(Last Updated On: December 6, 2018)

Portable power sources are among the most useful types of charging electronics that you’re able to take anywhere with you and the main reason for that is because they have lots of power capabilities.

These aren’t just your normal types of power banks as they have power capacities that are very high and they can power appliances and charge your devices too, which is something that not too many power banks are able to do.

Another strong point of them is that they’re able to recharge through different methods and the most common ones are through an AC adapter and another common recharging part is through a Solar panel.

This is the Renogy Phoenix Portable Generator that is able to offer quite a lot of charging and powering options and it also has versatile recharging capabilities. Let’s take a closer look to see if what it offers is really able to offer quality and charging experience that you’re able to make good use of.

Power

Power Capacity:

The power capacity of this Renogy Phoenix Portable Generator is 16Ah through its Lithium-Ion battery.

In other words, it’s a 16,000mAh power capacity that it starts with, but that’s not the power capacity that you’re likely going to receive because the capacity is going to go through a conversion when you’re charging a device or powering an appliance.

We’re going to calculate the average conversion rate that you would receive with this power supply though.

3.7 x 16,000 = 59,200 / 5 = 11,840

	Renogy Phoenix Portable Generator (Output Power Capacity = 7,400mAh)	Phone Capacity	Renogy Phoenix Portable Generator Left Over Capacity after One Charge Number of Full Charges for the Device
iPhone SE	11,840mAh	1,624mAh	10,216mAh Left Over 7.2 Full Charges
iPhone 6	11,840mAh	1,810mAh	10,030mAh Left Over 6.5 Full Charges
iPhone 6 Plus	11,840mAh	2,915mAh	8,925mAh Left Over 4.0 Full Charges
iPhone 6s	11,840mAh	1,715mAh	10,125mAh Left Over 6.9 Full Charges
iPhone 6s Plus	11,840mAh	2,750mAh	9,090mAh Left Over 4.3 Full Charges
Samsung Galaxy S6	11,840mAh	2,550mAh	9,290mAh Left Over 4.6 Full Charges
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge	11,840mAh	2,600mAh	9,240mAh Left Over 4.5 Full Charges
Samsung Galaxy S7	11,840mAh	3,000mAh	8,840mAh Left Over 3.9 Full Charges
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	11,840mAh	3,600mAh	8,240mAh Left Over 3.2 Full Charges
Apple iPad Mini 2	11,840mAh	6,470mAh	5,370mAh Left Over 1.8 Full Charges
Apple iPad Mini 4	11,840mAh	5,124mAh	6,716mAh Left Over 2.3 Full Charges

Overall, most of the time you’re going to be able to use 11,840mAh of Output power capacity and to be completely honest with you, this is not a lot of power for what the power supply is built for.

Power for Smartphones

When it comes to charging smartphones the Phoenix portable generator does a good job at providing multiple full charges to lots of phones on the market. An iPhone 6s can charge to its full power about 6.5 times and a Galaxy S8 with its 3,000mAh battery capacity can charge to full power about 4 times.

Overall, you’re able to keep your phone charged up quite a few times with this portable power source.

Power for Tablets

Charging tablets will result in a lot more power capacity being used, as tablets have high power capacities. In this case, an iPad Mini 2 or an iPad Mini 4 is able to charge to their full power about two times to their full power and a full-sized iPad Air 2 can charge to its full power about 1.5 times.

When it comes to the power capacity of this Renogy Phoenix Portable Generator, it’s really good for charging smaller devices that have similar capacities to smartphones.

This is something that actually came as a surprise because this is a Portable Generator and these devices usually have lots of power capacity they can utilize to charge devices lots of times to full power but that’s not the case here.

That said, the capacity of this generator starts to make sense when you add up its powering/charging capabilities, as well as the way it’s able to recharge.

Output Charging:

USB Ports:

The USB portion of this generator is really good. That’s because there are 4 USB ports and each of the ports are capable of an output of 5V/2.4A charging speed and the max output of the USB ports altogether is 6A.

