Tag: solar generators

EcoFlow Delta Pro 3 | 4000w 240v Split Phase Solar Generator Power Station

Posted on by HOBOTECH Tom

 

The Professor reviews the world’s first truly portable single unit 120v & 240v split phase solar power station by Ecoflow — the Delta Pro 3.

Intro

  • Ecoflow is well known for being the top dog when it comes to innovating all in one portable power stations, and has expanded over the past few years to now include plug and play whole home backup power solutions. Their latest product, the Delta Pro 3, blurs the line between a portable power station, and home backup generator with the ability to expand from 4kW to 12kW of power, yet still roll around on it’s own two wheels without needing an external dolly or cart. This makes it the first ever truly portable split phase 240v all in one power station. But, is it any good? Let’s find out!

Features

  • Battery Capacity/Tech/Cycles:

    • The Delta Pro 3, abbreviated to “DP3”, is a massive upgrade to the original Delta Pro released in 2021. Your first question might be, what the heck happened to the Delta Pro 2? Well, your guess is as good as mine, but Ecoflow said it was a marketing decision to skip directly to version 3. So don’t be confused, because there was no Delta Pro 2, at least in the United States.

    • This new sleek and sexy model sports a larger 4096Wh LiFePO4 battery rated at 4000 cycles to 80% capacity.

    • It’s expandable with up to 3x DP3 power stations in parallel for 12kw of inverter power (enough to run just about anything in most homes), and battery storage can be expanded up to 36kWh with 6 of the 4kWh “DP3 extra batteries” when connected through the Smart Home Panel 2. That’s two full days of power for most homes without even adding solar charging. I reviewed the Smart Home Panel 2 in a recent Ecoflow video and it’s an amazing product by itself. I didn’t have time to show the DP3 hooked into the SHP2 in this video, but will do a separate video on that in the near future.

  • Size/Weight: What about size and weight? Well, this is where you pay for the larger built in battery and split phase inverter when compared to the original. The DP3 clocks in at a hefty 51.5kg or 114 lbs. Yeah. This isn’t something most folks can’t lift by themselves. Fortunately, it does have a built in retractable pull handle and a pair of wheels on back making it pretty easy for most folks to roll around on smooth surfaces. In comparison, Ecoflow’s flagship the Delta Pro Ultra, coming in as the heavyweight Eco champion at 190 lbs with only one battery, pretty much requires an external dolly to move around. So while the Ultra is “technically portable” because it’s not bolted to a wall, the Delta Pro 3 form factor is actually something you can fit in most vehicles, and use in your RV or on a camping trip. 4kWh is a lot of juice for camping or Rving and is equivalent to 320Ah of lithium batteries.

    • As for the DP3 extra batteries, they are far easier to manage than the original delta pro batteries. They weigh in at a respectable 73lbs (for 4kWh) and are stackable — unlike the original batteries. I’m glad Ecoflow decided to go with a stackable design this time because it makes a huge difference in space management when you can stack the batteries.

    • The dimensions of the DP3 are approximately 27 x 13 x 16 inches (making it a few inches larger than the outgoing model) and the extra battery is around 27 x 12 x 8 inches, a major size reduction compared to the original batteries.

    • Note that the DP3 and extra batteries, unlike the flagship Delta Pro Ultra batteries, are not heated, so they can’t be charged if the internal cell temperature goes below freezing. You’ll actually get a warning on screen if this happens.

  • Design/Display: Speaking of which, the display is a new one for Ecoflow. It’s much wider and fancier than their other products and resembles the color LCD screen from the Delta Pro Ultra. It does offer all the important stats such as input/output watts, time to charge discharge, battery percentage display with animations, among other information such as warning codes.

