Bluetti EB55 Review | The Perfect Power Station For Your Next Camping Trip
The best kind of adventures are those that take you deep into the wilderness and allow you to embrace nature as you live off-grid for a weekend or even longer. But in this digital age, to do that often requires some form of power station, like the Bluetti EB55, to keep your electronics and lights powered.
As digital creators, our need for a highly efficient and portable power station is imperative to keep our camera gear and computers charged wherever we go. And so, when Bluetti reached out to offer us the chance to test the Bluetti EB55 power station, we were thrilled.
What we’ve found is that the Bluetti EB55 is a compact yet powerful power station that can charge all your camping gear while conveniently recharging using your car or solar! It’s the ideal companion for any road trip or travelling content creator and we’re here to show you why. In this review, you can expect to find our honest opinion on the performance and design of the EB55, including any troubles we’ve come across, how to use it and our favourite features.
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Our Honest Review of The Bluetti EB55 Power Station
Quick Info
Price: $899 AUD
Battery Capacity: 537Wh LifePo4 battery
Life Cycles: 2,500+ to 80% original capacity
Inverter: 700W pure sine wave inverter
Weight: 7.5 kg
Size: 27.8 x 20 x 19.8 cm
Output: 11 various outputs for simultaneous charging
Input: Up to 400W fast recharge (Solar + AC Combination)
Pass-Through Charging: Yes
Waterproof: No
Warranty: 2 years
What Is The Bluetti EB55 Power Station?
The Bluetti EB55 Power Station is a portable power pack designed to keep your electronic gadgets and small appliances powered from wherever you want to be in the world. Whether you’re a thriving content creator or a nomadic wanderer, the EB55 is a perfect companion to add to your kit for long or short-term camping adventures.
The EB55’s onboard battery management system ensures both your inputs and outputs are controlled in a manner that is both efficient and safe, delivering the high power we all love without the risk of damaging your precious devices.
What’s In The Box
The Bluetti EB55 comes fully equipped with everything you need to use the charger, requiring no additional purchases aside from the obvious – a solar panel. Below is a list of the included items:
- Bluetti EB55 Power Station
- AC Charger and cable
- Car charging cable (cigarette lighter plug)
- MC4 Solar Panel charging cable
- Basic User Manual and warranty card
- XT60 to D90 Cable (supports dual AC charging)
Who Is This Power Station For?
The EB55 power station is for anyone in need of a solid portable power pack to charge multiple electronic devices simultaneously.
It’s an invaluable addition to your van life or car camping setup as it provides the perfect backup power station when you don’t want to overload your built-in battery system. And for travelling content creators, it’s the ideal companion to keep all your devices charged and ready to go as you move between jobs.
Its relatively lightweight and compact design is highly portable which makes throwing it in the car and carrying it short distances a breeze. Plus, the 537Wh capacity is more than enough to keep your camera gear and laptop running for days with several recharges.
Reasons To Buy / Reasons Not To Buy
Positives:
- Charge up to 11 devices at once
- Solid build quality
- Charge from AC/DC simultaneously to double the charge time
- The relatively light design allows for easy transport
Negatives:
- Reviews have stated that the customer service is slow and sometimes unresponsive
- Not waterproof
- AC charger fan is quite loud (though not a problem if you charge it in a different room or during the day)
Battery Capacity
The Bluetti EB55 power station is equipped with a 537Wh LifePo4 battery. These batteries are market leaders in performance and longevity, allowing peace of mind that your money has been well spent.
On paper, the Bluetti EB55 boasts the ability to charge an iPhone 14 approximately 45 times or a Macbook Pro 14-inch roughly 7.5 times.
In practice, I was able to get six full charges from my Macbook Pro 14-inch laptop before the EB55 dropped to 20% battery, proving the specs of this system to be accurate. Both the USB-C PD 100W outlet and the AC inverter allowed for the same lightning-fast charging speed that is achieved from a wall outlet at home.
Keeping the EB55 Charged
With 4 different methods of charging from all of the most common power sources, keeping the Bluetti EB55 topped up is as easy as it is convenient. The built-in charging management system means you don’t have to carry any extra converters or control, all that you need to do is simply select the correct cable and plug it into both the power source and the Bluetti.
