Eco flow or similar power station question

[Moped]

Generators require petrol so have a running cost of around 50p per Kw.

3000 power station charges by an average of 1.8Kw assuming 80% after 3000 full charges = 5400Kw total x 50p = £2700

So your (noisy) generator has a running cost of £2700 (plus capital cost and maintenance cost) when compared to the free power (after the capital investment of a 2Kw power station and solar panel) .

Something to consider when making comparisons.

 

[molly 2]

Down side of a power pack no sun no charging , but great on sunny days .

 

[guerdeval]

Can I ask another quick question?, if my 2 leisure batteries run low what’s the best (AND SAFEST) way to top them up from the power bank, do I plug a trickle charger into an AC outlet, use the supplied jump leads or even plug it into the external hook up point ,or none of these

 

[Okta]

Down side of a power pack no sun no charging , but great on sunny days .

I wanted a no sun and no noisy generator solution and ended up with an Efoy fuel cell and no pocket money left.

 

[Okta]

Can I ask another quick question?, if my 2 leisure batteries run low what’s the best (AND SAFEST) way to top them up from the power bank, do I plug a trickle charger into an AC outlet, use the supplied jump leads or even plug it into the external hook up point ,or none of these

I think the most efficient way to use the power stored in your power bank is to run devices directly from it and thus avoid running the leisure batteries low. As soon as you start charging one battery from another you will be wasting power in converting the voltage up and down again.

 

[Moped]

Can I ask another quick question?, if my 2 leisure batteries run low what’s the best (AND SAFEST) way to top them up from the power bank, do I plug a trickle charger into an AC outlet, use the supplied jump leads or even plug it into the external hook up point ,or none of these

Agree with the above to run devices directly from the power bank to keep draw on leisure batteries to a minimum.

A further question is can you charge the leisure batteries with a trickle charger plugged in to the power station or jump leads and at the same time power the onboard 12v lighting, water pump, heating pumps and fans?

I don’t believe you can and the leisure batteries have to be disconnected otherwise you blow the van power supply unit but I may be right or wrong. I understand Sargent do instruct you not to charge the leisure batteries independently whilst connected and powering the 12v system. Certainly when charging car batteries you have to have the ignition off when charging with the battery in situ under the bonnet.

If you want to use leisure battery power at the same time as using the power bank to charge then the safest way is to use the power bank as a hook up and use the van charging unit through the van power supply unit. This assumes you have a coach built van with a proprietary system such as Sargent.

OK this is inefficient but as long as the sun is shining and more power is entering the power bank than leaving it does it matter?

Useful link on leisure battery charging:-

Charging a Leisure Battery - The Camping and Caravanning Club

Battery charging is not straight forward. This guide is aimed at helping you understand how to keep your leisure battery in the best possible condition.

www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk

 

[Nabsim]

Generators require petrol so have a running cost of around 50p per Kw.

3000 power station charges by an average of 1.8Kw assuming 80% after 3000 full charges = 5400Kw total x 50p = £2700

So your (noisy) generator has a running cost of £2700 (plus capital cost and maintenance cost) when compared to the free power (after the capital investment of a 2Kw power station and solar panel) .

Something to consider when making comparisons.

Don’t want to turn this into a genny v everything else post buy not sure where your figures come from. I bought my genny on sale and came in at under £300. It serves one purpose for me and that’s topping up my battery bank every few days in winter, or if anyone else needs a boost it helps them.

Last Winter into Spring this year I used a full 5 litre of unleaded and a little out a second can. At the time petrol was at its most expensive for a while but even if you say I used both 5 litre cans and it was £2 per litre that’s £20.

I go away for months at a time usually and am normally out 10 months of the year. I don’t use sites usually unless I need to shelter from a storm, when I do it’s usually a small site with just drinking water and elsan point.

Where would you think in my circumstances I would be able to recharge a power bank without starting me genny to do so?

I don’t dispute power banks can be a valuable tool but for me so far I have resisted. I do sometimes get caught up in all the hype but before reaching the BUY button I have always (so far) come back to reality. I know, for me, money would be better spent buying a second B2B, but then I am not sure if I would overload the alternator, or a bigger genny so I could run both my 30a mains chargers together.

These things are very much subjective to individual uses and what works for some doesn’t for all. For me the practical use for a power bank would be the 7 months of the year I don’t need to run my genny so it would really be a gimmick

 

[Boris7]

Don’t want to turn this into a genny v everything else post buy not sure where your figures come from. I bought my genny on sale and came in at under £300. It serves one purpose for me and that’s topping up my battery bank every few days in winter, or if anyone else needs a boost it helps them.

Last Winter into Spring this year I used a full 5 litre of unleaded and a little out a second can. At the time petrol was at its most expensive for a while but even if you say I used both 5 litre cans and it was £2 per litre that’s £20.

