(Last Updated On: October 8, 2022)

Power stations can be expensive, but depending on your needs, they can also be affordable because of the various ranges there are now. Low-capacity and low-wattage power stations can be purchased by most consumers and can be a great benefit in the case of an emergency. With newer technologies being created for these electric portable power sources and more competition entering the market, this has significantly reduced the cost for more base-type power stations.

In this review, we’re looking at this Powerworks 500W power station with a 540Wh capacity. This unit comes at a low cost and a power output that can do a decent job of powering plenty of appliances around your home in the event of a power outage or if you want to take it on a road trip. Let’s take a closer look.

Power

Power Capacity:

For charging devices such as phones, tablets, and laptops, the 540Wh of this Powerworks power station will give you plenty of full chargers. For phones, you can fair about 40 total charges or more, giving days or weeks of dependability without needing to recharge the unit. For tablets and laptops with larger batteries, you’re looking at about 8-10 total power charges, which is still a lot considering that laptops usually have a 10,000mAh battery, and a full recharge for one is another full day of usage time. For the most part, this is what you can expect from most power stations in general, with them having insanely high capacities for charging devices no matter what capacity range you’re in.

It’s a different story for powering appliances as you can’t consider a battery of an appliance; instead, you have to consider the appliance’s wattage and the 540Wh capacity of this power station. A 1-watt appliance can be powered for nearly 540 hours from this unit, while a 540-watt appliance can only be powered for about an hour; so it’s really about dividing the 540Wh capacity of this power station by the wattage of the appliance that you’re going to power, and that is how you find an estimated runtime.

For 540Wh capacity, you’ll still get a decent runtime if you can keep the appliance wattage below 250W, such as a 30W tower fan that we had running from this power station. The 30W fan could run for about 15-18 hours if you have nothing else plugged in. Overall, the 540Wh capacity is decent, and you practically have the option to use the power station for many hours, depending on what appliance you’re powering from it.

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Output Charging:

This Powerworks PSE701 power station has many output ports to use. You get one DC 5521 port for the DC section and a cigarette lighter port. For the USB section, there are a total of 6 charging ports, and the AC outlet section has two outlets. Let’s take a closer look to see just how reliable using this Powerworks unit is.

USB Charging

The charging ports are surprisingly good on this Powerworks unit but could be better. The best part about charging is that this power station has a 100W USB-C Power Delivery port, which means you can charge most USB-C chargeable laptops at their max speed. You can also use the USB-C port to fast charge most phones and tablets; 100W USB-C ports are usually prevalent with higher capacity and higher wattage power stations, so it’s great to see a mid-range unit making use of a 100W port.

The other five ports are USB-A ports. One of the USB-A ports uses Quick Charge, which you can use to fast charge most Android phones. The downside of the charging section is that the other four USB-A ports use a 12W output, which is just standard charging.

In our test, we plugged in a Lenovo laptop to the USB-C port and a Galaxy Note 9 to the USB-A Quick Charge port; both devices could fast charge at their max speed. For the standard ports, we plugged in a Google Pixel, LG G7, and a Galaxy A51, and all these phones were standard charging, while the Lenovo laptop and the Note 9 continued to charge fast.

It would have been better to see possibly two USB-C ports or more USB-A Quick Charge ports; the charging ports work well enough.

DC Ports

The DC section is the same as most power stations, but this Powerwork power station has a single DC 5521 port, while most others have two. There is also a cigarette lighter port; the cigarette lighter port and the DC 5521 port each have a 12V/10A output. These DC ports are likely the least used on any power station, but they can help power portable tire pumps and electric coolers.

AC Outlets

Using two AC outlets for a 500W power station is excellent because some 500W units, such as the Jackery Explorer 500, costs more than this Powerworks unit and only use a single AC outlet. In this case, there’s one 3-prong outlet and one 2-prong outlet.

The 500W output leaves quite a wide range of appliances you can use with this Powerworks unit; of course, there are limits, and you can’t power just any appliance in your home.

With our first test, we plugged in a mini fridge and a tower fan; we got a 120W output. So keeping drinks and yourself cool on a summer day is no problem for this power station.

For the next test, we plugged in a stand mixer, set it to high, and it ran at about 45W; this a strange test because the stand mixer ran just fine on its high setting, but at its highest setting, the stand mixer runs well above 45W. So there could be something a bit off with the wattage reading. While running the stand mixer, we also ran a can opener, and with both appliances running, we reached a 125W output.

