Considering EcoFlow Delta 1300 for emergency preparedness, could use some feedback.

[jrosser1221]

Hey All,

I found Will's youtube, website and this forum last week, and have been trying to make a decision regarding backup power for my home. I live in Western Washington, and due to windstorms and trees being downed, we lose power every year. I have a gas furnace and water heater, and they have to be powered but draw extremely low voltage, as the electrical power just runs the panels and emergency switches. I could power just those with, say, a Duracell Powersource or some other small-ish backup system, but I do have a lot of interest in being able to power my refrigerator, but can't get myself to buy a massive gas generator to maintain and listen to and refuel.

So this is where I've found myself looking at solar systems. I also would love to have it for camping, events at parks, and "bug out" scenarios. I have the Delta 1300 in my Amazon cart with 3 of their proprietary panels, and have a couple of main questions, but would love feedback on any of this:

1. How feasible is it really for me to actually power a fridge for, say, a week, with this device? In the notoriously overcast Seattle Winter, am I likely to be able to keep it charged using solar power with so much draw? I don't know exactly how much power my fridge pulls (it's a newer GE double-door with chest freezer), but I did plug it in to my little 1050w gas generator, and the compressor wasn't able to fire. I'm having a hard time determining the feasibility of this plan.

2. Are there other semi-portable solar panels that you might recommend for use with the Delta 1300? Theirs look very nice, but they're $400. The Renogy 100w suitcase panels looks appealing; do I need the controller if I use it with the Delta or can I get just the panel?

Thanks for any insight.

 

[snoobler]

1. a typical residential fridge uses 2kWh/day. This would require 400-600W of solar per day. The 1.3kWh unit could power it for about 15 hours. With a bit more solar, you could likely squeak by. Of course, this also depends on your available solar - Western Washington is probably not great.

2. No idea. Read the manual.

 

[Curb71]

Hey All,

I found Will's youtube, website and this forum last week, and have been trying to make a decision regarding backup power for my home. I live in Western Washington, and due to windstorms and trees being downed, we lose power every year. I have a gas furnace and water heater, and they have to be powered but draw extremely low voltage, as the electrical power just runs the panels and emergency switches. I could power just those with, say, a Duracell Powersource or some other small-ish backup system, but I do have a lot of interest in being able to power my refrigerator, but can't get myself to buy a massive gas generator to maintain and listen to and refuel.

So this is where I've found myself looking at solar systems. I also would love to have it for camping, events at parks, and "bug out" scenarios. I have the Delta 1300 in my Amazon cart with 3 of their proprietary panels, and have a couple of main questions, but would love feedback on any of this:

1. How feasible is it really for me to actually power a fridge for, say, a week, with this device? In the notoriously overcast Seattle Winter, am I likely to be able to keep it charged using solar power with so much draw? I don't know exactly how much power my fridge pulls (it's a newer GE double-door with chest freezer), but I did plug it in to my little 1050w gas generator, and the compressor wasn't able to fire. I'm having a hard time determining the feasibility of this plan.

2. Are there other semi-portable solar panels that you might recommend for use with the Delta 1300? Theirs look very nice, but they're $400. The Renogy 100w suitcase panels looks appealing; do I need the controller if I use it with the Delta or can I get just the panel?

Thanks for any insight.

2. The Delta has a built-in MPPT solar charge controller so you wouldn't need another one.

 

[Varimu]

Just wanted to add, the Ecoflow Delta's AC inverter has a high overhead just to run, about 30 watts an hour.
That's 360 watts AC every 12 hours. So the thing with the Delta for AC power is it's great for running high power devices for a short time.
A skill saw, a drill or nail gun, setting up a wire fence line in the hinterlands or building a shed.
But a fridge? You will get about 8 hours maybe 10. Unless you have a 12V like a dometic or something!
RV fridges that run on 12V are great, many are about 1.7 amps and at 12V DC the Delta is practical and efficient long term for that.
Also ome people find for low wattage AC applications, an external 100 Watt, 12V DC to AC inverter is a good pair with the Delta.
They have a low overhead just to run (with only one fan to run, not 4 like the Delta).
There are modern ecofriendly AC fridges that only use about 85 watts of power, btw.
What I have done is when the power goes out, use the Deltas first. If it turns out to be a long term outage, I have a small Champion gas generator ($480 delivered from Amazon.) for during the day and it recharges my two Deltas in 1.7 hours each. Then I use the Deltas at night so everyone can sleep. I do have a few used solar panels I have yet to set up! With them I should be able to recharge with the sun in 5-6 hours considering their wattage. HTH!