I go away for months at a time usually and am normally out 10 months of the year. I don’t use sites usually unless I need to shelter from a storm, when I do it’s usually a small site with just drinking water and elsan point.

Where would you think in my circumstances I would be able to recharge a power bank without starting me genny to do so?

I don’t dispute power banks can be a valuable tool but for me so far I have resisted. I do sometimes get caught up in all the hype but before reaching the BUY button I have always (so far) come back to reality. I know, for me, money would be better spent buying a second B2B, but then I am not sure if I would overload the alternator, or a bigger genny so I could run both my 30a mains chargers together.

These things are very much subjective to individual uses and what works for some doesn’t for all. For me the practical use for a power bank would be the 7 months of the year I don’t need to run my genny so it would really be a gimmick

That’s the most common sense I’ve heard on this subject tbh.

I have enough solar and lithium to run most of the year, I also have an EcoFlow, and charge it off of solar BUT it’s no more than an addition and I have it because I effectively got it free.

My genny charges the batteries when I need it to.

 

[Moped]

These things are very much subjective to individual uses and what works for some doesn’t for all. For me the practical use for a power bank would be the 7 months of the year I don’t need to run my genny so it would really be a gimmick

It was when you mentioned that you didn’t consider power banks good value that made me think you hadn’t considered the running costs of a petrol generator (50p per KW is a generally accepted figure) when compared to the lifetime lifecycle of a 2kw power bank. Upfront cost lower yes, but over 10 years the costs are higher if you are a heavy generator user. Fact is though how many fully discharge and recharge daily? Not many I guess.

Everybody has different needs and circumstances and for winter U.K. use and depending on power needs a petrol generator is probably the only solution if you are parked up in an isolated corner of a field or similar. In your situation I would probably do exactly the same!

Ecoflow do in fact produce a petrol/lpg smart generator which I had spotted on eBay for £800 and thought what a bargain but discounted the idea because of the noise and it would not work for us.

We migrate to sunny Spain each winter parking up with a mix of everything generally in close proximity to others. And France with its plentiful aires at other times of the year. And we have 2 ebike batteries to charge. So we have a power set up that works for us. A petrol generator would not be permitted in nearly all locations where we stop.

The silent nature of solar power generation has meant we can stay for longer on off grid aires.

 

[Nabsim]

It was when you mentioned that you didn’t consider power banks good value that made me think you hadn’t considered the running costs of a petrol generator (50p per KW is a generally accepted figure) when compared to the lifetime lifecycle of a 2kw power bank. Upfront cost lower yes, but over 10 years the costs are higher if you are a heavy generator user. Fact is though how many fully discharge and recharge daily? Not many I guess.

Everybody has different needs and circumstances and for winter U.K. use and depending on power needs a petrol generator is probably the only solution if you are parked up in an isolated corner of a field or similar. In your situation I would probably do exactly the same!

Ecoflow do in fact produce a petrol/lpg smart generator which I had spotted on eBay for £800 and thought what a bargain but discounted the idea because of the noise and it would not work for us.

We migrate to sunny Spain each winter parking up with a mix of everything generally in close proximity to others. And France with its plentiful aires at other times of the year. And we have 2 ebike batteries to charge. So we have a power set up that works for us. A petrol generator would not be permitted in nearly all locations where we stop.

The silent nature of solar power generation has meant we can stay for longer on off grid aires.

Although I haven’t tested it due to faffing around needed to get my dogs cleared to travel in the EU I did originally size my solar and battery bank to have what I thought would be enough Solar if I went to sunnier climes for the poor solar months. I “think” I could go off grid indefinitely places like Spain and Portugal but have given up on testing my theory for the time being. If current setup isn’t enough I could get more solar on the roof, especially with some of the newer higher output smaller panels.

I charge an escooter as and when but it’s doesn’t get much use as not that many places I can use it in the U.K. without risking 6 points lol.

What do you actually use your power bank for, is it instead up updating your leisure system or for purposes away from the van?

 

[Boris7]

Hampshire generators do repairs , makes me wonder how 5 year warrenty will stand up think that only started this year

I bought a eco flow , set it up at home just to try it with 300 w of portable solar , i found it ran low wattage kettle , microwave toaster air fryer , anything around 1500 w , it would make a small saving on electric consumption as well powering most things in a power cut , it would be great if It could wired to the central heating boiler it would run it for many hours , i know their is no easy legal way to do it ,

Strangely enough Molly, EcoFlow have sent mine to Hampshire Generators for repair.

And I’m pretty sure I’ve read a review on their website from you.

 

[merl]

You can’t compare these power stations with. Genny. While they both provide power a genny actually produces it at any time but doesn’t store it. The power banks are just storage with extras.
For anyone wanting extra power I don’t consider the power banks good value but if they need portability there can be a good use for them.

