Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Backup generator buying guide

Updated: October 2026

You searched for a generator and landed on boxes that charge from a wall plug, a hand crank, or a small solar panel. On this amazon.co.uk shelf a backup generator is almost always a portable power station, a battery and an inverter, from about £42.79 to £899.99 in the files saved on 20 October 2026. The twelve listings in our [backup generator comparison](/hub/electrical-equipment/backup-generator) sort by continuous watts, then watt-hours, then waveform and voltage, then the socket and the carton. Products Compared did not lab-test them. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You searched for a generator and landed on boxes that charge from a wall plug, a hand crank, or a small solar panel.

Our top picks

FOSSiBOT FOSSiBOT F2400 2,048 Wh

Best overall

FOSSiBOT FOSSiBOT F2400 2,048 Wh
9.4/10about £649.00
View offer
VTOMAN VTOMAN Jump 600X 268.8 Wh

Best value

VTOMAN VTOMAN Jump 600X 268.8 Wh
9.0/10about £239.99
View offer
SinKeu SinKeu R150 99 Wh

Rank 3

SinKeu SinKeu R150 99 Wh
7.8/10about £109.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.A backup generator on this shelf is a battery, with one hand crank
  2. 2.Continuous watts, then watt-hours
  3. 3.Waveform, voltage, and chemistry only when the listing names them
  4. 4.UK socket, earthing, and what is actually in the box

A backup generator on this shelf is a battery, with one hand crank

Eleven products store energy and invert it. The Oumefar, at about £42.79, is a hand crank rated about 20 W while you turn it, with no stored watt-hours and no AC socket stated. The attribute still says 4 stroke, which is catalogue noise. VCLPOWER is USB and bulbs, 75 Wh in the title, with no AC socket described. The small AC cluster is about 80–150 W. The Jump 600X is 600 W and 268.8 Wh. None of these is a petrol genset. A fuel machine is a different search, on backup generator or petrol generator.

Continuous watts, then watt-hours

Read continuous watts before peak. The M82 states 80 W continuous. The M168 Plus states 100 W and says it does not support loads over 100 W. The SinKeu states 150 W at 230 V. An 80–150 W station cannot run a kettle or most heaters. Surge figures, such as 1,200 W on the Jump 600X, are a short spike. A UK maker guide uses runtime roughly equal to watt-hours times 0.8, divided by the load. That is not a test of these models. The VCLPOWER title says 75 Wh and the wattage attribute says 75 kilowatt hours. The M82 Plus prints both 98 Wh and 111 Wh. Leave capacity unknown until the hardware agrees.
FOSSiBOT FOSSiBOT F2400 2,048 Wh

Testsieger

FOSSiBOT FOSSiBOT F2400 2,048 Wh
9.4/10about £649.00
View offer

Waveform, voltage, and chemistry only when the listing names them

Prefer a listing that says pure sine and 230 V at 50 Hz. UK mains are 230 V. The Jump 600X, the Jump 2200, and the F2400 title claim pure sine. The FlashSpeed bundle and the Jump 100 do not. Do not upgrade an unstated wave because another VTOMAN box says sine. The SinKeu prints 230 V / 50 Hz. The M168 Plus prints 220 V / 60 Hz. The F2400 title says 240 V, the attribute says 230 V, and a bullet says 110 V. VTOMAN, FOSSiBOT, and VCLPOWER say LiFePO4. MARBERO says lithium and a BMS. SinKeu names no chemistry. A cycle-life figure stays on the listing that prints it.

UK socket, earthing, and what is actually in the box

Regulation 35 of the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 expects domestic equipment to suit a BS 1363 connection. A photo is not that check. Reports on other power stations, not these twelve ASINs, include a FlashSpeed 1000 that is not the bundle here. The Jump 2200 station at about £499.99 has no panel. The about £569.99 ASIN adds a 110 W panel. Do not plug a station into a wall socket to feed the house. A backup battery sits outside the narrow 2026 plug-in solar exception. Charging is on how to use a portable power station. What to run in a cut is on backup generator in a power cut.

Common questions

Is a backup generator on amazon.co.uk a petrol engine?
On this shelf, no. Eleven listings are battery stations and one is a 20 W hand crank. A petrol generator runs while you can fuel it and has to stay outdoors because of carbon monoxide. The 4 stroke line on the crank’s attribute does not make it an engine.
Do I size by watts or by watt-hours first?
Size by continuous watts first, then surge, then watt-hours. Watts tell you whether the inverter can run the appliance at all. Watt-hours tell you how long a load that already fits might last. Peak watts are a short spike, not an evening plan.
What does pure sine wave change for a laptop?
A listing that says pure sine is the safer read for chargers, TVs, and audio gear than a listing that is silent or that a reviewer calls modified sine. The Jump 100 does not state a waveform, and one UK reviewer said the AC output was a poor match for computers. If the page does not say pure sine, leave it unknown.
Does LiFePO4 on one brand apply to the MARBERO boxes?
No. VTOMAN, FOSSiBOT, and VCLPOWER name LiFePO4 on their listings. MARBERO names lithium and a BMS, not that chemistry. SinKeu does not name one. Cycle-life numbers stay on the listing that prints them.
How do I read a listing that prints 220 V and 60 Hz?
Treat it as a conflict with UK mains, which are 230 V at 50 Hz. The M168 Plus prints 220 V / 60 Hz on the attribute and the AC bullet. The F2400 disagrees with itself across 240 V, 230 V, and 110 V. Check the plate before you assume a British appliance will match.
Does a solar panel in the title photo mean it is in the box?
No. Match the included-components line, not the picture. The Jump 2200 station-only ASIN has no panel. The about £569.99 kit adds a 110 W panel. MARBERO and the Jump 600X sell the panel separately. A photo of a panel is not a packing list.
Can I plug the station into a wall socket to feed the house?
No. Do not feed the house back through a BS 1363 socket. The narrow 2026 plug-in solar exception does not cover a battery that stores energy. A connection to the consumer unit is work for a competent electrician.

Related pages

Best backup generator

Backup generator

How to use a portable power station without backfeed

Power cut backup generator: what you can still run

Portable power station vs petrol generator outdoors

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file, saved on 20 October 2026.

  1. Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, regulation 35 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  2. GOV.UK plug-in solar consultation (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  3. SI 2026/848, regulation 2 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  4. OPSS product safety report: AFERIY portable power station 2505-0172 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  5. OPSS product safety report: VTOMAN FlashSpeed 1000 2506-0145 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  6. National Grid: power cut safety (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  7. National Grid: how to report a power cut (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  8. HSENI: safety tips for a portable generator (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  9. Ofgem: Priority Services Register (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  10. Anker SOLIX UK: portable power station or generator (retrieved 20 October 2026)