Ecoflow/Portable Power Stations
 

Does anybody have one of these? How well do you like them and what can they power?

I am fascinated by the technology and how far we've come to make these things affordable. Gas generators are loudly annoying, give off fumes, costly to run and usually take up alot or space. These LiFePO4 batteries are much quieter and easier to lug around. Dont degrade near as much as older technology. You can use them everyday for a decade.

Thinking about buying a smaller one like an Ecoflow River 2 Pro to power a 12V fridge when I travel and also power an Nespresso machine when Im camping/hiking. Apparently they can operate some stuff via XBoost (up to 1600 watts) for a short time even. The bigger Ecoflows can pretty much power anything in your home.

I've even watched some YouTube videos of people who buy solar panels and can live off grid indefinitely in RVs/Vans/Tiny Home. You can even set up not even too many panels and charge your car. Fascinating!

You should hook your balls up to a charging station

Ill let you test it first. See how you enjoy it. Is that how you get your rocks off?

Can it play LT tackle??

I bought one on a whim last year. It just seems like a good idea to have it handy. I have the kind of mid-sized one that will essentially power a refrigerator for 24 hours or keep your phones charged for a few days. I haven't messed with it that much, but it seems nice and it's really small and compact.

I also bought the solar panel to go with it, but I've only tried to use it once and I couldn't get it to work. I need to figure that out. I think it may have been because I was just testing it inside and pointing it out a window. It may need more light to work. It seemed pretty straightforward.

On another note, when I was researching them, I went with the mid-sized unit because its battery could hold something like 10,000 charges and discharges. The cheaper version could only hold a smaller number that I thought could conceivably give it a shorter useful life if you found yourself in a position to need to power it up with the solar panels for a long period of time.

Yeah when the zombies come these things will come in handy if you have the solar panels.

My thoughts exactly.

These things able to power fleshlights?

Only for about 24 hours.

This is how is begins. In a couple years you'll be asking about the best way to prep and bury an SKS rifle for when the SHTF.

I also recently bought one of those water-filtering straws.

I'm now in the market for someone who can build me a subterranean shelter.

I'm beginning to think those doomsday people are alot less crazy than I thought.

Is there not a prepper or apocalypse thread on CP?? That is surprising.

My son has a Bluetti AC70 in his Tacoma that he uses while camping and traveling. It's pretty sweet for running a fridge as well as keeping devices charged. You can get solar for it, but we will likley run a converter off the battery which will basically give him limitless power

its there just been inactive forever

They're all off the grid.

The first rule of prepping is - you don't talk about prepping.

This one uses UV light and is recharged by usbc. Because zombies.....

Just bought a Ecoflow River Pro 2 off of Ebay refurbished for $239

The test is if it will power my Nespresso machine on XBoost. Nespresso needs 1500 watts for about a minute.

Huh, this is intriguing. I may have to get one of these.

I will say that if you've never roadtripped/camped with a fridge/freezer that doesn't require ice, it's amazing. Not having to deal with ice melt with your groceries is fantastic.

Well, I never messed with ice melt but definitely ice. I can't see needing icemelt when camping in the summertime like we do. The ice melts in a day and you're buying more. But that would be nice to not have to continue buying ice. Our camper does have a little fridge, though.

:LOL:
Hah. I just meant the ice melting and creating water that then gets stuff in your cooler wet/soggy. Or you can drain the water, but that makes the remaining ice melt even faster.

So yeah, not dealing with your ice melting is really nice.

Yeah the mess ice with coolers make is very annoying. I can throw whatever I want in an electric and no soggy card board etc.

Just got an Ecoflow Delta 2 max refurbished off eBay. Going to experiment with it. It came with a 200w solar panel too. Takes about an hr to charge off 110 and about 10-12 hrs with the one panel. 2048 watt hrs of power.

Nice. How easy is it to move around?

It’s actually pretty heavy.. 50 lbs or so.. My wife says she’s not touching it.LMAO

I believe if you use one for more than four hours you're supposed to go to the doctor.

I have a Bluetti AC200 that I bought at the beginning of the COVID lockdowns. It came as a bundle with 200 or 250 watts of solar panels. I cycle it maybe once a quarter to keep it tested.

I've heard good things about EcoFlow though.

You should make a list of what you will want it to run with it...fridge, hotplate, etc...and make sure what you get will handle it.

Key Factors:

1. How much solar you can charge it with. Some won't handle more than like 500W, so even if you buy 2000W of panels, it won't make proper use of them.
2. Battery chemistry - Lithium-Ion vs. LiFePO₄ vs. ??
3. Is it extendable? Can you add battery packs to it in a functional way?
4. Outlet types - Make sure it has the types of power outlets that you need (or might need). Do you need a 30-amp RV outlet? Some have wireless charging capabilities for phones.

Basically, make sure it will meet your bare bones needs.

BTW, if you have DeWalt batteries, you can get an adapter to charge USB devices from them. Convenient, if you already have a bank of DeWalts like I do.