>> First one I got was defective.
A quick email exchange to Jackery, and I had a prepaid return label to send it back with.
A perfectly reasonable amount of time from there and I had myself a working Power Bar.
Now that I have a working one, let's brag!!
The Power Bar is a reasonably convenient bar of power, as the name suggests.
Its main selling feature, of course, is that 115v 85w (100w surge) AC power outlet on the front of it.
This is a fan-cooled garden variety modified-sine power inverter that is perfectly suited for powering things like laptops. It is less suited for small appliances, but I had no problems running my soldering iron off it.
The fan does a good job of keeping the unit cool, without being obnoxiously loud. The inverter gets gently warm when loaded, but by no means hot.
On the flip side you'll find three USB ports, a power button, and an LED display.
Press the power button to light up the display with your current charge level. Long-press it to energize the inverter and fan. Long press again to shut it off.
The USB ports generally energize themselves once you connect a load.
Using the USB-C port to connect to my USB-C phone (Samsung A5 2017), I get some confusion as to whether the phone wants to charge FROM the power bank, or send charge TO the power bank. That might be an issue with my phone more than with the Bar, though, as this is not the only device this has happened to.
If you get this problem, try turning your USB-C cable around.
The port is not compatible with the Power Delivery protocol, and cannot provide more than 5v3A.
The 5v2.4A port works perfectly.
The QuickCharge 3.0 port is not cross compatible with Samsung QuickCharge or other types of quickcharge. It only supports QualComm Quick Charge v3.0. (It will still charge your device in 5v mode.)
Runtime:
I can easily extend my Thin and Light class laptop's battery life by several hours with the Power Bar.
My phones and tablets can recharge for days from it, as expected from a bank of this capacity.
Recharging:
The Power Bar has both pros and cons in this department.
In the pro department, the USB-C 5v port is easy to find sources of power for. You can recharge this thing from ANYTHING. I have another inverter power bank that can ONLY be charged from its specific charger...
In the con department, you're shoving at most 15w through that tiny port into a 77Wh battery.
You WILL see LONG recharge times from this Power Bar. Patience, young grasshopper...
(All charge times are theoretical, from zero to full. Real charge times will be longer.)
At 15W, you're looking at a best case of a bit over 5 hours.
At 10W (typical 5v2A charger), you've got a more patient 8 hours of charging to do.
And if you can only find a 5w 1A charger? You'll be there a LONG while, at over 15 hours.
And that pathetic old 500mA 2.5w charger in your junk drawer from that old MP3 player or digital camera that you haven't used for years? More than a full day. (30+ hours)
Carbon emissions from the lifecycle of this product were measured, reduced and offset.
As certified by
ClimatePartner certified
The ClimatePartner certified product label confirms that a product meets the requirements for the five steps in climate action including calculating carbon footprints, setting reduction targets, implementing reductions, financing climate projects and communicating transparently to continuously reducing emissions.
Certification Number
XHEKVX
