(Last Updated On: February 3, 2023)

Power stations are in a great spot because they have a wide selection. You don’t have to go with the highest capacity; you can choose one for your specific needs. That said, if you want to make the most of what a power station can do, such as powering nearly all the appliances in your home, higher capacity, and higher wattage appliances are the way to go. Of course, these more powerful power stations are more expensive and can be worth it.

In this review, I’m looking at this AlphaESS BlackBee 2000 2,203Wh power station with a 1600W continuous power output. This is a competent power source, but let’s check how it performed in my testing.

Power Capacity

So this AlphaESS BlackBee 2000 power station has a very high 2,203Whb capacity; this is one of the highest you can get. This is the type of capacity that you would choose if you truly want to use a power station for many days without needing to recharge it. Of course, what matters most is just how much of that 2,203Wh capacity you can use, and that’s why I conducted an AC and DC capacity test.

For the AC capacity test, I powered a Lasko heater, set it to its high setting, and it pulled about 1250W; I ran the heater until the BlacBee 2000 was fully depleted and used a watt meter to measure the capacity I could pull from the power station. Once the power station reached 0%, I got 1,990Wh AC capacity, which gave me about a 90% efficiency rating. That is pretty good; it’s better than most other AC capacity testing I’ve done on other power stations, as you can use nearly all of the capacity of this power station from the AC outlets.

With a 90% efficiency rating, you can power a 1000W heater for about two hours. You can power a 50W light or any other 50W appliance for nearly 40 hours. You can do a lot with this BlackBee 2000’s capacity, even if the actual capacity is slightly lower than the original.

For DC capacity testing, I used a load tester, with the load tester pulling about 120W and running until the power station got down to 0%. The DC capacity test ran for nearly 16 hours, and I ended up with a 1832Wh capacity, giving me an 83% efficiency rating. So the DC capacity efficiency is a little less than the AC capacity, but it’s close enough.

The capacity efficiency of this BlackBee 2000 is excellent. The highest possible wattage you can use is 1600W continuously, and if you’re using 1600W, the power station will last about an hour and a half.

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Output Charging

The output ports are plentiful with this BlackBee 2000 power station, with the unit having a cigarette lighter port, two DC barrel ports, four AC outlets, two wireless charging pads, and six charging ports.

The DC cigarette lighter port has a 12V/10A output, a standard one that can be used to power appliances that can use the connection. One of the DC barrel ports has a 12V/5A output, and the other has a 12V/3A output. I didn’t have any devices to test out with the DC ports. They’re there if you can find a use for them.

Charging Ports

 

The charging ports on this power station include four USB-A Quick Charge ports and two USB-C ports with a 60W Power Delivery output. On paper, these ports are phenomenal, but when I got to use them, they were a bit of a letdown; that’s because I could only fast charge from the USB-A ports if I had only a single device charging from any of the USB-A ports. For example, I had my Galaxy Note 9 fast charging from one Quick Charge port, then connected my LG G7 to another USB-A port, and then both phones started to the standard charge. So I couldn’t fast charge four devices simultaneously from the USB-A ports.

For full-on testing of the charging ports, I had a Galaxy Note 9, LG G7, and a Galaxy A51 connected to the USB-A ports, all of which were standard charging. At the same time, I had my Lenovo laptop and my Excitrus power bank from the two 60W USB-C ports; the Lenovo laptop was charging at 12W, and the Excitrus power bank was charging at 60W. So I could only use the full 60W of Power Delivery from one USB-C port at a time, not at the same time.

There are many charging ports on this power station, but it would have helped to know the maximum output of the whole section because I was expecting each of the ports to perform much better than they did. That said, you can still charge most of your devices and can charge them to full power many times because of the enormous capacity of this BlackBee 2000.

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Wireless Charging

There are two wireless charging pads at the top, and these are activated by having the DC section of the power station turned on. Each wireless charging pad can output 10W; they performed very well because I could fast wirelessly charge my Galaxy Note 9 and LG G7 simultaneously.

AC Outlets

Like any power station, the AC outlet is the main attraction and likely the main reason why you’re buying a power station in the first place. The BlackBee 2000 has four AC outlets, and they’re able to output 1600W and have a 3000W peak output continuously.

 

I first wanted to see if this power station could power continuously above 1600W, so first, I powered a heater at its high setting, and that gave me an output of about 1300W, and it ran perfectly as expected; then I powered a heat gun as its max setting, with the heat gun and heater running the max output simultaneously became 2330W, and this went on for about a minute until the power station automatically turned off.