Amazing power these influencers have lol

Never seen the attraction of a power station personally, I see them as an expensive means to an end. I have a battery bank, inverter and charger in the van that's tailored to fit in the available spaces and hence doesn't take up cupboard or storage space AND is able to store and provide more power than a power station at twice the price.
If I get a power cut at home I can still use the available power by utilising an extension lead.

 

[Moped]

What do you actually use your power bank for, is it instead up updating your leisure system or for purposes away from the van?

We had a Gaslow system fitted to the previous van and it was a bit of a faff to move it to the current van.

The current van we are likely to keep long term and I did consider updating the leisure system. It is Sargent based with all this entails. When I went to a dealer for a simple solar panel upgrade beyond what we had they said they couldn’t do it as the Sargent set up would not cope.

So then I had a quote for a complete upgrade and decided that the portable power bank route offered more flexibility, was less costly, could be used when going off in the car to charge ebike batteries when mountain biking, would not be a faff if we changed the van (we have a 4.25t van - who knows what might happen when we get to 70?), we could retain the lead acid battery and Sargent system only using it for 12v basics and we could charge it with the portable power bank if need be, and we have a payload of 820kg with plenty of storage so nothing gets in the way.

We have 2 e-bikes.

As I have said previously we have enough flat area on the van roof to place 2x200w portable panels flat feeding the cable through a skylight. I carry a telescopic ladder. This generates 300w on a sunny U.K. middle part of the day and over 200w for a 6 hour period. It would generate more if the panels were on the ground angled to the sun but I like the roof set up as they are out of the way and out of sight. They generate more than enough power for our needs as it is. Not used the set up in a Spanish winter yet, but I spoke with others last winter and 500w of solar generates plenty if the sun is shinning. If it’s very windy then ground based charging it is.

The set up works for us but it depends entirely on your needs. If you can carry a telescopic ladder and have enough free space on your roof to lay out portable panels flat and leave them there great.

By the way go for ip68 rated panels as they can be left out rain or shine.

 

[molly 2]

Strangely enough Molly, EcoFlow have sent mine to Hampshire Generators for repair.

And I’m pretty sure I’ve read a review on their website from you.

I bought 200w portable solar panel from them , ??

 

[Boris7]

I bought 200w portable solar panel from them , ??

Not your review then

 

[molly 2]

Not your review then

Could have been for solar but i would not have used my forum name

 

[Geek]

Generators require petrol so have a running cost of around 50p per Kw.

To be honest, I hardly ever use it, but my generator uses 300g of LPG from the tank per hour when producing 2KW. That works out at around £0.80 (l) x 2 (kg) x 0.3 (per hour) x 0.5 (per KW). That's about 24p. Rather cheaper than buying it from the mains

3000 power station charges by an average of 1.8Kw assuming 80% after 3000 full charges = 5400Kw total x 50p = £2700

I very much doubt you will get anything like that many charge cycles from the cells, even if the rather unreliable electronics keeps working.

 

[Moped]

The Honda EU 10i 1kw generator consumes 2.1ltr of fuel in 3.9 hours on full load = 0.53ltr per hour = 75p per hour if using petrol. Maybe it’s not the most efficient but they are the manufacturers quoted figures. They are around £850 to buy and are considered to be one of the quietest running.

Not everybody has refillable LPG but accept this brings the hourly cost down to maybe 50p if £1 per litre is paid but lpg is less energy dense than petrol so consumption does increase. Figures are for full load.

Agreed that the power bank technology has not yet been proven over 3000 cycles (don’t the manufacturers carry out pre production load and cycle testing?) but people have to make up their own mind about the figures quoted and the lifetime cost of a internal combustion generator v solar power bank.

And the convenience and practicalities of using one or the other.

It is only 6 years since manufacturers of portable solar generators appeared and the early starters are still in business so surely that says something about reliability?

The silent running of these systems has opened up wild camping or off grid options for many including me!

And that includes using low priced basic £8 to £10 a night farm campsites with fantastic views rather than the high priced commercial hook up versions where you are lined up regimental style. Or even the grass pitch CCC sites with the 30% discount which can be over half the price of their normal hook up pitches and these can work out at £10 a night or less. Try doing this with a generator!

It’s horses for courses and whatever suits an individuals lifestyle.

 

[Boris7]

The best thing I’ve found with the EcoFlow is before you go to bed you can plug the kettle in, and turn the kettle on.

Then in the morning while still in bed grab your phone and turn the EcoFlow electric socket on, then when you get up to make tea the kettles already boiled

 

[caledonia]

Who thinks these things are going to last 10 to 15 years. How long does any electrical item last these days? How long before a better one comes out and yours is obsolete? A lot less than 10 to 15 years I bet.
I think people are just justifying a big spend by kidding themselves it’s going to last 10 years and pay for itself.
I am going to buy one but I’m fully aware it’ll probably be in the “Ronco” cupboard in a few years when the next big thing comes along.