types of things, Ecoflow is having a really good sale right now. And some of the stuff they are selling on Amazon is even cheaper than their website. One example is their Delta-2 1kwh for $499 on Amazon. They also have sale prices for battery/solar panel combos too. For those not familiar, Ecoflow is one of the better manufacturers of these kinds of things.

C

Caladan, educate me on these.

What do you do when the battery dies?

cryption said:

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What do you do when the battery dies?

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Re-charge it.

I've been looking at these for several weeks. Bluetti has pretty big sales going as well and I was considering them first. I'm new to these so still researching. Been looking at ones in the 3kwh size. Any recommendations?

Doesn't do much good in a multi day power outage does it? I guess depends on use case.

college of AG said:

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Caladan, educate me on these.

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These are LiFePo batteries that store* a certain amount of electricity. These are used by plugging in something that uses electricity. Most of these types of things have A/C ports, 12v port(s), USB A and C. They can be re-charged by plugging them into your house A/C, from your car's 12v plug, or by the use of solar panels. Some are very small and are only good for re-charging cell phones/tablets and the like. Others are large enough to run the whole house, including the a/c. A lot of them are in between. They can be used to power many household appliances during a blackout. Ours are in case we need to power the refrigerators and fans for a day. I have two 1kwh batteries, so I can use one while the other is re-charging via solar panel. I don't have "whole-house" batteries, since I don't have the space for that many solar panels in the yard, and I don't want to put a large array on the roof. As long as I can power the fridge, a few fans, and re-charge small electronics during a power outage, I'm fine.

Lithium-iron-phosphate batteries are supposedly better than regular lithium-ion. Safer, and more charge cycles.

Ecoflow has a website where you can gain a lot of knowledge about the subject. Ecoflow is known as one of the better brands of solar generators. Other well-known brands are Jackery, Bluetti, Anker, Goal Zero, among others.

hth,
C

*they commonly known as "solar generators". I'm not fond of that term, as I view them more as storage devices, rather than as something that generates.

cryption said:

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Doesn't do much good in a multi day power outage does it? I guess depends on use case.

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How long they last depends on what you are using them for. If you use them to just re-charge small electronics and maybe run a fan, they will last for many days. Mine are for indefinite use (at least up to their charge cycle limit, which would take years) since I also have portable solar panels to re-charge them.

They are also not just for power outages. Many are easily portable, which allows one to take electrical power to a place that does not have normal electrical service. Camping is a good example of when people these kinds of thing.

C

Hm you've opened my eyes to something I want now lol.

jrb2019 said:

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I've been looking at these for several weeks. Bluetti has pretty big sales going as well and I was considering them first. I'm new to these so still researching. Been looking at ones in the 3kwh size. Any recommendations?

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I wish I had a recommendation for you, but I didn't look at that size of battery. But I can say that Bluetti is a great place to start. For the 1kwh size, the Ecoflow Delta 2 at $499 was a much better buy than an equivalent Bluetti, but that was over a week ago. Perhaps the opposite for other sizes?

Don't know if this applies to Bluetti, but for Ecoflow, their Amazon prices are sometimes lower than on their regular website, so check both.

C

cryption said:

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Hm you've opened my eyes to something I want now lol.

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Yeah, I went down this rabbit hole a few months ago. Thought about a small gas genset, but decided to go with something that would suffice for the short-term electrical outages we commonly see during monsoon season, and that would also suffice for long-term complete grid collapse, god forbid.

C

I have both Bluetti and Pecron. The Bluetti makes slick looking stuff that is pretty solid. Pecron is less well known but most likely has the best bang for the buck, Wh-wise. Jackery is expensive for what you get. Damn near everything is made in China.

Sounds like a good product for specific use.

I'm on Day 2 of post-hurricane generator power. Screen door/,submarine comes to mind for solar powered generator. I've charged my neighbor's solar powered unit up a few times now. Great concept, specific use situations applicable, but I think the run of the mill storm user is better suited to anything else.

I don't usually lose power for more than a day or two. I do have an upright freezer, a deep freeze and a refrigerator. Would your 1kwh power those for a day? That sounds interesting, but I would have to admit my wife was right since she has been suggesting them.

We have a Bluetti that we've camped with for a few years. During the snomagedon in 2021 it was a massive help for us.

I don't know the full line of what sizes they actually run to but my $500 one is not anywhere near the power of a full house generator. It's not going to run your house but it is an option that is a fraction of the cost for people who just need enough power for lighting, or a fan, or device charging for a few days.

