EcoFlow Delta Pro to expand power storage

[gklott]

We’ve been looking for a way to extend boondocking without needing to run our generators. During the Amazon Prime Days, EcoFlow ran an excellent price on the Delta Pro and extra battery. In our E19, we have 6 BattleBorn GC2 = 7.2 kWh storage. The Delta Pro with smart battery double that to 14.4 kWh. We can also expand one more Delta Pro battery to achieve 18 kWh storage.

Floor space is about 25x25”, and the added weight in our Sprinter is 95 lbs for Delta Pro and 85 lbs for smart battery battery. Price was about $0.79 per W, and that includes the inverter and many other output ports. The BattleBorn GC2 batteries on sale were about $0.75 per W, without any of the extra capabilities.

We like our Honda EU2200i generators, but there are many places that do not allow generators or allow running them only during certain hours.

What drew us to this expansion method is the easy in connecting. As shown the Delta Pro 2 has a 3600W inverter and a 30A RV outlet on the front panel. We simply plug the E19’s regular shore power cord into the Delta Pro. While not the most efficient, but hookup is quick.

Also, with the Delta Pro in our van, we can charge it when not at our trailer, such as when trailer is in remote spot and we are in town. We can also separately solar charge the Delta Pro. Using the EV X-Stream Adapter, we can charge the Delta Pro at an Level 2 EV charger. Lots of charging options.

73/gus

[Viajante]

Last winter I talked with someone who had one of these units in his large travel van at Big Bend. He had it connected to two portable solar panels, and he had the 30 amp cord plugged in. The screen gave a readout of seemingly everything. He was very happy with it, especially the ease of installation and use.

I must say that after reading the threads about lithium upgrades that seem to get more complicated by the minute, this system was almost too simple to be believed.

[Centex]

Just curious, Gus .... (and I realize everything is dependent on environment / solar gain / use habits, etc)

Can you remind us of the approximate nominal wattage of the solar array contributing to upkeep of your built-in storage (6 x Battleborn nominal 100Ah batteries)?

Can you estimate an 'average / typical' boondocking duration that system (sans EcoFlow) supports without need for supplemental power input? Or maybe some examples of duration ranges in different conditions?

Now with much more experience, do you have a revised ranges for the power demand of your dual-compressor Isotherm Cruise 195 refrigerator / freezer?

Thanks in advance.

[gklott]

Originally Posted by Viajante

Last winter I talked with someone who had one of these units in his large travel van at Big Bend. He had it connected to two portable solar panels, and he had the 30 amp cord plugged in.

7.2 kWh (or 10.8 kWh) charged by two portable solar panels will take many hours. The Delta Pro supports up to 1600W, 11-150V, 15A Max, MPPT solar charging. While the panels can get large and heavy, string a couple Vcc ≥ 50V solar panels in parallel, and you can really have a serious boondocking powerhouse.

Originally Posted by Viajante

The screen gave a readout of seemingly everything. He was very happy with it, especially the ease of installation and use.

Has an excellent Bluetooth app, with remote access when you have WiFi. We also purchased the Delta Pro Remote Control, which provides pretty much the same control as using the device’s front panel.

Originally Posted by Viajante

I must say that after reading the threads about lithium upgrades that seem to get more complicated by the minute, this system was almost too simple to be believed.

You got it. The simplicity, multiple uses, and price per watt are what moved us to the Delta Pro with one additional battery. It also allows us to more completely use our Sprinter van tow vehicle independently from the Escape. For example, we carry a Keurig Mini in the van. A quick cuppa coffee is too easy now.

Check out: https://youtu.be/xLcCU29riWE

73/gus

[gklott]

Originally Posted by Centex

Can you remind us of the approximate nominal wattage of the solar array contributing to upkeep of your built-in storage (6 x Battleborn nominal 100Ah batteries)?

Have 370W solar on roof, and 200W via Zamp port. Each has its own MPPT charge controller. Figuring a typical day is 4 hrs charging time, our maximum daily solar charge is 2 kWh, or about 2 BattleBorn batteries equivalent.

Note: Our BattleBorn GC2 are 100Ah, nominal 12 VDC, 1.2kWh. We don’t like to discharge them below 15-20%, so we use the 1 kWh per battery as our energy storage rule of thumb.

Originally Posted by Centex

Can you estimate an 'average / typical' boondocking duration that system (sans EcoFlow) supports without need for supplemental power input? Or maybe some examples of duration ranges in different conditions?

With inside trailer power only (6 kWh typical, up to 7 kWh), we currently get about 5 to 6 days. The differentiator for us is cold or hot vs moderate temperature.

We run our Maxxfan nearly continuously. We use many chargeable devices like USB headlamps, smartphones, cameras. The other items are the water pump, interior lights, etc. We figure these powered items combines to about 200-250 Wh per day. We can make this less by being really conservative, but we figure “everything else” consumes one battery per boondocking period.

Our Dometic DFSAD12 furnace uses about 40W, and we figure it operates 4 hrs a cold day, thermostat set to 55ºF. So over a 6 day period, that is a BattleBorn battery. We rarely use our Suburban SW6DE water heater on propane when boondocking.

We’ve added some additional boondocking loads. We’re now using an induction cooktop (1400W) and Ninja pressure cooker / air fryer (1500W). We can use our Dickinson propane cooktop to extend boondocking time. We also just added StarLink v2 which consumes about 75W with active traffic (25W connection maintenance only). We are evaluating our typical consumption for these new devices.

Originally Posted by Centex

Now with much more experience, do you have a revised ranges for the power demand of your dual-compressor Isotherm Cruise 195 refrigerator / freezer?

I’ll pull the latest Isotherm usage data and post it. Previous data shows a 138.4W load when both compressors operating on DC. On average, we seem to use a Battleborn battery, about 0.9 to 1 kWh per day to run the Cruise 195. This usage is a typical 3 meal day in trailer. We use mainly refrigerated or frozen food while traveling, including fresh vegetables.

*** Additional option not previously available ***
With the delivered ETI AC wiring, the air conditioning is not powered via the inverter. Plugging into the EcoFlow allows us to use the Houghton for cooling or heating. Looking at the energy consumption on a 90-100 degree day, thermostat at 75, we figure 70-80 minutes per 1kWh.

We plan to take one Honda EU2200i. We can charge the EcoFlow Delta in about 3.5 hours using propane.

73/gus