Jackery EXPLORER 1500: An In-Depth REVIEW

Table of Contents – Jackery Explorer 1500 Review

• What is the Jackery Explorer 1500?
• Features of the Jackery Explorer 1500
• Who is the Jackery Explorer useful for?
• In-Dept Field Testing
• Pros and Cons
• Other User Reviews and Feedback
• What about the alternatives?
• Pricing & Value for Money
• Accessories and Additional Products
• FAQs
• Conclusion

What is the Jackery Explorer 1500?

The Jackery Explorer 1500 is a portable power station with a mid range battery capacity and power.

It’s capable of powering around 90% of your devices.

Jackery is an American company with their HQ based in California. It was founded in 2012 and since then they have been one of the market leaders in portable (solar) power. The result is 4 million sold units to date.

Features of the Jackery Explorer 1500

Now we don’t want to ruin the party from start. But we must already mention that, although Jackery portable power stations stand for quality, we didn’t really got blown away about the features of the Explorer 1500. And that even might be an understatement.

Battery Capacity & Power

The Jackery Explorer 1500 has 1534Wh under the hood and has a maximum power outage of 1800W, with 3600W in surge to get appliances with an electrical motor started for instance.

This will allow you to power most of your household appliances.

With these power and capacity features it’s a decent mid range portable power station.

It can be your savior for small power outages were it will run your essential appliances for a couple of hours.

More likely, you will use it to power your devices on a camping, overland or RV trip.

Ports and Connectivity

So far for the good stuff. The first disappointment starts by looking at the different output ports.

For a portable power station in this price range and with this battery capacity, the amount of ports are rather limited.

For instance, there are only 3 AC pure sine wave 110V outlets good for a max capacity of 1800W. In addition, this unit has only 3 USB outputs which is very limited.

• AC Output (x3): 110V, 60Hz, 1,800W (3,600W Peak)
• USB-A Output (x2): Quick Charge 3.0, 18W Max
• USB-C Output (x1): 60W Max
• Car Port (x1): 12V⎓10A

What’s also a downer is that the Explorer 1500 isn’t expandable with extra batteries.

Battery Lifespan

Also the battery specs are not that convincing. They may have been back in 2017 but on today’s market it underperforms compared to competitors like EcoFlow, Bluetti, or ZERO BREEZE.

The Jackery Explorer 1500 has a Lithium-ion battery which has a cycle life of around 500 cycles until it loses 20% of its capacity. This means that after 500 cycles you will only get to use the remaining 80% of the battery capacity.

Although, this will take many years for most occasional users.

However, compared to the above mentioned competitors on the market you’ll get much higher life cycles.

Usability and Design

Looking at its features and design, it’s clear that the Explorer 1500 is made for beginners who want to use it out of the box without much bells and whistles.

This translates also to its intuitive display that shows only the essential things you need/want to know.

On the screen you can read the input and output Wattage, battery percentage and total time until charged or depleted when there are devices connected.

Solid and simple.

Although it’s not a very sleek design it does give you that outdoorsy and crafty vibe. Maybe it’s because of the colors that are similar to the ones seen on BLACK+DECKER product.

Who knows if the designers from Jackery found their inspiration when doing some chores in the house with a BLACK+DECKER drill in their hands?

Anyway, what we don’t like about the design is the large handle at the top. Yes it is handy to carry it. But it is also a killer to stack it in the trunk or your RV.

A cubic design with side handles for instance is preferable.

Portability

Yes, we should mention the top handle increasing portability. But we already did.

Further, it’s not the heaviest unit in this range but also not the lightest. However, with 35.27 lbs it is quite manageable to move it around a lot.

The unit its size ins’t that big but the top handle takes up a lot of space: 12.7 in (32.3 cm) x 10.4 in (26.4 cm) x 14 in (35.6 cm).

Who is the Jackery Explorer 1500 useful for?

Overlanding, RV, or Campers

The Jackery Explorer 1500 is useful for people who go overlanding or camping occasionally.

If you want to use your portable power station more frequently, then we would advice an other unit with a larger life cycle.

Also it’s made for beginners who want to use it “plug&play”. DIY people who want to fix their own solar setup for instance are not at the right address with the Explorer 1500.

Home Backup

The Jackery 1500 can be used during shorter power outages. For instances to run some devices for a couple of hours.

The same goes for the people who want to use it as power backup: if you like things simple and “plug&play” then this might be your thing.

In-Dept Field Testing

How did we test?

Similar to all our other portable power station reviews we’ve put the Jackery Explorer 1500 to some test. This includes testing its efficiency, both for the in-and output performance.

Unboxing and First Impressions

This is in the box:

• 1* Jackery Explorer 1500 Power Station
• 1* AC Adapter
• 1* Car Charge Cable
• 2* Solar Panel Parallel Adapter(Cable)
• 1* User Manual

AC Discharge Test

We charged the Jackery Explorer 1500 to 100% and tested its actual usable capacity.

For the AC test, we used a 250W heater.

It ran until the battery reached 0% after delivering around 1288Wh, which is 84% of its advertised 1534Wh capacity.

This is a solid result for a portable power station of this size.

Moderate Device Test

We powered an 870W toaster and an 800W microwave.

