Last summer I decided to buy an Ecoflow Solar Generator Delta 2 Max as an emergency power supply in case of a power outages. We have generators, but in the event of a power outages then can be a rather pain to start and then have to run cables through the dog door and then daisy chained throughout the house. If the power went out while I was at work then Becca was basically stuck without power until I got home and could start the generator.
With the Ecoflow we now at least have a nice buffer. It is currently plugged into the bedroom and powers the TV, Roku, a light, and it has a couple extension cords already plugged into it and ready to be deployed to Becca's night stand, and one for the kitchen fridge if need be. It essentially acts as a high capacity UPS. It has a 2048Wh battery that can run the whole bedroom for about 20 hours. If we plug in the kitchen refrigerator it will still have enough capacity to run for about 10 hours.
It can output 3400 watts AC so it could even run a window AC unit or a space heater in a pinch, if only for a few hours. I liked it so much I even bought another one for my server rack which will keep my Starlink internet running, media server, game room TV, NAS, etc. for about 8 hours. So now we can comfortably lay in bed for about 8 hours after an outage and watch movies and check Facebook before we have to get out of bed to start up the generator.
Well... I am too lazy for that, and spilling gas all over myself while I trying to pour gas through a funnel while holding a flashlight under my chin at 1am in the snow was not quite the adventure I had in mind.
so I decided what we needed was an Ecoflow Smart Dual Fuel Generator. It sits downstairs in our storage basement and connects directly to the battery. If the battery drops below 30% the generator will automatically start up and start charging the battery (there is an app to monitor and configure all of this to what ever preference I wish). It is hooked up to a propane tank so I don't have to worry about the fuel getting old while it sits there waiting to be needed, and the battery keeps it powered and ready to go.
Once the battery reaches 80% it will automatically shut itself off so it does not need to run continuously, only long enough to charge the battery, which takes less than an hour. It is a small 3000 watt generator but it will run for about 9 hours on a 5 gallon tank of propane, and since it only needs to run long enough to top off the battery it can probably last a couple of days if I am just running the servers, fridge, and a few basics.
I did mention this was a SOLAR generator, but honestly until recently I had not even bothered to plug in any solar panels. Each Delta 2 Max has 2 charging ports, each can take 500 watts worth of solar. I just have 2x220 watt panels plugged into it currently which is enough to power my server rack for about 5 hours a day, with a little left over to charge the battery. It has been generating about 1500wh of electricity daily so far, which saves me about 45 cents a day on my PG&E bill. It is not much but it adds up, and in a couple years those panels will pay for itself. I plan to add another panel or two to try to max out its solar capability, and I think I will get a few for the other Delta 2 Max as well.
I also added a smaller Ecoflow River 2 Pro (768wh) as a UPS for my new gaming PC which is good for about 2 to 3 hours of back up.
It may not be a whole home generator, but it is the next best thing. Maybe some day I will get the Ecoflow Delta Pro Ultra which actually is capable of being a whole home battery back up and generator, but that would be a story for another time.
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