Jackery Explorer 240 Portable Lithium Battery Review

"I ordered this power station knowing it probably wouldn’t get to me until after Hurricane Florence had hit. This seller knew that too, so they took it upon themselves to send me a really nice, large battery pack charger at no cost to make sure I would have something before the storm to get me through. Who does that? I never write reviews, but I just had to let others know what a wonderful kind gesture this seller did for me, a stranger, facing a hurricane. The power station came the following week after the storm as expected, but it was fine, because I had this battery backup (great product by the way) that kept my phones and tablets fully charged. In a world of confusion and chaos, what an amazing act of kindness. I would buy anything from this seller!!!!"

"This product works well, but there is a challenge for CPAP users that needs to be considered. The "passthrough" power on the 110v outlet is not actually passthrough. What this means is that the 3-hr cutoff time affects this outlet, as well, so if you intend to use this device as a UPS during storms while you sleep, you'll need to manually turn the device on each night. Also, f you are not running your humidifier, many CPAP machines do not consume 10+ watts of power - so the battery will turn off, and subsequently the CPAP machine will power off, every 3 hours all night long. The way around this is to have your humidifier running so that you draw more than 10 watts of power. As I mentioned, the product works well. However, the auto-cutoff feature and lack of true passthrough functionality could be problematic for CPAP users with severe sleep apnea. Please be aware of this and be sure that your CPAP unit is drawing at least the 10+ watts of power required to keep the Power Station "awake." I hope Jackery might consider issuing a firmware update that gives the ability to completely defeat the auto-cutoff feature, and/or to make the "wall plug" port exempt when the Power Station is connected to grid power. I would also like to take a moment to mention that Jackery's customer service group is exceptional and has already reached out to me directly regarding my concerns. Hopefully a method of modifying/disabling the 3-hour inactivity timer will be included in the future."

"OK, so I'll admit that I'm a Jackery fan. I love their stuff. I travel with a Titan or Powerbar (depending on the trip) and they've treated me extremely well despite the abuse I put them through. When I saw that this had been released, I decided I needed one. Last fall I moved to New England, and over the winter had several friends lose power as a result of winter storms. I decided this would make a decent stand-in until I could decide if I need a real generator or not. I was also planning to use it for camping, tailgating, and the like. Since I'm planning to use this in an emergency, I thought I should put it through it's paces a bit to make sure it wasn't going to leave me high and dry. The first thing I did when it got to my house was plug it in to charge. I'm not sure how long it took; I just left it overnight. The next day, I took it out and started playing with it. I started out easy- I set it out at a BBQ and let people use it to charge phones and whatnot. Then I started ramping things up a bit, and used it to power a boom box. Before long, folks were getting in on the act and seeing what other stuff it would power. It ran a shop light when it started to get dark and the kids still wanted to play in the yard. We hooked a power strip up to the AC port and ran the aforementioned boom box, shop light, some string lights on the patio, and then (just to see if we could) a box fan that was in the mud room. The fan was a bit much- while it did run, it wasn't quite as fast as when plugged into the wall, so we decided that was probably the limit. Still, and impressive unit. Over the next week, my wife used it constantly to charge her phone and other small things. I never plugged it back in for a recharge in the entire week. Here's the kicker: this afternoon, when it was 90 degrees and humid, my wife called to say that the power was out. This woman does not like being hot. She came up with a solution- plug one of the window A/C units into the Power Station. I told her that it was probably too much current draw and likely wouldn't work, but I was on my way. By the time I got home, the power was back on, but during the blackout, my wife tried her idea anyway, and much to my surprise, it actually worked. Apparently, this thing has the juice to power a 10,000 BTU window A/C unit. I had originally planned this for emergency power, and boy does it deliver. I also went ahead and ordered the solar panel, but haven't played with that one yet. I'll write something up on it when I do. I've included a few pics, but the bottom line is this: this thing is absolutely worth it. It kept me from dealing with a very hot, grumpy wife in the middle of the summer, and that's a win."

"Needing something to power my CPAP machine while camping, I chose the Jackery Explorer 240 and it has surpassed both my needs and expectations. This is an update as I have enjoyed using the Jackery Explorer 240 numerous times over the past year. The E 240 continues to provide consistent power to my CPAP machine. On numerous occasions I have used the unit for 5 nights of uninterrupted power, mostly in the 8-9 hours range of CPAP use. Never have I experienced any type of auto-shut off as others have commented on. The E 240 packs nicely in its carry bag, is light weight and fits in the corner of the tent next to my CPAP machine. It recharges quickly and stays recharged for months, while in winter storage. When I was first considering this purchase I debated the need for the solar option to recharge while in the field. Now that the E 240 has proven I can get 5 nights of use, which is the extent of my normal time out, I'm glad I did not spend the extra. The Jackery Explorer 240 has proven to be one of the best camping lifestyle purchases I have made."

