EcoFlow DELTA 3 Classic

[slowworm]

@slowworm Did you opt for anything in the end ? This is my big ticket item for before the end of the year and need to take a deep dive into making the right decision.

As an aside, it appears I don't get notifications if you @ me...

I've not sorted anything out yet as I've spent most of the year away ooking after or visiting mum in hospital. So I've not had time to sort out a 12v setup or take delivery of a large powerbank.

Funnily enough though, I'm now at my Mum's bouse and there's an unscheduled power cut and we had one at our home last week for a few hours. I have a feeling we'll get far more cuts this year.

As I'm often away I'll probably go for the power bank mentioned above as we can get by for several days without much electricity and a single bank will be easier for us to use.

After our power cut I did finally sort out and charge the small battery backup our phone company eventually provided FOC, not tested it yet.

As another aside, we need to sort out a small chest freezer. Our old upright is on its last legs and I think a chest freezer will stay frozen longer without power.

 

[slowworm]

I have a feeling we'll get far more cuts this year

I should have bought a lottery ticket when I posted that. As part of some grid upgrades we're going to have our power turned off over a few days with one outage for 10 hours. Not a big deal but with many people working from home these days such long planned power outages don't seem sensible. It also makes a mockery of 4 hour digital phone backups.

One thing worth noting, it seems you can request a battery backup from your DNO although ours only have a few which naturally are offered to those at risk first.

 

[Chris]

I should have bought a lottery ticket when I posted that. As part of some grid upgrades we're going to have our power turned off over a few days with one outage for 10 hours. Not a big deal but with many people working from home these days such long planned power outages don't seem sensible. It also makes a mockery of 4 hour digital phone backups.

One thing worth noting, it seems you can request a battery backup from your DNO although ours only have a few which naturally are offered to those at risk first.

Does your Mum have something to keep her sorted for that long a power outage? I only ask as you said she was in hospital recently. Would local authority prioritise her?

 

[slowworm]

Does your Mum have something to keep her sorted for that long a power outage? I only ask as you said she was in hospital recently. Would local authority prioritise her?

Thankfully this outage is at our home not mums, although I doubt vulnerable people around here will get much help. With the switch to digital phones and lack of mobile signal most will not be able to call anyone either.

I think Mum's fall alarm lasts 12+ hours and she's still on an analogue line as she often needs it.

 

[Falstaff]

Not being up to date or techie on elctrickery, there's something I can't get my head around, could somebody please explain:
Ecoflow thingys are essentially a lithium battery and a rectifier wot converts it to "main" power for mains power devices, for a limited time. After that you need to charge it back up using mains/solar/generator.

But, when not in use and in storage for a power cut, I understood that you were not supposed to leave them fully charged, or too low powered as that would damage them.
So how do you do that - keep it in a cupboard on 50% power and try to remember to recharge it periodically, continuous intelligent trickle charger keeping it at full power but taking up another plug socket? Periodically use it just to flatten it and recharge to keep it alive?

I've ruined lots of smaller cheaper rechargeables, e.g. drills, torches etc. and would not want to make the same mistakes with an expensive item like this.

 

[slowworm]

A quick search does suggest for long term storage it's best to not leave it fully charged.

In my case you can often plan for power cuts if you keep an eye on the weather, so I'd charge it fully a few days beforehand. Also with the planned outage you'd charge it up.

I'd also take a bit of a hit on longevity of the unit and keep it charged late autumn and winter, when we're most likely to get cuts. A solar panel might also be a wise investment.

Having said that I've got a Stihl lithium chai saw and always leave the batts fully charged, it's lasted 10 years with a fair bit of use without problems.