A charging speed of 2.4A is able to charge most USB chargeable devices at their max charging speeds, except for Quick Charge compatible devices, as none of the USB ports feature Quick Charge. However, devices such as iPads are going to be able to charge at their max charging speeds with an Output of 2.4 Amps.

Since the max Output of the USB portion of the generator is 6 Amps, if you’re using all 4 USB ports at the same time, and the 6 Amp Max Output is being reached, then each of the ports will have a charging speed of 5V/1.5A. A charging speed of 5V/1.5A is still really good and able to charge devices noticeably quickly.

If you want the fastest charging experience with the USB ports then you should charge either two or three devices at once so the Max Output of 6 Amps doesn’t split up too much.

AC Outlet:

The Phoenix generator uses a single AC Outlet. It has an AC Voltage of 110V and its AC Frequency is 60Hz. The Output of Watts that it’s capable of is 150Watts and it does so with a Wave Form of Pure Sine Wave.

A 150Watt power output when it comes to an AC Outlet is okay when it comes to a portable generator as it’s able to power things on the Mini spectrum. Such as lamps, mini fans and also mini fridges.

So you basically have to make sure what the wattage requirements for your appliances are before you decide to purchase this generator because it has a Watt output that is enough to power appliances that are rather small but not enough power to larger devices that require lots more power such as blenders or TVs.

Just take a look at the appliances that you plan on using with the Phoenix generator as it doesn’t have the highest Wattage Output to power all your appliances. On the other hand, if you do want a portable generator with a higher Watt Output, take a look at these portable generators:

• Goal Zero Yeti 400 Portable Power Station
• Jackery Power Pro 500Wh Portable Power Station
• Anker PowerHouse 120,000mAh Power Bank
• Suaoki 400Wh/120,000mAh Portable Power Supply

DC Output:

There are two DC Output ports on the generator and each of them are capable of a 12V/3.0A charging speed. The max output of the DC port portion of the generator is 6A. So you’re able to use both of the DC ports at the same time at their max powering capabilities.

The DC ports are going to be most helpful for when you’re charging laptops and other devices that use DC method of charging.

12V Cigarette Socket:

Also, there’s a single 12V/12.5A 12Volt socket that can be used with any device that uses a 12V outlet. This is the same port that you most likely have in your own car, so the devices that you use with your 12Volt Outlet in your car are able to work with this outlet on this portable generator.

Input Charging:

There are 3 methods of recharging the Phoenix Portable Generator and they are:

Solar Recharging

AC Adapter

DC Adapter

The AC and DC Adapter method of recharging is the best because it’s able to recharge the generator at 17/30V/3A.

Of course, if you’re using the DC method of recharging then it would be lower than that charging speed because 12V Outlets within vehicles are only capable of outputting 12 volts. So if you want the fastest recharging for the generator then it’s best to do it with the AC Adapter, because then it would result in a full recharge within 4-5 hours.

The most useful and versatile method of recharging that this power supply has is the 10Watt Solar panels that are built-into the generator.

They’re able to recharge the power supply within 15 hours of continuous sunlight. So this portion of recharging is going to be most useful when the sun is out and you’re nowhere near an AC Outlet or a 12V Outlet to recharge the power supply.

With that said, you can actually recharge the Phoenix Portable Generator fast by adding more solar panels to it. Just take a look at the table below of what’s possible if you recharge it using higher Watt solar panels.

Anker PowerHouse 120,000mAh Power Bank

Similar Portable Power Supply

Design

Size and Weight:

It’s quite a large portable generator but it’s rather manageable because it’s about the size of a briefcase and so you can carry it without too much of a hassle even with its weight. It has a length of 16.1 inches, a width of 13.7 inches, and a thickness of 3.8 inches.

The weight of the charger is 12.7 pounds. Overall, you can take this anywhere with you but you’re not going to want to carry it for long periods of time.

The handle on it makes it a lot easier to hold. Even though it’s very portable and easy to hold, it’s important to know that you cannot take this on commercial flights because it has a 192Wh battery and the FAA has their limits set at 100Wh.

Functional Components:

It’s an easy to use portable generator that you shouldn’t have too much trouble using.

