Solar Gen - EcoFlow DELTA PRO 3,600wH

[Eastern Shore 25pack12]

Looking at adding a solar generator -EcoFlow DELTA PRO 3,600wH. Has anyone had experience with this system? We're doing quite a bit of boondocking and I'd like to bring down my DB's, especially @ night. I have a gas genny currently and that will be used if the output of the solar panels are minimal due to weather....& recharging system.


Thanks for any input!

[NavyLCDR]

You are looking at about $2,000 for that system? I'm just curious why not add solar charging capability and an inverter to your on-board trailer or motorhome house batteries?

And you figure most people have 2000-3000 watt generators for basic RV use. So you would be talking about 2 hours capacity equivalent to a generator, but you can extend that by minimizing your AC electrical loads. No heating or cooling devices for sure. But it would be good for TV, CPAP, LED table lamps, computer and electronic device power supplies and charging.

And on the days you can't use solar to recharge it, you could always use your gas/propane generator to recharge it.

[JLeising]

I don’t have the Pro, I have the Delta (1260 Watt-Hour) model, so my experience may not apply - in any case, my observations:

The package and display are quite nice. The 1800 watt inverter seems quite capable. My unit is very convenient- fairly light (about 30 pounds, I think) and compact. Controls and connections are convenient.

The supplied 12 volt “cigarette lighter” cord is low quality - the 12 volt female connector on the cord overheated and partially melted (softened and distorted) at less than the unit’s rated 12 volt output. Easily resolved with a higher quality cord from Amazon.

VERY fast recharge time on 120 volts. Zero to 80% in an hour, I believe. Very valuable when recharging from a generator.

Biggest negative- inverter seems inefficient compared to other “solar generator” evaluations (Will Prowse YouTube videos) and other dedicated inverter specs. My experience is I get more like 1000 or 1100 watt hours 120 volt output than the 1260 of the battery pack. Will Prowse highlights this issue in his Delta review. My experience supports his review.

https://youtu.be/xjl3s1CdYII

He also reviewed the Pro:

https://youtu.be/ZvdTsgXuI-w


FYI, Jim

[Reverse_snowbird]

That model looks expensive (around ($4,000+) for the generator and solar panel.
Impressive charge that less than 2 hours to a full charge, but the generator alone weighs around 100 lbs.
It depends on what you're powering at night. It might not last as long as you need.

[tomkatb]

Learn the math. P=I*V.

On its best day a 100 watt solar panel can provide maybe 25 amps dc. Or about 300 watts. Not every day. Not so much up north. Trees and rain do not help.

Recharge time on a big solar generator would be 12 days.

More math. Generally converting ac to dc with an inverter is only 80% efficient. Thus, a 3500 watt unit is a 2800 watt ac unit.

So, depends on your needs.

For $2000 you could get a 400 amp dc lithium battery and a 1000 watt inverter to install in the rv. Forget the solar. Your rv on shore power would recharge the battery fairly quickly.

These are mostly for tent campers with very modest needs.

So define your needs carefully. We choose not to have an inverter. Well, actually we have a 400 watt cheapie for extremely rare use for the tv. Have not used it in 4 years. Not positive it works. Plugs into the cpap plug in the bedroom. We have a 430 amp wet cell battery bank. Run the generator every other day.

[Eastern Shore 25pack12]

Our basic needs, charging phones, water pump & recharging RV battery for lighting, that we'll upgrade to a Lithium. We'd have to have a large array and bank to run AC for long periods, I understand that and the math. Just wanted a portable quite power supply when needed.
Thanks for the input

[Reverse_snowbird]

If your rig's lighting hasn't been upgraded to LED bulbs, do that. RV LED bulbs use very little energy.

For charging your phones, we have these small Solar Power banks that you can charge a couple of different ways. Clip these on a backpack and you're covered for recharge if you're on a hike. Although my personal preference is for this one that comes with built in cables and flashlight, they have cheaper ones. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09831LM...4-9cfaefa07a65

We have a couple of these lanterns for camping 'off grid'
https://smile.amazon.com/Kizen-Solar...01L4WHOY2&th=1

If you save your battery for things like the water pump, refrigerator and water heater igniter, you can extend your off grid significantly without a huge investment. You could also carry a second charged battery,

[PhilFromMaine]

Originally Posted by Eastern Shore 25pack12

Looking at adding a solar generator -EcoFlow DELTA PRO 3,600wH. Has anyone had experience with this system? We're doing quite a bit of boondocking and I'd like to bring down my DB's, especially @ night. I have a gas genny currently and that will be used if the output of the solar panels are minimal due to weather....& recharging system.


Thanks for any input!

I know nothing about the product, but 3600 watt hours should get you a good amount of boondocking time if you use propane and conserve your energy use.

I have a self built 3600 watt hour solar generator and have used it for 3-4 day dry camping and had energy to spare without incorporating my solar or DC-DC power sources. I am pretty sure with my 500 watts of solar and my 50 amps from the DC-DC charger I could go forever.

Thinking about it (I have never documented my usage), we used about 50 AH per day by estimation . No microwave, air conditioning, and we don't watch TV.