Charging a portable [solar] power station using the California Beach inverter.

[arcadelt]

Has anyone attempted to charge a portable power station using the 300W inverter plug at the base of the drivers seat? I am considering an EcoFlow power station and wondered if that was possible, but the linked YouTube video (and a subsequent one on a workaround) indicates that this particular power station requires a pure sine wave with a distortion rate of 10% or less. I'm guessing the California inverter does not meet these requirements, but would be interested to hear if anyone has found otherwise, either with a power station from this brand or any other:

 

[vmaxkiddy]

There’s no need, an Ecoflow pack can be charged from the 12 volt sockets, a cable was supplied with mine.

EcoFlow Car Charging Cable - EcoFlow UK

At 1.5m, the Car Charging Cable with XT60 connector connects to your EcoFlow power station through your car cigarette outlet. If you’re on a road trip or away in a camper van you can use the cable to add juice to your EcoFlow power station from your vehicle.

uk.ecoflow.com

 

[johnyboy]

More efficient to use the 12v method as you are not double converting the voltage

 

[Georgeo]

The Beach does not have an inverter. That plug only works EHU.

 

[arcadelt]

The Beach does not have an inverter. That plug only works EHU.

Not in Australia apparently.

 

[arcadelt]

There’s no need, an Ecoflow pack can be charged from the 12 volt sockets, a cable was supplied with mine.

EcoFlow Car Charging Cable - EcoFlow UK

At 1.5m, the Car Charging Cable with XT60 connector connects to your EcoFlow power station through your car cigarette outlet. If you’re on a road trip or away in a camper van you can use the cable to add juice to your EcoFlow power station from your vehicle.

uk.ecoflow.com

How many watts and how far do you have to drive?

 

[arcadelt]

More efficient to use the 12v method as you are not double converting the voltage

How is it "double converting". The EcoFlow Delta 2 (for example) has an up to 1200W AC input.

 

[WelshGas]

How is it "double converting". The EcoFlow Delta 2 (for example) has an up to 1200W AC input.

If using an inverter to charge then -
12v leisure battery to 240v via inverter to charge Ecoflow which will then convert the 240v input to 12v to charge the Ecoflow Lithium battery.

Or 12v Leisure Battery to 12v Ecoflow Lithium battery.

Each conversion 12v-240v-12v wastes power as it is only 90% or less efficient.

 

[yossarian]

The Delta 2 is based around a 16S LiFePO4 battery pack ie 51.2V.

 

[arcadelt]

If using an inverter to charge then -
12v leisure battery to 240v via inverter to charge Ecoflow which will then convert the 240v input to 12v to charge the Ecoflow Lithium battery.

Or 12v Leisure Battery to 12v Ecoflow Lithium battery.

Each conversion 12v-240v-12v wastes power as it is only 90% or less efficient.

Does your advice still apply is speed is of greater need than efficiency? I would presume even with losses in the system, charging using a 300W inverter while driving would be quicker than charging from a 10W cigarette lighter socket. Is my assumption incorrect?

 

[dspuk]

...this particular power station requires a pure sine wave with a distortion rate of 10% or less.

Apparently the 6.1 inverter has a flat sine wave. I don't have the machine to check that but it does feel a little odd to suck power out of the on board battery to put into a portable one. Guess there is a specific use case to support that.

 

[arcadelt]

Apparently the 6.1 inverter has a flat sine wave. I don't have the machine to check that but it does feel a little odd to suck power out of the on board battery to put into a portable one. Guess there is a specific use case to support that.

While driving, not when stationery. We travel long distances in Australia for alternator charging, and have ample sunshine too for stationary solar charging.

 

[yossarian]

Does your advice still apply is speed is of greater need than efficiency? I would presume even with losses in the system, charging using a 300W inverter while driving would be quicker than charging from a 10W cigarette lighter socket. Is my assumption incorrect?

I don't see any way to throttle the device at 300W. Your inverter will most likely just go into overload mode if it doesn't release magic smoke. All this assuming that the limitation in post 4 doesn't apply to your Australian vehicle.

Edit: inaccurate removed.

 

[WelshGas]

Does your advice still apply is speed is of greater need than efficiency? I would presume even with losses in the system, charging using a 300W inverter while driving would be quicker than charging from a 10W cigarette lighter socket. Is my assumption incorrect?

The On board 12v sockets are fused at 15 or 20 amps, so that is the maximum they can provide .
The on board inverter can supply a maximum of about 2 amps at 240v.
It all depends on the Ecoflow specifications as to which , 12v or 240v will give the best charging .

