The Professor reviews EcoFlow’s new DC to DC Alternator Charger used for fast charging Delta 2, Delta Max, and Delta Pro solar generator power stations at 800 watts from a 12v or 24v vehicle (RV, car, truck, van, boat) or battery bank.
It seems like everyone and their mother is coming out with a DC to DC battery charger this year. Ecoflow is no exception. Theirs is adeptly named the “Alternator Charger” and is designed to work with several of their larger Delta series power stations to enable them to fast charge at up to 76 amps (or 800 watts) from either 12 or 24 volt systems. That makes the Alternator Charger hands down the fastest way in the world to charge your Ecoflow directly from DC power from a 12v vehicle, without spending a penny on solar panels. But, is it any good? Let’s find out!
So this tiny device here does all the magic. It is designed to sit somewhere in the interior of your vehicle near your Ecoflow power station. When I say “vehicle” I mean anything that runs or carries a 12 or 24 volt battery system like a car, truck, van, RV, boat, or plane. However, I’ll show you in a bit how you can use this indoors to charge your Ecoflows from any brand 12 or 24v battery without needing a vehicle at all. So stay tuned for that.
So this part sits in the vehicle, and this long cable attaches to it. The other side is ran to the battery in your vehicle, be it the starter battery, house coach battery, or whatever auxiliary battery you might have. Even though this is called the “alternator charger” it doesn’t actually require an alternator at all to work. What it does require is hooking up to either a 12 or 24 volt battery, and for best results should be hooked directly to the terminals.
What this box does in laymen terms is take the 12 or 24 volts from your vehicle battery and converts it to 48v for use with the built in battery port on Ecoflow’s larger power stations. Of course it does a lot more than that, and it is controlled via Ecoflow’s fantastic app. With the push of a button in the app, you can seamlessly send power from your running vehicle into your Ecoflow, then when your vehicle isn’t running you can opt to send power back from the Ecoflow into your battery. The latter is useful if for example, you camp in your vehicle and run the radio or lights. It will act as a jump starter so you won’t get left stranded. It also has a maintenance mode that can run all night at low power to keep your battery topped off. These are very cool features you simply can’t get from other DC to DC chargers.
Now, about hooking this thing up. If you plan on doing a permanent install, you’ll need to run a single heavy cable from inside your vehicle to wherever your battery is located. Because this thing will pump up to 80 amps of juice through these cables and if you don’t have a good high amperage connection to the battery, you’ll have issues getting it to work properly. I found this out the hard way when I tried to hook it up through the jumper ports under the hood instead of directly to the battery. A lot of new vehicles have these remote jumper ports if the battery isn’t under the hood. You do need to connect directly to the battery or to a 100A or more bus bar that’s connecting multiple batteries together.
You may have noticed I said IF you plan to do a permanent install, because really the only reason to do a permanent install is if you wish to only use this in one vehicle and while driving. Of course, this is what it is designed for – charging your Ecoflow while driving. However, the Alternator Charger is so compact and quick to setup, you might find yourself just keeping it in a bag and clamping it to your battery as needed – say while camping. You can simply hook it to your battery, idle your engine, and recharge your Ecoflow. Depending on the size of your power station, it can take from one to several hours to recharge. However, if you don’t have solar, camp in places with lots of trees, camp in areas where it rains a lot, plan to camp outdoors during the coming nuclear winter, or are a minimalist that simply doesn’t want to carry around bulky panels – this may be a much better investment for you than solar.
Of course you can in fact charge with solar simulaneously while using the Alternator Charger. Say your Ecoflow is dead, your starter battery is dead, but you have a solar panel. You can charge the Ecoflow first, then use the app to send power to the battery to start the vehicle.
My favorite use for this product is something unconventional and that’s charging my Ecoflow using my solar powered RV house batteries. I’ll show this in a bit. Let’s get to the testing…
If you’re an Ecoflow fan and you use your products outdoors camping, in your RV/boat/truck or van, or you simply want a way to charge the Ecoflow extra batteries without needing to hook them up to a power station – the Alternator Charger is a fascinating product with many use cases beyond what they advertise it for. If you’re one of the thousands that have been looking for a way to dump power from 3rd party LiFePO4 batteries into your Ecoflow at rates way beyond the lethargic 100 watts from the car port charger, this is a no brainer purchase.
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ECOFLOW Wave 2 Battery A/C Viewer Q&A | 40% Off Anniversary Sale
The Professor answers viewer questions about the Ecoflow Wave 2 solar & battery powered air conditioner / heat pump and announces their “Now or Never” 40% off sale includes a FREE GIFT!
