I plugged the bacon into the grill and took the LiPOWER MARS-1000 Pro across the room to see if it could help me toast in the toaster oven. In the past, this oven was known to draw 1200 watts max (if you remember my other post on solar-powered potatoes, it’s the same little oven). So I plugged the not-so-small (but brave) toaster into the LiPOWER and turned it on. It was no problem for me and delivered the toast for the kids to go with their eggs and bacon. Unit did not heat up or had any issues.
So it’s pretty clear that LiPOWER delivered on this powerhouse.
What’s next for this small station
LiPOWER let me keep the power plant, but truth be told, I already have too many power plants. But, I love doing product reviews and wanted to give it a good long-term test, so I gave the unit to a local handyman who recently helped me remodel a bathroom. Over the next couple of years, I’ll be contacting him from time to time to see how the MARS-1000 pro holds up to both DIY tasks and use on a small farm. If that doesn’t tell us what it’s made of, nothing will.
All images by Jennifer Sensiba.
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