Putting the Anker F3800 Power Station to the Test: What Can It ACTUALLY Handle?

Aug 19

The Anker F3800 Power Station has been one of the standout portable power stations in 2024. While there’s no doubt that this unit offers some pretty impressive specs and features, we wanted to make sure that it actually lives up to the hype for ourselves.

To do so, we put the F3800 through a series of our own rigorous tests to determine exactly what it can and can’t handle. If you’re unfamiliar with the Anker SOLIX F3800, make sure you check out our earlier video review: Anker F3800 – I Think Anker Just KILLED the Competition. It provides a detailed overview of the unit and what it was designed for.

For now, let’s just get straight into the testing and results!

Baseline Testing

Before diving into the more intense tests we ran it through, let's start with some baseline assessments to get a clear picture of the Anker F3800’s capabilities:

Efficiency Test:

The F3800 comes equipped with a built-in 3,800Wh battery. To check the internal battery’s efficiency, we put it under a 5,100W load, which is just under the limits of the F3800’s 6,000W inverter.

Theoretically, it should have lasted for about 44 minutes. In reality, it powered through for 37 minutes, translating to an efficiency of around 84%. While 84% isn’t perfect, it’s actually not too bad.

Battery Charging Speed Test:

We plugged the F3800 into a standard 120V AC wall outlet. According to Anker, it should have fully charged in about 2 hours and 25 minutes, but it actually completed the charge in just 2 hours and 35 minutes, exceeding expectations. It might just be ten minutes, but that’s definitely worth highlighting!

Surge Testing:

One of the most impressive things about the F3800 is its 6,000W inverter, which is supposed to have a surge rating of 9,000W, so we wanted to push the inverter to its limits.

During our test, it only sustained an 8,000W load for about 2 to 3 seconds, while a 7,200W load lasted roughly 10 seconds. Not the strongest showing, but not terrible either. With a 9,000W surge rating, we figured it would be able to sustain these spikes for longer without powering down.

Solar Input Testing:

Here's where the F3800 faced some real challenges. While it has the potential to hit a 2,400W rate of solar charging, hitting that number is nearly impossible due to the way Anker designed the F3800. We’ll discuss the solar charging issue in more detail later.

Pass-Through Charging Capabilities:

The F3800 has the ability to support pass-through charging for its solar input. Basically, this means you can draw power to run an appliance or charge a device while simultaneously charging the F3800’s internal battery with solar power. We tested it and it works!

In situations where you’re off-grid, this is a really useful feature. However, the F3800 doesn't support pass-through AC charging, which is a huge letdown. If you're trying to run something from one of the onboard plugs while the unit is charging via AC, you’re out of luck.

Real-World Scenario Tests

Now that we’ve covered some of the more baseline tests that we ran the F3800 through, we can get into the results of our more practical tests. For these, we tried to see how the F3800 would handle the demands of more real-world scenarios involving everyday appliances and tasks.

Kitchen Testing:

Another one of the standout features you get with the F3800 is its dedicated 50-amp output, which could be useful for tradesmen and DIY enthusiasts needing a power supply for demanding power tools, like drills or even a welding machine. It also has a standard generator L14 plug, which is ideal for connecting to a transfer switch.

To test these, we started by running a fridge and a freezer—no surprises there, the F3800 handled them effortlessly. The real test was to see how many appliances we could run at the same time. With a microwave, toaster, coffee maker, and a double burner running on an electric stove all going at once, the F3800 actually performed pretty well.

With that said, we felt we were pushing it to the limits when we tried it with the oven and stove top combination. For example, running the microwave, brewing coffee, and toasting two bagels only used up about half the F3800’s capacity. However, when we added a double burner into the mix, the F3800 started to show signs that it was struggling.

With the oven set to 350°F, you could still run the microwave, toast a bagel, and brew a pot of coffee, but adding any more high-demand appliances would push the unit to its breaking point and force it to shut off.

This actually is pretty reasonable though. If you are planning on running your entire kitchen on a single F3800, just try to keep timing in mind. Maybe just wait a minute or two for your toaster before you preheat the oven.

Garage Testing:

Next, we moved the testing to the garage, which is where the F3800 really started to shine. Rather than just seeing how it would handle a bunch of different appliances at the same time, we checked it with various high-demand scenarios:

Handling Heavy Loads: We subjected the F3800 to some pretty standard garage tasks. This meant running with a base load of around 700W, which included some lights and a space heater. Interestingly, the F3800 read this base load as slightly less than other units we’ve tested, hovering just under 600W, so it handled it with ease. The same could be said for a few other things we plugged into it.
Air Compressor Test: The F3800 had no trouble running a 3,000W air compressor. Getting it started was the hardest part, but the unit powered through, even though the display screen lights flickered a bit as it struggled to meet the initial surge demand.
Car Lift Test: The F3800 also successfully powered a 2,200W car lift, a task that even the much larger EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra had difficulty with. The loaded car lift ran smoothly, and we were impressed with how well the F3800 managed this incredibly demanding load.
Stacking Loads Test: To really push the F3800, we started stacking loads in the garage. We began with a table saw, which added another 1,000W to the mix. It handled this task with ease. We then moved on to running a welding machine, a task that requires managing significant surge loads. The F3800 pulled it off, although we could plainly tell it was right on the edge of its capabilities.

The Solar Input Issue

Let’s circle back to the F3800’s solar input issue. The unit has two solar input ports, each within a 32-60V range, and a 25A Max. The problem lies in the fact that Anker designed this unit around their own brand of foldable solar panels, which are relatively low in amperage.

If, like most people, your solar array is built with standard solar panels, it’s almost impossible to get the full 2,400W into the unit without exceeding either the voltage or amperage limits.

For example, most of the 200W panels we use here at The Solar Lab are around 25V and 10A. The best we could achieve when we connected them to the F3800 was 1,200W, which is far below the unit’s potential. It’s an issue we just wish they considered during the design phase. We get that Anker wants people to use their solar panels, but it’s really annoying knowing a power station is capable of handling a high solar input, but just can't do it for such an arbitrary reason.

Our Final Impression of the Anker F3800

Despite having some limitations, especially with solar input, the Anker F3800 Power Station is still a really impressive unit.

In the right situations, it performs exceptionally well. This is particularly true when it comes to holding its own in demanding environments, like a garage or workshop. While it may not have wowed us in every one of our tests, it consistently delivered solid performances, proving itself to be a really practical and reliable portable power solution.

The F3800 may not be perfect, but it definitely holds its own in the increasingly crowded world of portable power stations!

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