One short year ago, Ecoflow released their Wave 2 portable battery powered heat pump that does both heating and air conditioning, to major fanfare. Needless to say, it was a huge hit. On its anniversary, Ecoflow is offering this popular product at a major discount, calling it their “Now or Never” sale with up to 40% off the Wave 2. They are even throwing in a free window vent kit for use in any vehicle.
Of course, I did my own comprehensive review of the Wave 2 that included a separate follow up video in hopes of answering all the burning questions. Apparently, there are still a lot of folks confused about how to use this product. In this brief video, I’m going to answer those questions once and for all in case you’re still on the fence about getting this product.
First, if you have no idea what the Wave 2 is or you’re never watched my full review of this product, I encourage you to go watch that review. I’ll pin it up here on screen and in the description of this video.
Now, let’s go over something very important. The Wave 2 can be purchased with or without its own snap on modular add on battery.
If you purchase it without this battery, there are only two ways to power it. Either with the included AC power cable (which can plug into any 120v AC power source including a generator), or with another Ecoflow power station or Ecoflow extra battery (BTW they call their add on batteries “extra” batteries in case you don’t know). So if you already own an Ecoflow power station, or plan to buy the Wave 2 in a bundle with an Ecoflow power station, you really don’t need the Wave 2 add on battery. This only applies to Ecoflow products that have an external battery port like the Delta Pro, Delta 2 Max, Delta 2, and all of their “extra” add on batteries. With these Ecoflow products you can actually directly DC power the Wave 2 which is a lot more efficient than running it from AC power. I demonstrate this in my original review.
So why would you buy the Wave 2 with the add on battery? Because it opens up a whole world of external charging options.
First, getting the battery lets you solar charge the Wave 2 directly with up to 400w of solar using the included XT60 charging cable.
Second, you can now run the Wave 2 directly off of ANY 12-60v source up to 13A with a 400w limit. When I say ANY source I mean everything from a 12v car battery to a 48v server rack battery to any brand power station with a 12-60v DC output. This also means you can use any DC to DC charger including Ecoflow’s own Alternator Charger or any competing brand’s model.
I must have had over 100 questions asking me if the Wave 2 can be run off a competing brand’s power station. The answer is a big fat YES. You can run it from any AC inverter that’s at least 800w, or you can run it from any DC source up to 60v IF and only IF you buy the add on battery with it.
The only thing you may have to do in order to run it from alternate DC sources such as a battery, is to either cut the MC4 ends of the included cable (or simply buy an XT60 pigtail on Amazon) to wire it directly to whatever DC source you’re trying to use. It’s really that simple.
Okay, so I think I beat that horse dead, so let’s move on to the next most asked solar questions.
That is, how to solar charge the Wave 2, how long does it take, and what kind of solar panel should I use?
First, charging the Wave 2 is dead simple as long as you purchased it with the add on battery. You simply plug in the included XT60 to MC4 cable then hook any solar panel up to 500w directly into it. If you are using 100w or 200w panels you can hook two or three of them into it in series as long as the total voltage (or Voc on the panel) when added up doesn’t exceed 60v. You can also run multiple panels in parallel up to 13A using Y branch adapters sold separately at gohobo.io/adapters.
As for how long it takes to charge with solar, I recorded this time lapse last May charging a dead Wave 2 battery up to full using a single 450w solar panel. [clip]
As for what solar panel to get, that’s up to you. Ecoflow does have a fantastic 400w panel and a cool 220w bi facial panel. If you’re on a budget, I have some alternates you can check out at my website gohobo.io/solar
Hopefully this answered all of your questions, if not you can leave a comment on this video or join us at our Facebook group (gohobo.io/facebook). We’re about to cross 10,000 members there with lots of really smart folks to help you out.
Celebrate EcoFlow WAVE 2 first anniversary with unbeatable deals! Introducing the WAVE 2 ‘Now or Never Limited Deal’ with up to 40% off and a FREE Car Vent Kit! https://gohobo.io/wave2
DEAD EASY DIY Complete All In One Solar Power System for Off Grid Home RV Van | ECOFLOW Power Kits
The Professor reviews the world’s simplest DIY, plug & play, BEGINNER FRIENDLY all in one solar power system — the ECOFLOW POWER KITS, after a FULL YEAR in the lab! It’s a complete solution for off grid RV / Van / Home Backup.
