The Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station (CleanTechnica Tested)

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Anker is one of the most trusted names in consumer electronics, and has made a massive push into the portable power station business over the last few years. Over the last few weeks, I’ve upgraded all of our home chargers to Anker’s 47-watt wall connectors, their 100-watt charging blocks, and picked up a five-pack of their 100-watt USB-C cables. These are items I purchased with my own money, and I have been buying them for years because, in my experience, they are some of the best on the market.

Anker reached out about a new addition to their family — a compact, 1 kilowatt-hour portable power station called the Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2. As the name implies, this is the second iteration of the SOLIX C1000 and it has a number of improvements that it’s bringing forward in this new version.

Right out of the gate, this portable power station is a great size. At just 24.9 lb, it’s one of the more portable units we’ve tested while still maintaining a hefty power output capability of 2,000 watts. It’s easy to lift up with one hand, and it’s compact size makes it easy to bring along on your latest adventure.

Impressively, the unit is also able to charge from an AC wall outlet at just over 1,200 watts in normal mode. That means you can recharge it in around an hour, with charging speeds being higher at low state of charge and slowing down as the unit fills up.

Anker wasn’t satisfied with normal wall charging and offers a 1,600 watt and an 1,800 watt ultra fast charging option. That translates to a full charge from 0 to 100 in 49 minutes, which borders on ridiculous. In reality, though, this is fantastic, as you can stop off at a coffee shop and recharge the unit while you enjoy your favorite hot beverage before hitting the road again.

When it’s charging at such a high rate, the Anker SOLIX C1000 has integrated fans that kick on and make it sound like the unit is going to take flight. Similarly, it can gulp down the solar power with a maximum solar input of 600 watts.

When it comes time to use your stored power, you can use one of the four 15 amp AC outlets on the front of the unit or the single 20 amp AC outlet. It also features three USB-C outlets and one USB-A outlet on the front of the unit. They are conveniently located next to the beautiful integrated color display and the power button.

On top of the unit, two handles stick out on either side which provide a secure place to pick up the unit and can also serve double duty if you need to tie the unit down to a molle panel or to the bed of a truck.

On the right side of the unit, a 12-volt automotive outlet allows you to push out 12 volts to any automotive appliances you want to run off of the battery. On the left side of the unit, you can find the AC input which charges via the included standard three-wire AC cable as well as an XC60 input where you can charge it up from DC sources.

The Anker SOLIX C1000 comes with a 12-volt automotive adapter with an XC60 on the other side that can plug directly into the unit. To use solar panels to charge the Anker SOLIX C1000, you’ll need to purchase an adapter from the pair of mc4 connectors on a standard solar panel to the DC power XC60 input on the C1000. This is very common and allows A wide range of solar panels to be used with the unit.

The Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 uses next-generation iron-phosphate, aka LFP, chemistry. This is the most stable battery chemistry being used at scale today and also supports a very large number of charge cycles. Specifically, this unit can support 4,000 charge cycles, which is excellent. That’s the equivalent of nearly daily charging for 12 full years.

Testing

We put the Anker SOLIX C1000 to the test around the house and found that its 2,000 watt power output capability was more than sufficient.

Modern portable power station hardware like this unit has such fast charging and discharging rates that the capacity really becomes the constraint. To test cycling, we got out for a 4-day overlanding trip from our home base in Southern California up into the mountains of Utah above Cedar City.

The inverter in the Cybertruck is not terribly efficient, so using it to power overlanding gear like refrigerators that need to run 24/7 is a waste of power. Using a compact efficient portable power station like the Anker SOLIX C1000 as a buffer lets you charge up the unit when you’re supercharging the truck and then run the refrigerator directly off of the portable power station for the rest of the time.

Over the 4 days of traveling from Southern California up into Utah back west into eastern Nevada and then up into the mountains above Cedar City, the Anker SOLIX C1000 performed flawlessly. The bright screen made it easy to check the charge status in person, while the app made it an easy task from the front seat.

Using a portable power station like this is not traditional but solves a very real problem. It’s compact size made it an easy tool to add to the kit, and improved my overall efficiency in the Cybertruck for the duration of the adventure.

Overall

The Anker SOLIX C1000 packs a ton of power output and energy storage into a compact lightweight unit. It’s a great size to use as a backup power source for your internet and some lights if the power goes out at home.

Similarly, it’s a great size and capacity to use as a primary battery for a small trailer or camping expedition. It can easily push out enough power to keep your laptop, drones, cameras, and phones charged up as well as running a few high-powered devices for a very short amount of time if that’s what you need to do.

Disclaimer: Anker provided the SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 to the author for the purposes of this review.

For more information about the Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2, head over to the official website.

Specs

INPUT

• AC Voltage: 120V~ 12A Max, 60Hz
• AC Power (Charging): 1,200W Max
• AC (Bypass): 1,800W Max
• AC Power (UltraFast Charging): 1,600W
• MPPT: 11-165V⎓17A Max, 1,600W

OUTPUT

• Car Charger: 12V⎓ 10A, 120W
• AC Power: 120V~ 15A, 120V~ 16.66A, 60Hz, 2,000W Max, L+N+PE
• USB-A: 5V⎓2.4A (12W Max)
• USB-A and USB-C1 Total: 20W Max
• USB-C 2: 5V~ 3V, 9V~ 3A, 15V~ 3A, 20V~ 3A, 20V~ 5A, 28V~ 5A (140W Max)

GENERAL

• Capacity: 1,024Wh
• UPS Response Time: 10 ms
• Discharging Temperature: -4°F to 104°F
• Charging Temperature: 32°F – 104°F
• Dimensions: 15.12 × 8.19 × 9.61″
• Net Weight: 24.9 lb / 11.3 kg