I prefer to test portable power units to their absolute or nearly absolute limits when I first obtain one. Consequently, I was first a little perplexed when I received the EcoFlow DELTA Pro power station to examine. Its maximum continuous load rating is 3600 watts, and its peak load rating is 7200 watts, so I wasn’t sure how to put it to a really rigorous test. I was able to make the unit work hard thanks to assistance from a family member who is an RV owner.
I want to go over some fundamental details regarding the EcoFlow DELTA Pro and the killer system it is a part of before I get to the RV test.
A POWER STATION THAT IS REALLY BEEFY AND CAPABLE OF PLAYING ON A CLEANTECH TEAM I suggest reading my colleague Kyle Fields’ paper if you want a detailed analysis of the station’s features and capabilities. I’m going to go through the fundamentals here.
Let’s just say that the power station is the largest and heaviest portable power station I’ve tried right away. Although it weighs a massive 98 pounds, it is roughly the size of a decent gaming machine. However, it utilizes every last one of the 98 pounds to provide 3.6 kWh of battery capacity. It would last roughly an hour if you continuously pulled 3600 watts from it. However, it’s difficult to locate a load that draws that much electricity, as I’ll explain later.
The weight isn’t a major concern unless you’re going to go trekking. Why? because one end of the device has large skateboard-style wheels and a retractable carry handle. Therefore, you can move it wherever that doesn’t have a rocky surface. Carpet, walkways, and compacted dirt are not difficult surfaces. Even after exerting extra effort, I managed to push it through several sand patches, and it immediately resumed rolling. It is therefore rather simple to handle.
Even more astounding, the device can function as a component of an ecosystem. You can purchase batteries for extra storage, and with two DELTA Pros and four batteries, you can generate an astonishing 25 kWh and use a panel that an electrician can install to power your entire home. With a readily available converter, two units can even produce 240 volts. It can be used as a complete off-grid power source by being charged with solar energy, up to kilowatts of it. They even produce an air conditioner that is made to operate effectively with the unit, which I recently reviewed.
It can be charged via a wall socket (up to 1500 watts in 2.5 hours), a cigarette lighter plug (which would take a while), and via solar power (which would depend on how much solar you feed into it, light quality, etc.). Output is possible from a variety of outlets, including home 110-volt plugs, a 30-amp RV outlet, USB connections, and 12 volt cigarette lighter connectors. It has a wide range of applications.
The details and figures are as follows:
Price : $3,599 3,600Wh of capacity Battery LFP Chemistry Up to two DELTA Pro Smart Extra Batteries or Smart Generators are supported. AC 5 outlets, 3,600W in total of output (Surge 7,200W) Limit Device (s) 4,500W Maximum Power Supported by X-Boost USB-A 2 ports, 5V, 2.4A, and 12W maximum output per port USB-A 2 ports, 5V, 2.4A, 9V, 2A, and 12V, 1.5A, 18W maximum per port for fast charging USB-C Output: 2 ports, 5/9/12/15/20V, 5A, and a maximum of 100W for each port Car Power Output: Max DC5521 12.6V, 10A, 126W Anderson output: 2 ports, 12.6 V, 3 A, maximum per port, 12.6V, 30A AC port 1800W max, 120V 15A, and 3000W max, 240V 12.5A are the maximum charging inputs. 1600W Max Solar Charging Input, 11-150V, 15A Car Charging Input: 12V/24V battery support, 8A Cycle 3,500 cycles to 80% capacity and 6,500 cycles to 50% capacity are the lifecycles. Shelf life: 12 months (after a full charge) Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cable connections Net Weight: 49 kg/99 pound Dimensions: 63.5*28.4*42cm / 25*11.2*16.4 in HOW I RAN A HARD INITIAL TEST ON THE UNIT While I want to use the device for air cooling, charging an EV, and other things, I also wanted to put the DELTA Pro through a rigorous power output test to see what it was capable of and whether it will hold up under pressure or perform as promised. One idea I had was to use extension cords to power many appliances simultaneously while cooking a dinner on it. This would have worked, but it felt like a cumbersome test.
The unit’s 30-amp 120-volt plug, similar to those seen in RV parks, caught my eye, and it immediately made me want to, well, plug an RV into it. Thankfully, I have a number of family who own RVs (and its a club I intend to join at some point). So I charged the device, put it in my car’s back seat, and took it over.
It was rather simple to roll it up next to the RV, and it is built up such that you can turn it on its back if necessary (but I wouldnt leave it that way). The item was plugged directly into the RV’s 30-amp outlet and started providing a massive 12 watts right away. We were really simply operating a couple of LED lights because the RV’s battery was already fully charged. The fact that it was functioning at this time was crucial.
We opened the AC after entering. As soon as we did that, the DELTA Pro’s display indicated that the AC unit’s fan alone was using around 400 watts of power. After some time, the camper’s air conditioner’s compressor started up and revealed that it was drawing roughly 1400 watts to begin cooling it off on high. The unit had no issues at all with this.
We then used the RV’s microwave to boil a cup of water to make it work harder. This increased the power draw to 3,000 watts, which activated the cooling fans on the device. No matter how many glasses of water we boiled, though, this wasn’t a problem. The app, which was Bluetooth-connected, claimed that it would last little over an hour at that level of power consumption, yet no one uses a microwave for an hour at a time.
In conclusion, the device performs as promised for heavy power pulls and would function rather well for small to medium-sized RVs. Manufacturers built most campers with the assumption that you would park in an RV park or use a generator, so you wouldn’t be able to run the power-hungry stock air conditioner most campers come with, but if you were to get a more efficient air conditioner (like the Wave), you could run air conditioning all night if necessary. or invest in larger batteries. or either.
In further testing, I’ll use it to run a camping (complete with an air-conditioned tent) and serve as a backup source of electricity for my home.
Image in the center is by Jennifer Sensiba.
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