All in one vs plug and play?

[foopysfarm]

I need help analyzing pros and cons of systems for my scenario. I have a 160 sqft off grid cabin. Only loads to power are lights, composting toilet fan, sink pump, and would like to add a fridge. Maybe a hot water heater eventually but not sure if that's feasible electrically or propane would be better. I have a generator for backup and a south facing roof with 8:12 pitch. We are only out there on the weekends. Typically 2-3 days but would like to plan on having a setup I could grow into remote work capable.

Option 1: Plug and play eco flow delta 2 with extra battery is for sale for $999 right now. That's 2000wH and ready to roll out of the box.

Option 2: 12v all in one MPP with li time 230aH battery. I think this gives me 2760wH (12 V x 230 A)

https://watts247.com/product/pip-1012lv-ms/
https://www.litime.com/products/lit...4-battery-built-in-200a-bms-max-2944wh-energy

For option 2, can I leave it hooked up if I'm gone for months at a time? It will freeze over the winter.

Both systems seem like 200-400W of solar would be good?

I plan to wire a 30 A inlet for the generator to plug into and need to figure out how to convert this to 120v for charging AC in on the batteries. And then I want two 120v outlets in the cabin that I would wire to the inverter somehow. Eco flow gives me 1800 W while MPP gives me 1000 W. Is this a big functional difference? Do I need a subpanel?

 

[rodrick]

You have many different ways to go but the first is to understand that Lifpo4 batteries cannot be charged at freezing temperatures so unless you can keep them above freezing I would suggest agm batteries

aio units are fine for some operations but have a higher self consumption than some other options I run 2 mpp2424mds units and they consume about 45 watts each in standby compared to my 24/3000/70 mp victron units which are inverter/charger only use about 22 watts each

another option is a standalone inverter only which only uses about 8 watts I have 2 1000 watt units and a 1500 and they are all about the same these are basic pure sine wave units in 12 volt

so one plan you could run lights, fan, pump and fridge on 12 volt system without a inverter needed just panels, scc and batteries and you could use a standalone inverter if needed at anytime by connecting to the 12 system

if you have room I would recommend finding some larger used panels on Craigslist or similar sites and go about 4 to 5 times your plan panels rarely put out their ratings only count on 75-80% and if you go agm batteries you want enough solar to try to bring them to fully charged daily

just some info to consider but before you start spending money you need to get a idea on daily power consumption

 

[Rednecktek]

Packing the EcoFlow and its batteries is something to consider but you can wire in a plug to a small breaker panel feeding out to your lights and outlets, but you'd have to get some sort of 12v power supply involved. Depending on how much amperage you need for your 12v loads, the ports on the Ecoflow might not have enough oomph to feed it all.

Dedicating space to batteries and AIO in a 160ft cabin is asking a lot on the other hand. You'll still want some sort of breaker panel feeding out to outlets and lights, but that's going to happen either way.

As pointed out you're going to have to have your batteries warmed up before you can start charging, but you can still get your lights and stuff on while you get the heat fired up, so any battery with low voltage protection will be fine. I found the Vatrer batteries to be a good value with low temp protection since most companies charge a premium for that sensor. Even Will was impressed.

The MPP 1012 would be my choice, it's less to pack back and forth and you still have easy access to the 12v supply for those DC devices. If you have the money, get the 1012MK version as it has an 80a SCC rather than the 40a and you can parallel them if you need more watts on the 120v system later. It is more expensive but in winter having 1000w of panel will be really nice to have.

 

[foopysfarm]

Is 12v adequate for my setup?

 

[rodrick]

Is 12v adequate for my setup?

That all depends on you load calculations and future possible expansion are you going to run a lot of 12 volt items and little thru a inverter then most likely yes or is everything going to be 120 volt and larger loads then 24 volt might meet you requirements

 

[SamDeleted]

Is 12v adequate for my setup?

12v is great under 2000w~ inverter , anything much bigger than that you maybe should start looking at atleast 24v

 

[foopysfarm]

What I don't really get here is why the eco flow seems cheaper with more capacity and features. Usually for build your own you get more

 

[foopysfarm]

Packing the EcoFlow and its batteries is something to consider but you can wire in a plug to a small breaker panel feeding out to your lights and outlets, but you'd have to get some sort of 12v power supply involved. Depending on how much amperage you need for your 12v loads, the ports on the Ecoflow might not have enough oomph to feed it all.

Dedicating space to batteries and AIO in a 160ft cabin is asking a lot on the other hand. You'll still want some sort of breaker panel feeding out to outlets and lights, but that's going to happen either way.

As pointed out you're going to have to have your batteries warmed up before you can start charging, but you can still get your lights and stuff on while you get the heat fired up, so any battery with low voltage protection will be fine. I found the Vatrer batteries to be a good value with low temp protection since most companies charge a premium for that sensor. Even Will was impressed.

The MPP 1012 would be my choice, it's less to pack back and forth and you still have easy access to the 12v supply for those DC devices. If you have the money, get the 1012MK version as it has an 80a SCC rather than the 40a and you can parallel them if you need more watts on the 120v system later. It is more expensive but in winter having 1000w of panel will be really nice to have.

Why would I have to pack the eco flow back and forth? I'm thinking of it as a dedicated system I could leave there

 

[Rednecktek]

Aaahh, then the only question comes down to the 12v side. I'm not intimately familiar with every model so I couldn't tell you that the EcoFlow Max 2c would support 20a of 12v but an EcoFlow Maxx c2 wouldn't or whatever their naming convention is. Since it's a wash either way the EcoFlow would have some semblance of a warranty.

 

[Skid]

I'm waiting for delivery of my system. My house, about 200 sg ft will be ready soon. I have a 1600w load to run several times a day which makes a bigger system necessary.