 

[snoobler]

Just wanted to add, the Ecoflow Delta's AC inverter has a high overhead just to run, about 30 watts an hour.
That's 360 watts AC every 12 hours. So the thing with the Delta for AC power is it's great for running high power devices for a short time.
A skill saw, a drill or nail gun, setting up a wire fence line in the hinterlands or building a shed.
But a fridge? You will get about 8 hours maybe 10. Unless you have a 12V like a dometic or something!
RV fridges that run on 12V are great, many are about 1.7 amps and at 12V DC the Delta is practical and efficient long term for that.

A typical RV fridge is an absorption fridge capable of running off propane, AC power or 12VDC. When on either kind of electric power, they use about 325W.

 

[Curb71]

Just wanted to add, the Ecoflow Delta's AC inverter has a high overhead just to run, about 30 watts an hour.
That's 360 watts AC every 12 hours. So the thing with the Delta for AC power is it's great for running high power devices for a short time.
A skill saw, a drill or nail gun, setting up a wire fence line in the hinterlands or building a shed.
But a fridge? You will get about 8 hours maybe 10. Unless you have a 12V like a dometic or something!
RV fridges that run on 12V are great, many are about 1.7 amps and at 12V DC the Delta is practical and efficient long term for that.
Also ome people find for low wattage AC applications, an external 100 Watt, 12V DC to AC inverter is a good pair with the Delta.
They have a low overhead just to run (with only one fan to run, not 4 like the Delta).
There are modern ecofriendly AC fridges that only use about 85 watts of power, btw.
What I have done is when the power goes out, use the Deltas first. If it turns out to be a long term outage, I have a small Champion gas generator ($480 delivered from Amazon.) for during the day and it recharges my two Deltas in 1.7 hours each. Then I use the Deltas at night so everyone can sleep. I do have a few used solar panels I have yet to set up! With them I should be able to recharge with the sun in 5-6 hours considering their wattage. HTH!

Assuming you have a Champion 2800/3100W gas generator like mine, you can charge both Deltas at the same time with this adapter.
AFAIK, all larger SoGen inverters are power hungry including the new AC200.
Imagine running your champion generator to charge your laptop. It's possible but inefficient.
Not familiar with these AC fridges that only use 85W. What about the surge? Would like to see if a little Bestek inverter could handle it. Then a comparison test to see how much more runtime you get instead of using the built in inverter.

 

[Thunderstorm2011]

I would definitely not buy it for backup power. Make a small system I did a 1K system, EPever charge controller, and a 300ah lithium battery bank, 24 volt. Into a manual transfer switch so you can control what part of the house you you can run.

I eventually kept upgrading my system but here's a picture so you can get an idea

 

[Varimu]

Assuming you have a Champion 2800/3100W gas generator like mine, you can charge both Deltas at the same time with this adapter.
AFAIK, all larger SoGen inverters are power hungry including the new AC200.
Imagine running your champion generator to charge your laptop. It's possible but inefficient.
Not familiar with these AC fridges that only use 85W. What about the surge? Would like to see if a little Bestek inverter could handle it. Then a comparison test to see how much more runtime you get instead of using the built in inverter.

I have a Champion 2000, $480 from Amazon delivered, fairly quiet relatively speaking for gas but too small to charge both Deltas at the same time you need 30 Amps to do that.
There are a number of 10 cubic foot fridges on this "Energy Star" list that use only 297Kw hours a year. I think that's like 813 watts a day, or about 34 watts an hour. Modern fridges are a lot more efficient than the old, and replacement at some point is a good idea. Mine is ancient!

Product Finder — ENERGY STAR Certified Refrigerators

Compare ENERGY STAR Certified Refrigerators, find rebates, and learn more.

www.energystar.gov

 

[Varimu]

A typical RV fridge is an absorption fridge capable of running off propane, AC power or 12VDC. When on either kind of electric power, they use about 325W.

I was refering to Camper van kind of smaller fridges, the 45 - 65 quart Dometics and Whynters for example, that work off 12V dc pretty efficiently. Not your class A RV's with built in shore power and their own gas generators!

 

[snoobler]

I was refering to Camper van kind of smaller fridges, the 45 - 65 quart Dometics and Whynters for example, that work off 12V dc pretty efficiently. Not your class A RV's with built in shore power and their own gas generators!

It always comes down to context. I was shocked to discover how inefficient absorption fridges are vs. compressor-type. It's about 5X. My 7.5cuft fridge can use almost 5kWh/day vs. a 10cuft that uses about 0.9kW/day.

Just goes to show that it's easier to move heat than it is to make it with electricity.