The toaster pulled around 850W according to the Jackery’s display. After running for 3 minutes, the battery level dropped by 1%.

Next, we ran the microwave for minutes, dropping the battery by another 1%.

This indicates the Jackery Explorer 1500 handles moderate appliances with efficiency, but power consumption impacts the battery more than lighter usage.

Heavy Device Test

We plugged in an air fryer rated at 1725W.

The Jackery 1500 handled this load without shutting down but was near its limit.

After running the air fryer for 10 minutes, the battery level dropped by approximately 22%. This shows it can manage heavier loads but at the cost of faster battery depletion.

Extreme Load Test

We pushed the Jackery Explorer 1500 to its maximum capacity by plugging in devices that totaled 1800W.

It managed this for around 15 minutes without triggering an overload.

Attempting to push it further to around 2000W led to an overload shutdown.

The Jackery Explorer 1500 handled high loads well, but it’s important to stay under its surge limit to avoid shutdowns.

Solar Charging Test

For the solar charging test, we connected a 400W solar array (2x 200W panels) under sunny conditions.

The Jackery Explorer 1500 took about 5 hours to recharge fully, which is close to its expected time.

With optimal conditions, it’s possible to charge the unit in around 4 hours using solar power.

A real downer on the Jackery is that it’s not possible to plug and use 3th party solar panels. You are obliged to buy the solar panels from Jackery.

This is also something that other brands these days offer on their models.

AC Charge Test

We plugged the Jackery Explorer 1500 into a wall outlet using the provided AC adapter.

The max AC input it can take is 500W. That’s also not that much in today’s fast charge universe. In addition, we only got around 260W of AC input. At least that’s what the display on the unit was telling us.

It took around 4 hours to fully charge the Explorer 1500 which is rather slow for today’s standards.

Pros and Cons

Pros of the Jackery Explorer 1500

• Good quality
• Easy to use for beginners
• Mid range capacity and power

Cons of the Jackery Explorer 1500

• Lack of features
• Price/value
• Top handle
• Not expandable

Jackery Explorer 1500 Review

What our experts say: “The Jackery Explorer 1500 offers solid quality and is ideal for beginners.”

Best Price

Other User Reviews and Feedback

Many users who bought the Explorer 1500 are happy with it. It receives an average of 4.6 stars out of 5.

However, there are some users who state that these units have some difficulties with charging in cold or hot temperatures. Contrarily, this is something that Jackery advertises.

What about the alternatives?

In our opinion the Jackery Explorer 1500 is caught up by its competitors and is now running a few years behind.

There are better alternatives on the market today that will have more specs and features but cost you less!

Think about the BioLite BaseCharge 1500+ for instance. It has similar power and capacity performance but with better other features like more USB outlets .

Pricing & Value for Money

When we compare prices of other similar models from competitors we can definitely tell that the price is high. Maybe even one of the highest.

Taking into account the limited features we are sorry to say that the price/value ratio for the Jackery Explorer 1500 is not good.

Accessories and Additional Products

• Solar panels
• Carrying cases
• Cables

FAQs – Jackery Explorer 1500 Review

How long will a Jackery 1500 run a refrigerator?

How long does a Jackery 1500 last?

The Jackery Explorer 1500 can last 500 full charge cycles to 80% of its original capacity. With regular use, this translates to about 2-3 years of consistent use.

Can a Jackery run a 1500-watt heater?

Yes, the Jackery Explorer 1500 can run a 1500W heater, but it will deplete the battery quickly. Expect around 1 hour of runtime for a 1500W heater at full power.

What can the Jackery Explorer 1500 power?

It can power a variety of devices including refrigerators, microwaves, blenders, power tools, and electronics like laptops, phones, and TVs, up to 1800W.

Is it OK to leave Jackery plugged in all the time?

No, it’s not recommended to leave the Jackery plugged in all the time. It’s best to unplug it after a full charge to avoid unnecessary battery wear.

How many years will a Jackery last?

With proper care and moderate use, a Jackery Explorer 1500 can last around 5-7 years before the battery capacity significantly degrades.

Can a Jackery 1500 run an air conditioner?

Yes, but only small window AC units or portable air conditioners that fall below its 1800W limit. The runtime will be limited, depending on the power consumption.

Can you use Jackery 1500 while charging?

Yes, the Jackery Explorer 1500 supports pass-through charging, allowing you to use it while it’s charging.

What can you run off of Jackery 1500?

You can run refrigerators, microwaves, TVs, laptops, small appliances, power tools, and more, as long as they don’t exceed 1800W in total.

Which is better, Bluetti or Jackery?

Bluetti generally offers more features like faster charging and higher capacity, while Jackery is known for portability and ease of use. Which is better depends on your specific needs like capacity and features.

Conclusion: Jackery Explorer 1500 Review

To conclude our Jackery Explorer 1500 review we can say that overall it’s a well build solid portable power station that is well suited for occasional users and beginners.

Although that the quality is good, the Explorer 1500 lacks features that are found in other portable power stations from competing brands.

Finally, it comes with a high price tag compared to competitors. Taking into account the limited features the price/value is not good.

Discover if it ranks in our TOP 10 Best Portable Power Stations.