I guess the question is an opinion on what? The kit? The videos?
The Kit.
Something to bear in mind is the Ecoflow Power kit is not just a big
battery bank, it is a full all-in-one electrical system with Monitoring and Control systems. So you cannot just take their price and compare it to a couple of same-sized batteries and an
Inverter, which many of the commenters seem to be doing. It is essentially a "next-generation" system and if you look at some of the high-end RV coaches in the US (high-end meaning 7 figure dollars) they have very integrated electrical systems which alone cost more than many people here (including me) have spent on their entire Motorhome/Campervan.
Now having said all the above, to me it still looks pricey compared to what you can get from established vendors and while there is an appeal in having system that is so integrated, the danger is if there is a problem, you can end up with a totally inoperable setup.
I was not aware that Ecoflow was a Chinese company until very recently. I had assumed it was probably a US company or possible German (given they had a big launch of this kit in Germany) and had the product made in China (unsurprisingly). The fact (AFAIK) it is fully Chinese would put me TBH because while the various Chinese companies are excellent at Replication, they suck at Innovation (Gunpowder last thing I can think of they actually invented?). This usually means responses to issues are usually slow and poor.
The Installation
From the videos I have watched of Gadget John's van build, I can't see any fault in his installation of the Ecoflow Power kit. The latest fault to me lays entirely with the provision of a very poorly made and undersized cable. I want to find it hard to believe that anyone who made that cable thought it acceptable. What is amazing is that to actually make a cable like that with a join as done would actually take more time and more work than just getting a new length of cable, so it truly beggers belief how that happened. And Ecoflows response about it being a "demo cable" that accidently got provided is so implausible it is laughable.
I have seen commenters saying how he could have done resistance checks on the cable before installation? Who on earth does that when they get a ready-to-install kit? You make the assumption it is good don't you? given the cable in question was in a braided sheath and the join deliberately hidden, I don't think there is any way anyone would spot that?
What I might have done in his case was to set it all up on a bench and try it out before installation just to see how it all goes, but time is a factor and if I had his time constraints I likely would have dropped it right him just as he did.
Whilst GJ has done some rather odd things (the Lithium to Lead reversal was very odd and never really explained (and I have a bit of inside info on that which makes it no clearer!), I can't see anything he did wrong on the Ecoflow Power kit.
If I wanted a setup LIKE the Ecoflow Power kit, offering the same kind of features (yes, OF COURSE I DO
), then I wouldn't get the Ecoflow Power system.
I do think it is a bit expensive for what it is, I don't like it is a Chinese-owned and driven company for the reasons given earlier, and the quality of some manufacture and response to manufacturing faults is poor.
It is possible to get a level of integration and monitoring without getting some committed to an all-in-one solution.
Victron ("Team Blue") are a good example of that and a full
Victron setup with probably NON-
Victron batteries would be cheaper, with much more support and greater quality. You can enhance the
Victron solution with additional third-party software like Node-Red, Home Assistant and others.
For Monitoring, you can use an excellent set of products from Simarine, a Slovakian company that actually in many ways puts
Victron to shame with their PICO system.
that is my long-winded reply.
the short reply is the typical Motorhomer needs little more than a
battery SOC monitor plus batteries and a switch panel.
