About BlackoutWise
A small site with one job: help you pick a portable power station that will run the things you care about, for as long as you need.
BlackoutWise answers one question: will this power station run my stuff, and for how long. It is written for people in the US who want a plain answer before they spend several hundred dollars on a battery.
What this site does
Everything here comes back to the same watt-hour math. There are three ways to use it.
- The calculator. Pick the devices you want to run, pick a power station, and the runtime calculator tells you how many hours you get and whether the unit can handle the start-up surge.
- Guides. The buying guides rank a few units for one job, like CPAP, apartment backup or camping. Each “Will it run my…?” page covers one device, with a runtime table.
- Comparisons. The side-by-side pages put two units next to each other, spec by spec, and call a winner for each row. The power station database has one page per unit.
Who runs it
Jamilur runs BlackoutWise. He compares power stations the way he would for his own family: he reads the official spec sheets and manuals, does the watt-hour math, and checks prices by hand. He does not test units himself and does not accept free units from brands.
BlackoutWise is a one-person site. There is no editorial team, and no one is paid by a brand to write here.
How we pick
We do not test units ourselves. Picks come from the official spec sheets and manuals, the watt-hour math on this site, and prices we check by hand. Prices are ranges, checked on the date shown, because Amazon and brand prices change weekly.
To be clear about what that means in practice:
- We do not test units hands-on. There is no lab and no test bench. We would rather say that plainly than imply otherwise.
- We use the official spec sheets. Capacity, output, surge, charge time and weight come from the maker’s own product page or manual, quoted as given.
- We do the watt-hour math. Runtime on this site is usable capacity (rated watt-hours × 0.85 for inverter loss) divided by the average draw of your devices. The same formula runs the calculator and every runtime table.
- We check prices by hand. Prices are shown as a range with the date we checked them, never as a live price.
- We do not take free units. No review samples, no loaners, no payment for coverage. Brands can only reach us the same way you can: by email.
When a spec changes or a unit is discontinued, we update the page and the date shown on it.
The full method, with the runtime formula, duty cycles, start-up surge and how picks are ranked, is on the how we pick page.
How we make money
As an Amazon Associate, BlackoutWise earns from qualifying purchases. We may also earn a commission when you buy through brand store links. This never changes the price you pay or which products we recommend.
Affiliate commissions are how this site pays for itself. The full details, including which programs we belong to, are on the affiliate disclosure page.
Corrections
If you spot a wrong number, a dead link or a claim that does not match the spec sheet, email hello@blackoutwise.com. We check it against the source and fix it within a few days. If the change affects a pick or a verdict, we say so on the page.
Contact
Questions, a unit we should add, or a partnership idea: see the contact page, or write to hello@blackoutwise.com.