REVIEW – Where I live in California, the threat of power outage due to earthquakes, wildfires, or heat emergencies is very real. Is there a non-gas generator that can step up to the task? We’re talking far beyond charging up smartphones or tablets. What about higher-draw appliances? I put the Zendure Superbase Pro 2000 Power Station to the test.
What is it?
The Superbase Pro 2000 is a power station rated at 2096 Watt-hours of capacity and a maximum of 2000W AC output. It can double as an uninterrupted power supply (UPS). From the outside, the unit looks identical to the Vanpowers unit Lynn Lopez reviewed earlier this year.
What’s in the box?
- Zendure SuperBase Pro 2000 power station
- Semi-rigid accessory cable holder
- AC charging cable, two solar charging cables
- USB-A to USB-C adapter
Hardware specs
Zendure claims a variety of runtimes with various appliances.
The Zendure SuperBase Pro 2000 power station weighs 45.25 lbs. This is not something you want to carry around casually.
Design and features
One of the first things I had to play with is the pull-up handle. The maximum height is 35.75″ high at the top of the handle. The knobby wheels make this feel like an oddly weighed piece of carry-on luggage.
The front of the Zendure SuperBase Pro 2000 power station features four USB-C ports (two 100W, two 20W) and three 12V DC outputs.
The AC outlets are on the left side of the unit. Note the rotated orientation. I believe this is to minimize “wall warts” from bumping into each other. A 12VDC “cigarette” plug is under the teal cover in the lower right.
Inputs are under a flap on the right side. There is a circuit breaker, an XT60-style DC input for solar panels, an AC plug input for charging, and a ground lug.
The rear of the Zendure SuperBase Pro 2000 power station features a heavily-ribbed design. The bottom has two very large rubbery feet.
Setup
You can simply use the provided AC cable and plug it into the wall. That’s it. No external power bricks or “wall warts”. Note the bottom diagram: It shows a UPS setup. You can keep the Zendure SuperBase Pro 2000 power station plugged into the wall at all times, and connect your devices to the battery. When the power goes out, the battery continues to provide a charge. I tested this, and it appears to work without any fanfare.
If you do have solar panels, the instructions detail how to charge the unit. This will accept up to 600W maximum with MC4 style connectors (cable included)
There is an app that allows quite a bit of fine tuning and gives more information vs. the screen itself. Here you can see the battery is charging (an animated, round “lightning bolt” moves into the round puddle in the center (left). Tap the center “puddle” and you’ll get detailed information on the battery status. You can set the battery maximum charge, output frequency, and AC input power limit.
I noticed my Zendure SuperBase Pro 2000 power station was set to the default of 50 Hz! Although some devices don’t care what the frequency is, 60 Hz is the norm here in North America.
This is what the different charging rates look like, at 300W, 500W, 800W, 1200W, and 1800W.
The first time I charged the battery, the 1800W tripped the circuit breaker on the outlet strip I was using! I didn’t think of this before, so I plugged it into the outlet I have set aside for welding. No problems.
This is when I discovered the that Zendure SuperBase Pro 2000 power station isn’t totally silent. There are fans inside that turn on depending on the load. When it’s charging or under load, it sounds like a microwave oven. Far less disturbing than a gas generator, but you may not want to sleep with this next to your head in a motorhome. When the battery is full and just trickle charging, the fans are much quieter.
Performance
I didn’t want to see how many times this could charge up my iPhone. The manufacturer claims it can charge it 166 times, and that would take too long! I decided to go large.
Test 1: Computer and Monitor
My gaming computer consists of:
- Alienware 25″ AW2721D 1440p monitor
- AMD 5800X3d CPU
- Nvidia RTX3090 GPU
- Power draw at the plug: 500W
This is what the front display read: Almost exactly 500W for the duration of the test.
This is the app view of the computer test. You can almost make out the green “dot” flowing away from the center. However, why is the “time until empty” reading in minutes, when there are HOURS remaining on the battery’s front display?
I studied both displays throughout the test, and I believe there is a programming bug in the app. In the photo below, there are 1.0 hours left according to the front panel, but the app moves the decimal place one position to the right and calls it 10 MINUTES.
Once the battery has less than an hour left, it switches to display in minutes, and everything is OK again.
RESULT:
The computer and monitor ran for 190 minutes at 500W.
500W x 3.167 hours = 1583 Watt-Hours.
Test 2: Heater
For the next test, I brought out a small electric heater that averaged 1235 W draw.
The Zendure SuperBase Pro 2000 power station had no trouble running the heater and ran without issue until the batteries ran flat.
RESULT:
The heater ran for 95 minutes at 1235W average.
1235W x 1.583 hours = 1955 Watt-Hours.
Test 3: Electric Car
The sales sheet claimed the Zendure SuperBase Pro 2000 power station could charge an EV for 7 miles of range. I had to put this to the test.
I took my Level 1 mobile charger and plugged it in, and… nothing. I got a blinking red light on the Tesla charger. What does that mean? According to Tesla’s instructions, the charger didn’t detect a ground connection.
Remember the ground lug? I connected that to the house ground point (see photo) but still nothing. Perhaps there are other EV chargers that aren’t this picky.
What I like
- Lots of power in a “luggable” package if you need more than just USB charging
- Quick charging without external adapter, up to 1800W input
- App provides lots of control via wifi or built in 4G
- Doubles as a UPS
What I’d change
- The app needs a tiny bit of debugging for the “time remaining” display
- Wouldn’t charge my Tesla Level 1 Mobile Charger.
Final thoughts
My computer test didn’t match the advertised 2096 Watt-Hours (1583 Wh), but the heater test (1955 Wh) was pretty darn close. A lot of it probably depended on the TYPE of load. A heater (resistive load) is quite different than a PC, so your results will definitely vary. If I could pair this up with some powerful solar panels, the Zendure SuperBase Pro 2000 power station would make a truly great power backup system for home or outdoor adventures.
Price: $1699
Where to buy: Zendure and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Zendure.
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I try it today had 75% of battery, i did plug my phone and that did pretty good , then i plug a electric, and i got lost , i was putting it to a test for the first time, what did i do wrong, i turn on the right button and the one under it please help