Introduction
In this post, I’m reviewing the compact but powerful HIMCEN H740P 740 Watt Hour portable power station. The H740P will be out for sale soon and boasts several unique features compared to similar power boxes on the market.
Disclaimer: The product review samples were provided free of charge. However, I’m not affiliated with the HIMCEN company or was I monetarily compensated for the review. – Ray
The H740P has a removable Lithium-Ion battery pack consisting of (NiMnCo) 21700 battery cells. The HIMCEN battery packs can be separately charged from the main unit. This feature allows you to expand the power storage capacity greatly.
Additionally, the HIMCEN boasts a speedy recharge time. As little as 2-3 hours! Other interesting perks are a 100W USB-C charge/discharge port and an XT60 30 amp DC output port for charging RC planes/cars and drone battery packs.
First up, I’ll give you a close look at the nicely designed battery pack, the specs, how it is removed and reinstalled, plus a couple of quick demo tests. Starting with a heavy load test. I max out the power station’s 600-watt pure sine inverter, and I see if and how long it can power my little True North electric heater set to 600W mode ( 1 hour and 5 minutes).
Then I try a full recharge using the supplied AC power adapter outputting 200 watts ( a little over 3 hours). If I were to add a 100W USB-C charger, the charge time could be reduced even more since the two charging inputs can be used simultaneously. A terrific feature.
Initial Look at the HIMCEN H740 Pro Power Station
Stay tuned as I will soon have another video out with more in-depth testing and demos of the HIMCEN H740P power station, plus my full review. The H740 Pro price is listed at $899, but the word is there may be a significant introductory sale when it hits the market.
HIMCEN H740 Pro Power Station – Full Review
OK! I’m back with my full review of the H740 portable power station from a company called HIMCEN. This new power station has several unique features, which grabbed my attention when HIMCEN offered me one of their early units for review. Like the XT60 port, for example, I haven’t come across before in other portable power stations I’ve reviewed.
But, top of the list in my mind is the lithium battery pack being removable, allowing for expanded power capacity. Another essential feature is the speedy recharge times. A downfall of many of its competitors on the market.
Product Design and Looks
I love the looks and fit and finish of this HIMCEN unit. It has a sleek metal case and an attractive color LED display. The display provides useful information like the current input and output wattage and battery percentage, plus the time remaining. The only design negative I found was the display was difficult to see in bright light outside versus a more basic backlit LCD type. Not a deal-breaker though, I can live with it.
The H740P is about that of a toaster. Surprisingly small, considering its 600-watt power output and 740 watt-hours battery. Weight is around 15 lbs. I found it easy to carry and move around with the smooth built-in handle and thick rubber feet. The weight is primarily the removable lithium-ion battery pack located in the bottom portion of the box. The low center of gravity makes the power station hard knock over, suitable for use in a moving vehicle like an RV.
Charging and Discharging Test Results
Over the past month, I’ve been rigorously testing the H740 Pro. I’ve charged it and discharged it dozens of times and in all various ways. The H740 can be charged using a 200 watt AC wall plug, up to 300 watts of solar power, or 120 watts using the included automotive DC power socket plug.
Moreover, you can also charge using the USB-C connector up to 100 watts, then combine that with the 200 watt AC input to produce 300 watts. Overall charge time of the 740 watt-hour battery pack is then reduced to between 2-3 hours!
My Charging Test Results – Time from Empty to Full Charge
- 300 Watts of Solar – Approximately 4 hours
- AC Power Adapter – 3.5 hours
- 12V Truck Power Socket – 5.5 hours
- AC+USB – I don’t have a 100W USB-C charger but confirmed it did work using a small 20W charger. Charging power increased to 200W + 20W = 220W.
As you can see in my charging tests, I found the HIMCEN power box performed extremely well. I was impressed and think it can be a terrific power station for people that need to have power ready to go again quickly.
However, for the AC inverter discharging test, I give a rating of “just OK.” I found the usable battery capacity was about 10% less than the rated 740 watt-hours when powering high wattage loads. The 600-watt inverter would reduce its AC voltage & wattage output and/or shut down after the 10% capacity left reading. I’ve discussed this with HIMCEN, and they say they will be able to adjust some software settings to improve this in the final production units.
I also alerted them that the 120W folding solar panel they sent me had a disappointingly low power output when compared head to head with a Jackery SolarSaga 100W.
In my low sun angle winter tests using wattage input reading on the H740, the folding panel they sent me that claims to be 120W maxed out at about 50 watts charging power, whereas the 100 SolarSaga could deliver around 65 watts. Hopefully, they can source a better folding panel to sell. I was informed that HIMCEN makes its own power station but the solar panel is outsourced.
