EcoFlow DELTA 3 Classic

[slowworm]

I've been looking at the various power stations again but trying to get something to cover our essential needs rather than an expensive setup that may not get used fully.

As we work from home it will only need to power a router (possibly Starlink), charge a laptop and charge mobile phones. Something that lasts a few days would also make sense.

I noticed an advert for a 'classic' EcoFlow device that seems to have bucked the trend of offering an increasing array of connections buy offering a cheaper but more limited device.

EcoFlow DELTA 3 Classic | Pre-Launch & Early Bird Perk - EcoFlow UK

Lock in your EcoFlow DELTA 3 Classic early: 1 kWh portable power station with 1800W output, 80% charge in 45 mins, ultra-quiet operation and 10-year lifespan.

uk.ecoflow.com

Does anyone have a view on this? It is rated at 1024Whr. We would only need two 240v plugs, and only need a single USB-C socket. The lower solar input is fine as we may not get round to getting a solar panel for it. I also don't think we need the option of adding another battery as we could get by for a couple of days without needing much. It might be better to look for a 2nd device if we wanted more capacity.

The cost is £450 which seems reasonable considering the warranty. I'm not sure if the price will be more or less when it goes on sale, does anyone have experience of their early bird offers?

 

[British Red]

Ecoflow are reputable & towards the upper tier of manufacturers. £450 isn't bad for the spec but do bear in mind that when you are using mains power, there will be a notable drain just to power the inverter. You wouldn't be able to run your inverter for 48hours but could charge your devices & run your inverter intermittently. In most rural areas now if mains power goes, mobile coverage is dead within 2 hours (assuming a widespread outage) & home phone immediately unless you have FTTP or Starlink VOIP

Hope that helps

 

[slowworm]

The plan would be to just run the router when needed. We've started to have a few more unexpected power cuts, i.e. not when it's been stormy. At some point they may start to catch up on the maintenance in the area which which will mean more short notice cuts. Although we're flexible when it comes to work there's a few hours a week when power is essential, online meetings etc.

So the main use would only be for an hour or two. When we have another large outage we would use it sparingly to rearrange things and find out what's been going on.

 

[GreyCat]

Have you worked out power consumption and required run time then worked backwards?

Starlink draws up to 40W. Adds up quite quickly if on all the time. (That's rated value although mine seems to use more like 30W on the Ecoflow output monitor)

However...... Starlink can be powered up and down quickly, and the Ecoflow can recharge from solar or a gennie. You say its for bursts of power not all the time so all depends on how many days you want really.

What I would say from my camper van experience is that you never regret having a bit more battery capacity than you originally planned for.....

GC

 

[slowworm]

Have you worked out power consumption and required run time then worked backwards?

Sort of. However, its main use is to cover the unexpected which we can only make an educated guess at. I have asked what other people do with their battery banks but don't get many replies, do many people really suffer regular power cuts lasting over a day?

I've based our need on the assumption the router would draw 100w in use. But as our work is flexible a worse case scenario would only mean we need power for 2-3 hours in a day. Even that can be covered partly by our existing phone battery banks and mobile phone data.

Whilst more storage would be useful I'm trying to avoid spending large amounts on something that may not get used.

I also find the offers available confuse matters as I can buy a working 1kWh battery bank cheaper than and extra 1kWh extra battery!

 

[slowworm]

I've just seen the Delta 3 1500 is available for just £100 more at the moment. So, for £100 more you get 50% more capacity and more connections. Think I'll go for that.

I am finding all the offers confusing, it seems you can buy whole units more cheaply than a lower capacity spare battery.

 

[Stew]

I've just seen the Delta 3 1500 is available for just £100 more at the moment. So, for £100 more you get 50% more capacity and more connections. Think I'll go for that.

I am finding all the offers confusing, it seems you can buy whole units more cheaply than a lower capacity spare battery.

Glad it's not just me that finds it confusing. Puts me off buying as I'm unsure if I;ve missed something/not got the best choice.

 

[slowworm]

The site really needs a comparison tool, it would help if each device had a standard specs table but I'm having to search through each page to find the specs and some are missing.

I was looking again and the slightly cheaper Delta 2 seems to do everything we need that the Delta 3 Classic does.

Annoyingly, despite setting up an account and getting access to member only offers the Delta 2 is £80 cheaper on Amazon.

 

[GreyCat]

It is confusing, but also you need to watch for offers.

At the time I bought my Ecoflow Delta with 2 extra batteries (6kWh total), it was on a Black Friday deal on Amazon and much lower price than on the Ecoflow website. Even though it came direct from Ecoflow (but fulfilled by Amazon). I later got some solar panels for it in the post-Christmas lull (late Jan/early Feb).

I also bought at a time when there was not world turmoil. Given that dynamic pricing is a thing these days then timing can be important- prices can vary considerably during the year.

I tend to "watch" big ticket items I am interested in to see how the price varies, pretty much all my IT and electronic equipment was purchased when the price was in the low part of the cycle. So long as you are patient (and can wait), you can save quite a bit on the RRP.

GC

 

[slowworm]

It is confusing, but also you need to watch for offers.

I am watching the offers, that's why I create an account as I'd read you get member offers.

I had expected the prices to go up but not seen any movement yet. I have been sent an offer as I've left something in my basket for a couple of days, so worth noting.

I may well end up waiting for a better offer once I've managed to work out what we need.