I won
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I won a thing. I commented on a youtuber that I follow and entered to win a thing, and I guess I won, which is great. I was getting pretty sick of my Anker power station that I've been using for a while now.
https://us.ecoflow.com/products/river-2-portable-power-station?variant=40589642039369
This has quite a bit less energy storage but the total amount has never been the big problem with the Anker. The trouble with the Anker, which was still a good value, is that I couldn't handle more than 60 watts input on DC, which made for difficult energy recovery. Also the thermal management sucks and the software is going glitch city in the display.
Things I like way better about this than my Anker:
- Free
- XT60 DC input instead of 8mm barrel plug
- 10A input on DC (I think limited to 100 watts)
- 110 watt solar input (instead of 60)
- 360 watts AC input (instead of...60)
- LiPo4 instead of NMC. Longer battery life and better thermal performance.
- 2 AC outputs
- App support. I really like having app support to change settings, monitor output, turn things on-off, etc.
- Firmware updates.
Things I don't like about it:
- Only 1 DC output.
- One fewer USB-A port
- much less power (256 Watt/hr compared to 388 watt/hr)
- That dumb-ass handle. Seriously, that is going to make packaging in the car a PITA. Almost tempted to saw it off.
Things that are the same that I like.
- USB-C input. This is actually pretty dang handy since I can bring a single charger for all my devices and its not common
- Super small and light.
Still, nice to have a literal win.
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/slight derail
I think the real story here is that YouTube give aways are actually real.
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HHFP-JRE meetup when?
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@ForSweden I guess I should find out who JRE is first.
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@Man-With-A-Reliable-Jeep Honestly, I thought it was a scam at first until he reached out to me this morning.
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@HammerheadFistpunch damn, I knew I should have clicked the link to message WatchJRGo on his Telegram
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@HammerheadFistpunch said in I won:
I guess I should find out who JRE is first.
He's one of Utes Guys
EcoFlow regularly sponsors him
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@HammerheadFistpunch nice score! Can you run the two in tandem to help with overall capacity but not be limited in charging?
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@ForSweden oh yeah, this guy. He's not far from me. Im sure he's champing at the bit to collab with me and my 183 followers.
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I want one of those but getting more crap on the boat is not really an option so we rely on battery packs for LED lights and things. I do want an aluminum boat and a motor so we can glamp it up a bit, it would be fun to make camp a bit more elaborate if we stay out there a few nights.
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So one gripe about the Renogy box I had was that the DC input on the XT60 connector from the car was pulling 120w or so. It melted.
I see the EcoFlow car cable for sale on their site has the same complaints. One of the responses from EcoFlow was to use the app to limit the current to 6 amps because it is pulling too much from the car. So to be safe you'd be looking at charging 75w with the vehicle DC input. I wonder if this is just an issue with the XT60 design.
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@415s30 I guess it depends on what kind of power you need. I also have one of those hulkman car jump packs and it handles most of my DC power needs for anything small. It will handle phones and laptops and has a 10A DC cig adapter so you can even run the fridge off it for a few hours. If you need AC power though its no good. I only mention it because I would rather drop one of those in the drink that a solar generator.
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@TheBarber I've used an older ECOFLOW with the same input in my car before without trouble. Im not too worried about it, but I can also dial it back if it warms up too much. Which end melted? The XT60 or the Cig end?
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@HammerheadFistpunch I have dry bags, it's the weight really, we have to bring water and food and that weighs a lot. I wish the park service had taps out somewhere but there isn't anything and that's also why we go there.
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The XT60 end melted. Didn't seem to damage the box too bad but it did distort the plugin housing a bit.
Looking more into it, it's possible that they redesigned them with a more positive engagement connector. Also says it automatically senses current input when plugged into the car and limits it to 8 amps. So just shy of 100 watts DC isn't bad.
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@HammerheadFistpunch My Anker 535 Powerhouse also suffers from stupid-handle-itis. A strap would be so much more convenient for transportation.