My family and I enjoy camping in our travel trailer and some of the campgrounds we go to don’t have any hookups (connections for electricity, water, or sewer), so I’m not able to use my CPAP machine at night since most campgrounds require generators to be turned off my 9 or 10 pm and most travel trailer 110 volt outlets don’t have power unless you’re running your generator. So, this is my real life TackLife P50 Portable Power Station Review.

As I mentioned on my “About” page, the focus of this blog is to help other families. One way I do this is by writing reviews about products that I actually use and like, I generally don’t spend any time on products I’ve had a bad experience with. Sometimes I have to buy several brands of a particular product until I find one I like, which is time consuming and frustrating, so hopefully I help save you valuable time by sharing with you products that work for me.

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Product Information from Manufacturer

Capacity	500Wh (45.0Ah, 11.1V)
AC Output(Rated voltage)	100-120V
AC Output(Rated power)	300W
AC Output(Overload capability)	300W≤load<450W@120S; 450W≤load@1s;
AC output(Frequency)	50/60Hz(adjustable)
DC 12V Output (Car Port)	12V/10A 125W(max)
DC 12V Output (5521)	12V/3A 36W(max)

Wireless Charging Pad	Qi-Compatiable/ 10W(max)
USB Output	5V/3A
USB-C Output	PD2.0/ 45W(max)
Input Voltage	14-40 V
Input Power	120W (max)
Solar Panel Charge Type	MPPT

Manufacturer Images & Assertions

The two pictures below are from manufacturer’s advertisement. I have not verified manufacturer’s claims regarding ability to power various types of equipment. See my comments further down regarding my testing of the TackLife P50 power station using my CPAP machine.

What is in the Box per the Manufacturer

• 500Wh Power Station
• AC Wall Charger
• MC4 Cable
• Car Charging Cable
• USB-C Cable
• Cigarette Lighter Adaptor

My Experience

I have a ResMed AirSense 10 Autoset CPAP machine. Per the AirSense 10 manual, the CPAP machine draws:

• Typical power consumption: 53W (57VA)
• Peak power consumption: 104W (108VA)

When I use the CPAP machine with the humidifier it appears to draw between 30-50 watts, see video below.

Note, you’ll want to verify what your equipment draws in terms of watts and make sure that the power station that you purchase can supply it. As mentioned above, my AirSense 10 can consume max watts between 53-104 watts and the TackLife P50 Portable Power Station has a max AC Output (Rated power) of 300 watts, so the P50 can deliver more watts than what the AirSense 10 requires.

I charged the TackLife P50 using the 110 volt outlet at my house overnight to make sure the battery was full. Then, I plugged in my CPAP to my TackLife P50 and below are my results:

On January 1, 2021, I used my CPAP for 6 hours and 20 minutes. The TackLife P50 went from 100% full to 60% charged, so I believe the battery level could be at anywhere between 40% – 60% full.

On January 2, 2021, I was able to use my CPAP for only 4 hours and 19 minutes before the TackLife P50 shut off.

Note, TackLife states the maximum depth of discharge (DOD) for the P50 is 90%, so you can calculate its actual estimated max watt hours using this formula: 500 Wh * 90% DOD = 450 watt hours.

The DOD of the battery measures how deeply depleted the battery is. Many power stations have a stated maximum DOD of around 80%, but the TackLife P50 has a stated maximum DOD of 90%.

If my CPAP, with the humidifier on, uses around 40 watts on average, then after 6 hours and 20 minutes of use, it would use up around 253 watts (6.33 hours * 40 watts) or 56% of available the 450 watt hours.

After 4 hours and 19 minutes of use, it would use up around 173 watts (4.32 hours * 40 watts). So, using the assumption of average consumption of 40 watts of power usage, the TackLife P50 would keep my CPAP on for around 10 hours and 39 minutes using around 426 watts total.

If we assumed 45 watts of consumption, then 10.65 hrs * 45 Wh = 479 watt hours. So, I believe the manufacturer’s claim of 450 watt hours is a reasonable.

Note, if I did not use the humidifier, then my CPAP would probably use up a lot less power and the TackLife P50 Portable Power Station would probably power my CPAP for a much longer period of time. But, I purchased a portable solar panel so I could power my TackLife P50 Portable Power Station daily when I’m dry camping, so I’m not worried about the P50 only being able to power my CPAP with humidifier for one full night.

