Say goodbye to inefficient, bulky, and polluting gas-powered generators. The Anker Solix F2000 ushers in an era of silent, clean, emergency power storage. Let’s take a closer look at this large but surprisingly portable battery backup for almost any situation.
Anker SOLIX F2000
The Anker Solix F2000 is a perfect portable power source for almost anything. The size of a small suitcase, the 2,048Wh battery features 12 ports. It can also output at up to 2,400W with special SurgePad output, allowing for inductive loads up to 3,600W of output without overloading the battery. Even though it weighs 67 pounds, there is a retractable carrying handle and wheels to help make the battery pack portable and able to take over rough terrain. It can be charged with AC power, a car charger, or with up to 1,000W of solar power.
Overview of the Anker Solix F2000
You’ll find portable power banks are pretty much everywhere and in any size available. The Solix F2000 is the size of a small suitcase and is designed to power multiple items for many hours.
Weighing 67 pounds (30.4kg), the battery pack measures 20.7 inches (52cm) wide, 9.84 inches (25cm) wide, and 15.55 inches (40cm) high. Despite such high specs, the battery doesn’t take up a lot of space. Even in my very overpacked garage with two cars and various other items, I was easily able to find a place for it.
On the front of the Solix F2000 are the various output ports and an easy-to-read display screen that shows al the pertinent information, including battery percentage remaining, output/input wattage, the estimated time for the battery to deplete, the estimated time to recharge, and more.
Directly above the display is a long LED light strip with three brightness levels. In an emergency, you can also switch the light to an SOS mode. When you’re in an emergency situation, the usefulness of a built-in light source can never be underestimated. Even on the lowest setting, the light was strong enough to illuminate my dark garage. Another excellent design feature is the long flat top. I used it multiple times to place my iPhone, iPad, and other smaller electronics when charging—though I should note, there is no Qi charging pad here.
The battery has a 2,048Wh capacity. For a better idea of what that can provide in real-world terms, that’s enough power for 21 hours of use for a full-size refrigerator or 132 charges of a smartphone. So it’s perfect to use as a home backup, while camping, or anywhere you need power.
And you won’t need to decide what devices you need to power as the F2000 sports 12 ports. There are 4 AC ports, 3 USB-C ports, 2 USB-A ports, 2 car outlets, and a TT-30 RV port.
The AC ports can provide up to 2,400W of output in total. That should allow you to charge anything you can think of. In my testing, I was able to use all four AC ports simultaneously with no issue at all. Anker says that special SurgePad technology allows up to 3,600W of output without overloading the battery, though this will only work with specific inductive devices (those with a large motor or heating element).
On the rear of the battery is an AC input and solar/car input to juice up from various sources. Anker includes an accessory bag with an AC charging cable, car charging cable, and solar charging breakout cable with ports for up to 5 panels.
At the bottom is a port to attach the optional Anker 760 Expansion Battery. Using that will double the capacity to 4,096Wh. While Anker offers a bundle with both the F2000 and expansion battery, it’s always nice to know that if in the future you want to expand the system, it can be done easily.
Sporting such a large capacity, the F2000 isn’t exactly svelte, just like many other similar battery packs. But it sports a secret weapon to make transporting it much easier.
On the right side, below one of the carry grips, is a retractable handle. When you’re ready to go, just pop it out and prop the battery pack onto the very sturdy, 4.72-inch wheels on the left side. That simple execution helps turn a large and heavy suitcase of bricks into something that can be taken pretty much anywhere.
While using the battery pack, I’ve extensively used the carry handle to transport it. I tried it out on multiple surfaces—everything from a concrete garage to a muddy and hilly campsite. And I never had an issue getting stuck. While the F2000 will spend most of its time tucked into my garage, being able to haul it anywhere when I need to by myself makes it even better.
When needing to lift the battery pack into a car or onto another high place, there are two very sturdy carry handles on both sides. It is still heavy, but I was able to easily put it in the rear of my SUV.
