CleanTechnica Tested: The Vanpowers Super Power Pro 1500

The Van Powers Superpower Pro 1500 portable power station takes all of the strengths of its bigger brother, the Super Power Pro 2000, and swaps out the cells for lithium ferro phosphate also known as LFP battery cells. LFP battery cells are thermally stable, meaning that if the cell is damaged or punctured it remains stable. It’s a huge advantage for a 41.5 pound battery pack that’s meant to be brought along on all your adventures.

The downside of LFP cells is that they are typically less energy dense, meaning they takes a larger physical volume, and they weigh more than traditional lithium-ion batteries. The two Vanpowers Superpower Pro units are packaged in the same exterior shell and weigh about the same (LFP: 41.5 lbs vs NMC: 46.5 lbs).

As the name implies, the 1500 stores less power at 1,440 watt-hours whereas the 2000 stores 2,096 watt hours of juice. In terms of density, the NMC-powered Vanpowers Superpower Pro stores 45.0 watt-hours per pound compared to 34.6 watt-hours per pound for the LFP-powered Superpower Pro 1500. The 1500 is also cheaper than the 2000 with an MSRP of $1,499 vs $1,599 for the 2000.

Image credit: Kyle Field, CleanTechnica

With the introductions out of the way, let’s dive into the testing of the LFP-based Vanpowers Superpower Pro 1500. The power output of the Superpower Pro 1500 is more than sufficient to power most day to day tasks whether it be power tools, kitchen appliances, lighting, or keeping all your devices powered up. With 2,000 watts continuous of power output and 3,000 watts of peak output capability, it was easily able to power our favorite high power draw kitchen appliances at the same time.

It easily powered our phones, laptops, and a few LED lights but those are all relatively small loads. To truly put it to the test, we hooked it up to some kitchen appliances that pull some serious power. We hooked it up to our Vitamix blender, a Kitchen Aid 500 series mixer, and a Bodum electric water kettle and cranked them all up to the max.

Image credit: Kyle Field, CleanTechnica

The combined load of these 3 appliances pulled around 1,400 watts and the Vanpowers Superpower Pro 1500 easily kept up. For comparison, a typical refrigerator pulls from 100-400 watts, and a LED TV, home router, and lights pull a few hundred watts.

These ratings are critical to understand before purchasing a portable power station as they dictate how much power you’ll be pulling and can therefore determine how long said battery can support the load during a camping trip, grid outage, or day at the park. Our testing simulates a high power draw to emulate much shorter duration use like you might see when cooking while camping or using the battery to power tools at a job site.

To fill the pack back up, we connected it to a 200 watt folding solar panel and put it out in the sun. The unit itself can accept up to 600 watts of power input from solar panels providing flexibility for different use cases. In the early morning, our panel pushed out 140 watts, peaking at 181 watts later in the day. At those rates, the 1,440 wH pack would recharge in 9 hours. Actual solar charging times will vary depending on geography, weather, angle relative to the sun, and how many panels are being used.

The Vanpowers Superpower Pro 1500 hosts it AC & DC charging ports under a small door on the right side of the unit. Image credit: Kyle Field, CleanTechnica.

Recharging from an AC wall outlet is an entirely different ballgame, with the unit pulling down power so rapidly that the included power cable gets warm and flexible. It didn’t feel dangerous, but you can definitely tell some serious power is flowing. We saw it pull anywhere from 1,600 watts, tapering down to 800 watts as the pack filled up for a total charge time of 1 hour, 40 minutes from 10%.

The Vanpowers Superpower Pro 1500 is packed in a nice compact shell with an aesthetically pleasing matte green look that makes it more comfortable for use indoors vs out in the wild. It’s luggage handle and roller wheels seem similarly designed for urban use rather than off-road. It boasts plenty of standard AC outlets on the side with a range of the more universal DC USB-C outlets up front that make it easy to just plug in and use. We liked that the charging hardware is integrated into the unit so when it’s time to charge from a wall outlet, it’s as easy as plugging in a single cable with no bulky external power brick needed.

For more information about the Vanpowers Superpower Pro 1500, head to the official Vanpowers website.

Disclaimer: Vanpowers provided the Superpower Pro 1500 to the author for the purposes of this review.

Specs

• Capacity: 1,440 Wh
• Battery Cell Chemistry: Lithium Ferro Phosphate / LiFePo4 / LFP cells
• Cycle Life: 6,000 cycles to 60% capacity
• Power Output: 2,000 watts continuous, 3,000 watts peak with Amp Up feature
• AC Charging Speed: 1,800W max @ 100-120V/16A max
• AC Charge Time: 75% charged in just 1 hour, full charge in 2 hours
• Solar Charge Speed: 600W max @ 60-160V/10A max
• Solar Charge Time: 4h via XT60, 600W, 12-60V
• 12v Auto Charge Speed: 120W max @ 12V/10A
• 12v Auto Charge Time: 13h via XT60 connector
• Ports: 14 output ports and 6 input ports
• Display: 6.1-inch color LCD display
• Weight: 41.5 lbs / 18.8 kgs
• Dimensions: 17.5 × 10.5. × 13.8 inches (44.6 x 27.6 x 35.2 centimeters)

• Warranty: 24 Months

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• Source: https://cleantechnica.com/2023/04/13/cleantechnica-tested-the-vanpowers-super-power-pro-1500/