I'm looking to acquire a power station to power my home during grid outages.
I don't need to drive any 240vac loads, since I figured out how to drive the one essential 240vac load, the submersible well pump, from 120vac using a transformer, as discussed ad-inifnitum in this inaccurately-named thread: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...-12vdc-120vac-inverter-attached-to-ev.209598/
So I should be able to get buy with a sub-$1000 model, but which size and which manufacturer ?
Another factor is that I have a 40kWh battery sitting in my driveway. My previous solution was a 1000watt 12vdc->120vac inverter connected to the EV. This was inadequate because of insufficient instantaneous power capability (see below), but it could still do a nice job of keeping the power station topped-up if a grid outage appears likely to last more than a few hours. So the kWh rating of the power station is of minor importance. The main factor is the instantaneous power it can provide.
The EV-connected 1000 watt inverter did fine except for two things: the well pump, and the refrigerator's auto-defrost. My transformer rig to run the well draws about 1200 watts, but only for infrequent short bursts. I'm not sure how much the refrigerator auto-defrost draws, but I know the 1000 watt inverter couldn't handle it, even absent other loads. I'm feeling pretty confident the Ecoflow Delta 2 Max (or Delta 3 Max) could handle my needs. It claims to be able to provide 3400 watts in "x-boost" mode. This should cover all the miscellaneous loads that the 1000 watt inverter could readily handle, plus whatever auto-defrost uses (but it can't be that much more than 1000 watts, can it ?), and the well pump. Apparently x-boost drops the output voltage, but I think that's ok (the well pump is rated down to 200vac, so the 120vac can drop almost to 100).
But maybe I could get by with one of the Ecoflow's that only provides 1800 watts (still can x-boost to 3000+) for $500 or so. Or maybe it's silly to pinch pennies.
I also wonder about the options from other manufacturers. The BLUETTI Elite 200 V2 seems to be the comparable offering from that maker. Jackery's website is so full of popups and other nonsense that I can't even figure out what they have.
I don't need to drive any 240vac loads, since I figured out how to drive the one essential 240vac load, the submersible well pump, from 120vac using a transformer, as discussed ad-inifnitum in this inaccurately-named thread: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...-12vdc-120vac-inverter-attached-to-ev.209598/
So I should be able to get buy with a sub-$1000 model, but which size and which manufacturer ?
Another factor is that I have a 40kWh battery sitting in my driveway. My previous solution was a 1000watt 12vdc->120vac inverter connected to the EV. This was inadequate because of insufficient instantaneous power capability (see below), but it could still do a nice job of keeping the power station topped-up if a grid outage appears likely to last more than a few hours. So the kWh rating of the power station is of minor importance. The main factor is the instantaneous power it can provide.
The EV-connected 1000 watt inverter did fine except for two things: the well pump, and the refrigerator's auto-defrost. My transformer rig to run the well draws about 1200 watts, but only for infrequent short bursts. I'm not sure how much the refrigerator auto-defrost draws, but I know the 1000 watt inverter couldn't handle it, even absent other loads. I'm feeling pretty confident the Ecoflow Delta 2 Max (or Delta 3 Max) could handle my needs. It claims to be able to provide 3400 watts in "x-boost" mode. This should cover all the miscellaneous loads that the 1000 watt inverter could readily handle, plus whatever auto-defrost uses (but it can't be that much more than 1000 watts, can it ?), and the well pump. Apparently x-boost drops the output voltage, but I think that's ok (the well pump is rated down to 200vac, so the 120vac can drop almost to 100).
But maybe I could get by with one of the Ecoflow's that only provides 1800 watts (still can x-boost to 3000+) for $500 or so. Or maybe it's silly to pinch pennies.
I also wonder about the options from other manufacturers. The BLUETTI Elite 200 V2 seems to be the comparable offering from that maker. Jackery's website is so full of popups and other nonsense that I can't even figure out what they have.
Last edited:
