Watch The Video On YouTube
The Professor reviews the Growatt Vita 550 solar generator with clean 600w inverter and 538wh LFP battery at a cheap bang for the buck price.
WATCH IT HERE
Intro:
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A few months back I reviewed the Growatt Infinity 1500 power station and it was a good first effort by the popular inverter brand. Fast forward to 2023 and Growatt has released their second power station called the Vita 550 with an upgraded LiFePO4 battery.
Quirks & Features:
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Battery Capacity/Tech/Cycles: 538wh LiFePO4 battery rated 3000 cycles to 80% capacity
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Size/Weight: Approx 12 x 8 x 8 inches @18lbs
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Design/Display: ABS plastic design with folding handle and color LCD screen
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Inverter Size/Type and #outlets: 600w pure sine inverter with 3 AC outlets
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Ways To Charge: 3 ways to charge
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AC power: The AC charger is built in to this unit and is capable of up to 500w grid charging that can top up the Vita 550 from 0-100% in about 1.6 hours. 0-80% happens in less than a hour. That’s fast for a product of this size.
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12v: The Growatt can also charge from 12v either from a vehicle or external battery and can charge the unit in about 6-7 hours.
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Solar: Solar on the 550 maxes out at 240w with a voltage range from 12-24v DC and 10A maximum. Under optimal conditions this lets you charge the unit in about 2.5 hours.
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12v Output Types: One 10A cigarette lighter accessory socket and a pair of 5521 barrel plugs all regulated at 13.2v
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USB Output Types: 1x USB-C 100w PD output, 1x USB-A QC output good for 18w, and a pair of standard USB-A ports good for charging your dinosaurs
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Other Outputs: Sports a 15w wireless charging pad on top
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Other Features: Growatt also has an app that works with all of their solar generators. We’ll show that in a bit.
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Warranty: 2 years
Testing :
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DC Battery Capacity Test (time lapse): On the DC test, the Vita 550 scored 503wh out of 538 for an amazing 93% of rated capacity. This is also coming from a regulated 12v output at 8A which makes the result even more impressive.
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AC Battery Capacity Test (time lapse): It scored a little bit lower on the AC capacity test, pulling 450wh out of 538 for a still above average 84%. Note that this test is performed at around 50% of the rated capacity of the inverter which is usually the sweet spot.
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With a lot of recent sogens pulling 70’s and low 80’s numbers this is a refreshing change. Note that their 1500w Growatt Infinity did poorly on the 12v test and only 81% on the AC test. So Growatt, whatever you did on this newer product keep doing it.
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Sine wave check under load:120v 60hz
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Inverter capacity test (max): 600w
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Cooling ability test (rated @ 5mins):600w
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Inverter fan noise db: 53
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Max Charge Rate @ watts/volts: AC: 485w DC: 12v 85w, 18v 195w, 30v max 245w
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Charging fan noise db: 53
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Simultaneous charging ability: None
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Pass thru / UPS: No ups, No AC pass thru. Inverter disabled during AC charge and vice versa. Full DC pass through.
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DC Output(s) Max Rate: 10A
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12v output(s) regulated: 13.3v
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USB output rate check: 91w/100w PD
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Wireless/other output: Pad works all the time unit is on
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Amp interference test: Pass
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Light demo: Has light, blinker, NO SOS (a HT first!)
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APP/solar test: pass
My Opinion:
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I think the Growatt Vita 550 is a quality bang for your buck product as it offers what most folks need in this size of power station at a competitive price. If Ecoflow and Bluetti had a baby it would be a Growatt. It’s fast charging, has a good size LFP battery, a quiet inverter, all the USB and wireless charging options, app control, and a light without the silly SOS.
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However, the elephant in the room is the lack of UPS feature or even AC pass through charging. If you don’t need an uninterruptible power supply or to run AC appliances while it charges from the grid, then you won’t care about this omission. Folks that plan to mostly charge with solar probably won’t care either as DC pass through charging works just fine. However, the competition does offer this feature in their midrange products and it’s really the only major oversight by Growatt. They are going to be reading the comments in this video so if you want to voice your opinion here I’m sure they’ll listen.
Pricing and competition:
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Product Price with current discounts:
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The Vita 550 retails for $529. However, I scored a discount code from Growatt that will knock that price down for a limited time. It’s a very competitive price for something with a built in charger and an app.
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Main Competitor:
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Speaking of competition this 500 to 600 watt LFP segment is pretty hot. You have Bluetti’s 600w EB3A that’s about 40% cheaper but has half the battery capacity. Ecoflow’s 500w River 2 Max has a more bling and a longer warranty but is also almost 100 bucks more. This slips the Growatt conveniently in the middle of the two biggest names in LFP power stations.
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Who’s It Aimed At?:
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When you’re talking 600 watts, your talking limited support for appliances. Don’t expect to run your Keurig, Instant Pot, microwave, or air conditioner on this model. That’s not what they are for. If you need to power a small 3 cup coffee maker, a desktop computer, laptop, TV, fans, or a small refrigerator this will do the job. It’s also great for charging batteries, tablets, cell phones and the like along with a 12v compressor fridge which I have many to choose from on sale at hobotech.tv/amazon. Oh, since the fans are so quiet this is also a good unit for a CPAP machine as it should get you by a couple of nights, and since the inverter is clean you can actually use this for small audio amplifiers so you can rock out at your campsite and annoy your neighbors.
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Recommended Solar Panel Type/Size:
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Growatt does offer their own 200w portable folding solar panel in a bundle with this product which will work perfectly. However, if you want something more robust and less expensive I’d recommend the BougeRV 180w or 200w glass panels which can be found on hobotech.tv/amazon under “solar kits”.
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If you’re interested, you can purchase the Growatt Vita 550 by clicking this link and using code OLHOBOFANS for a discount at checkout!
Growatt Vita 550
600w Solar Generator
Use code OLHOBOFANS
GO TO GROWATT
Growatt Infinity 1500
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Bluetti PV420 420w
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—
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//-AC300 & B300 Deals-//
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//-Other Models-//
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