Bluetti AC240: Water Resistant Portable Power

The new Bluetti AC240 offers a considerable 1,536Wh battery, and a 2,400W inverter can operate in wet and dusty conditions.

The Bluetti AC240 is a brand-new portable power station designed to work out in the elements. It offers IP65 water—and dust-resistant capabilities. This platform doesn’t skimp on power capabilities either, offering a 2,400W inverter paired with a 1,536Wh LiFePO4 battery, with an expansion battery and parallel unit capabilities.

Generally, you don’t see a water and power mix in the portable power station market without huge problems. Nearly all models will tell you to keep the unit away from rain and water splashes, which puts it at risk of fire and damage. You can work around this for many situations with the power station set up in a shelter, used in good weather, or used indoors. Not all edge deployments are perfect, though, with good daytime weather turning into a storm overnight. Bluetti has been adding rugged elements to specific models such as the AC60 in the past for dust protection, although with the AC240, water protection was built in from the start.

Through a sealed internal/external layout, the Bluetti AC240 can withstand being rained on, splashed, hit with dust, and a host of other things. Most portable power stations have a plastic shell around all their vital components, but cooling air is allowed to pass across circuit boards, batteries, and heatsinks to keep the system cool. The AC240 puts heatsinks only onto the airpath, keeping sensitive electronics sealed away from moisture or other elements.

Bluetti offers the AC240 in two versions: the 1,536Wh version and the slightly more powerful 1,843Wh version. Both platforms support the same expansion options, including tying two units together for double the power output and 4 B210 expansion batteries per portable power station. Its most extensive configuration gives you up to 4,800W of power output and up to 20,272Wh battery capacity.

Bluetti AC240 and AC240P Specifications

Bluetti AC240 and AC240P Common Specifications

Build and Design

The Bluetti AC240 has a rugged look and build, through and through. The design is a rectangular block with no protruding parts. The carrying handles are part of the top cover and don’t extend the width of the unit for the hand openings. All ports and access points are protected with rubber dust covers, and the buttons offer satisfying tactile feedback. The rubber power mode buttons illuminate to show which modes (DC, USB, AC) are active, while the main power button is a solid metal push button with a nice throw. That, too, illuminates with a glow when the unit is on.

Regarding outputs, the AC240 has a whole gamut on the front. Starting on the left side, you have a traditional 12V 10A car socket and a 30A 12V output for much higher-power-draw DC devices. In the middle, there are two 100W USB-C ports and two 18W USB-A ports for charging notebooks, tablets, and other devices. For AC output, Bluetti offers two 15/20A outlets and a 30A NEMA TT-30 outlet for bigger gear.

The right side of the AC240 includes the primary input connections. These include a DC plug supporting 11-60V, 21A, or 1,200W max for DC charging (car, solar, etc). There are also two AC connections, with the lower one used for charging the AC240. The AC Parallel port ties two AC240 units together to double the power output. A dedicated grounding lug is also offered. The main AC charging cable leverages the custom twist-lock design with an o-ring to seal out water and get a solid connection for damp area use.

The left side of the AC240 has a single battery expansion port, which allows you to connect up to four B210 expansion batteries to the unit.

Real-World Power Capacity and Charging

On paper, the Bluetti AC240 has a 1,536Wh LiFePO4 battery onboard, while the AC240P increases that to 1,843Wh. After a few full charge and discharge cycles, we measured the battery pack’s usable capacity with a 600W load attached. In our discharge test, the AC240 could support 1.3kWh of power output before shutting down. To bring that back up to full charge, the unit needed 1.72kWh of power.

Regarding charging, the Bluetti AC240 offers the usual options to adjust the power draw to your specific environment. Not all circuits are created equal, and that doesn’t mean some are 15A and others are 20A. In some situations, you might be sharing power on a smaller circuit or want to charge up a few things simultaneously, so you need to scale everything back to avoid popping a circuit breaker.

The AC240 offers a standard and turbo power mode, which uses 830W and 1,709W, respectively. Interestingly, Bluetti has another mode called Pro Mode Turbo, which can take it up a little further when the circuit can support it or the situation warrants some faster charging. You even need an unlock code to activate it. In this mode, we measured a peak consumption of 1,820W from the wall with the traditional wall cord. An optional high-power cord can bring this up to a max of 2,200W.

UPS Testing

Many portable power stations on the market with onboard AC chargers support a UPS mode. This mode allows the portable power station to pass through utility power and cut over to battery power if utility power drops. UPS gear is common in the IT industry, and many systems are designed around switchover times (transfer from utility to battery power) to keep devices online through minor delays. Bluetti lists the AC240 as having a switching time of 15ms. To measure this in our lab, we leverage a Quarch Mains Power Analysis module in line with a workstation and measure how fast the power cut is in real time.

Our test with about a 100w load on the AC240 measured a 15.13ms switchover time, which was in line with the spec sheet. The return to AC power happened with no measurable cutover time.

App Control over WiFi and Bluetooth

The AC240 is the first unit we’ve reviewed from Bluetti that offers WiFi connectivity. Generally, the models have been local Bluetooth control only, which is fine for controlling things while nearby but limits your abilities to monitor things when farther away.

The Bluetii App interface is down to basics in terms of giving you what you need to know without needing to search for it, but it still offers a lot of fine-tuning for those who want it.

The system and battery can be monitored for health and adjustments; the Bluetti app is the main area for changing items such as charging rates.

When we used Bluetti hardware in the lab, we found the software ecosystem stable and capable. Our experience has been focused on the iOS app, but we haven’t experienced any outages yet. Bluetooth has been the primary method of communication up until now, but almost everything flows through the phone only, with updates being the exception.

Conclusion

Bluetti continues to impress us with its differentiation across an ever-growing portable power station market. While most start to segment out products based on power output and capacity, seeing new rugged outdoor offerings set up to handle sub-optimal situations is pretty cool. The new AC240 offers a considerable 1,536Wh battery, and a 2,400W inverter can operate in wet and dusty conditions.

With edge locations not always having the best conditions, or even shelter for that matter, having a power source that can handle whatever comes its way is essential. The Bluetti AC240 performed well in our testing, offering 1.3kWh of usable battery capacity before shutting down. In UPS mode in our lab, we also verified the 15ms spec value, measuring a 15.13ms switchover time when cutting power. Overall, for those that require power, no matter rain or shine, the new Bluetti AC240 has a lot to offer.

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