How Long Will It Run

How long will an Anker SOLIX F3800 run incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs)?

About 13 hours — 12 h 34 min typically, from 11 h 50 min in the worst case to 13 h 19 min at best. That assumes incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs) pulling 204 W continuously, plus the station's 18 W AC mains socket overhead — 222 W in total out of 2,791 usable watt-hours.

The old bulbs draw about six times what LEDs do for the same tree, and run hot.

The numbers

Anker SOLIX F3800 · 3,840 Wh · new pack at 20 °C, 10% reserve
SetupAverage drawCautiousTypicalBest case
1 × incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs), UK 230 V222 W11 h 50 min12 h 34 min13 h 19 min
2 × incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs), UK 230 V426 W6 h 10 min6 h 33 min6 h 56 min
1 × incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs), US 120 V222 W11 h 50 min12 h 34 min13 h 19 min
  • 1.6 nights of eight hours, or 0.52 days of continuous running.
  • Usable energy: 2,791 Wh of the 3,840 Wh on the box, after chemistry, inverter losses and the reserve.
  • To keep it going for a full 24 hours you would need about 7,331 Wh of rated capacity — 1.9× this station.
  • Start-up: the incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs) asks for 204 W at switch-on against this station's 8,000 W (230 V) / 9,000 W (120 V) peak — comfortable.

Buy the Anker SOLIX F3800

Where to buy

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What changes the answer

If instead…Typical runtimeChange
The pack is two years old11 h 34 min-8%
The pack is five years old10 h 4 min-20%
It is −10 °C outside10 h 41 min-15%
You run it flat, no reserve13 h 58 min+11%
You keep 20% back11 h 10 min-11%

If you need it to run longer

Nothing in this catalogue runs incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs) for twice as long as the Anker SOLIX F3800. Either it is already near the top of the range, or this appliance is beyond what portable batteries do well — see the incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs) page for the full ranking.

Smaller options that still work

StationWhTypicalWeightIndicative price
EcoFlow DELTA Pro3,60011 h 47 min45 kg£2,499 / $2,699
Anker SOLIX F30003,07210 h 9 min41.5 kg£1,899 / $1,999
Pecron E3600LFP3,07210 h 9 min36 kg— / $999
Bluetti AC300 + B3003,07210 h 4 min63 kg£2,499 / $2,699