I found the article that I had referenced earlier:
The Ecoflow Delta 2 that they tested seemed to have a pretty long transfer time, comparatively speaking.
It’s a useful read, because it gets into the nuances. As it demonstrates, there’s more to it than what you might imagine. I like how they provide a baseline of what they claim is one of the best UPS’s on the market for comparison.
The article is from a year ago. Judging from the specs on the Delta 3 Pro, I would expect it would perform better.
If brownout is the issue of concern, though, that $13 widget you posted might be all you need to retrofit a workable brownout configuration, especially if you’re already saddled with a somewhat marginal UPS. I mean, the concept seems easy enough, which is a good start. Whether they executed on the concept well is another matter. Maybe someone somewhere has given it adequate scrutiny to better judge the matter.
I hope that helps! You now know as much, or more, than I do.
Thanks for the info. That’s a good read if I’m an electrical engineer lol.
Portable power station is a fairly new product, its primary function is to provide portable power as a giant batter bank. UPS functionality seems to be an after thought, at least as now.
Computers/Servers tests aren’t dealing with step motors as 3D printers do. I don’t know if those tests can be applied to 3D printers. Most of them are simulating blackout, not brownout.
My 10 years old APC UPS fried my old laptop during a brownout, I know for sure older APC UPS don’t have brownout protection.
In any case, I picked up a Bluetti ac180 yesterday along with couple of brownout protectors.
EcoFlow lose out my money because it’s questionable support. They reply quick but not answering a simple question and dragging its feet is a red flag.
I use an Ecoflow delta 1 to run a 350 watt (nominal) bed slinger at shows and easily managed 6 hours almost continuous use. Last time it was in a marquee at around 24 Deg ambient and I finished with 10% juice remaining. I guess a colder ambient would use more juice though.
This particular protector doesn’t work for UPS, at least it doesn’t work fast enough. My place had a brief voltage fluctuation that triggered the dedicated computer UPS into backup mode and woke up Delta 2 (not printing at the time). But the surge protector didn’t cut off the power as it should have.
I have the Anker 767, I have 2 because the 1st one wasn’t charging well from solar so they sent me a second one. Not gonna complain. But both will charge from the grid and they will switch from battery to grid or back or form solar… and not mess up my printers. My house is old and the power here is really bad so I went solar to run my stuff reliably and safely… I’m also addicted to taking power from the sky.
I tried Ecoflow fist with a few little systems and found the same CS issues as you. They sent me used stuff with missing parts and were so slow to send the RMA and refund, so I went with Anker.
I still will suggest making your own system if you have the skill or courage because these all-in-one systems get a little iffy with their claims.
How well does it handle brownouts though? That’s his big concern.
If failure on brownouts is the primary concern, then look for (or build) a double-conversion system, because that should be 100% guaranteed not to be adversely affected. For anything else that’s consumer facing, who knows? Even the testing I did with a variable transformer may not adequately simulate some arbitrary brownout waveform coming down your power line that might theoretically befuddle some other equipment.
I’m looking at the big blackfriday discounts today on eccoflow and noticing that the Delta Pro Ultra allegedly has 0ms delay in cutting over. Hook it up to their smart panel, and you’re golden.
If you are at all electrically inclined, lifep04 batteries have fallen to about $100/kwh and a 7kw inverter must be under $1000. So you are paying a lot for that unit’s fancy case.
Yeah, something I had neglected to consider previously was the amount of watts lost while idling if the AC inverter is turned on. Most often, the larger the inverter, the larger the waste. Victron does make a family of inverters that have very low idle power losses (some as little as 1 watt), and so the advantage of a DIY is that you can pick one of the highly efficient Victron inverters to go with it. Unfortunately, none of the typical power station vendors publish their standby powerloss numbers, and very few people think to measure it, so it goes largely unreported.
Ecoflow’s new river 3 plus looks interesting. It has a 10ms transfer switching time, and it can also plug into a computer via USB to tell the computer to power down, just like a real UPS can. Presently a $209 promotion on amazon, including a free 40w solar panel, or the same price without the solar panel. It can run up to 600w continuous with a 1200w surge capability. It’s a little more expensive than the Anker C300, but for that small amount extra it’s a lot more capable. I ordered a couple yesterday, and if anyone is interested I’ll measure the idle wattage after they arrive and report back.
