Just a week or so ago we wrote about the Unboxing and the Features of Bluetti’s latest addition to their formidable range of power stations here in Australia, the Apex 300.
As the moniker, Apex 300, already indicates, this is the top-of-the line home backup system with many components.
And the Apex 300 power station is the heart of that system.
It’s a versatile system in that you can add to it according to your needs and also because this unit is perfectly suited for RV or off-grid living as well.
So today we’ll go through some of the tests we’ve subjected the Apex 300 to.
As usual, we start gently, do the run-of-the-mill type of tests, followed by some harsher trials, pushing the envelope.
Startup
First, we charge up the unit via AC to 100%. Notice in the video below that the input is initially around 1350 Watts, maxes out at about 2200 and tapers off as the battery is being topped up.
The unit has 3 modes of charging: Turbo, Normal and Silent.
To charge the unit to 80% in Turbo mode at 3,840W will only take 45 minutes.
Whilst the unit gets its first charge, it is a perfect time to download the Bluetti APP and let the software discover the unit.
The APP
I mentioned when I reviewed the smaller Elite 100 V2 power station that Bluetti has one of the best apps I’ve come across: a clean, clear and elegant design.
Simple to use yet advanced options are also easy to access.
It tells you what the local weather is and gives you extreme weather alerts as well.
The detection of the new unit was quick, and connection was easily established.
Here’s a screenshot.
Also worthy of mentioning: the user manual has lots of useful info that is otherwise hard to figure out.
TEST 1
My first test is always the one that I find the most useful duty of any power station: ensuring the fridge and freezer contents do not spoil when mains power fails.
So, we hooked up our large fridge/freezer and the medium sized freezer for 24 hours.
This drained the Apex from 100% to 25%.
If we let the power drain further, down to 5%, we can stretch it another 9 hours.
This means that, if the power goes out for more than two days, we will have to eat a lot of meat and ice-cream on day 3…
It is clear that a 3kWh capacity is not nearly enough on its own.
And that is just the point: the Apex 300 is meant to be the heart and head of a scalable system, where up to 6 batteries can be connected to the unit.
These batteries all have the same capacity as the Apex 300. The total capacity will then be 2,764.8Wh x 7, equalling nearly 20kWh.
Ultimately, the max capacity with 3 Apex 300 units and a total of 18 B300K batteries could store a grand total of 58kWh.
TEST 2
One of the other essential tasks in any household is being able to use the washing machine.
A bit heavier lifting for the power station but we’ll keep the heating cycle down to 40 degrees.
Results: 1 wash took about 1 hour and drained the Apex from 100% down to 65%.
TEST 3
Just for fun we then turned on our heat pump dryer to see that over 1½ hours it would further drain it down to 20%.
A very reasonable 45% but in a power outage not really the best use to dry your washing electrically.
All these tests provide me with a base line to calculate my capacity needs for a full backup system.
TEST 4
Living in a rural area means we’re dependent on a water pump to supply H2O to the house.
In a power outage this is a prime candidate for the Apex.
The pump requires a higher starting power after which it settles down to a much lower running power.
The test was a non-event really, no challenge for the Apex.
Except one: carrying the unit closer to the water pump.
A trolley would be handy for these occasions or if you go roving with your RV.
Bluetti anticipated that need and also sells a bespoke trolley.
TEST 5
Getting peckish during a power outage and want something warm?
Let’s see what the Apex can do in the kitchen and plug in the microwave, kettle, air fryer and toaster.
First each appliance individually for normal use and then all at the same time to see how much the Apex can handle.
I made sure I enabled the Magic Button in the App first and set it to Lifting Power.
Individually, the 4 appliances proved no challenge for the Apex, despite all of them having up to 2kW heating elements.
Even plugging in two of these at the same time, like toaster and kettle, no sweat.
Have a look at the video: it stays around 3500W output.
But add a third appliance to the mix and we have an overload.
The system got to over 5000 Watts and then shut down.
It was a valiant effort, but in a real power outage you would use these appliances sequentially and not all on at the same time.
For a good home backup solution, it pays to have some Apex 300 units in parallel, which lifts the total output.
THE TOWER OF POWER
TEST 6
Here we try to find out if we could extend the running time of the Apex 300 by charging it from other power stations.
We have a few of those from previous reviews so we could (in the absence of a proper extension battery, like the B300K) see if some of these smaller units could help their big brother…
First, we plugged in the EcoFlow River 2, rated at only 256Wh.
This brought the Apex up from 5% to just 10%, as expected, before being exhausted.
Hardly worth the effort.
Next, we plugged in the Bluetti Elite 100 V2 which we recently reviewed.
This unit is rated at 1024Wh, so about a third of the capacity of the Apex 300.
My expectation was that this would bring up the charge on the Apex by about another 30%.
And indeed: we eked out about 27%.
Next question: could we charge the Apex by hooking up TWO 1kW power stations?
But how?
There’s only 1 AC charge port…
Let’s try this setup: the top small unit (VoltX) charges the next small unit (Elite 100), which then charges the Apex.
Now we struck a problem: the VoltX went into overload mode.
How about we reverse the top two units, thinking the Apex can be switched to a Silent mode which draws only max 500 Watts.
Voila! That works!
So, we went from 20% SOC (State of Charge) on the Apex to 65%.
Not bad but not efficient or pretty either with 2 extra inverters at work.
You can see, that whilst this works in a very roundabout way, it is not as neat and efficient as having a proper B300K battery to double the capacity.
That’ll be the setup we hope to be able to test in a follow-up review.
Together with some solar panels to keep the juices flowing.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Whatever your situation, if you have any critical equipment (CPAP or other medical equipment, or computers), you have got to get yourself some backup power.
Generally, a power station is the better option, certainly if you have the means to charge them again.
Even with just some foldable solar panels.
2. If you are planning for a more elaborate backup approach for your home, the Bluetti Apex 300 Versatile Power Station is a highly recommended solution.
We’ve discussed how the modular path of the Apex line allows you to start small and add units of capacity to the system when the need arises or when you can better afford it.
We’ve looked at the many other features of innovative safety and efficiency of the Apex 300, backed by a 5-year warranty.
Not to speak about the estimated 17-year life expectancy of its batteries.
And finally, we’ve tested the Apex 300 for everyday use and subjected it to electrical torture to find its limitations, so that you don’t have to worry about it not being able to handle your electricity demands.
That’s why we do not hesitate to award the Bluetti Apex 300 our highest commendation, the DRN Pulse Award!
We thank Bluetti for allowing us to put the Apex 300 to the test.
No animals have been hurt or frazzled by our testing, nor have any power sockets been scorched.
Check it out for yourself: Head over to their website and if you click on this link and apply the code DRN10 you get 10% discount on Apex 300 standalone units and bundles, but only until 30 September 2025.
And that’s on top of the recently reduced price of just $3,299 for the Apex 300, while any extra batteries are $2,099.
They have the same capacity as the main unit.
Other links: Part I (Unboxing and Features) is here.
Review of the smaller Bluetti Elite 100 V2 is here.
Finally, a short video of the Unboxing and Testing.