  • Inverter Size/Type (constant/peak) and #outlets: Where the DP3 shines and is different from every other brand in the market, is that it actually has both a 120v inverter and a split phase 240v inverter. Why is this important? Well, in the United States, we’re special. We run our large appliances off two phase 240v service, where other countries use single phase 230v. Essentially, a 240v split phase inverter is two separate 120v inverters that are synchronized to be in opposite phase of each other at 60hz, that when combined make 240v. This allows a large appliance like a stove to use 120v for the lights and computerized parts, while using 240v to run the heating elements. This is all done through a single outlet using a single cord. Up until now, a power station that could output split phase 240v service usually meant combining two separate 120v power stations through a special box. The Delta Pro Ultra was the first large power station to offer split phase 240v in a single unit. The DP3, now it’s smaller, more portable sibling can be rolled into any room in your home to power any major appliance from your oven, to your clothes dryer, to an electric water heater. This also means it can Level 2 charge your EV or plug in hybrid, on the go.

    • The “catch” is that the DP3 can only output either 120v or 240v, not both simultaneously. Well, that’s not exactly true. I’ll show you in a bit how you can convert the 240v side into a pair of 120v lines to run all your regular stuff. The key factor is that only the 120v inverter in the DP3 has the built in 10ms UPS switching feature where the 240v side does not. This isn’t really important because major appliances don’t need a UPS or Uninterruptible Power Supply. Things like your computer or other electronics are appliances you want to stay online if the power goes out in your home. All of those run on 120v.

  • Ways To Charge:

    • As for ways to charge, you have several…

    • First, is AC power from either 120v or 240v. At 120v you’re limited to 1800w and at 240v that limit doubles to 3600w. This means at 120v you can charge the DP3 in about 2.5 hours, or at 240v in about 75 minutes. When connected through the SHP2, the DP3 will charge at 240v at up to 4000w as defined within the app.

    • Second, is direct DC charging at up to 3200w via Ecoflow’s shiny new dual fuel smart generator 4000. It supports auto start and stop and will keep the batteries charged within a specified range in the app. At sea level running full bore, charging takes about an hour and a half. 

    • As for solar, the DP3 sports two MPPT charge controllers for a combined total of 2600w of solar charging. The low PV side supports 1000w of panels from 11v-60v while the high PV side supports 1600w of solar from 30v-150v. This means that you can charge from 12v or 24v sources as well as 48v battery banks, and use any solar panels you like up to the 150v limit.

    • For example, Ecoflow’s own 400w panel. For a limited time, up until July 23rd 2024, you can score a free 400w Ecoflow portable solar panel with your Delta Pro 3 purchase, and that alone will charge your DP3 in about 12 hours. Those panels run about 48v each so you could put 3 of those in series for 1200w of charging at 144v (to charge in only 4 hours), then you could use a completely different set of solar panels up to 1000w on the low PV side.

    • The DP3 as previously mentioned can charge from a 12v vehicle typically around 100w from the car lighter socket. However, you’ll see in a moment there is a way to unlock a much faster 12v charging speed if you’re hooking directly to a battery.

    • You can also charge direct from a battery or running vehicle using Ecoflow’s new Alternator Generator at 800w. I have a separate review on that if you want to check it out.

    • Finally, you can with an adapter, charge at a Level 2 EV charger up to 4000w for topping up in about an hour flat.

  • 12v Output Types: Ecoflow made a big change in the DP3 where as they no longer offer a 12v lighter socket output. Instead, there is a single 5521 barrel output good for 5A, and a 30A Anderson output good for 360w of charging at a regulated 12.7v.

  • USB Output Types: The DP3 offers a pair of 100w USB-C PD outputs and a pair of 18w USB-A QC outputs.

  • Other Features: Of course the DP3 is supported by Ecoflow’s amazing app, and the product is also UL9540 & 9540A certified

  • Warranty: The standard warranty from Ecoflow is 5 years, but if you purchase using my link in the description, you’ll score an additional 2 years for a total of 7 … making it the longest warrantied retail power station on the market.

