Design and Connections

These things are so small that it’s really easy to put them in your front seat and charge them while driving. That’s one of their big pluses. Bluetti has eliminated the big power brick in their entire lineup. They’ve moved that brick inside the unit, which I think is really good. This is a universal standard power cord. If you lose it, you can buy another one anywhere. This MC4 to XT60 is also very common. You can buy them off Amazon all day. I think common connections are really important, and one of the best things about Bluetti is they keep it simple.

This little unit is teeny tiny. Oh man, from above, it’s noticeably smaller than the EB3A. The EB3A is 286 watts with a 600 watt inverter, and the new AC2A is a 204 watt hour battery with a 300 watt inverter. So, substantially less. The size is really much, much smaller, weight-wise. This will probably be it if you are looking for the smallest and lightest.

Comparison with EB3A

The assumption is that you need a small power station because if you need a bigger one, this isn’t it. So don’t even make any kind of comparison to something bigger. This is 204 amp hours, and that’s not a lot of amp hours.

To my mind, this is the main competitor to the Bluetti EB3A. In fact, as I told you when they contacted me about the AC2A and I looked at the specs for it, I said, “Why did you make this?” I really literally wrote them back and said, “I don’t know why you made this because the specs are okay, but the EB3A is better.” And that is still my opinion after testing it.

If I’m in a van, minivan, car, or SUV and need a really teeny tiny power station, and I don’t have much money, I’d buy the EB3A. It’s just that simple. The only advantage is that I would think seriously about the AC2A if the price is lower. It’s a great, great power station.

When I tested this EB3A, I said, “This is the most remarkable, powerful small power station I’ve ever seen. It has anything and everything you could want.” The AC2A has a 300 watt inverter, which will be adequate for nearly all of you. But the EB3A has a 600 watt inverter, and that’s just better. There will be things you can run on the EB3A that you can’t run on the AC2A. They both will accept 200 watt hours of solar coming in. The only real advantage I see to the AC2A is that it’s a little smaller and 2 lbs lighter.

Price Considerations

So when it comes to which one to get, I’d buy them strictly on price. Whichever one was on sale, whichever one cost less. If this will fit your needs, I love the size and weight. It’s just really, really standard. The looks are very, very similar now. This has become a common look. There’s no question this feels like it’s about half the weight. That’s what they’re selling here, something incredibly light and small, compact, and portable. They will both receive 200 watts of solar power, which is plenty for this battery size.

Will it run a fridge?

If you want to run a fridge, this won’t do it. It’s just too small. You need 1,000 watt hours to run a fridge, and you need a couple hundred watts of solar to come in and replenish the battery once it’s done. So both of these are too small to run a fridge, and that’s what most of you want. If you want to run a fridge, the absolute minimum I recommend is the Bluetti EB70 or their new AC70. They will both run a fridge, but again, it’s marginal.

On cloudy days, you’ll never get it fully charged. The next day, you’ll be completely out of battery throughout the night. So you really have to think about that if you want to run a fridge through the short winter days.

Conclusions

When I look at these two, I would automatically buy the EB3A. I think it’s the best, by far, small power station you can buy, and it’s Bluetti. It’s Lifepo4. I’m just completely confident in their quality. So, I’d buy it now. I’d consider the AC2A. It’s just not as good, and if it were really cheap, I would seriously consider it, but it would have to be really cheap. So that’s basically my review, and my question is still, why did they make this? It doesn’t seem to offer anything you’re not already getting in the EB3A.

The EB3A was so exceptional it’s going to be really, really hard to beat. Another disadvantage is that the AC2A does not have a wireless charging pad on top. You put your phone down, and it’s charging, which is really handy. This doesn’t have that. They did away with it.

So there you go. That’s my final thoughts. It works just great, just like all Bluetti’s have. The specs are okay, but unless there’s a compelling reason for the price, buy the EB3A. It’s still the small power station of choice.