To save time, this unit also has the ability to double the charging speed by utilising both the AC and a DC method of charging simultaneously. This affords a maximum of 400W input power.
This double charging power can also be achieved by utilising two AC chargers, however, this requires purchasing a separate charger and adapter. Considering the already fast recharge times, we don’t recommend spending any extra money on attempting to acquire this method. This would be much more suitable to recharge one of the larger power stations such as the Bluetti EB200P.
| Charging Device | Max Input Power | Time |
|---|---|---|
| AC Power | 200W | 3.5 hours |
| Solar | 200W, 8A, 12-28VDC | 3.5 hours (with max sunlight) |
| Car (Cigarette Lighter Socket) 12V | 98.6W | 6.5 hours |
| Car (Cigarette Lighter Socket) 24V | 196.8W | 3.5 hours |
| AC + Solar | 400W (Max) | 2 hours |
| Dual AC (Requires Adaptor) | 400W | 2 hours |
Charging Capabilities
The EB55 has practically any style of charging port you could need and has the ability to charge up to 11 devices simultaneously. The inclusion of a 100W USB-C PD port and 700W in total AC power provides fast charge capabilities for any compatible devices.
The built-in management system prevents any damage being done to your device from overcharging or surging (spike in voltage) and will control the power output depending on what you have plugged in at the time. For example, if you are using every single port at the same time, the built-in management system will limit each port to ensure it doesn’t overdraw power from the EB55. This management system not only works to ensure the correct charge for your device but will control the heat produced by the power station.
| Outputs | Max Output Power |
|---|---|
| AC Outlets (Pure Sine Wave Inverter) | 700W In Total (Shared Between 2 Sockets) |
| Max Surge Power | 1,400W |
| USB-C Port | 1 x 100W |
| USB-A Port | 4 x 5V / 3A (15W) |
| DC Car Outlet | 1x 12V DC / 10A |
| DC5521 Outlet | 2 x 12V DC / 10A |
| Wireless Charging Pad | 1 x15W |
Performance
There really are no shortcomings with the performance of the EB55. It has successfully accompanied us on several of our adventure photography missions in southwest Tasmania without missing a beat.
To our surprise, throughout the entirety of our testing of the Bluetti EB55, the unit has not produced excessive heat in any of the real-world examples we can provide – we couldn’t even get the cooling fans to kick in!
Being quite blown away with the efficiency with which the EB55 appears to operate at, we thought it our task to push this little beast to its limits. And so to test its performance under heavy duress, we decided to charge a multitude of devices all at once using each of the different charging methods. The items we charged included:
- Macbook Pro 14
- Microsoft Laptop Surface 4
- 3 x DJI Air 2s Batteries
- DJI Remote Control
- 2 x Canon R6 Batteries
- 2 x Google Pixel Phones
- 20000mah portable charger
And on top of charging all of these devices simultaneously, we added the AC charger to charge the Bluetti at the same time.
And the results are:
With a constant input of 200W from the AC charger and a constant output of 210W, it took about 45 minutes for the Bluetti to produce a lukewarm heat on the top of the unit and roughly 1.5 hours for power draw to produce enough heat to warrant the cooling fans to kick in. However, the fans were able to dissipate the heat in under 30 seconds before switching back off. That’s pretty darn impressive!
Weight And Size
Weighing in at 7.5 kg, it goes without saying that this weight is not suitable for long treks or backpacking trips. But for its intended use, this compact design allows for ease of transport over short distances – think afternoons at the beach – and can easily be stored and packed into an overflowing campervan due to its streamlined box shape.
Compared to the competition, the EB55 sits in the top ranks for its lightweight design and impressive power output.
Durability
We have had no issues with the durability so far, finding the build of the unit to be robust and solid. The handle feels secure and safe to rely on when transporting the EB55 and the space provided between the base and the ports allows for the power station to be confidently sat on outdoor surfaces without worry of damage.
Of course, we don’t recommend throwing the charger onto the ground or stacking heavy things on top of it – it’s a battery after all – but we can’t imagine we’ll be breaking this little beast anytime soon.
Features
Handle
The handle for the EB55 sits flush with the top of the power station with an indent to help lift it out for use. It feels incredibly sturdy and comfortable to carry for short distances. We especially like the fact it stows away completely as this allows for easy storage.
