In South Africa load shedding has truly become an unfortunately ever present thorn in our sides. Even if it’s not load shedding, these days there are plenty of other reasons we may find ourselves in need of a power source in lieu of the national grid, like unplanned outages, scheduled maintenance, and mobile or remote work setups. Fortunately, for better or worse, after dealing with rolling blackouts for so long South Africans now have more solutions for powerlessness than ever before, such as these mobile UPS power stations made by Gizzu. Gizzu is a local company that makes and sells a selection of power solutions for domestic and commercial use alike designed to alleviate the headaches of load shedding. Say, for example, brewing your coffee on a cold morning without electricity.

We currently offer three models from Gizzu’s Hero range of UPS power stations, each with its own variety of use cases, ranging from running your kettle and grinder to powering an entire mobile coffee setup. Each UPS station features a lithium iron phosphate battery with a lifespan of 3500 charge cycles. Unlike more traditional inverter setups, lithium batteries can be drained partway and recharged repeatedly without affecting long-term performance. Moreover, these batteries are protected by a battery management system and a number of safety features, such as short-circuit, over-current, over-voltage, under-voltage, over-load and temperature protection measures.

Additionally, the Hero series power stations function as uninterrupted power supply (UPS) stations, meaning you can set up your Gizzu Hero as an automated back-up power system so that it kicks in when you go off-grid, switching seamlessly to battery-power and keeping your essential electronics up and running. They also each sport a host of input and output ports, offering you a generous amount of flexibility when it comes to both charging from the Hero and charging it itself.

Whatever your power needs, Gizzu likely has a solution for you. Read on to find out which Gizzu Hero Power station best suits your particular requirements. For those specifically interested in the utility of these power stations in a coffee context, here’s a handy summary:

Gizzu UPS power station applications for coffee

Note: These are just a few hypothetical coffee use-cases, but this list is not prescriptive or exhaustive. Different machines vary in their power consumption, and no two setups are exactly alike. Requirements will also vary significantly depending on how many cups of coffee you’re making. If you’re considering one of these stations for your home or business, make sure you adequately understand the power requirements for your intended use. Get in touch with us if you’d like a hand figuring it out.

Gizzu Hero Max

The Hero Max is the smallest of these Gizzu devices that we offer. With 1024Wh of battery capacity and a fairly compact build, it works perfectly as a charging station for devices like phones and laptops during load shedding, or bundu-bashing veld excursions. Additionally, the Hero Max has a rated power of 1200W, ensuring that it can handle a variety of relatively low-demand electronics, like lamps, TVs, or smaller kitchen appliances, such as an electric kettle (variable temperature or otherwise), or an electric grinder, so you never have to go without your morning coffee.

Gizzu Hero Max features & specifications

• 1024Wh lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries with 3x more battery cycles than a typical lithium ion battery.
• Max power (output): 1200W
• Battery charges from 0% to 100% in 1.3 hours.
• Input ports:
• AC: 220-240V/50Hz 1000W Max
• XT60: 11.5V-50V/8A 200W Max
• Output ports:
• 2x AC (220-240V/50Hz 1200W Rated)
• 1x Type-C 30W PD (5V-3A, 9V-2.22A, 12V/1.67A)
• 1x Type-C 100W PD (5V/9V/12V/15V-3A, 20V-5A)
• 2x USB-A 18W QC3.0
• 1x Car Socket Port (12V/10A)
• 2x DC5521 Ports (12V/3A)
• 1x XT60 (12V/25A)
• Includes 1W/4000k LED torch
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 32.9 x 20 x 26.9 cm
• Weight: 11.5 kg
• Possible use cases:
• LED TV
• Desktop PC
• Electric coffee grinder
• Double-Door Fridge
• Microwave
• Electric Drill
• Washing Machine
• Single Fridge

Gizzu Hero Pro

With a capacity of 2048Wh and a rated power of 2400W, the Hero Pro is twice as powerful as the Max. Simply put, that means it can power all of the same things for twice as long, or twice as many things for the same amount of time. Choose this battery if you’re trying to power quite a few low-draw appliances at once. It even has some higher-demand applications, like powering a hairdryer for a few minutes or keeping a small espresso machine that was already on (i.e. past its initial warm-up cycle) running for an hour or two. In a small commercial setting that features a gas-powered espresso machine, the Hero Pro could even work as a backup system during load shedding to power your machine’s pump and electronics, as well as a grinder.