Say you know little to nothing about building out your own fully featured solar power system, but you want to install one in your RV, van, boat, cabin, or outbuilding. As long as you only need single phase 120v power, one of the simplest plug n play solutions on the market today is the Ecoflow Power Kit system. It’s an all in one solar power solution that can charge direct from any DC source up to 60v including a vehicle alternator, has two built in MPPT solar controllers, it’s own 70A regulated DC output, and a built in 3600w inverter. Power Kits support up to a whopping 15kWh of power (or the equivalent of 12x 100ah lithium batteries). It all sounds pretty fantastic, but we’ve gotta know — is it any good? Let’s find out!
You may have heard of Power Kits before, since they’ve been around for well over a year, and I’ve actually had one in full time use since early 2023. I first installed it in my trailer and used it for a month in Quartzsite. At that time, it was a prototype. I received an updated version and installed it last year to power my entire Lab. I did this by running the AC output into a mechanical interlock switch in my breaker box. Unfortunately, I don’t have footage of exactly what it looked like then since I’ve changed it but here’s the general idea.
The Power Kits system comes with all the cables and mounting brackets that you need for either a mobile or static installation.
Now, I need to admit upfront that I didn’t use any of the battery mounting hardware but used my own straps instead. The reason being I knew the install in my trailer was temporary and at the time it was a prototype so I actually had an entirely separate conventional solar power system as a backup. I’m the kind of person that always tries to have backups in place for things like power which is vital when you are camping in the middle of the desert for a month without hookups. Here’s some old footage I took camping in Quartzsite with it in 2023. This is previously taken from the video “How to solar power everything in your RV”.
I did take some footage a few months back when I was testing out the inverter capacity on the Power Kit. This is when it was still hooked up as my primary system. You’ll notice I only had two of the 5kWh batteries and have since upgraded to a third battery.
I had the Power Kit as my exclusive power system in the lab for about a year. You have to understand that I use a LOT of power in here. There were many days 10kWh wasn’t enough. So I had some other 3rd party batteries feeding into the Power Kit via the Alternator Input.
This is probably the best feature of the Power Kit – the ability to charge from 12-60v sources at 60A up to 1600w. So if you are installing this in a mobile application in a vehicle with an alternator, you can hook up to your starter battery and there is a setting in the app that will only charge your system while the engine is running. It also has this cool feature where you can send emergency starting power from the Power Kit batteries back into your starter battery so you don’t get stranded. This is all controlled via the excellent Ecoflow app.
So what’s the Power Kit doing now? As you can see, it is still in my lab and is powering some equipment. Up until I had the Ecoflow Delta Pro Ultra and the Smart Home Panel 2 installed, I was exclusively using the Power Kit to run everything in the lab. It still charges daily with solar and is used as a backup system in case I have to shut down the main system. Let’s check it out.
I wasn’t sure if Ecoflow was ever going to want me to do a full review of this system because every time I asked them, there was a higher priority like a newer product launch. That’s why this review has taken so long and also why I don’t have tons of footage of it in action.
I did beat the tar out of it for a very long time and there were a few bugs that seems to all have been squashed in the past year of firmware updates. That’s one thing that makes Ecoflow top dog in this industry. The fact they release regular firmware updates to fix bugs and add new features across their entire product line. They even recently fixed a time display bug that I reported a while back.
So let’s talk about the basic specifications. A lot of this can’t be easily found on their website, but I pieced it together from several sources.
Specs:
Let’s start with the batteries. It supports from 2kWh up to to 15kWh of power kit batteries and these are of course 3500+ cycle LiFePO4 (the cycle life can be further increased by limiting charge and discharge limits in the app).
The batteries are available in both 2kWh and 5kWh sizes and up to 3 of the same type can be used together. You can’t mix and match. So if you start with a 2kWh battery you’ll be limited to 3 of those total for only 6kWh maximum – this is fine if you are severely limited on space. If your budget allows, I’d suggest starting with the 5kWh battery because then you can upgrade to the maximum 15kWh later down the line. Let me put the sizes and weights on screen so you can see it these fit your application.
Note the 5kWh battery is pretty heavy at 90lbs, but it is very compact. I remember when I first recieved them, I thought they sent me the wrong size. I was like “no way they fit a 5kWh server rack battery in there!”. If you’re considering this for an RV just be sure you have a storage compartment big enough for these batteries. I decided to install both the main inverter head unit and the battery in the same compartment. This way the inverter keeps the battery warm and the cable runs are the shortest.
Of note, these batteries are also heated and rated IP54 for outdoor use. So you can place them in an area that is not insulated and receives some moisture. Heated batteries means you can charge them all the way from from minus 4 degrees, up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
On to the main inverter unit they call the Power Hub. This thing is amazingly small and lightweight for all that’s packed inside.
