Bluetti AC200MAX Expandable Power Station

This review covers the Bluetti AC200Max and similar Portable Power Stations. Bluetti make a range of Power Stations, some are designed to be put in one place and never move (cos they're REALLY heavy) and some are designed to be moveable. Some units come without internal batteries, relying exclusively on external (Bluetti) batteries and some come with internal batteries with many of those capable of expansion with those same external (Bluetti) batteries. While the AC200Max is technically "portable", strap a couple of feathers to it and it will seriously test the "portability" description !! Ditto with the external B300 external battery, drag these puppies into their first "portable" location and they will probably have found their forever-home. But how do they perform ?? My stand-alone AC200Max will happily power a kettle or coffee-maker or any similar high-drain device but really only one at a time and for the short time they take to make the various brews. If you connect something like a heater or small air-conditioner, expect about 45-60 minutes operation before the battery reserve falls off a cliff. Adding one external B300 Battery (it will accommodate 2 extra batteries) will roughly double that time but really, these kind of units aren't a long-term alternative the mains or grid-connect (expensive) battery systems. But ... "horses for courses", an AC200Max or similar will keep your lights on and your fridges running for many hours should the mains power disappear. Obviously an external battery will extend that time significantly and you can also make the odd coffee or two along the way to go with the suitably chilled milk from those fridges. Use as a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) : The AC200Max comes with it's own AC Power supply (PS) so it's possible to plug the PS into the mains to power the AC200Max and your critical devices into the AC200Max so effectively the mains are driving those devices 24/7 .... UNLESS and UNTILL the mains fail, at which point the Bluetti device will instantly take over and provide power until (hopefully) the mains recover, the Bluetti would then let the mains take the load and will recharge its batteries back to 100%, ready for the next time. Not all these devices come with their own 240v PS but you can usually buy one at extra cost, however they are usually all equipped to take power from Solar Panels (also at extra cost but you can frequently pick up suitable panels 2nd hand at a reasonable price). Bear in mind the recovery time to recharge the batteries can be quite significant unless you have a huge solar array as a couple of panels and/or a 240v PS are going to take hours to get the batteries back up to 100%. Are these things worth it ? : Given the number of times you hear of suburbs losing power for hours or even days, if you have the money ($2.5k- $5K depending on extras you might decide to add), spend it on a system like this. You could sweeten the pie a little by charging the AC200Max during sunny or cheaper grid priced times then turn off the charging and let it provide power to your selected devices at peak periods, potentially reaping back the purchase price over time.