"Finally got my hands on this beautiful and clean piece of electrical storage goodness and was pumped to try it out. I already own an Explorer 160 and needed something with a little more juice and the 240 is the perfect upgrade. My girlfriend isn't much of a camper but she said if I could make it glamping style, kind of like Tom Haverford did, she might give it a go, so my first attempt required me to setup my rooftop deck to entice her into how great being outdoors can be. To start it off, I lined the deck with some lights, and setup a dark room tent (one of those Coleman's that keeps out most light) with a comfy queen sized mattress and two sleeping bags in case it gets too cold. To make it a little more posh, I brought not just a 13" Chromebook Tablet, but also, a portable projector in case we wanted to really do it big! Lucky for me the Explorer 240 has enough power to not only use all those items, but also run the air compressor for the mattress and charge up our phones. I got to say, this things really delivered! It had enough juice to run our devices and keep the led lights on until the sun came up and still had about a 45% charge. She loved this idea and is excited for our Christmas Trip out to Joshua Tree next month :) Jackery really knocked it out of the park with this unit! The only thing else I'd like is a carry case for the unit, luckily I was able to get one for $40 also on Amazon."

"So I'll start with my personal needs for this unit as we know they all vary per individual... my primary need for this unit is to power a 12v fridge/freezer while dry camping, secondary need as a back up for power outages. Now if money were no object, a fancy dual AGM battery setup would've been my first choice to power my fridge. However after doing some research and based on my actual needs, I feel the investment was a little overboard for something that is only useful if one is in actual proximity of the vehicle. Now this little unit won't preform anywhere near a nicely setup dual battery system, but when you factor cost and convenience into this unit, it is a decent deal if you ask me (disclaimer: I am new to this stuff). So much that I actually purchased a second unit while they were on a decent sale. Next, I considered the dominate brand Goal Zero, namely the Yeti 400 with the replaceable AGM battery which is rated at 396Wh. I also considered the Suaoki 400Wh (technically 444Wh) which has a fair amount of decent reviews on here. Now both of these units are superior to the Jackery Explorer 240, but they both cost more (remember I mentioned I purchased a second unit). They both have higher rated batteries obviously, but they also have higher rated inverters (300/600 vs 200/400), so that was a factor I took into consideration. That being said, they both also weigh more. Suaoki twice as much and GZ 5 TIMES as much (yes they offer a lighter lithium unit for $600 that can not be charged via 12v car charging). The weight of the Explorer 240 is amazingly light for what it offers. So weighing my options (no pun intended) I was leaning towards the Suaoki, but I noticed a rep from the company stated they do not suggest pass through charging with the unit. Right there they lost me. So when I saw these on sale I popped on 2 of them because of the price point of $187.49, down from $249.99 and $299.99 respectably. This gives me the ability to keep one in the vehicle dedicated to the fridge/freezer and the versatility of a second unit to use away from the vehicle. Having 2 units in my opinion is a far more useful option then the need for more Wh in a single unit or the extra needed wattage with the inverters. Yes 2 units take up more space then 1, but these units really aren't that large and weigh next to nothing for what they offer. The only gripe I have with this unit is the limited 40 watt input rating. The other units can charge faster which is clearly most desired, but while dry camping and charging with solar panels, the panels themselves start to get pretty expensive the higher wattage you go and you also have to factor in storage and transporting of the larger panels or having the room to mount them on the vehicle itself. These 2 reasons are why I overlooked this limitation. I haven't fully tested them out other then running a small Honeywell HCE100 space heater (rated at 170w low, 250w high) which ran for just shy of 2 hours on low pulling about 110-115 watts (pulled roughly 225 watts on high). So that's right about at the rated 240Wh as advertised. I also picked up two 50w solar panels (not Jackery), some different lengths of cable, and some mc4 to 8mm adapters, so I'll report back once I get everything tested out. Overall I spent more then I originally intended by purchasing 2, but with the money I was considering on the Goal Zero/Suaoki units and accessories, I am still in the neighborhood. Two is one, one is none... I also purchased one of the "hard" carrying case bags while on sale. First off there is nothing hard about it. It's basically a non insulated lunch bag. It has a storage area in the top for the cords and case which is convenient. Strap and clips seem to be of decent quality. For $15.99 on sale, I would consider purchasing it again. Retail price... c'mon now."