Gizzu Hero Pro features & specifications

• 2048Wh lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries with 3x more battery cycles than a typical lithium-iron battery
• Max power (output): 2400W
• Battery charges from 0% to 100% in 2 hours
• Input ports:
• AC: 220-240V/50Hz 1100W Max (2hrs)
• MPPT (Anderson): 11.5-50V/25A 500W Max (4.8hrs)
• Output ports:
• 2x AC (220-240V/50Hz 2400W Rated)
• 3x Type-C 20W PD (5V-3A, 9V-2.22A, 12V/1.67A)
• 1x Type-C 100W PD (5V/9V/12V/15V-3A, 20V/5A)
• 2x USB-A 18W QC3.0
• 1x Car Socket Port (12V/10A)
• 2x DC5521 Ports (12V/3A)
• 1x XT60 (12V/25A)
• Adjustable input power wattage (easily adjust your input wattage to avoid overloading your circuit)
• Includes 1W/4000k LED torch
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 39.2 x 27.9 x 32.3 cm
• Weight: 22.5 kg
• Possible use cases:
• LED TV
• Electric coffee grinder
• Desktop PC
• Double-Door Fridge
• Home espresso machine
• Microwave
• Electric Drill
• Washing Machine
• Circular Saw
• Espresso Machine
• Airfryer
• Hairdryer

Gizzu Hero Ultra

As the name suggests, this is Gizzu’s largest mobile power station. It’s significantly less compact than its smaller brethren, but gains some mobility back thanks to the inclusion of a set wheels. Power-wise, the Hero Max has everything you need and more to keep a few lights on at home and power most of your appliances, including high-demand appliances for at least an hour or two. However, what really draws us to this particular Gizzu model is its commercial potential.

The Hero Ultra is even more fitting than the Hero Pro as a power backup in a gas-powered commercial coffee setup, but it shines brighter in a mobile coffee setup. Thanks to its whopping 3840Wh battery capacity and rated power of 3600W, the Hero Ultra can run a single group espresso machine for a few hours. Moreover, it could also power a gas-powered espresso machine along with, say, a grinder or two and a water pump all at once. It can even still act as a charging station for your POS machine, and should fit easily into a coffee trailer or van, making it perfect as the backbone for any mobile or remote café setup.

Simple as that last bit sounds, putting together any kind of café is a big investment and takes a lot of work. If you are considering getting the Gizzu Hero Ultra UPS power station for your gas-powered coffee setup, mobile or otherwise, we recommend getting in touch with our technical team first so they can handle equipment and installation details.

Gizzu Hero Ultra features & specifications

• 3840Wh lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries with 3x more battery cycles than a typical lithium-iron battery
• Max power (output): 3600W Rated (7200W Max Peak)
• Battery charges from 0% to 100% in 2.2 hours
• Input ports:
• AC: 220-240V/50Hz 2200W Max
• XT90: 12-160V 2000W Max
• Output ports:
• 3x AC (220-240V/50Hz 3600W Rated; 7200W Max Peak)
• 3x Type-C 20W PD (5V-3A, 9V-2.22A, 12V/1.67A)
• 1x Type-C 100W PD (5V/9V/12V/15V-3A, 20V/5A)
• 2x USB-A 18W QC3.0
• 1x Car Socket Port (12V/10A, Max 120W; Total Share 10A Max)
• 2x DC5521 Ports (12V/3A)
• 1x XT60 (12V/25A)
• Adjustable input power wattage (easily adjust your input wattage to avoid overloading your circuit)
• Includes 3W/4000k LED torch
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 55 x 32.1 x 46.4 cm
• Weight: 40.7 kg
• Possible use cases:
• Gas-powered espresso machine
• Water pump
• Electric coffee grinder
• LED TV
• Desktop PC
• Microwave
• Circular Saw
• Hairdryer
• Vacuum cleaner
• Dishwasher
• Electric Chainsaw
• Tumble Dryer

Gizzu UPS power station universal features

• Inverter: Pure Sine Wave
• Includes battery management system for device health and protection
• Lifespan: 3500 charge cycles
• UPS Mode switchover time: ~10ms
• Comes with an AC charging cable, a car charging cable, and a user manual.