Anker Solix F3800 Plus

MSRP $4,799.00

“The Anker Solix F3800 Plus beats the competition in usability, versatility and value.”

Pros

• Very portable
• Good looking
• Very strong warranty, lifetime customer service
• High-quality battery
• Expandable to 53.8kWh

Cons

• Comes with a very short power cord
• EV charging is not practical
• Expensive for casual users

With the Anker Solix F3800 Plus, the company promises people a more feature-rich, evolved power station that addresses many of the shortfalls from the 1st generation F3800. I got a chance to put the old and the new unit’s side-by side to see just how well Anker has listened to its fanbase.

Last February, I was able to spend some time on the original Anker Solix F3800, which was then brand new to the market and despite having some minor bugs, is still one of the most impressive power stations out there. Fortunately, in the year that I have had it, Anker has released a plethora of firmware updates to make sure things ran smoothly without complications. You can read about my experience with the Solix F3800 over on our other site, The Manual. Since it’s introduction, the Solix F3800 has garnered quite a lot of fans, a lot of which have asked Anker for some new features and fixes. This is where the Solix F3800 Plus comes in. Not only has Anker listened to its customers by addressing some of the complaints, but it has added several new features which are sure to make new customers happy.

How much does the Anker Solix F3800 Plus cost?

The Anker Solix F3800 Plus price is $4,799 MSRP, but you should be able to find it listed for less than that if you shop around. At the time of writing for example, you can pick up the Solix F3800 Plus for about $3,499 directly from Anker, which is $21,300 off of their regular MSRP.

I was also able to find the F3800 Plus available at a number of online retailers, including Amazon – prices varied depending on what is packaged with it. When I reached out to Anker to ask about the discounts available, I was told that there are always discounts and specials running.

What’s in the box of the Anker Solix F3800 Plus:

Only a few things come packed with the F3800 Plus – the instruction and warranty pamphlets, the AC Charging cable for the unit itself, and two solar charging cables so you can connect some solar panels to the unit.

I was bummed to see that the AC charging cable is considerably shorter than the one that came with the original F3800 unit. So, make sure that you have an AC outlet nearby, or be prepared to purchase a longer cord, separately.

Features and Design of the F3800 Plus

The F3800 Plus doesn’t look any different than the original F3800 at first glance. Their shapes are pretty much identical, they weigh about the same etc., but when you take a closer look at the connections on the side of the F3800 Plus, that’s where things change.

Here is a list of key differences between the F3800 and the F3800 Plus I was able to keep track of:

• The original F3800 accepts up to 2400W of solar input whereas the F3800 Plus accepts 3200W of solar input. This means you can charge the batteries much quicker
• You will need an adapter for the original F3800 if you want to charge your EV, the F3800 Plus has a port on the side where you can plug your EV in directly
• The F3800 Plus is compatible with 240V gas generators (up to 6,000 bypass)
• The F3800 Plus supports charging via generator or solar while simultaneously powering connected devices
• The original F3800 was not able to output AC power while charging with AC at the same time – this has been fixed with the Plus version
• Anker has a good comparison video on YouTube highlighting the key differences.

Anker Solix F3800 Plus specifications

Generator Charging

I noticed that there are a few channels on YouTube covering 240V generator recharging with the F3800 Plus. Now, while I do not have a gas generator, nor do I plan on getting one now that I have the F3800 Plus here at home, I do understand that if you have both a gas generator and the F3800 Plus, you will want to use one to charge the other. Make sure that you purchase the Anker Solix Generator input Adapter so you can connect it to your gas generator first. Once connected to the 240V generator you should be able to charge your unit at 3300W according to the manual, and 6000W with an expansion battery attached. John from the YouTube channel Backyard Maine has a great video where he shares his experience connecting the F3800 Plus to his gas generator, I recommend checking it out if this is of interest to you.

Solar Charging the F3800 Plus

Anker did not send me any solar panels to test the F3800 Plus with, but once I get some, I will update and include my experience in the review here. The good news is that there are a lot of folks on YouTube that have connected solar panels, personally, I am a fan of Tommy Callaway’s Anker video.

For home use, the F3800 Plus supports 410W permanent solar panels which you can purchase from Anker directly, or an aftermarket brand should you choose to. If you plan on taking the unit to the park or simply do not want to install the permanent panels, you can purchase some portable panels from Anker as well. The F38000 Plus supports a maximum 3200W charging input regardless of the panel’s portability.

Accessories

You can also pick up a various number of solar panels, ranging from portable panels to more permanent fixed panels. There are also several adapters to choose from that either allow you to connect the F3800 Plus to an EV, RV or solar panels. The system truly is expandable and designed to meet a number of needs.

Expansion Batteries

The Anker Solix F3800 Plus can increase it’s storage capacity up to 26,880Wh by connecting 6 Anker expansion batteries, or 12 if you are connecting a second F3800. The expansion batteries are about $2K each when on sale.

“Real World” Testing the Anker Solix F3800 Plus

I always find it amusing to watch videos or read articles where people are testing these power stations with power equipment in the garage, food blenders, or charging their EV’s. It’s as if we all expect life to go on as normal during a power outage, that’s how these companies want you to imagine things.