A 24v 100ah battery is being built in China and while looking at AIO and inverters for around $3-400, there were too many questions about reliability and self consumption. Then last week I saw the Delta 2 for $499 (and even cheaper now) and 1kw +inverter in a simple package made it a go and self consumption not an issue. Two 300w panels, a good charge controller and ready to go with no serious wiring or assembling. Panels charge the battery, the battery charges the Delta 2. Total price for everything is $1500 for 3KW.

 

[foopysfarm]

I'm waiting for delivery of my system. My house, about 200 sg ft will be ready soon. I have a 1600w load to run several times a day which makes a bigger system necessary.

A 24v 100ah battery is being built in China and while looking at AIO and inverters for around $3-400, there were too many questions about reliability and self consumption. Then last week I saw the Delta 2 for $499 (and even cheaper now) and 1kw +inverter in a simple package made it a go and self consumption not an issue. Two 300w panels, a good charge controller and ready to go with no serious wiring or assembling. Panels charge the battery, the battery charges the Delta 2. Total price for everything is $1500 for 3KW.

Why are you charging the delta 2 with the battery and not directly from the panels?

 

[Jmhai3]

I just looked at the site and I do not see how the Delta 2 is under $499.00. Is that quote in freedom dollars or something else.
The unit is on sale currently for $699 and with the extra battery is total $1599.

EcoFlow DELTA 2 Portable Power Station - DELTA 2 - EcoFlow

EcoFlow DELTA 2 equips modern families with backup power for any emergency. Incredibly fast charging: 0%-80% in 50 min. Be prepared, always.

us.ecoflow.com

The reason carting the Ecoflow with you would mean no chance of the colder temps causing charging issues since the batteries in that unit will not charge in extreme cold. (LFP - LiFePO4 battery)

 

[foopysfarm]

I just looked at the site and I do not see how the Delta 2 is under $499.00. Is that quote in freedom dollars or something else.
The unit is on sale currently for $699 and with the extra battery is total $1599.

EcoFlow DELTA 2 Portable Power Station - DELTA 2 - EcoFlow

EcoFlow DELTA 2 equips modern families with backup power for any emergency. Incredibly fast charging: 0%-80% in 50 min. Be prepared, always.

us.ecoflow.com

The reason carting the Ecoflow with you would mean no chance of the colder temps causing charging issues since the batteries in that unit will not charge in extreme cold. (LFP - LiFePO4 battery)

I got the delta 2 with the extra battery for $999 at Home Depot last week. I think I jumped too quick because I thought the price was too good but it doesn't meet my DC load needs. Either AC-DC converters inbound or charge a 12V battery from the delta 2 and then run my DC loads off that but then I'm taking up a lot of space.

 

[foopysfarm]

Packing the EcoFlow and its batteries is something to consider but you can wire in a plug to a small breaker panel feeding out to your lights and outlets, but you'd have to get some sort of 12v power supply involved. Depending on how much amperage you need for your 12v loads, the ports on the Ecoflow might not have enough oomph to feed it all.

Dedicating space to batteries and AIO in a 160ft cabin is asking a lot on the other hand. You'll still want some sort of breaker panel feeding out to outlets and lights, but that's going to happen either way.

As pointed out you're going to have to have your batteries warmed up before you can start charging, but you can still get your lights and stuff on while you get the heat fired up, so any battery with low voltage protection will be fine. I found the Vatrer batteries to be a good value with low temp protection since most companies charge a premium for that sensor. Even Will was impressed.

The MPP 1012 would be my choice, it's less to pack back and forth and you still have easy access to the 12v supply for those DC devices. If you have the money, get the 1012MK version as it has an 80a SCC rather than the 40a and you can parallel them if you need more watts on the 120v system later. It is more expensive but in winter having 1000w of panel will be really nice to have.

Have the MP 1012 fans gotten any quieter? That seems to be the big complaint and running that in a small living space I'll drive my girlfriend nuts

 

[Skid]

Why are you charging the delta 2 with the battery and not directly from the panels?

With a stronger charge controller I can fully charge the battery to keep the Delta 2 charged through the night with one simple connection.

 

[Skid]

I just looked at the site and I do not see how the Delta 2 is under $499.00. Is that quote in freedom dollars or something else.
The unit is on sale currently for $699 and with the extra battery is total $1599.

I just looked at the site and I do not see how the Delta 2 is under $499.00. Is that quote in freedom dollars or something else.
The unit is on sale currently for $699 and with the extra battery is total $1599.

Ecoflow has a store on eBay that has their refurbished items at low prices. A week after I ought mine another sale lowered the price to $479.

 

[foopysfarm]

With a stronger charge controller I can fully charge the battery to keep the Delta 2 charged through the night with one simple connection.

I was thinking I could charge my battery with my delta 2 then power my DC appliances with my battery. So trying to figure out why you're going battery > delta where I was planning to go delta > battery.

 

[Skid]

With a stronger charge controller I can fully charge the battery to keep the Delta 2 charged through the night with one simple connection.

I was thinking I could charge my battery with my delta 2 then power my DC appliances with my battery. So trying to figure out why you're going battery > delta where I was planning to go delta > battery.

I don't have DC appliances. I have a mini fridge that according to Kasa smart plug uses 0.4kw a day and an espresso machine that uses up to 1500w 4 to 6 times a day. Without the espresso I could use a Victron Phoenix 24/375. I bought the Delta because 1KW, inverter, complete kit for less than $500 after looking at $400 AIO inverters with their issues was very close to (fortunately for me) a no brainer. With the Delta I can go with an induction burner and mini oven with capacity to spare.