EBL MP1000 Review - A 1000W portable AC/DC power station with solar panels - CNX Software

Hey, Karl here and I am getting old. I guess middle age is more accurate. Two wonderful kids and I want to stick around for a while. I have not been feeling well and as a result, I picked up strength training as a form of exercise. I started with an adjustable bench and a set of adjustable dumbbells. I trained with them for about 3 months in my office. I had just enough space. I was hooked. I dove in and learned as much as I could on current best practices, and developed a spreadsheet for tracking progress. I started to outgrow the 55lb/25kg adjustable dumbbells with several exercises and the next step was a squat rack, bar, and Olympic weights. My problem was the lack of space. I had a building that was poorly organized. After a bit of organizing, I was able to carve enough space for a squat rack. Finally, we are where the review for this portable power station comes in. After resolving the space issue I still had to overcome the issue of no power. Luck would have it that EBL was looking for a review of their MP1000 model and I coincidentally had a power need. Naively, I was initially thinking I could run a heat pump but quickly learned that is not reasonable. Alas, a fan was all that was needed and the EBL power station facilitated that spectacularly.

Let’s look at the specs.

The power station served me well during this time. I have no complaints with the device. I used it nearly every day without issue. It is a simple device that provides power. I did learn there is a penalty for using 110V. I did not realize the severity.

Here is an example of the efficiency of using 110V AC. The wattage was reported at 57W on the machine vs 35W on an inline power meter.

I kind of wish we had access to the 24V that is native to the internal battery pack. It is a rather niche request. I wonder if it makes sense to have an ecosystem of power tools that have a cord….but run off DC power banks to eliminate the conversion and save some losses. You would lose some weight in the tool but at the expense of a cord.

I went on 3 side quests that presented themselves while reviewing the EBL MP1000 unit.

Sidequest 1: My wife put on a bingo tournament to help fund the replacement of our daughters’ high school’s marching band uniforms. One of the ways they raised funds was through a raffle and she needed raffle ticket holders. She asked me to make them after only finding one option on Amazon. I designed a 3D print with a wooden base to add weight. While they were printing I headed out to the shed for the wood and instead of having to run a power cord I brought the power station. Although I was successful I had to finesse the chop saw. If I pressed the trigger without this it would trigger an overload protection and turn off. I had to feather the motor up to speed and cut slowly so the saw would not trigger.

Sidequest 2: After mowing one weekend I noticed my elderly neighbor beckoning me over. I came over and she was attempting to install some lattice under her shed that she had installed a few summers ago. After talking through what she wanted I determined our best course of action was to cut down the lattice to reduce the amount of digging required. I ran home and grabbed my jig saw and power station. This went without a hitch and was able to cut the lattice down with my jigsaw and install it under the perimeter of the shed.

Sidequest 3: It’s fall and I finally got around to sealing my driveway before winter and part of that was a lot of leaf blowing. I have a cordless blower which I use regularly to clean up. But I also have a corded leaf blower which is much stronger. I almost pulled out my long extension cords when I remmbered the battery pack. I found a short extension cord and used the power bank with the corded leaf blower and it worked beautifully. I enjoyed the stronger blower with the benefit of semi-cordless. I did have to carry the blower and battery pack but IMO it was worth it and a small price to pay

One of the available accessories is a couple of solar panels that EBL was kind enough to include for the review. Charging was uneventful. I found out later that I didn’t actually have my wires connected like EBL suggested but I was still getting 150W of input. Evidently, there are a couple of ways to plug in the solar panels. I used the brick charger for the most part and it also charges @ 150W.

I was quite nervous about taking the box apart. You don’t know what you’re getting into when opening these boxes and one mistake can cause a short very easily. It looks like a 6s configuration. It also looks to be a product from 2021 and after finding this I was able to find some old content on this device.

I was able to survive in the shed all summer and I rather enjoyed exercising in the heat with a simple fan….but winter is nearly upon us. I hate being cold. It’s been cool this last week and exercising has been enough to overcome the cold quickly but soon that won’t be the case. I am hoping that one of the two small heaters will be able to keep me warm. I found a 12V car heater designed for a car @ 120W and a 120V AC 500W space heater.

I hope that 120W/12V spec is a lie or else I may not be able to use it based on the power bank’s specifications.

Both worked fine. I was able to run both for about 30 minutes and lost 50% of the charge. I removed my jacket and was sweating by the end.

I am very thankful to EBL for sending over the review unit. I have used the power bank all summer and nearly all of the fall. I found it reliable and easy to use. Calculating cost per Wh also suggests it provides good value against competitors.

You can pick one EBL MP1000 charging station directly through EBL’s website (wait for the affiliate link) or on Amazon, both for $469 after a $240/$250 discount is applied. The solar panel is available separately for $169 on EBL or $149 on Amazon.

Karl is a technology enthusiast that contributes reviews of TV boxes, 3D printers, and other gadgets for makers.

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