How Long Will It Run

How long will a Goal Zero Yeti 300 run incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs)?

About an hour — 1 h 1 min typically, from 58 min in the worst case to 1 h 5 min at best. That assumes incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs) pulling 204 W continuously, plus the station's 8 W AC mains socket overhead — 212 W in total out of 216 usable watt-hours.

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

The numbers

Goal Zero Yeti 300 · 297 Wh · new pack at 20 °C, 10% reserve
SetupAverage drawCautiousTypicalBest case
1 × incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs), UK 230 V212 W58 min1 h 1 min1 h 5 min
2 × incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs), UK 230 V416 W———
1 × incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs), US 120 V212 W58 min1 h 1 min1 h 5 min
  • 0.1 nights of eight hours, or 0.04 days of continuous running.
  • Usable energy: 216 Wh of the 297 Wh on the box, after chemistry, inverter losses and the reserve.
  • To keep it going for a full 24 hours you would need about 7,001 Wh of rated capacity — 23.6× this station.
  • Start-up: the incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs) asks for 204 W at switch-on against this station's 600 W peak — comfortable.

Buy the Goal Zero Yeti 300

Where to buy

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What changes the answer

If instead…Typical runtimeChange
The pack is two years old56 min-8%
The pack is five years old49 min-21%
It is −10 °C outside52 min-15%
You run it flat, no reserve1 h 8 min+11%
You keep 20% back55 min-11%

If you need it to run longer

These run incandescent Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs) for at least twice as long as the Goal Zero Yeti 300 does, cheapest first.

StationWhTypicalIndicative price
Jackery Explorer 1000 v21,0703 h 38 min£419 / $549
UGREEN PowerRoam 6006802 h 19 min£449 / $499
Bluetti EB70S7162 h 26 min£449 / $429
Bluetti AC707682 h 37 min£449 / $359

The cheapest step up: Jackery Explorer 1000 v2

Amazon and approved-programme links are affiliate links; the site may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Links marked “official site” are untracked. Prices and stock change constantly — check before you buy.

Smaller options that still work

StationWhTypicalWeightIndicative price
Bluetti Elite 30 V22881 h4.3 kg£229 / $449
Jackery Explorer 300 Plus28859 min3.8 kg£319 / $300
Anker SOLIX C30028859 min4.4 kg£229 / $249
EcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus28659 min4.7 kg£219 / $269