 

[arcadelt]

I don't see any way to throttle the device at 300W. Your inverter will most likely just go into overload mode if it doesn't release magic smoke. All this assuming that the limitation in post 4 doesn't apply to your Australian vehicle.

Do you mean limit the charging to match the inverter output? That can be done in the EcoFlow's app.

 

[arcadelt]

The On board 12v sockets are fused at 15 or 20 amps, so that is the maximum they can provide .
The on board inverter can supply a maximum of about 2 amps at 240v.
It all depends on the Ecoflow specifications as to which , 12v or 240v will give the best charging .

No sure what specs you would need to make that determination, but this is a summary:

 

[Georgeo]

Not in Australia apparently.

Opps sorry.

 

[WelshGas]

No sure what specs you would need to make that determination, but this is a summary:

View attachment 115964

AC charging 1200w = 5 amps at 240 v but the vehicle inverter will be limited to 1.4 amps at 240v and 6 amps at 50+v of the Lithium battery.

Solar charging = 500w = 15 amps maximum and 10 amps when converted to the 50+ v of the Lithium battery.

DC charging = 1100w = presumably at 12v then upto ? 90 amps but I presume if Ecover supply a 12v socket charging lead then this would be restricted to less than 20 amps.

Based on those specifications the vehicle inverter would be working at maximum and likely to over heat and cut out.

Solar and DC charging is the best way.

Disclaimer - I'm not an autoelectrian

 

[arcadelt]

AC charging 1200w = 5 amps at 240 v but the vehicle inverter will be limited to 1.4 amps at 240v and 6 amps at 50+v of the Lithium battery.

Solar charging = 500w = 15 amps maximum and 10 amps when converted to the 50+ v of the Lithium battery.

DC charging = 1100w = presumably at 12v then upto ? 90 amps but I presume if Ecover supply a 12v socket charging lead then this would be restricted to less than 20 amps.

Based on those specifications the vehicle inverter would be working at maximum and likely to over heat and cut out.

Solar and DC charging is the best way.

Disclaimer - I'm not an autoelectrian

Despite the disclaimer, thanks for the information. Guess I'll need to consult a professional or undertake some real world testing. It's all moot though if the inverter is not pure sine wave, as it won’t work anyway, and that would need to be changed (if that was indeed a worthwhile pursuit). That said, Solar charging would be a no brainer when sitting at an off grid campsite.

 

[WelshGas]

Despite the disclaimer, thanks for the information. Guess I'll need to consult a professional or undertake some real world testing. It's all moot though if the inverter is not pure sine wave, as it won’t work anyway, and that would need to be changed (if that was indeed a worthwhile pursuit). That said, Solar charging would be a no brainer when sitting at an off grid campsite.

Solar would still work while driving if you have roof top panels.

 

[Kayleigh]

Despite the disclaimer, thanks for the information. Guess I'll need to consult a professional or undertake some real world testing. It's all moot though if the inverter is not pure sine wave, as it won’t work anyway, and that would need to be changed (if that was indeed a worthwhile pursuit). That said, Solar charging would be a no brainer when sitting at an off grid campsite.

Some real world testing would surely be a good idea! However, I do wonder if you are trying to find a solution to something that’s not a problem.
You are in Australia with an abundance on sunshine and have solar panels. You are travelling long distances so your leisure battery will be fully charged. If desperate to put some charge into the EcoFlow while moving, you just plug it into the 12v socket to give it a boost and then plug into the solar panels at your destination.
That’s what I would do.

Edit: I’m not an auto electrician either.

 

[dspuk]

While driving, not when stationery. We travel long distances in Australia for alternator charging, and have ample sunshine too for stationary solar charging.

Makes sense. I think I saw someone discuss they did this for e-bike batteries. One assumes it becomes a play off between how fast your alternator can charge the batteries you are draining.

 

[arcadelt]

Solar would still work while driving if you have roof top panels.

Would only have room for one given other things we intend to put up there…and here we tend to park in the shade, so foldable panels are a better option for charging while stationary. Will need to consider the relative costs for the returns.

 

[Noxville]

Charging a delta mini works perfect on 12 v carplug and on the ocean inverter, but you cannot use the 300 watt at its maximum ….to much for longer period…. But you can clamp the charging input on the ecoflow to 240 Watt …. At least it will be twice as fast as the 12 volt socket charging option.

 

[arcadelt]

Charging a delta mini works perfect on 12 v carplug and on the ocean inverter, but you cannot use the 300 watt at its maximum ….to much for longer period…. But you can clamp the charging input on the ecoflow to 240 Watt …. At least it will be twice as fast as the 12 volt socket charging option.

Thank you @Noxville. So the inverter connection does NOT trip the EcoFlow as it did in the video?