Earlier this month, EcoFlow officially launched in South Africa with three new models. Photo: Supplied
Portable power stations suitable for camping and the outdoors have grown in popularity over the past couple of years as rolling blackouts intensified. There’s no shortage of brands available, including Jackery, Gizzu, Power4Less, Bluetti, and Magneto.
Earlier this month, EcoFlow officially launched in South Africa with three new models. Previously, the brand was available through distributors, with international plug points, so an adaptor was needed to use their products in this country.
EcoFlow is now selling portable power stations equipped with South African plug points, has a support channel and plans to open an office in Waterfall City, Gauteng.
Its range includes: the River 2 with a 300W output and 256Wh capacity; the River 2 Max with 500W output and 512Wh capacity and the high-end Delta 2.
The Mail & Guardian reviewed the Delta 2, with a 1 024Wh/1kWh battery capacity, which can be expanded up to 3kWh, and has a total output of 1 800W (pure sine wave), but through its X-Boost mode, goes up to 2 400W.
The units have high-capacity lithium-ion phosphate batteries, which the company says last up to 3 000 full charge cycles until they hit 80% capacity. It has four USB-A ports with two fast-charging ones; two 100W USB-C fast-charging ports; two three-pin plug points; two two-pin plugs and a 12V car charging port. It also supports Bluetooth and wi-fi connections — and you can pair the app to it.
The unit itself can be recharged from a wall socket, through a car’s 12V connector, or with solar panels, available separately. Inside the box, you get the portable battery, an AC charging cable, a car charging cable, a user manual, a warranty card and an app starter guide.
EcoFlow boldly states that the Delta 2 and River 2 series have the “fastest charging speed in the industry”. This means it will be fully recharged to 100% in less than two hours, using its X-Stream fast-charging capabilities.
I put this to the test. When I received the unit, it had 30% power and, within 55 minutes, it had recharged to 100%. For the purpose of testing, I drained it to 1% (although it is not recommended to drain a lithium-ion battery to flat if you want to prolong its life), and within 50 minutes it had recharged to 80%, getting to 100% in 80 minutes.
The LCD screen is pretty accurate with its estimates of when the battery will be charged to 100%. Being able to recharge a 1kWh battery in less than 2 hours is ideal for stage six rolling blackouts because it ensures it can be fully charged before the next cut.
I tested a few appliances with the Delta 2, including a 1 100W hair dryer that used 9% of the battery, and then a more powerful 1 600W hair dryer that used 4% of the battery — because my hair dried faster.
I also did multiple loads of laundry in a washing machine. For a quick-30 load with extra spin, which took 37 minutes to do a cycle, it used 9% of the battery, consistently for all loads.
You can also see the number of watts being used in real time via the LCD display.
I also plugged it into my 65” 4K TV for 30 minutes and it used 10% of power. With my 850W microwave plugged in, it used 2% of the battery for heating up food in 1 minute.
I connected it to an air conditioner for 30 minutes and it went from 46% down to 1%. I wouldn’t do this again, though. Using a battery-powered fan would be more economical in the heat.
I didn’t test appliances such as a kettle and an airfryer because of how much power they would draw. However, using the 1 800W as a guideline will help you decide what you can connect to it.
Linking the app to the Delta 2 unit is straightforward, however, I used the battery as a portable one, so monitoring it didn’t really help me. But, if you have it wired to your DB board, you might be interested in monitoring those stats. I have a solar set-up wired to my house and therefore couldn’t connect the Delta 2 to it.
The dashboard will provide additional info once linked to a DB board, such as power from the grid or back-up power, and options for which rooms to switch to the battery back-up when there is no power.
The app is useful if you want to change the max 1 200W charging speed, and it calculates how long it will take to recharge if reduced. It can also adjust the car input from 4/6/8A, and lets you choose the charge and discharge levels.
You can set the auto-timeout levels on the app between 30 minutes and 24 hours and in between, or never, including a screen timeout, AC timeout and 12V DC timeout. The app displays all the specifications for the unit so you don’t need to refer to the manual.
The Delta 2 is portable and weighs about 12kg. It has built-in grips on either side, so you can carry it around. The unit is pricey at R24 999.
It might be most suitable for those who are renting and cannot make permanent changes to the property or for those living in smaller apartments in developments that don’t allow generators or solar installations.
Considering the price, you need to weigh up what’s important to you. If it’s portability and being able to recharge it in the shortest amount of time before the next power cut — under two hours is tough to beat — then this is for you.
EcoFlow offers a five-year warranty on the unit.
The Delta 2 can be purchased directly on the EcoFlow website.
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