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Can a power station run a well pump (1/2 HP)?

Updated
Short answer

Sometimes. A 1/2 HP well pump needs about 1,000 W running and 3,000 W to start, so you need a station with at least 3,000 W of surge, and many well pumps are hard-wired on 230V, which also needs a 240V station and an electrician.

Calculate your runtime
Running
1,000 W
750–1400 W range
Start-up
3,000 W
Runs
5%
of the time, about 50 W average

Well pumps are a tough load for a power station. A Franklin Electric 1/2 HP 115V submersible motor is rated 10 amps at full load and 12 amps max, about 1,150 to 1,380 W. We plan on 1,000 W running. Starting the motor takes about three times that, so the station needs roughly 3,000 W of surge. Among units around 1,000 Wh, that rules out the DJI Power 1000 V2 (2,600 W) and the 1,152 Wh BLUETTI AC180 (2,700 W).

Then there is the wiring. Most well pumps are hard-wired on 230V, not plugged into a wall outlet, so an extension cord is not an option. You need a station with 240V output, such as the BLUETTI Apex 300, Anker SOLIX F3800 Plus or EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3, plus a transfer switch or inlet installed by a licensed electrician. If your pump is a 115V model, a 120V station with enough surge can work, but the connection still has to be done safely.

For sizing, we assume the pump runs about 5% of the time, roughly 70 minutes a day for a family's normal water use, which averages 50 W. A full day is about 1,200 Wh, or roughly 1,400 Wh of battery after inverter losses. A 1,000 Wh unit lasts about 17 to 18 hours, a 2,000 Wh unit about 35, a 3,000 Wh unit about 2 days, and a 4,000 Wh unit close to 3 days. If you only need water through a short outage, a power station can do it. For long outages, a standby generator is often the better tool.

How long does each power station run a well pump (1/2 HP)?

At about 50 W on average, a well pump (1/2 HP) runs for about 17 hrs to 18 hrs on a 1,000 Wh-class unit (998–1,070 Wh) and about 3 days on the 4,096 Wh EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3. 6 units here can’t run it.

Swipe sideways for battery size, output and price →

Hours a well pump (1/2 HP) runs on each power station, from a full charge with nothing else plugged in (15% inverter loss). Sorted by battery size.
Power stationRuntimeBatteryOutput / surgePrice range
EcoFlow RIVER 3 PlusCan’t run it286 Wh600 / 1,200 W$180–$300
BLUETTI Elite 30 V2Can’t run it288 Wh600 / 1,500 W$180–$280
Jackery Explorer 300 v2Can’t run it288 Wh300 / 600 W$200–$280
Goal Zero Yeti 500Can’t run it499 Wh500 / 1,000 W$340–$500
Goal Zero Yeti 1000 (6th Gen)17 hrs998 Wh2,000 / 3,600 Wlist price about $1,200
Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 217 hrs1,024 Wh2,000 / 3,000 W$400–$600
BLUETTI Elite 100 V217 hrs1,024 Wh1,800 / 3,600 W$380–$500
DJI Power 1000 V2Can’t run it1,024 Wh2,600 / 2,600 W$340–$450
EcoFlow DELTA 317 hrs1,024 Wh1,800 / 3,600 W$500–$700
EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus17 hrs1,024 Wh1,800 / 3,600 W$550–$800
Jackery Explorer 1000 v218 hrs1,070 Wh1,500 / 3,000 W$430–$560
BLUETTI AC180Can’t run it1,152 Wh1,800 / 2,700 W$400–$500
Jackery Explorer 2000 v235 hrs2,042 Wh2,200 / 4,400 W$700–$1,000
Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 235 hrs2,048 Wh2,400 / 4,000 W$700–$900
DJI Power 200035 hrs2,048 Wh3,000 / 3,600 W$700–$1,300
BLUETTI Elite 200 V235 hrs2,074 Wh2,600 / 3,900 W$700–$900
BLUETTI Apex 30047 hrs2,765 Wh3,840 / 7,680 W$1,200–$1,600
Jackery HomePower 30002 days3,072 Wh3,600 / 7,200 W$900–$1,500
Anker SOLIX F3800 Plus3 days3,840 Wh6,000 / 9,000 W$2,090–$2,700
EcoFlow DELTA Pro 33 days4,096 Wh4,000 / 8,000 W$2,400–$3,700

Estimate: battery Wh × 0.85 ÷ 50 W average (1000 W × 0.05 duty). Your model may draw more or less; check its label. Prices are typical ranges we checked by hand on October 9, 2026, not live prices.

Where these numbers come from

A 1/2 HP 115 V submersible motor is rated 10 amps at full load, and utility guides budget about 1,000 W running and three times that to start. A typical household uses only a few hundred gallons a day, so the pump runs about an hour a day, though many well pumps are hard-wired on 230 V and need an electrician-installed inlet.

Sources

  1. Franklin 1/2 HP 115 V submersible pump motor · sustainablesupply.com
  2. DTE Energy appliance usage guide (GenerLink worksheet) · dteenergy.com · PDF
  3. Home Depot product document · images.homedepot-static.com · PDF
  4. USGS: How much water do I use at home each day? · usgs.gov

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. How we pick

Good fits for a well pump (1/2 HP)

#1
Jackery HomePower 3000 portable power station, front view

Jackery HomePower 3000

$900–$1,500 · price checked

Capacity
3,072 Wh
Output
3,600 W (7,200 W surge)
Battery
LiFePO4, 4,000 cycles (to 70%)
Weight
59.5 lb
Wall charge
2 h 12 min
Solar input
1,000 W

Why it won: Runs a well pump (1/2 HP) for about 2 days on one charge.