But for a lot of people, including myself, I am not expecting a power outage to last days or weeks, I simply want my food to stay fresh, for the home to be comfortable depending on the weather, or my phone and lights to stay charged. And that’s for home use.
If I am taking the F3800 plus to the park or camping , then sure, I will use it to power items to cook with, keep the lights on or play a sound system – and that’s why I like the F3800 Plus, when compared to a lot of its competitors – it’s portable with wheels and a built-in handle. The handle extends a little over a foot and is about the same length as you would get from carry-on luggage; it feels sturdy and didn’t make me worry about it breaking with prolonged use. For lifting the F3800, there is a smaller handle that flips out on the bottom so that you can lift the unit with two people. The unit itself weighs just over 132 lbs. and is too wide in my opinion for a single person to lift, so make sure you have some help with you. I transported the F3800 throughout the house, up some steps and over some grass in the yard. The wheels worked well and at no time did I feel like the unit was going to break – there were no clunking sounds or anything feeling loose.

How does the App work?

The Anker app is simple to use. Once installed, you can connect to the F3800 through Bluetooth, and then you will want to connect the F3800 to your Wi-Fi system so you can monitor the unit remotely. I was able to spend some considerable time with the Bluetti AC500 and can tell you that the Anker F3800’s app is considerably easier to navigate and use. You can also add multiple Anker devices through their app which is nice for when and if you decide to expand on this system.

The first thing to notice is that the display is very easy to read and the instruction manual does a great job explaining what the icons mean on the display. Buttons on the front of the F3800 have a nice tactile feel to them – they are not mushy or sticky when pressed. Controls are intuitive to use for the most part. I would recommend keeping the manual handy so you can quickly find out how to put the F3800 into EV charging mode, and which side of the AC outlets you should use if you want to use the UPS function. These two areas are not easy to find unless you have the manual.

To test the F3800 Plus at my home, I had it power a large freezer outside in the garage, charge some electric bikes, power a regular refrigerator and charge some laptops. Here is what the results are for those items.

• Danby 10 cu ft. chest freezer that I have in my garage: Started May 16th at 7:45PM and fully drained the Anker F3800 by May 18th 1:58PM – about 43 hours total. A little under 2 days of charge with a 47w draw from the F3800 Plus
• Frigidaire refrigerator – 20 hours until completely drains at a 150W draw. You could maybe get a couple more hours if no one opened the fridge.
• Standard laptop charges: between 30 and 60 charges if you avg, 50-100 Wh per laptop for example, triple that phone phones
• Charging an EV: With my Rivian R1S, I was able to get about 5 miles of charge out of the F3800 Plus – fully drained. Online, some Tesla owners were able to get about 11 miles of charge

If you were confident the power would come back on in a hurry, you would be able to keep a fridge or freezer running, charge a few laptops or phones, maybe charge up an e-Bike and the F3800 Plus base unit would last about 17 hours before needing a recharge . With both the freezer and my fridge plugged in at the same time, I was about to get 7.34 hours before the unit was completely drained. Recharging the F3800 through a regular 120v outlet took 3.17 hours at 1645W (screenshot attached).

Charging an EV with the F3800 is gimmicky in my opinion, but I just know that if Anker did not include this capability, some people will make a stink about it. Unless you are stuck in a zombie apocalypse and need that extra 5 miles of range to get somewhere else to charge your car, this feature just doesn’t make sense to me.

If power outages are common in your area, ymy recommendation is that you ‘’ll want to buy the solar panels so you can charge the F3800 Plus if you are expecting outages for multiple days. And you will likely want to add a battery pack (or two) as well.

Can you connect the older, original F3800 to the F3800 Plus?

Yes, you can use the Anker Solix Double Power Hub ($299). This increases your maximum output to 12,000W – impressive! As mentioned above, if you have two units connected, you can expand your batteries by 12 total, giving you days of backup for your home.

How long will the Anker Solix F3800 Plus Last?

The Anker Solix F3800 Plus has an expected lifespan of 10 years or more due to the fact that they areit’s using EV grade batteries (lithium-ion batteries that use lithium iron phosphate as the cathode) which are considered safer than other lithium-ion batteries. Like a lot of companies, Anker releases regular firmware updates to address problems.

Should you buy it?

If your needs match mine, then I would recommend buying it. I like the design, portability and the warranty. Would I power my entire home with this? I probably would not, but according to other reviews on the web, and community forums, it certainly seems capable of doing the job if you go with the extra batteries and available accessories – for me, it’s a great base system that you can build from. I am “either/or” in this camp. If I purchased the F3800 Plus and the necessary equipment with the intention of powering my entire home, I am not going to go through all the trouble to disconnect it and take it somewhere – the portability aspect is useless to me.

Because the F3800 Plus comes with wheels, an extension handle and a rear handle for portability, that’s what I would use it for. The Anker Solix F3800 Plus improves on the original F3800 in a lot of ways, and I like how Anker fixed a lot of the quirks I encountered from the original F3800. I spent a lot of time in the community forums learning a lot from F3800 owners, and it appears that the community as a whole has been happy with Anker’s support and firmware fixes. I plan on tracking my use as I get more hours with the F3800 and will see if Anker has plans to address any quirks that come up.

If you currently have an existing Solix F3800 and none of the new features make sense to you, then there are no reasons to upgrade; Anker has consistently been providing firmware updates to improve the unit and any bugs associated with it. The good news is that you can add the F3800 plus to your existing unit and build from there too.

If you are buying from scratch and want a versatile system that looks good, has a solid user interface, is a reliable performer and plenty of accessories and options for building upon, then this is the power station for you. The Anker Solix F3800 Plus beats the competition in usability, versatility and value. We have a pretty extensive list of Power Station reviews worth checking out if you think the Solix F3800 Plus isn’t right for you.