Light
On the back of the Bluetti EB55, you’ll find a light that can be set at dim, high or SOS flashing for emergency use. We’ve found this feature valuable when working on our computers in low light conditions and at night to light up camp.
Display
The simple and easy-to-read display shows the battery life left as well as the power input and output when devices are plugged in or you’re charging the power station. It turns off after a few seconds as the Bluetti returns to eco mode in order to save battery and avoid annoying lights at night. To view the display, all you need to do is quickly press any of the power buttons and it will light up.
Power Buttons
Each individual section on the EB55 has a power button to enable you to only draw power to the ports you need. To turn it on, simply hold down the power button of the desired area for one second and release it, you will know you have activated the ports when the green LED indicator begins to glow and the display illuminates. Turn it off in the same way, by holding down the button for approximately one second and then releasing again.
To wake the Bluetti out of eco mode and check the charge level without turning the power to your device off, quickly press any of the power buttons.
Value
Compared to other power stations of similar weight and capacity, the Bluetti EB55 sits in the middle in terms of value for money. It’s not the lightest on the list, yet it’s more affordable than some other well-known brands such as EcoFlow River 600 for a similar battery capacity.
For the ease of use, multiple charging and recharging options and robust design, we think that the price is quite acceptable – especially when you score one of their amazing specials!
Our Experience
Why We Chose The Bluetti EB55
We were gifted the Bluetti EB55 to test on our recent adventures. When given the choice of the EB55 or the EB3A, we chose the EB55 due to its larger capacity and additional charging ports. For the amount of camera gear and other devices we need to charge on a daily basis, the larger size and weight were warranted – however, for the average weekend car camper we think the Bluetti EB3A is more than enough if you’d like to save a little cash.
We’re yet to need any customer support or to deal with warranty, but after thorough testing throughout the last month, it has proven to be more than capable both in durability and in performance. This allows us to feel confident we will not be reaching out for support any time soon.
How It Performs
After thorough testing throughout the last month, the Bluetti EB55 has proven to be more than capable to power all of our photography and electronic equipment whilst out on our road trips for multiple days on end.
No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t get the EB55 to overheat or even use its cooling fan for a long period of time. The clever control over the output wattage is smart enough to work well within the unit’s limits and even with a constant input and output of 200W, the Bluetti EB55 barely got lukewarm. This increased our trust in the Bluetti Power Station that it will continue to hold up to all our needs.
Discussing The Negatives
After reading various reviews and spending over a month testing the Bluetti EB55 ourselves, the only real negative we could find was the poor customer service. So we took the concerns to our Bluetti contact and here is the response to that plus the loud AC charger fan.
Poor customer service – To address this issue, we have increased our customer service staff. At the same time, we also welcome customers to join our Facebook group where group members can help each other solve their problems. If the customer hasn’t received a response within 48 hours, they can DM us on our Facebook and Instagram pages and we will try to resolve their issues as soon as possible.
Loud AC charger fan – We have improved this in the new models, putting the AC charger inside the power station and providing different charging modes: Turbo Charge, Silent Charge, and Standard Charge. It may still be a little noisy when you select turbo charging as the temperature rises rapidly and the fan works harder to keep the unit cool.
It’s good to see that Bluetti is taking on board the concerns customers have and doing their best to combat these problems. We really like the sound of the new internal AC charging with selective modes and as for the customer service, we will update this post if or when we need to contact them.
Where Do We Use Bluetti EB55 Power Station?
The Bluetti EB55 power station goes on all our car-camping adventures with us and provides the perfect backup for our van setup when the sun isn’t shining. It’s also proven to be extremely valuable on day photoshoots where we need to quickly recharge a few drone and camera batteries on the fly.
Final Thoughts
Our honest opinion of the Bluetti EB55 after thoroughly testing it for over a month in a variety of applications is a positive one. We cannot fault its performance or its robust design – which has survived high winds on the beach and morning dew.
For the competitive price and weight of the power station, we highly recommend the EB55 for any adventurer looking for a portable battery to meet their content creation needs or car-camping trips.
As we continue to use the EB55 on our road trips and photoshoot, we will update this post to reflect any new information we come across regarding the performance and durability of this power station. And if you have any questions on the EB55, please feel free to drop a comment below or send us an email.
Happy Adventuring 🙂