Solar Panel Charging

I purchased my TackLife P50 Portable Power Station and a PAXCESS Rockman 120W/18V Foldable Solar Panel (click on link for my solar panel review) during the winter, so testing solar charging was not optimal. But, my testing below gives you an idea about how long it would take in non-optimal conditions to charge your TackLife P50 Portable Power Station when you’re dry camping (no electrical hookups).

On January 15, 2021, I used my PAXCESS Rockman 120W/18V Foldable Solar Panel to charge my TackLife P50 Portable Power Station. I started the test at 10:15 am and the P50 had a stated charge of between 0-20%. I ended the test at 5:14 pm and the P50 had a stated charge of between 40-60%. Sunset was at 5:38 pm. Temperature range was from 55 to 62 degrees during this test. Again, it was an overcast day and the solar panel power ouput ranged from 7 to 85 watts (sometimes the sun blocked by clouds and sometimes it was not). So, even in overcast conditions, I would feel assured that the solar panel would be able to provide enough power to recharge my power station enough daily so I could use it every night while dry camping. Be sure to check out my PAXCESS Rockman 120W/18V Foldable Solar Panel review and if you’d like to purchase the solar panel, see link below:

PAXCESS Rockman 120W/18V Foldable Solar Panel – https://amzn.to/2KmEx5y

My Thoughts

Based on my research online, power stations typically cost around $1 or more per stated watt hour. TackLife P50 Portable Power Station stated watt hours is 500 Wh with DOD of 90%. Price as of today is $380. So, based on stated watt hours, $380 / 500 Wh = $0.76 per stated watt hour.

Net (true or effective) watt hours can be calculated 500 Wh * 90% DOD = 450 net watt hours. $380 / 450 Wh = $0.84 per actual watt hour. Either way, it appears to be a good deal.

Tip, periodically the manufacturers offer coupons when you place the product in your shopping cart (you should verify the discount when you check out), so be sure to look out for that when purchasing on Amazon. Coupons would further decrease price per watt hour.

But, also note that per a response by TakeLife in the Q&A section of the P50 Amazon page, “the rated cycles for P50 Power Station is 500 times to 80%. It means you can fully charge and discharge the power station 500 times and the battery capacity will become 80% of the rated capacity. In this case, it will be 400Wh.” Some power stations in this segment are rated up to 1,000 cycles to 80%, but are typically more expensive.

Solar charge time is another attribute that interested me in the P50. TackLife states in the product description on Amazon, “Includes a pre-installed solar charging optimization module that functions as a maximum power point tracker (MPPT), resulting in up to 40% faster charge times, especially from solar panels.”

I believe that if I’m using the solar panel during warmer weather (versus winter weather), it will probably charge my power station faster…hopefully delivering up to 120 watts (versus max 90 watts during the winter), but I’ll need to test this theory during the summer months for optimal weather conditions, then update this review.

Passthrough charging is another feature that interested me. TackLife stated in the Q&A section of the Amazon page, “…you can use all the ports while charging, both from wall outlet and a solar panel. But the recharging speed will be reduced, as all the ports are also discharging the battery because of devices you plugged in.”

Also note, TackLife’s has AC Output (Rated power) of 300 watts, so if you need more power output, then you may want to consider another brand of power station. But, for me the TackLife P50 Portable Power Station has sufficient power output (watts) for my needs and the best combination of cost, watt hours and DOD. I’ve been using it often and have not had any issues.

5/22/2021 Update – I purchased in Dec 2020 and I use it often on my dry (no access to electrical outlets) camping trips and it’s worked out great. My kids like going to the beach during the day, so I bring it and my portable solar panel with me, and when I leave the beach it is usually almost completely charged or completely charged. I use the power station at night for my CPAP machine. Only downside to bringing it to the beach is that sand can get into the handle area on top of the power station which can make the handles get stuck. I use my knife to lift the handles, then have to vacuum the sand out when I get back home.

Where to Buy

TackLife P50 Portable Power Station – https://amzn.to/3qfvplH

I hope you learned something new from my real life TackLife P50 Portable Power Station Review.