  • 3,600 W output with a 30A outlet can run several appliances at once
  • Can feed up to six home circuits through a manual transfer switch
  • Takes up to 1,000 W of solar for faster off-grid recharging
  • Compact and light for its 3,072 Wh capacity at 59.5 lb
  • Cannot add extra batteries; the 2000 Plus or 5000 Plus can
  • Still heavy to carry up stairs, with no built-in wheels
  • Jackery rates cycle life to 70% capacity, not 80%
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Full specs and runtimes for the Jackery HomePower 3000
#2
BLUETTI Apex 300 portable power station, front view

BLUETTI Apex 300

$1,200–$1,600 · price checked

Capacity
2,765 Wh
Output
3,840 W (7,680 W surge)
Battery
LiFePO4, 6,000 cycles
Weight
83.8 lb
Wall charge
1 h 50 min
Solar input
2,400 W

Why it won: Runs a well pump (1/2 HP) for about 47 hrs on one charge.

  • 3,840 W at 120V and 240V at once, with RV-style TT-30 and 14-50 outlets
  • Grows to 33,485 Wh with six B500K batteries
  • 0 ms UPS switch on two outlets in 240V mode (20 ms on the rest)
  • Full recharge in about 65 minutes with an optional 30A or 50A cable
  • 83.8 lb; not something you carry around
  • No built-in USB or 12V ports; those need the optional Hub D1
  • Expensive once you add batteries or the home panel kit
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Full specs and runtimes for the BLUETTI Apex 300
#3
Anker SOLIX F3800 Plus portable power station, front view

Anker SOLIX F3800 Plus

$2,090–$2,700 · price checked

Capacity
3,840 Wh
Output
6,000 W (9,000 W surge)
Battery
LiFePO4, 3,000 cycles
Weight
136.7 lb
Wall charge
3 h
Solar input
3,200 W

Why it won: Runs a well pump (1/2 HP) for about 3 days on one charge.

  • 6,000 W at 120V or 240V runs a well pump, dryer or central AC
  • Up to 3,200 W of solar can refill it in about 1.5–2 hours
  • Accepts a gas generator and can tie into a Home Power Panel
  • Expands to 26,880 Wh with six expansion batteries
  • 136.7 lb; it rolls on wheels but is not portable
  • 20 ms UPS is slower than the 10 ms of Anker's C-series
  • Expensive even before you add an expansion battery
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Full specs and runtimes for the Anker SOLIX F3800 Plus

Make it last longer

  • • Fill bathtubs, buckets and jugs while the grid is up, so the pump does not need to run as often.
  • • Let the pressure tank do the work. With a transfer switch, you can leave the pump's circuit off and switch it on only to refill the tank.
  • • Run nothing else on the station when the pump starts. The 3,000 W start-up needs all the headroom it can get.
  • • Have an electrician confirm your pump's voltage and starting current before you buy. The motor label or control box will show whether it is 115V or 230V.

Add the rest of your devices

Yes, it can run this, about 2 days for a well pump (1/2 HP) on the Jackery HomePower 3000.

Step 1

What do you want to run?

  • Well pump (1/2 HP)
    Number of Well pump (1/2 HP): 1
Add more
Step 2

Pick a power station

3,600 W output · 7,200 W surge · full specs

For a well pump (1/2 HP) on the Jackery HomePower 3000:

Yes, it can run this
Estimated runtime
2 days
If everything ran flat out the whole time: about 2.5 hrs.
Running load
1,000 W
Average draw
50 W
Biggest surge
3,000 W
  • • Everything fits within the 3,600 W output and 7,200 W surge rating.

Math: battery Wh × 0.85 ÷ average watts. Cold weather, battery age and screen-on time all shorten this.

Power stations that can run this

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Price ranges checked by hand on October 9, 2026. Prices change often.

About 2 days
1 device on Jackery HomePower 3000
See result

Common questions

Can a power station run a well pump?
Yes, if it has enough surge and the right voltage. A 1/2 HP pump needs about 3,000 W to start and 1,000 W to run. Many well pumps are 230V and hard-wired, which requires a 240V station and an electrician-installed transfer switch or inlet.
How long will a power station run a well pump?
If the pump runs about 5% of the time, which is normal household use, about 17 to 18 hours on a 1,000 Wh unit, 35 hours on a 2,000 Wh unit, about 2 days on a 3,000 Wh unit, and close to 3 days on a 4,000 Wh unit. Laundry, showers and watering shorten that.
Which power stations have 240V output?
In our table, the BLUETTI Apex 300, Anker SOLIX F3800 Plus and EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 list 240V output. Check the spec sheet of any other unit before you assume it can power a 230V pump.
Can I plug my well pump into a power station with an extension cord?
Only if the pump has a standard 120V plug. Most well pumps are hard-wired. Never try to back-feed a home circuit through an outlet. Have an electrician install a proper inlet or transfer switch.

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