It’s only 31 lbs and measures approximately 19 x 6 x 12 inches. It does need to be mounted upright so the fans are up top.
It has a 3600w pure sine inverter with a 7200w 100ms surge ability. Note that the Power Kits only output 120v at 60hz and does not offer 240v or split phase capability. This is a non issue for mobile applications, but I wanted to mention this if you planned to use it in a residential capacity.
Lets talk about AC input. The Power Kit can be charged with AC power, for example shore power, from the grid, or from a generator. In fact, it is designed out of the box to be used with Ecoflow’s 1800w dual fuel gas and propane generator. That generator can be set to auto start and stop depending on the battery level percentage you set in the app. This would be an amazing combo while camping. I do have a separate full review on that product I did last year.
If you are charging from standard grid power, it can be charged at up to 3000w at 30A. So if you install a 30A RV plug on the AC input cable, you can plug it directly into 30A service at any RV park or campground. There’s probably a way to also plug it into level one EV chargers with the right adapter. Just remember it only charges with 120v.
As for DC charging, this thing is a total beast. It has 3 high wattage DC inputs. One is a low PV or alternator input, DC to DC charger that can charge with 13-60v up to a whopping 60A at a maximum rate of 1600w. The other two are MPPT controllers that can charge from 15v all the way up to 150v at 30A or 1600w. If you look at the current user manual it says these support only 60v, but that is old information. All 3 inputs can be run simultaneously for a whopping 4800w of DC charging. This means you can top up the maximum 15kWh of batteries in less than 4 hours.
If that’s not enough, it does support simultaneous AC & DC charging up to 6000w which will top up the largest battery combo in under 3 hours. So say you want to top up with shore power and solar at the same time before leaving on an adventure, you can certainly do that. If hooked to your alternator and solar, both will charge at the same time while you drive. It’s really a fantastic system since this is all built into a single compact unit.
As for solar options, you can use whatever solar panels you like as the cables come with MC4 plugs already attached. Ecoflow does sell rigid 100w and 400w solar panels with mounting kits for most surfaces. I’ve used everything from 4x 320w Renogy panels to 450w bifacials with the Power Kit, both at the same time even, and they all work great. So I won’t cover the solar aspect of this product as it is very versatile and you can basically do what you want to get to that 1600w per MPPT.
Last but not least is the high amp regulated 12v/24v output. The Power Kit can also be hooked directly into a fuse box to supply up to 70A at 13.6v or 60A at 26.4v. It doesn’t support 12v and 24v output at the same time but this is switchable from 12v to 24v within the app or console. 70A of DC output is the most you’ll get from any Ecoflow product, or any competitor for that matter. This output is of course protected internally by Ecoflow, but I would still recommend installing your own fuse on this output because a 70A short is nothing to laugh about.
As mentioned before, this entire unit can be monitored and controlled remotely from anywhere you have Internet access, and even if you don’t it has built in WiFi and Bluetooth that can be used without service. But what if you hate wireless access and apps?
You can also get the optional (but highly recommended) Power Kit Console touch screen display. Power and data are both delivered through a standard network cable so it is easily ran through most walls to where you would like to mount it. This will enable you to use the entire system without WiFi or Bluetooth if desired. You can even update the firmware from the console which is pretty sweet.
I do want to mention that this product is also UL1973 & 458 certified so it is safe to install in your mobile or residential application.
Opinion
So what do I think about the Power Kits system after using it for more than a year? I think it is a fantastic piece of engineering from Ecoflow and I was really shocked they didn’t really market the thing. It kind of came and went and some of you did ask me about it. I’m sure some of you already have purchased and installed it so I’d be interested to hear your comments and what you think about it.
I know already many of the DIY crowd is going to complain about this product because it is an all in one, plug and play solution designed to be a total no brainer install that literally anyone with no electrical knowledge can use. This of course comes at a price.
The Power Kits are not cheap. Prices range from 4k up to about 13k with discounts. This is about what a professional solar installer would charge for a much smaller component system. You can instead DIY the install yourself and end up with a system with much larger capacity for similar money.
This is state of the art technology and it does come with a factory 5 year warranty which can be extended up to 10 years – so your investment is protected. You also may qualify for the 30% federal solar tax credit depending on how it is installed.
A side note about how to purchase this product. Ecoflow has outsourced Power Kits to a vendor called Campervan HQ. They are a licensed distributor of this product so don’t be freaked out when you click the links and end up on their website.
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