The Right Side:

On the right side of it is where you’re able to find 4 USB ports, 2 DC Output ports, a 12V Cigarette Outlet, and the AC Outlet. All of these are covered by a door that you can flip open by a switch sort of button that is at the top of these functional ports.

To Left Side

Then on the opposite side of this, is where you’re able to find the Input (recharging) methods of the Phoenix portable generator, which is where you’re going to find the DC Charge ports where you can add on addition Solar panels, a DC charge port that can be used with a cigarette outlet in your car and also the AC charge port that can be used with the AC adapter.

To the right of all the recharging methods, there’s a Multi-Mode LED light that can be switched from constant to an SOS type of light.

At the Front:

At the front is where there’s an LCD screen that shows you the power capacity that is left in a percentage way. Also at the front is where there’s a power button to turn on the Renogy Phoenix Portable Generator, an AC button to turn on the AC Outlet and a DC button to turn on the DC Ports.

At that the Top:

On top of the generator is where you can find the solar panels and one of them is part of the generator and the other one has to be flipped up to be exposed to the sun. Overall, it’s a really well-designed generator that is easy to use and all of its parts are easy to find.

Goal Zero Yeti 400 Portable Power Station

Build

Structure and Material:

It’s a very well built portable generator because the Phoenix portable generator is able to be waterproof up to an Enclosure level for IP65. That means once the doors are closed to the sides of the ports and the solar panels are also closed, then the generator is able to withstand water that is projected from a nozzle, it also makes it dust-tight.

Tech:

On the tech side of things, the portable generator does a good job at keeping things safe and secure because it has safety tech to make sure that it doesn’t exceed its power and if it does, it just automatically turns off. This results in keeping your devices safe and it keeps you safe too.

Reliability

It’s a reliable portable generator that you’re able to take anywhere with you, except for flights because of its Wh range.

That said, it has lots of powering and charging capabilities that make it very powerful. As most of its parts such as its DC ports and especially USB ports are very powerful and able to charge most of the devices that they’re used with at their max charging speeds.

Although the AC Outlet could be improved by having the generator able to output more watts so it can power a wider variety of appliances.

That’s because this portable generator is really only able to power mini-sized things.

Another part that is quite weak with the portable generator is that it has a 16,000mAh power capacity and that should be a lot higher when it comes to having things like Solar recharging, AC Outlets, DC ports and 4 USB ports. The power capacity will serve small capacity devices the best.

Jackery Power Pro 500Wh Portable Power Station

Similar Portable Power Supply

Summary:

Power:

The power capacity should be higher to charge higher capacity devices more times to their full power and also to power devices for a longer duration of time.

On the bright side, there are lots of charging and power options for your devices and appliances. There are Solar chargers that are built-into the generator and you can even add more Solar panels for faster recharging.

Design:

It’s about the same size as a briefcase and that makes portability with it a lot easier. Everything is easy to find and use.

Build:

It can actually be waterproof once all of its parts are covered, although, it’s important to know that it can’t be submerged into water. Light water exposure is what it’s able to handle.

Reliability:

For the most part, this Renogy Phoenix portable generator is reliable because of its charging options and powering abilities. However, it could use some improvements by having a higher power capacity because it’s too low for what the generator is capable of.

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Specs of the Renogy Phoenix Portable Generator:

• Capacity:            Advertised: 16,000mAh            Output Capacity: 11,840mAh
• Output:

USB Ports:    Each USB Port: 5V/2.4A  | Max Output: 6A

AC Outlets: 150Watts

12V Outlets: 12V/12.5A

DC Output Port: 12V/3.0A

• Input:

AC Input: 17/30V/3A

DC Input: 12V/3A

Solar Input: 10Watts

• LED Power Indicators: LCD Display
• Size: 16.1 x 13.7 x 3.8
• Weight: 12.7 Pounds

Conclusion:

The Renogy Phoenix generator has a lot of powerful parts to it and that makes it enough of a reason to actually purchase it. Although, there are parts that could be better with its power capacity needing more power and a Watt Output being higher to power a lot more appliances than it’s currently capable of.