Battery Backup/Solar Generators

[Jerold]

I bought an EcoFlow River a bit over 2 years ago. Of course it died a few months after the warranty expired.

It's a simple battery pack with BMS and can be used as portable power if you need it. I live in Silicon Valley and we need it for the house because the technology center of the world can't get electricity to my house consistently. But I'm not bitter or anything.

Since this has become a door stop, I sent a note to EcoFlow to see what my options are. It's about a $200 unit and if I need to cover the shipping for repair, I'm in it another $100. So I'm not overly attached to it.

The size (physical and Wh) is OK, I can run my essentials for about 2 days on this. Essentials being LED light, charging phone/tablets and a fan or two. The network stuff has it's own back up and it will last about 8 hours if I prune it down.

Assuming that this unit is going in the trash, does anyone have suggestions?

 

[Tex Koder]

I bought an EcoFlow River a bit over 2 years ago. Of course it died a few months after the warranty expired.

It's a simple battery pack with BMS and can be used as portable power if you need it. I live in Silicon Valley and we need it for the house because the technology center of the world can't get electricity to my house consistently. But I'm not bitter or anything.

Since this has become a door stop, I sent a note to EcoFlow to see what my options are. It's about a $200 unit and if I need to cover the shipping for repair, I'm in it another $100. So I'm not overly attached to it.

The size (physical and Wh) is OK, I can run my essentials for about 2 days on this. Essentials being LED light, charging phone/tablets and a fan or two. The network stuff has it's own back up and it will last about 8 hours if I prune it down.

Assuming that this unit is going in the trash, does anyone have suggestions?

Crack it open and let's take a peek inside..
What sort of battery is hiding in there?

 

[Johnny b]

Continue to use it as a doorstop?

 

[LibertyMKiii]

Chances are it is a bunch of 18650 lithium-ion cells.
Could probably fix it up but might cost you the same price of buying another.

 

[CrashBoom]

Those units typically use LiFePO4 batteries, but some use Li-ion. If you're interested in something that packs a little more punch, just grab a nice size 12v LiFEPO4 battery and hook up your choice of inverters, chargers, etc. We use this setup at our cabin.

Can even hook up a solar panel to charge.

 

[DLK83]

Those units typically use LiFePO4 batteries, but some use Li-ion. If you're interested in something that packs a little more punch, just grab a nice size 12v LiFEPO4 battery and hook up your choice of inverters, chargers, etc. We use this setup at our cabin.

Can even hook up a solar panel to charge.

^^^^^^
This... get 4 100 watt panels, a nice charge controller and psw inverter, and a few batts... refurbished golf cart batteries work great in series, and can be had relatively cheap

 

[RCbuzz]

If you are just looking for an inexpensive replacement ebay is having a 15% off sale on select items. Lots of power stations on there. This little 256Wh LFP unit is 113$ shipped, refurbished. 5yr Warranty.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/144819918766

What failed to operate on your power station?

 

[gotnitro]

Does gavin have a ban on gas powered generators?

 

[WoodiE]

@Jerold I've been thinking very much about building my own using lithium batteries. There isn't much to these things and seem pretty easy to build.

If you're not entirely burnt out on the EcoFlow brand, a good friend of mine has the EcoFlow Delta Pro and loves it. He uses it to tailgate, which has replaced the two Honda 2000 generators he used to use. He claims the Delta Pro has never gone below 50%, and they've had times when they are out there from 8am to midnight.

He bought his from EcoFlow on eBay as a refurb unit. Saved him money and still got a 1 year warranty. It also came with a transfer switch. https://www.ebay.com/itm/145436335999

Finally, that unit is also eligible, in many states, for a tax rebate.

 

[WoodiE]

@Jerold in addition to the above, my friend said he received an email with the coupon code "SAVEONGIFTS" for 15% off from EcoFlow. I don't know if that works on the eBay store or not, but thought I'd share.

Edit: I just tried the coupon on eBay. It does work!

 

[Jerold]

Crack it open and let's take a peek inside..
What sort of battery is hiding in there?

18650s inside. They are the standard for everything.

Chances are it is a bunch of 18650 lithium-ion cells.
Could probably fix it up but might cost you the same price of buying another.

The (!) light stays on which is a generic error for "Dude, you're screwed". My guess is it's probably the BMS which I would need a schematic to correct. Give the level of connectivity and processor power in these things it could be a software error too.

Does gavin have a ban on gas powered generators?

Not on the generators but on the sale of them (2028). However, in my case I don't have the space for one, don't need to power the entire house, and don't want the maintenance/upkeep. This is the size of a Igloo lunch cooler

^^^^^^
This... get 4 100 watt panels, a nice charge controller and psw inverter, and a few batts... refurbished golf cart batteries work great in series, and can be had relatively cheap

Correct they are not that complex to make, but by the time I buy all the components, I can buy one and not have to do the work. They buy stuff in 10K,100K quantities. I buy stuff in 1-2 quantity. So my cost on components is 5-6x what they pay.

Random part on Digikey. However, they buy much more than this and negotiate directly with the MFG. So their cost is probably like 18-20 cents.

 

[DLK83]

If you can manage a couple dozen rc lipos, you can handle a solar array and a battery bank.... after the initial set up and investment, you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner

 

[Jerold]

If you can manage a couple dozen rc lipos, you can handle a solar array and a battery bank.... after the initial set up and investment, you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner

Very true, and I also have an inverter. However the problem with LiPos is you can't (shouldn't) leave them 100% charged for any duration. Not sure how to work around that one?

 

[DLK83]

Thats what the charge controller is for, it maintains a set "floating" charge similar to the storage charge we put lipos into

 

[RCbuzz]

Very true, and I also have an inverter. However the problem with LiPos is you can't (shouldn't) leave them 100% charged for any duration. Not sure how to work around that one?

I hear LFP is better for this application. I wish power station/bank manufactures would allow an 85% max charge setting (like the new Samsung phones).

 

[Jerold]

I sent them an email for support and they got back to me quickly (good) with some info and possible solutions. Unfortunately none of them worked. We will see what they say for the next steps.

 

[Jerold]

Update: EcoFlow has sufficiently screwed this up and I ordered a Bluettie power station.

They sent me from one person to the next until the service ticket timed out and I got a notice it was being closed.

The last guy (Ray) was supposed to give me a repair estimate. He said it would be my cost but no cost was ever given??? I reminded him and he ghosted me. Long story short, no solution, no path to repair, not even an apology for something that lasted barely longer than the warranty period.

My response to them.

I o

I ordered a Bluetti AC70. It's 2x the Wh of the other one, uses LiFePo batteries and the HQ is in Las Vegas (America). There was a good deal on their Ebay store. Bluetti apparently has one guy that runs the Ebay story and he doesn't always align with the factory pricing. Lucky me.

If you look at the Ebay store make sure you get the right one. There are some fake vendors out there and they get cleaned out, but do show up long enough to get $$$. They should have a lot of items sold and some followers. Fake ones have (0) followers.
https://www.ebay.com/str/bluettiofficial