Testing

  • I decided to skip the DC Battery Capacity Test for one it would take a full extra day of time to do. Also, I don’t think most folks will be buying this to run DC appliances – making the result useless to most. Instead, I tested both the 120v and 240v inverters separately to see which fared better.

  • 120v AC Battery Capacity Test (time lapse): 3810wh / 4096 for a very solid 93%

  • 240v AC Battery Capacity Test (time lapse): 3880wh / 4096 for an even more impressive 95%. It seems we gained 2% just from the slightly higher efficiency of the 240v inverter. Higher voltage typically means less loss to heat.

  • Phantom load / Parasitic drain test

    • DC consumption: I left only the 30A DC circuit on and it used 151wh (%) over 12 hours or about 302wh over 24 hours. That’s a very good result and means you can power a long running appliance like a 12v fridge with not much loss over 24 hours.

    • 120v AC consumption: used 195wh (%) over 4 hours or about 1170wh over 24 hours. If you left the inverter on it would totally kill the battery in about 3.5 days.

    • 240v AC consumption: used 193wh (%) over 4 hours or about 1158wh over 24 hours – or virtually the same result as the 120v inverter when factoring in the margin of error for this test

  • I’m always asked how long stuff will run. Compensating for usable capacity, you can pause this chart to see approximately how long common appliances will run on this unit. 

    • 13500 btu RV a/c (1200w @50% cyc): 6 hrs

    • 6000 btu window a/c (400w @50% cyc): 18 hrs

    • 20cuft modern fridge (1.2kwh/day): 2.5 days

    • 1500w heater: 2.5 hours

    • 1200w microwave (1800w): 2 hours

    • Keurig coffee maker (1200w 60wh/c): 60 cups

    • Instant Pot (1000w @50% cyc): 7 hrs

    • Hot plate (500w): 7 hrs

    • 55” LED TV (80w): 30 hrs

    • Macbook (60w): 34 hrs

    • Box Fan (50w): 38 hrs

    • CPAP (30w): 47 hrs

    • Chromebook (15w): 2 days

    • Tablet (5w): ~ 2 weeks

—–

  • Sine wave check under load: 120/60 240/60

  • Inverter capacity test (max): 120v 4800w <5s; 240v 5100w <5s; 240v compressor test pass

  • Cooling ability test (rated @ 5mins): 240v 4000w pass

  • Inverter fan noise db: 56

  • Max Charge Rate AC @ watts/volts: fast w ; quiet w; standard w

  • DC Input Range: MPPT1: 11-60v; MPPT2: 30-150v

  • Max Charge Rate DC @ watts/volts: 12v 250w; 24v 500w; 48v 750w; max 100-140v 1650w

  • Charging fan noise db: AC max 42db ; AC min 0db ; Solar 56db

  • Simultaneous charging ability: 3320w as tested with MPPT2; supports 7000w

  • Pass thru / UPS: 10ms PC pass

  • DC Output(s) Max Rate: 30A (untested)

  • 12v output(s) regulated: 12.7v

  • USB output rate check: 2x100w pass

  • Wireless/other output: na

  • Amp interference test: pass

    • AM radio test: 120v noisy; 240v very noisy

    • EMF test: 120v @60; 240v @40: no 12v changes

My Opinion

  • The Delta Pro 3 is a beautiful product inside and out. It’s well designed, seemingly bug free (at least I didn’t notice any – but I also didn’t test the home integration part yet), and its very powerful.

  • It’s not a lightweight. Having 4000 watts at your disposal with a top of the line split phase 240v inverter comes at a price. It does push the upper limit of portability, but it is still portable “enough” to leave the room it was unboxed in, and venture onward and forth.

  • Nixing the 12v lighter socket output was a questionable design choice, but I don’t think most buyers of this product are really going to care. If it’s a big deal to you, leave a comment in this video for Ecoflow. They will be reading them. If you do want to plug in a 12v fridge or multiple 12v fridges, you can buy an Anderson to 12v socket adapter online – so it really shouldn’t prevent anyone from getting this.

