Anker’s newest power station is a good mix of power and portability

Anker just took the wraps off its new Solix F3000 power station that’s portable enough for vanlife, and powerful and scalable enough for life at home. The system recharges in a variety of ways including by solar panels, an EV charger, and gas generator with full passthrough to simultaneously power most household devices. This giant rolling battery can power critical devices — or even a whole home — during extended blackouts, reduce monthly energy bills when plugged into the home’s circuitry, or extend road trips when traveling well beyond the electrical grid.

The F3000 is built around a 3.1kWh LFP battery and inverter that converts all that stored energy into up to 3,600W of 120V AC output. You can add three additional 3.1kWh expansion batteries to it for 12kWh of total capacity. For reference, a typical US home consumes about 889kWh per month, or about 29.2kWh per day. But not every device is needed during a blackout, and vanlifers require far less capacity and power (I use about 1.6kWh per day in my own van).

You can also tie two F3000 power stations together with an optional hub to boost output to 240V / 7200W if you need to power heavy-duty AC appliances like water pumps and home air conditioners. Naturally, this power station is also slathered in outlets, including two USB-A and two 100W USB-C ports, four 20A AC, one 30A AC, and a single 12V cigarette socket. Importantly, there’s a 12V / 30A Anderson output for easy integration with an RV’s electrical system.

The integrated wheels help you relocate the F3000 to the kitchen, bedroom, or picnic table — wherever you need power, so long as stairs aren’t involved: this thing’s heavy like other power stations in its class, weighing 91.5 pounds / 41.5kg. There’s no mention of fan noise, which can be bothersome.

The Solix F3000 accepts up to 2400W of solar charging via 165V and 60V inputs when the sun is shining. Otherwise, it can be charged (with optional adapter) by a 120V gas-powered generator while simultaneously delivering up to 3600W to devices plugged directly into the unit. That little trick is even more magical when the power station is connected to the house via a bidirectional inlet box and smart meter (both sold separately) that ties the power station directly to your home’s circuitry. It means you can scale back on your whole home battery backup array (saving you lots of money) while still having the peace of mind that you can withstand an extended blackout for as long as you have liquid fuel and the ability to withstand all that noise and stink.

Notably, Anker says that the F3000 is super efficient in a new sleep mode, which reduces idle energy drain to 24.4W when powering low-wattage devices like fans and computers. That means the power station’s battery should last over five days with the inverter on but sleeping, or almost two days when powering a home fridge. Overlanders who spend weeks off the grid will welcome that efficiency.

On paper, the Solix F3000 seems like a good compromise between portability, power, and expansion, putting it in competition with EcoFlow’s Delta Pro 3, Bluetti’s Apex 300, and Jackery’s HomePower 3000, to name a few of the more popular brands. I like that it’s more portable than Anker’s flagship Solix F3800, which offers more capacity and expansion but in a tower orientation.

The Anker Solix F3000 and optional accessories will be available at full retail price starting on June 25th. You can signup now for early discounts.

Update, June 5th: We removed retail pricing originally included in this story because it violated the terms of the agreed embargo with Anker.