As for the DC voltage outputs, they performed as advertised. The cigarette lighter socket can output a solid regulated 12 VDC @ 10 Amps, and the two smaller barrel connectors output 5 amps. With the 12VDC 10A output was able to power my 60W portable 50L fridge/freezer without a problem.
I also tested the XT60 output socket, and it produced 20 Volts @ 30 Amps. This is a port designed for charging RC cars, planes, and drone battery packs, that sort of thing. However, I imagine with the addition of a voltage regulator; it could power higher amperage 12VDC items. Say an air compressor, for example. I gave it a try using my VIAIR 450P compressor, even at the higher than recommended 20VDC and it powered it nicely.
You can take a look at the HIMCEN website and see the H740 Pro can run lighter power loads like phones, tablets, and electronic chargers for many hours and even days.
However, I wanted to try it on some of the various higher wattage items I have in our RV such as our 43″ LED Television. Below you’ll find my real-world test results.
Discharge Power Test Results
- 43″ Visio LED TV – 10.5 hours
- 600W Electric Heater – a little over 1 hour
- 120W Electric Blanket – 3 nights of use
- My 17″ Dell Laptop – 4 days of use
- Ivation 19 Pint Dehumidifier – 1.5 hours
- 50L Portable Fridge/Freezer – 20 hours
- 335 Watt Egg Cooker – powered no problem using just a few percent of battery capacity
- 700 Watt 3 Quart Instant Pot – not able to power it, overloaded as expected
- Electric Smoker Grill – used about 2% of battery capacity to cook a small pork roast
- VIAIR 450P Air Compressor – was able to power it using the XT60 port
As you can see I really put this new power station from HIMCEN through its paces testing a wide variety of items around our RV. Now it’s time for my personal likes and dislikes as I see them.
Pros and Cons Lists
Pros:
- Removable 740WH Lithium battery pack – NMC (NiMnCo) 21700 cells
- Can Add Extra Battery Packs for Increased Capacity
- Speedy Recharge Times – As low as 2-3 hours
- Battery Packs can Charge Independently.
- 600 Watt Pure Sine Inverter
- Voltage regulated 12VDC outputs. 1x 10 amps and 2x 5 amps
- Three Quick Charge USB 3.0 ports
- Input/Output USB-C port 100W Max
- Built-in 30 amp XT60 Port
- (Pass-Through Charging) charge and discharge at the same time
- Recharge a dead/weak automotive battery at 10A with included cable and clamps
- All power outputs can be used simultaneously.
- Attractive, well-designed case with aluminum shell.
- Relatively quiet temperature-controlled cooling fan
- Informative LED color display
- Compact and lightweight 15 lbs.
- Comes with an array of different sized DC connectors.
Cons:
- Brand new product to the market – Relatively unknown company
- Below 20% battery capacity, I found the AC inverter output voltage dropped under heavier loads. I measured levels as low as 98.9 volts when running a 400-watt load at a 10% battery capacity reading.
- Hard to read the display in bright light or sun
- The 120W folding solar panel provided for my review produced a much lower wattage than I expected.
Video Review of the HIMCEN H740 Pro Power Station
Conclusion
Overall I find the HIMCEN 740 Pro power station to be a well-constructed and powerful little unit. The removable battery pack and fast recharge time for me are the killer features. These features alone set it apart from many others currently on the market. Hopefully, HIMCEN turns out to be a trustworthy competitor in the portable power station marketplace.
Update March 15th, 2021
The Indiegogo Campaign is not active here is the link – https://igg.me/at/himcenbattery Also, below are some improvements HIMCEN has made to the product since my review.
Product Improvements Spring 2021
Select units shipped to reviewers in early 2021, after which our reviewers identified a couple areas of improvement. We have been able to fully address these issues in the version of the product shipping to Indiegogo backers. Here is a summary, for those of you who like to dig into the technical details.
Solar panel: Ray Burr mentions about lower power for our solar panel. We have now sourced solar cells from a US brand that features improved efficiency. These solar cells are the same sources from Jackery’s (our major competitor) solar panel vendor, so the power and efficiency of the solar panel will be on par with Jackery’s solar panel.
Capacity: Review units did not feature the high capacity original battery cells that are included in our first production run units. Indiegogo backers will experience improved capacity over the values cited in the reviews.
Power level setting: We intentionally made the power level high to prevent overheating, so the power drops when the capacity of the battery is lower than 20%. To correct, we will make a slight change to the software setting for first production run units.
Check the HIMCEN H740 Pro Product Launch Page for more specs and be alerted when it’s available for purchase. Currently, early birds are being offered $100 off.
Related Links:
- Lensun Power Solar Generator Review
- Jackery 500 Power Box Review
- Jackery 1000 Power Box Review
- NOCO GB150 Booster Box
More LYRV Off-Grid aka Boondocking Related Posts and Videos