Being in Houston for Beryl and my four kids, me included, wishing for WiFi when the cell signals were toast all day makes me think this type of battery bank could be a smart thing to have to run the WiFi router and keep phones and ipads charged. That alone would keep my kids happy indefinitely. The generator I borrowed yesterday doesn't have an inverter so I didn't want to risk frying my sensitive electronics on it, hence creating a need gap this device could fill well. Thanks for sharing. Where do you recommend buying them from?

aggiesundevil4 said:

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Being in Houston for Beryl and my four kids, me included, wishing for WiFi when the cell signals were toast all day makes me think this type of battery bank could be a smart thing to have to run the WiFi router and keep phones and ipads charged. That alone would keep my kids happy indefinitely. The generator I borrowed yesterday doesn't have an inverter so I didn't want to risk frying my sensitive electronics on it, hence creating a need gap this device could fill well. Thanks for sharing. Where do you recommend buying them from?

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If you are talking about Ecoflow, you will want to check both their regular website and their store on Amazon. For some reason, some products are cheaper on Amazon, despite the fact that they are sold via Ecoflow. If OTOH you are talking about other brands, then you will just have to shop around. With that many kids, I would recommend going to at least the ~512wh level, but I think I would go with the ~1000wh (1kilowatt/hour or 1kwh) level at minimum so that you can run some extra stuff if the need arises. At the 1kwh level, the current sale on the Ecoflow Delta 2 at $499 is the best buy I've seen so far for a unit from a recognized company. But the prices change quickly, and who knows what is the best deal at this hour of the night. The lower-level Pecron units mentioned above seem to be pretty decent, so maybe start there.

C

spud1910 said:

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I don't usually lose power for more than a day or two. I do have an upright freezer, a deep freeze and a refrigerator. Would your 1kwh power those for a day? That sounds interesting, but I would have to admit my wife was right since she has been suggesting them.

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A 1kwh unit would not power all three for a day. I don't even think they would power just one of these for a full 24 hours. But you wouldn't need to power around the clock. If you live in a sunny area and connect a 1kwh unit with pass through charging to a 250w to 400w portable solar array, you might very well be able to power one of your appliances for a full 24 hours. But that would mean buying multiple units, which really isn't a bad idea. But if you have the money, you can get battery systems that are hugely larger, and will run those appliances and much more

If all you need to handle is a day or two of not having electricity and need to power three large appliances, then a gas/propane generator would be more cost-efficient. My concerns are a longer than average power outage due to weather (better part of a day to maybe several days), and permanent or extremely long-term natural gas/electricity grid collapse. Since I don't have to power as much stuff as you, a battery w/solar array is just easier for me. No noise at all, and I can run them anywhere inside the house. We have two 1kwh units, so we can power both fridges and a small swamp cooler during monsoon power outages. And with our solar array I can keep one fridge running indefinitely during a national power grid disaster, or at least for as long as I can procure food that needs to be refrigerated.

C

Ok I mulled it over and just bought the Ecoflow 2 you recommended from Amazon. A tipping point was that it can power a Cpap machine for 4+ nights which would be great for me either in a power outage or during the couple of times I hunted in the past few years without power.

Thanks OB product guru Caladan!

jrb2019 said:

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I've been looking at these for several weeks. Bluetti has pretty big sales going as well and I was considering them first. I'm new to these so still researching. Been looking at ones in the 3kwh size. Any recommendations?

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I don't own any Ecoflow units but the one below was their flagship large unit a year or so ago. I haven't kept up with them however. A secondary battery is available and I believe you can hook 2 primary units together and get 240v with the proper accessories.

Buy EcoFlow DELTA Pro Portable Power Station | DELTA Pro Portable Power Station | EcoFlow

Portable solar panels are expensive but do come in handy. Rigid glass panels are much cheaper but less portable.

One thing to remember is you can re-charge the main units and some batteries with an external ac source. A gas/propane generator, like Bluto mentioned above, can be used and, depending upon input limits, may be able to completely charge one up in 1.5-2.5 hrs. That stored power can be used at night if you don't want to run a fuel generator then.

Planning for a short (what is short?) power outage is one thing with a portable genset. I just watched the Weather Channel and they were interviewing one of the 1.7 million customers still without power on day 3. He could find no gas for sale close by. Last night the local news said those in Montgomery county were going to the little station in Stoneham on 105 to wait in line for an hour for fuel. College Station Costco was packed yesterday and there were more cars at the fuel station than I have ever seen. Gas in large quantities is not easy to transport. I remember after Ike all of the surrounding counties, including Grimes, Madison and Burleson, coming to CS/B for fuel. Gas was being put in anything that would hold it. The city reeked of gasoline.