The significant part about the mini fridge being powered from this Powerworks power station is that the unit has a 1000W peak surge. When the mini fridge was turned on, the initial output was about 800W-900W for about two seconds, then it fell to about 90W. So it shows that having a Peak Surge output is very helpful, such as powering a fridge where the wattage goes up but goes back down quickly and levels out.

We then tested a 55-inch Samsung 4K OLED TV and played some Infamous Second Son using a Playstation 5. The TV was the appliance being powered from the power station, not the PS5. The TV ran perfectly, and the output was 140W but would change depending on what was on the screen.

We plugged in a Lasko heater to push this Powerwork power station past its limits to see what would happen. Either the unit would regulate power output and still run the heater, or it would automatically turn off when going past its 500W output. The power station automatically turned off when the output reached about 800W, showing that you cannot continuously power appliances above the 500W range as power is not regulated with this unit.

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Input Charging:

The recharging for this unit was a little of a letdown because you only get an AC charging brick included in the box. However, you can still use a solar panel to recharge this unit, but you will have to provide your solar panel and cable.

The AC recharge rate for this power station is 120W, and that is just fine, but it could be better, as you’ll be waiting for about 4-5 hours for a full recharge. The USB-C port does not act as input to recharge the unit and can only be used as an output; we think this was a missed opportunity to make the USB-C port an input to recharge the power station to get a faster recharge rate.

Design

Size and Weight:

The power station has a 10-inch length, a 6-inch width, and an 8-inch height. The weight of the unit is 11 pounds. So a pretty small power source is much easier to carry than those 1000W+ power stations that are incredibly heavy. The fabric handle at the top does make portability easier.

Functional Components:

All of the usable parts of this power station are at the front. At the front is where you’ll find the charging ports, display, flashlight, and power buttons. When you press a power button for each section, it will power that specific section, you’ll hear a beep, and it will also show on the display when a section is powered. The flashlight has its power button and has three settings: a constant run mode, an SOS mode, and a flashlight mode.

The display for this power station is quite helpful; as we mentioned, it shows what section is turned on, the remaining capacity percentage, and the wattage input and output. There is no estimated runtime available on display.

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Build

Structure and Material:

The build quality of this power station is good all around, as it has a solid build with nothing feeling loose or cheap. The handle at the top does cause a bit of a concern because it’s made of fabric, which can wear down over time. Remember not to drop the unit or expose it to water, as those things can damage it.

Tech:

Internal fans turn on once the power station deems it necessary when you’re charging devices or powering appliances. The unit also automatically shuts down when going over its 500W max output for a certain number of seconds, known as overload protection.

Reliability

What matters most is that your expectations align with this power station’s capability. If you want to power appliances that fit into the 500W range, then that can be done with this Powerworks power station. If you’re wondering if it can still power appliances above the 500W output, unfortunately, it cannot.

Using two AC outlets is excellent for a power station in this range, and the 100W USB-C Power Delivery port makes it feel like an up-to-date power source. The screen is reliable enough to get an idea of what’s happening with the unit, although it is missing an estimated runtime.

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Summary:

Power:

The 500W output is capable of a lot if you want to power appliances within its power range, and the output port selection is excellent for a 500W power station with two AC outlets and a 100W USB-C Power Delivery port being the most impressive outputs.

Design:

This is a small, lightweight power station for the power you’re getting behind. The fabric handle at the top makes it easier to hold the unit. This unit’s usable parts are at the front with the ports, buttons, and screen. The screen is large, easy to read, and has some helpful info except for an estimated runtime.

Build:

The Powerworks power station has a solid build and uses internal fans to keep it cool. Once the unit goes over 500W for a few seconds, it will automatically turn off. It does not regulate power output.

Reliability:

If you have no problems with the 500W max output of this Powerworks power station, it’s a great power source due to its price and the power you’re getting from it.

	Powerworks 500W PSE701 Power Station Specs
Power Capacity	500Wh
Cell Chemistry	Ternary Lithium Batteries
AC Output	500W
USB-C Power Delivery Port x1	100W
USB-A Quick Charge Output x1	18W
Standard USB-A Ports x4	12W
DC Port	12V/10A Max
Cigarette Lighter Port	12V/10A Max
AC Recharging	120W
Size	10 x 6 x 8 inches
Weight	11 Pounds

Conclusion:

One of the most popular 500W power stations is the Jackery Explorer 500; this Powerworks 500W PSE701 power station is a much better alternative. You’re getting more charging ports, AC outlets a better screen, and it all comes at a much lower price.

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