Best Portable Power Station for Refrigerator

The best portable power station for a refrigerator is a plug-in battery station sized to how long the food has to stay cold: the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus carries a full-size fridge through a night, and the EcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus carries a compact one. If a full-size fridge has to stay cold past a full day, get the Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 instead.

A battery powered generator for a refrigerator is a power station: it burns no fuel and makes no carbon monoxide, so it can sit beside the fridge indoors.

Best Portable Power Station for Refrigerator and Freezer

The best one for a refrigerator or freezer is the station whose battery outlasts your outage and whose output clears the compressor's startup.

A portable power station can run a refrigerator, because the compressor plugs into an ordinary AC outlet. Two numbers decide whether it will. The station's rated (continuous) output has to exceed the fridge's running draw, and its surge figure has to cover startup, when a compressor often pulls 2 to 3 times its normal running wattage. Check your fridge's own spec for the exact startup figure.

Skip EcoFlow's X-Boost and Bluetti's Power Lifting for this job. Both exist for heating appliances, and Bluetti says Power Lifting is not for sensitive electronics with motors or compressors.

The type to buy is a LiFePO4 (LFP) station with standard AC outlets. LFP cells are rated for 2000 and higher cycles and stay stable when fully charged, which suits a station that sits full until the lights go out.

What size you need depends on average draw, not running watts, because a fridge cycles on and off. A full-size ENERGY STAR top-freezer uses 368 kWh a year, about 42W on average. A compact fridge uses 268 kWh a year, about 31W, and a chest freezer 277 kWh a year, about 32W. A fridge without the ENERGY STAR label can draw more, so size up.

A fridge is a small load, and the inverter's own draw takes a bigger share of small loads. Plan on 49 to 67 percent of rated capacity at a 34W load, which is half to two-thirds of the rated Wh. If you're between two sizes, take the bigger one.

Match what you see in your home to a pick:

• Your fridge is compact or dorm-size, under 7.75 ft3, and you need it cold for about five hours: the EcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus
• Your fridge is full-size and the outage runs a night, about 12 to 16 hours: the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus
• You keep a chest freezer in the garage or basement, and you need about 17 to 22 hours: the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2
• Your fridge is full-size and has to stay cold for more than a day, about 24 to 33 hours: the Jackery Explorer 2000 v2
• The labels on everything you'd plug in together add up past 1,800W: the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Max Plus

If a compact fridge has to stay cold through a full night, take the DELTA 3 Plus instead of the RIVER 3 Plus.

Run a fridge and a chest freezer together on the Jackery 2000 and plan on 14 to 18 hours.

If you were hoping to back up the whole house, a plug-in station can't do that. Run an extension cord from the station to the fridge and freezer. Wiring a station into the house takes a transfer switch or interlock installed by a licensed electrician.

Best Portable Power Station for Refrigerator for Camping

For a camping fridge, get the Bluetti AC180: 1,152Wh and 1,800W of AC output cover a 12V camp fridge for about two days. A 12V compressor fridge such as the Dometic CFX3 45 uses 1.03 Ah an hour at 32C ambient, which is about 12W and 297Wh a day.

Solar covers the rest. The AC180 takes up to 500W of solar input. Panels usually deliver 70 to 80 percent of rated power. A 500W-rated array refills it in roughly three to four hours of full sun. Under cloud, output falls to 10%–25% of that, so plan a spare day.

If you'd rather have Anker, the Anker SOLIX C1000 takes 600W of solar. If your camp fridge is a household-style AC unit, use the picks in the first section.

Best Portable Power Station for Home Backup

For a fridge on backup by extension cord, get the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Max Plus. It holds 2,048Wh and puts out 3,000W rated with a 6,000W surge. A 3000W label can be a surge number, so read the rated figure first. A full-size fridge runs about 24 to 33 hours on it.

Two alternatives sit in the same 2kWh class. The Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 rates 2,200W, and the Bluetti Elite 200 V2 rates 2,600W. If you want two days or more, the Anker SOLIX F3800 is the large plug-in option: 3,840Wh and 6,000W rated, about 46 to 61 hours on a full-size fridge.

If trips matter more than outages, buy the smaller one: the AC180 from the camping section. If you are shopping for loads beyond a fridge, see the best portable power station for a general pick.

Skip the EcoFlow Delta Max 2000. It was recalled because it may overheat and ignite.