The solar generator units do have a place. C, I have always considered the "generator' designation is actually for generating alternating current from DC.

Figure out how much your appliances need and calculate the total power requirements from there. If you can afford it a combination of generator, battery, and solar would be ideal but very costly. Growing up in Houston I think the longest we went without power was 3-4 days due to an ice storm. In the past few years it seems between the DFW and Houston areas the weather has been more extreme and the power companies have not been able to restore it very quickly.

Lithium-iron-phosphate are safer, more efficient, can handle higher cycles, and are smaller than lithium ion. We have done several backup generator systems with the iron phosphates and typically what we use on standard mobile equipment packs. For 90% of the applications that is the way to go. On some extreme applications we use lithium titanate but they are much more expensive and not as power dense.

If you are moving to an area one thing to look at is are there any hospitals on your grid? I think we are now up to 4 of them on ours and, knock on wood, we rarely lose ours for more than a few minutes. The houses less than a mile away as the crow flies have had theirs knocked out for a few days. The power companies won't admit it but the hospital grids get priority.

As well as sewage lift stations.

I have a 3000WH goal Zero. These are great to have. I travel with it for road trips or hunting/camping. I use it to power lights or my portable fridge. I can power the National Luna fridge in my Truck for 6 days. I need to add a solar panel.

Also great for backup power in a home. I keep it plugged in all the time and can be used to keep lights on or a fridge on for a few days. Not quite enough juice to power an AC for long, but it will work in a pinch.

Thanks for the post on Ecoflow.

I was burned by buying a Zendure SuperBase Pro battery a few years ago. It worked fine, until it didn't, and then customer service was non-existent.

The Ecoflow looks suspiciously like the Zendure to me, both the display and the "base" plus "satellite" units configurations.

Both Ecoflow and Zendure have an "F" rating on bbb.org if that carries any weight for you. (You can search for Zendure near Palo Alto, CA or EcoFlow near San Francisco if you want to look into it.)

Goal Zero seems to be based out of Utah and has a better rating on bbb.org.

Reviews on Amazon claim that Ecoflow does not offer a warranty if you buy on Amazon.

I love the idea of this technology. It probably works well for most people and I drew a short straw. I'd like to buy another one of these products, but will wait for the technology and customer service to improve. I'd love to hear more positive reviews from those who have these type of units.

I have solar and a fairly robust battery setup I built for the camping trailer I also built.

These systems are great for their intended usage and when the buyer accounts for the actual power draw of their devices. Unfortunately, as Caladan mentioned in the first post, a very large solar panel spread would be required for a "whole home" setup that would meet generator expectations.

I helped an OP member with the math to run her RV including air conditioner 24/7 and the costs ended up being way beyond her budget.

It can be done, and it's a great investment when properly implemented, but manage expectations when purchasing.

I have a Jackery 1,500. It's purpose is to run my cpap at night so I can not run my loud generator. Will run it for 3 nights but we've used it for all sorts of other purposes. I do not have solar panels for it.

It's great for bad storms where power will go out for a few hours at night. It's great to have a multi layered plan for emergencies.

BlueMiles said:

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Thanks for the post on Ecoflow.

I was burned by buying a Zendure SuperBase Pro battery a few years ago. It worked fine, until it didn't, and then customer service was non-existent.

The Ecoflow looks suspiciously like the Zendure to me, both the display and the "base" plus "satellite" units configurations.

Reviews on Amazon claim that Ecoflow does not offer a warranty if you buy on Amazon.

I'd like to buy another one of these products, but will wait for the technology and customer service to improve. I'd love to hear more positive reviews from those who have these type of units.

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Thanks for putting up a reply! I looked at the Zendure website. None of their products look anything like any of Ecoflow's current products. But certainly there are a few other brands out there that have a pretty decent reputation, such as the Goal Zero you mentioned. I'm glad there are several pretty good brand choices out there for someone who would prefer to stay away from any particular brand.

I don't know about the Amazon/warranty situation, but I'm sure anyone who is wondering about it can call or email Ecoflow and find out for themselves.

Here is one review for Ecoflow:
I can't say anything about the long-term durability of a Delta-2, since I have only had them for a short while. Certainly they seem to work quite well in testing. Build quality and usability are impressive to me. I have had the opportunity to interact with their customer service twice over the past several weeks. One was to clear up a shipping vs billing address confusion, and the other to take advantage of their lower price guarantee whereupon I asked them to refund $40 when the price of something I purchased went down for their big sale. Both issues were resolved quite quickly, with the $40 credit appearing on my credit card website earlier today.

hth,
C

Another thing when purchasing from the company vs Amazon. When I have bought directly from Pecron or Bluetti, I have never been charged shipping or tax.

oklaunion said:

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I have both Bluetti and Pecron. The Bluetti makes slick looking stuff that is pretty solid. Pecron is less well known but most likely has the best bang for the buck, Wh-wise. Jackery is expensive for what you get. Damn near everything is made in China.