Using the Anker Solix F2000
I’ve taken the F2000 on both a camping trip and used it around the house, and it has easily lived up to expectations. While camping over a weekend, I used several AC devices, including a small kettle to boil water for coffee and a travel pellet grill. I also charged my smartphone and other electronics at the same time. At night, I pulled the F2000 into my tent and used the LED light strip as a night light on the lowest setting.
One of the unexpected positives of the battery pack is how quiet it is when being used. If you’ve never used a large power bank like the F2000, they use fans to keep the internal circuitry from overheating. I’ve used other similar-sized battery packs, and the fans can sometimes be an annoyance, especially when being used inside.
But when using it at night inside the tent and even inside my home, the fan noise was minimal. Since I couldn’t try out the F2000 during a home power outage, thankfully, I used it at home by plugging in many appliances. First, I plugged in my refrigerator and then used both an electric chainsaw and a leaf blower with no issues.
Two great features also help you conserve power. Power Saving Mode is activated when you press a button near the screen of the battery pack. When that’s active, it will automatically shut down an output port when a connected device has been fully charged.
There’s no need to activate the Smart AC Plug feature. If the AC plug is turned on, and there is no device connected for 15 minutes, the output will automatically be shut down.
Multiple Charging Options, Including Solar
When you need to charge the F2000, there are multiple ways to keep it full. When using AC, you can charge the power station from 0 to 80 percent in 1.4 hours. A complete 100% change takes just two hours.
That’s significantly faster than the vast majority of similar battery packs. In real-world testing, those numbers easily held up. I charged from 0 to 80 in 82 minutes.
You can also harness the power of the sun with solar charging. Using the maximum 1,000W of solar input, you can juice up the F2000 from 0 to 100 percent in 2.5 hours. If you’re new to backup battery systems and solar technology, Anker offers bundles with solar panels. The F2000 uses a standard XT-60 solar plug. If you have another type of solar panel, like I did, you will need to purchase an adapter. But those are less than $10 on Amazon. My solar panel is only 100W, but it provides a steady charge to the battery pack on a sunny day. The Solix F2000 is compatible with any solar panel that outputs in the range of 11-60V, though at 11-32V you’re limited to 10A (300W); for the full 1000W you’ll need panels in the range of 32V-60V (or run some in series).
Finally, you can also charge the battery pack with a car charging cable. It would take around 20 hours to completely charge a depleted power station via this method, but it’s good to know that there are multiple options in an emergency.
Simple App Control
Even if you’re away from the F2000, you can still get up-to-date information about the charge status and more with the Anker app foriOSorAndroid.
After downloading the app for the first time, you’ll need to hit the Bluetooth button near the battery pack’s screen and then pair using the app. Each subsequent time, you will also need to press the button on the battery pack for the Bluetooth module to connect to your phone.
The app is handy to control the battery pack and more. At the top of the page, you can see how much battery life remains in percentage, along with an estimate in days, hours, and minutes. You’ll also see the temperature of the battery.
Below the input information, you can see detailed information about all the output ports. For the AC ports and car ports, you can remotely turn them off to save power or even schedule them to turn off automatically after a certain amount of time. Finally, you can also toggle Power Saving Mode and turn on or off and adjust the brightness of the LED strip.
In the Settings menu, you can further tweak the battery pack, including changing the AC charge rate, screen brightness, and screen timeout interval.
While I would have liked the ability to connect the battery pack via Wi-Fi like other competing options, app control is a great additional feature. In my testing, I was able to connect to the F2000 in the garage anywhere in my house and from a significant distance outside. It’s great to be able to view the battery information and more at a quick glance.
Anker Solix F2000: Ready to Hit the Road
The Anker Solix F2000 does a great job checking off all the boxes for anyone needing a versatile and well-designed power station.
While it retails for more than twice what a traditional generator would cost, it’s much more useful and practical. Instead of having to worry about whether a generator will start up in an emergency, or if you have enough gas to power it, keep Anker’s option plugged in, and it will be there ready to go when needed.
And if you’re ready to head out to an outdoor adventure, or travel in an RV, the Solix F2000 is also a great travel companion. Just pop out that handle and go.