  • My one and only major gripe, is that the 2600w solar input on the DP3 should have been done better. I get the 1000w 11-60v low PV input for using portable panels or charging from a vehicle. But, after using the awesome 4000w PV input on the Delta Pro Ultra which allows for up to a crazy 450v of solar panels, the wimpy 150v 1600w high PV limit on this new Pro 3 is definitely weak sauce. The reason I say this is that if you max out the DP3 with 2 extra batteries, you’re charging up 12kWh of storage with only 2600w of solar. Let’s assume you setup complex arrays in such a way to max out both solar inputs – that’s still going to take you 5-6 hours to top up on a good solar day. Why they didn’t put a similar 4000w MPPT on this new model, or at least offer a 3rd 1600w MPPT, is another questionable design decision. This thing can in fact charge at 7000w from multiple sources, so it’s not a limitation of the battery charge rate. It was an arbitrary limit decided by one of Ecoflow’s engineers.

  • Anyway, seeing there’s really only one thing to gripe about with this otherwise fantastic product … I digress.

Pricing and Competition

  • Product Price with current discount:

    • Launch price $3699 not including discounts.

  • Ecoflow is offering customers a choice between a free 400w panel, or a $500 off coupon. They also offer $300 off bundles with the SHP2, the 4000w Smart Generator, or a DP3 extra battery. These are all of course limited time deals until July 23rd.

  • However, if you use my link, you’ll score an extra 2 years warranty on top of the basic 5 years AND if you use my code, you’ll also nab a free Ecoflow Monitor to boot.

How to purchase

  • CHECK OUT THE DELTA PRO 3: https://gohobo.io/dp3 or https://bit.ly/3RwfgFw use code EFDP3HOBO (until July 23rd)

  • 240v to 120v adapter: https://amzn.to/3XK1XFv (run 120v and 240v at the same time with this!)

  • Don’t miss out on the @EcoFlowTech exclusive offer! Purchase now and unlock incredible benefits valued at up to $3,000.(Valid from June 25-July 23)!

    • Buy one EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 and get one EcoFlow 400W Portable Solar Panel for free, or buy one EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 with a $500 coupon.

    • Get a $300 upsell discount when purchasing any of these three bundles: EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 with EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 2 EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 with Smart Generator 4000 (Duel Fuel) EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 with an Extra Battery.

    • Get an extended 2-year warranty of EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 and free installation consulting services.

    • Purchase the EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 through my links and use my code EFDP3HOBO (Valid from June 25-July 23) to get one EcoFlow Monitor for FREE (limited quantity)!

    • EcoFlow Website: https://gohobo.io/dp3

    • EcoFlow Amazon: https://gohobo.io/dp3amz 

 

FAST CHARGE Your EcoFlow From ANY 12v 24v Source | 800w Alternator Charger

Posted on by HOBOTECH Tom

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.

  • CHECK OUT THE ALTERNATOR CHARGER: https://gohobo.io/altcharger use code 24EFRVHOBO for 6% off store wide until June 29th! Get the NEW EcoFlow Alternator Charger and DELTA Series portable power station up to 35% off (from $999). Grab a FREE solar panel during the pre-order period from April 24 to May 23!

 

DEAD EASY DIY Complete All In One Solar Power System for Off Grid Home RV Van | ECOFLOW Power Kits

Posted on by HOBOTECH Tom
ecoflow powerkits

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.

ecoflow powerkits
Watch it here

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.

CHECK IT OUT HERE: https://gohobo.io/efkit5k

Complete 2kWh Kit: https://gohobo.io/efkit2k

Complete 4kWh Kit: https://gohobo.io/efkit4k

Complete 5kWh Kit: https://gohobo.io/efkit5k

Complete 10kWh Kit: https://gohobo.io/efkit10k 

Complete 15kWh Kit: https://gohobo.io/efkit15k