EcoFlow 800W Alternator - Who Has Used It?

how did you run the cable?

 

I had mine installed by a 4x4 shop. They didn't provide me with notes.

But I can tell you that the battery cable was fed through the firewall, under the drivers side sill plates, and I had them mount the adapter in the back seat area (seats folded down, drivers side rear wall behind where the seat back would be).

 

I ran my wires along the passenger side up into the bed

 

I was curious about the EcoFlow charger but their tech support said it was not compatible with the 3rd Gen's smart alternator...is this not the case? I don't believe he understood what I was asking to be honest.

 

I had issues with the alternator on my Gen 4 and the Ecoflow Delta 2 battery. The Tacoma alternator does not produce clean power and there for I purchased the ecoflow smart alternator. In any case, the Ecoflow alternator charger is separate from the tacoma alternator, they dont interact (I leave mine off ) What exactly is your question?

 

In a 3rd gen or any vehicle that has a smart alternator if you were connecting a dc to dc charger you would run a wire to an ignition source. This would tell the dc to dc to turn on and off. It appears the ecoflow does not have this and was curious if it would indeed work on the Tacoma. Thanks for your feedback!

 

OK, I have no experience with that.

 

Maybe with having to physically turn it on it each time it takes that issue out of play. Thanks for trying to answer my question!

 

There is the always on hack that is documented on this site for the tacoma alternator charger if that is what you are referring to. Other wise, you just turn on the switch. But the Ecoflow alternator can be turned on and off via the app. I live it off when I am not overlanding.

 

Just got my Delta 3 plus delivered. Got it on sale for 619$ with the free travel bag. Will be testing the Gen 3 400w inverter to see if it works with the new model tomorrow. Probably won't so here's to hoping this 800W alternator goes on sale again soon!

 

Doesn’t it charge much faster with the alternator device? Seems inefficient to convert from DC to AC and back to DC.

 

Yes, DC-AC-DC would be less efficient, but it will charge at something like up to 1500W AC. With the alternator charger it's 800W, and with 12V directly it's only around 100W. If you're driving the difference in efficiency is negligible.

I suspect the alternator charger is doing a DC-DC conversion bumping up the voltage so it can charge faster on the DC input. So there's a little efficiency loss there too.

 

I got the ecoflow alternator charger for 178.00, which was a crazy deal after all my discounts. The fact that I can charge the my Deltas at 800 is glorious, also reverse charging is magic since I Offroad often. Although I have my emergency battery jumper but still great to have.

I am also curious if the Delta 3s can charge from the Toyota alternator, I never got my Deltas 2 to be able to accept the power from it on my Gen 4.

 

How do you get the discounts?

 

Just checked and confirmed the new DELTA 3 does NOT charge with the Toyota inverter will be getting the ecoflow inverter soon!

 

I have one of the very first batches of the EF 800W Alt chargers. Ordered it the night it dropped and I installed it within weeks of ordering on my '17 3rd Gen.

Not a single issue charging my Delta 2 units with it at full 800 watts, in addition to 200 watts (potential) of solar at the same time.

Actual solar reaches about 160-180 watts max due to being mounted flat above the bed rack. Pulling in ~960+ watts while driving really charges things quick!

I have a Delta 2 unit behind each front seat and how I have them connected is like this:

Passengers side is charged via solar as well as the EF Alt charger. Fridge is plugged into that Delta 2 12v DC port.

Driver side Delta 2 AC input is plugged into the Passenger side Delta 2 AC output. This Delta 2 is my accessory bitch. Basically all USB charging, DeWalt battery charging, elec kettle, elec cook pot/pan, 100 watt elec blanket, 1000 watt water bucket heat (for shower) and anything else I want to run of it.

When this Driver side needs a recharge, I just turn on the Pass side AC output with my app and charge it with at least 500 watts, but can go as high as 1200 watts no issue.

Now, I also have a Delta 2 Smart Extra Battery that I can hook up to my Driver side Delta 2 via the side DC charge port.

I don't normally need the Smart Extra battery, but it gives me options.

So far this system works slick and flawlessly.

 

I have been using one for about 6 months, mostly for camping trips to keep my EFDelta2 charged up. I chose to run the cable along the frame rail and then into the cab through a floor grommet on the passenger side rear seat foot area. Routed the cable under the carpet from there and then up behind the rear seats. It has worked perfectly for my needs. I turned the max charge rate down to 400W (vs 800) as I spend a lot of time driving so it still charges up just fine and I figured it couldn't hurt to give the alternator a break. I'm sure I could have saved $100 or $200 using something else and sourcing all the individual pieces. Still, for me, the convenience and flexibility (reverse charging as an example) were worth the slightly higher price point. I got it on sale w/the battery, I didn't pay "list price".

 

The charger sometimes goes on sale below 299.00 when you purchase it with something else. I purchased it with a delta2 which had been on sale for a bit but then they added the charger for 199.00 minutes 15.91 from ecoflow points... I had to take that deal.

 

I almost pulled the trigger this past Mon (or was it Tues) for the members only Flash sale at $299 for the EF 800w alt charger


I tried to get my EcoCredit converted $50 coupon to work, but it didn't give me anywhere to apply it, so I bailed.

I want to suitcase one of these EF 800w alt chargers in a HF Apache case and put an Anderson connector between the fuse and battery terminal ends. Then make a set of clamp on connectors with an Anderson connector to allow quick temp setup in any of my other rigs without a full install.

 

They have refurbished units on eBay on sale for $240 right now. Seems like a good enough deal, so I bought one. https://www.ebay.com/itm/146336056775

I still think a 120VAC pure sine inverter would be more versatile since it would work with any battery in the future. The efficiency loss from DC-AC-DC is small enough, and the alternator charger is still doing an internal DC-AC-DC conversion to step up the voltage. The alternator charger is probably easier to install and more convenient. It sounds like it automatically senses voltage so it only runs when ignition is on, and also avoids overloading the alternator.

With an inverter you have to oversize the inverter so it has headroom to charge the Ecoflow battery without overloading the AC output, and you have to oversize the wiring so you don't get voltage drop that triggers the under voltage lockout on the inverter. You might also want an ignition wire so you don't accidentally drain the starter battery. The Ecoflow alternator charger should avoid those issues.

Another benefit to the Ecoflow alternator charger is that it's much smaller than a similar power pure sine inverter. I think I'll mount it under the driver's seat, and it doesn't look like a big inverter would fit there easily. I sold a Xantrex 2000w pure sine inverter a while back because it was huge.

It's unfortunate that they can't just build in a higher current 12V input into the Ecoflow battery. They just use the solar input which is designed for higher voltage and relatively low current.