The BlackBee 2000 power station automatically turning off with a 2330W output was expected; I just wanted to see what the unit was capable of, and it did very well. For the next test, I had the heater, and heat gun powered simultaneously, but this time I adjusted the heat gun to have a total power output of 1600W from the AC outlets.

 

I ran 1600W for 10 minutes, and after 10 minutes, the heater and heat gun were still on. So this AlphaESS power station has a 1600W continuous power output and can go above that only for a little bit. Regardless, a 1600W output is still very impressive and in line with the high capacity of this unit.

The other two appliances that I tested were an electric cooktop and a microwave. For the electric cooktop test, I boiled 4 cups of water in a saucepan and had the cooktop set to high, which pulled about 1000W, and it was able to boil the water with no problems. You could also use a 1500W electric cooktop with this BlackBee 2000, which would also work.

For my final test AC outlet, I powered an LG microwave and set the timer to 1 minute to heat some rice. The Microwave used about 1500W for a few seconds, then gradually went down to about 1300W, and the power station was able to power the Microwave for the full minute without any problems, and my rice was heated up.

Overall, the 4 AC outlets are plentiful, and the 1600W continuous power output ensures that you can power nearly any appliance in your home.

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Recharging

The recharging speed for this BlackBee 2000 is some of the fastest for a power station. You get an AC charging cable and an Anderson solar cable in the box. So far, I’ve tested out the AC recharging, which got me a 1350W – 1250W recharge speed which is insanely fast and can get this power station from 0% to 80% in about 1.5 hours.

This BlackBee power station has a max 600W solar input, and I will test the solar recharging using AlphaESS’s very own 300W solar panels. I will be updating this review with that testing. Also, you can recharge using AC and solar simultaneously, which can get this unit back to full power within just 1.5 hours, not just 80%.

Size and Weight

As you probably noticed and guessed, this power station is large and heavy. The BlackBee 2000 has a length of 17 inches, a width of 11 inches, and a height of 13 inches. The power station weighs 48.5 pounds. Is this power station portable? Yes. Is it easy to move around? Not really.

This is the type of power station you set down and use and rarely ever move around. Moving the unit around is made more accessible by the two handles at the sides.

Functional Components

 

Using the BlackBee 2000 power station is easy and an improvement from their previous mode. At the front is where you’ll find most of the functional parts, including the power buttons and the ports. There is a main power button, and then you have to turn on each of the sections with their power buttons.

You’ll notice the main feature at the front is the LCD that shows the power capacity, wattage input and output, and the estimated runtime for when you’re using the power station. Also, when recharging the unit, the screen shows the estimated full recharge time.

At the top of the power station are the wireless charging pads, and at the back is where you can find the AC and Anderson input ports under a cover. Another thing at the back is a compartment that you can use to store the AC and Anderson cables.

Build

The build quality of the BlackBee 2000 is on par with the competition and has a good build. The entire unit is made of plastic, but it’s all put together well. Just don’t drop the power station or expose it to water. As for the internals, even when I was maxing out the BlackBee 2000, it didn’t feel warm; this is likely because the casing is too thick for me to feel anything close to the batteries. There is an internal fan that turns on once the unit deems it necessary, and even at its fastest speed, the fan is one of the quietest I’ve heard on any power station. Sure, you can hear the fan, but in comparison to something like an EcoFlow DELTA 2, it’s not nearly as loud.

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Reliability

If you want tons of power capacity and a high wattage output that can power nearly any appliance and possibly do so for many hours, this AlphaESS BlackBee 2000 is a good choice. It’s one of the best examples of an all-out type of power station, but it could use some adjustments, such as the charging ports performing more optimally; this power station could use an upgrade to using LiFePO4 batteries as this model still uses Lithium-Ion batteries, and one final thing I would change is that this power station should feature AC pass-through charging.

Besides those adjustments, a high-capacity power station is almost always reliable, and this one is.

	AlphaESS BlackBee 2000 2203Wh 1600W Power Station Specs
Power Capacity	2203.2Wh
AC Output	1600W Continuous, 3000W Peak
DC5525 PORTS	12V⎓5A, 12V⎓3A
Car Port	12V⎓10A
TYPE-C	PD 60W
USB-A	QC3.0, 36W
Wireless charging Pads	10W (Each)
Size
AC INPUT	AC CABLE 1200W MAX
PV INPUT (Solar)	600W MAX
Size	17.2*13.4*11.4inch
Weight	48.5 Pounds

Conclusion:

The AlphaESS BlackBee 2000 power station is an absolute beast of a portable power source. No gas, all-electric. Yes, it’s large and heavy, but you can practically power any appliance you want. If the price and the specs fit your needs, then it’s a good choice.

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