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On your recommendation, I just ordered the smallest Pecron. It will be for the small 12v travel fridge that we are about to buy. When we go into town, we make a day of it. So this should work quite well for keeping the fridge powered when the car is off for many hours.

If it sucks, I gonna blame it on you!

C

Thanks for all the advice. Any insight on Dabsson? Seems to be cheaper than EcoFlow and Anker, but a little more than Goal Zero. I'm looking at the Delta Pro plus 400w solar panel system. I don't want to only go on price and end up with a get what you pay for situation.

Caladan said:

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Thanks for putting up a reply! I looked at the Zendure website. None of their products look anything like any of Ecoflow's current products. But certainly there are a few other brands out there that have a pretty decent reputation, such as the Goal Zero you mentioned. I'm glad there are several pretty good brand choices out there for someone who would prefer to stay away from any particular brand.

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This is the one that I thought looked similar:

Zendure SuperBase V solar generator

I may just go with a build-my-own similar to Naveronski mentioned. I am able to calculate my needs/sizing. The pre-built solution looked attractive.

I'll also look into Jackery. I forgot about them.

Appreciating the replies!

Caladan said:

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spud1910 said:

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I don't usually lose power for more than a day or two. I do have an upright freezer, a deep freeze and a refrigerator. Would your 1kwh power those for a day? That sounds interesting, but I would have to admit my wife was right since she has been suggesting them.

---

A 1kwh unit would not power all three for a day. I don't even think they would power just one of these for a full 24 hours. But you wouldn't need to power around the clock. If you live in a sunny area and connect a 1kwh unit with pass through charging to a 250w to 400w portable solar array, you might very well be able to power one of your appliances for a full 24 hours. But that would mean buying multiple units, which really isn't a bad idea. But if you have the money, you can get battery systems that are hugely larger, and will run those appliances and much more

If all you need to handle is a day or two of not having electricity and need to power three large appliances, then a gas/propane generator would be more cost-efficient. My concerns are a longer than average power outage due to weather (better part of a day to maybe several days), and permanent or extremely long-term natural gas/electricity grid collapse. Since I don't have to power as much stuff as you, a battery w/solar array is just easier for me. No noise at all, and I can run them anywhere inside the house. We have two 1kwh units, so we can power both fridges and a small swamp cooler during monsoon power outages. And with our solar array I can keep one fridge running indefinitely during a national power grid disaster, or at least for as long as I can procure food that needs to be refrigerated.

C

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Have you actually used battery and/or solar to run a house fridge? Seems like the compressor load would be too much for a single digit kWh system.

Caladan said:

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oklaunion said:

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I have both Bluetti and Pecron. The Bluetti makes slick looking stuff that is pretty solid. Pecron is less well known but most likely has the best bang for the buck, Wh-wise. Jackery is expensive for what you get. Damn near everything is made in China.

---

On your recommendation, I just ordered the smallest Pecron. It will be for the small 12v travel fridge that we are about to buy. When we go into town, we make a day of it. So this should work quite well for keeping the fridge powered when the car is off for many hours.

If it sucks, I gonna blame it on you!

C

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Did you get the E300LFP? I have not tried that one but have an E600 as well as an E2000LFP plus 2 battery packs with 3072 Wh each. I use the former for camping and general use where I don't have an extension cord (battery charger on a tractor or side-by-side).
The latter I use on a window unit at my barn as well as a large chest freezer. Never had any problems with them. Good luck.

Caladan said:

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jrb2019 said:

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I've been looking at these for several weeks. Bluetti has pretty big sales going as well and I was considering them first. I'm new to these so still researching. Been looking at ones in the 3kwh size. Any recommendations?

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I wish I had a recommendation for you, but I didn't look at that size of battery. But I can say that Bluetti is a great place to start. For the 1kwh size, the Ecoflow Delta 2 at $499 was a much better buy than an equivalent Bluetti, but that was over a week ago. Perhaps the opposite for other sizes?

Don't know if this applies to Bluetti, but for Ecoflow, their Amazon prices are sometimes lower than on their regular website, so check both.

C

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Prime Days are July 16-17.

Had not heard of Pecron. Pricing seems to be the best out of all I have seen.