The Ecoflow Delta 1300 is one of the highest-capacity portable power stations. It is the device that can fulfill your power needs during a short blackout, and it can recharge your electronics at the camping site or run small and medium-sized appliances on a tailgating.
It supplies the highest max power output compared to may in its competition. To access this power, there are different outlets provided on the unit. The versatility of power outlets offers the ability to power various kinds of appliances at the same time.
Another attractive thing about this solar generator is its charging time, where most units take about 8 to 15 hours to get fully charged; this unit only takes 2 to 5 hours, depending on the charging method.
In terms of build quality, the hard plastic makes it robust and sturdy. It can easily take a beating. Moreover, the friendly user interface makes it very convenient and easy to use. The unit is portable and weighs about 30 pounds; with that weight, it is not exactly portable, but with the help of a friend, it can be easily moved wherever you want it.
The outer case is of good quality, but it isn’t rated to prevent water spills and rain, so you will need to be careful about that. Unlike other units, this power station will require next to zero maintenance, and without any use, the battery can store the electricity for a year. It won’t create any air pollution, so there is that. No emissions mean that you can use it inside the house without having to worry about anything.
Table of Contents
Overview of EcoFlow Brand
The foundation of Ecoflow was done only a few years back, and this company doesn’t have years of experience under its belt. It was established in the year of 2016 with a vision to provide energy-efficient, sustainable, and low-cost power products globally.
It was the September of 2019 when the company launched its Ecoflow Delta series. So, the EcoFlow Delta power stations are new in the market. Even the product is new, and the consumers started admiring it due to its quality. It helped them to gather great publicity over a very short time period, the fruit of that was increased sales.
Features and Functionality
Construction and Layout
The design is simple and yet attractive; all the outlets and buttons are easily accessible. On the top of the unit, it has much open space on which you can keep your laptop or a smartphone. You can also put another Ecoflow Delta 1300 there very conveniently.
To prevent scratches when moving it from one place to another, the bottom is coated with rubber. It is especially helpful on uneven surfaces. The unit contains an LCD screen, charging ports, and power outlets.
The front panel consists of 6 USB ports to charge the small electronics. Two of them are USB-C types, while the remaining four are USB-A types. It also has an LCD screen and a power-on switch on the front, whereas the rear panel has six AC outlets to power the AC appliances. Below the AC ports, it has a 12 DC carport, from where you can charge the battery of your vehicle.
The unit has fan vents on both sides to keep the battery cool. On one of the sides, there are three ports to charge the battery; you can charge it from the solar panel, from a vehicle, or a carport.
LCD screen
Where this unit stands out from other similar power stations is its LCD screen. It is bigger and brighter. It shows the remaining battery percentage. It also shows the power which is utilized at any moment and the incoming power when it is charging.
Another convenient thing is that it shows the remaining runtime. When there is nothing connected to the unit, the runtime shows 99 hours, and when it starts powering the appliances based on the consumption of power, the runtime will be displayed.
Battery Capacity
EcoFlow Delta 1300 features a 1260 Wh battery. It provides 1800 running watts, which is almost close to the power you get from the AC wall outlet. This means you can run most of the appliances in your house, which you can run from a wall outlet.
The battery used is a Li-ion battery which has many benefits over conventional alkaline batteries. They require very little maintenance, are smaller in size, and offer a longer lifespan.
Most solar generators in this range offer the 500 full charging cycles, and this means for 500 cycles, the battery capacity will stay maximum and then it reduces to 80%. But, in this case, Ecoflow claims to provide 800 full cycles, but after that, the battery capacity won’t reduce to 80%; it will reduce to 60%.
Charging Speed
When it comes to charging, the charging cable doesn’t come with the power brick. The power is directly fed to the inverter, and this makes the charging process very fast. It can be charged from either a wall outlet or car outlets or through solar panels. All the cables required for all three types of charging come with the unit.
The charging is fast, and the battery reaches its full capacity in under 2 hours when charged from a wall outlet. That is almost 10 times faster than most of the models in the market. During an adventure trip, you generally recharge it with the solar panels, and it supports the 400W of input through solar panels.
So, when you charge using 3 or 4 solar panels, the charging time reduces considerably. The lowest time in which you can charge the unit using solar panels will be 3 to 4 hours.
It can also be charged through a carport, and it is useful when you are on the go and don’t have time to charge it through solar panels. When charging through a car, it will take about 10 hours to get to its full capacity.
You can charge it fully in just 2 hours but when it is completely depleted, let it cool down for some time; otherwise, it will give you a warning of high temperature.
Inverter
The problem with most of the budget portable power stations is a reduction in their efficiency and battery life due to the use of a modified sine wave inverter. It is used as it is cheaper, so it cuts down the cost, which is not the best solution.
The use of a modified sine wave inverter will result in increased heat generation by appliances. These problems don’t appear when a pure sine wave inverter is used. In a pure sine wave inverter, the time period between two consecutive recharges will be more than the modified sine wave inverter. Means you get increased runtime.
Another problem is the electrical noise; when a modified sine wave inverter is used, it generates the buzz, it also reduces the efficiency. This problem and the ones discussed above won’t be present in this solar generator as it uses a pure sine wave inverter.
The pure sine wave converter in EcoFlow Delta 1300 provides 1800 running watts and 3300 starting watts. This inverter is capable of pulling out the rated watts continuously from the battery, but it will increase the temperature and reduce the runtime to 1 hour. Still, it is possible to do that.
Noise
This is a battery pack which means the noise will be very less compared to generators. The main source of noise in a power station is the buzz due to the inverter and the noise of fans.
The noise due to the inverter is solved as it doesn’t use a modified inverter but, the fans still generate the noise. The temperature of the battery will rise quite a bit when it supplies power continuously, so the fan needs to work hard, which results in noise. The sound from these fans is higher than the computer fan noise.
How are the customer service and warranty?
Ecoflow offers a generous warranty period of 2 years. If there are any problems, then they will be most likely to surface during this time period. If you don’t face any problems during the warranty period, then there is very little chance of any future problems.
If we talk about customer support, then it is not that good. As many users have stated that it is not an easy task to get a hold of customer service.
Conclusion
Its competitive price point, battery capacity, and the use of a pure sine wave inverter provide the value for money. This unit is not intended as a backup solution for whole house during medium to long power outages.
No doubt it can power most of the small to medium appliances in the house but not for long when many appliances are connected simultaneously.
This power station is best for tailgating or camping use where the power requirement is moderate. Besides that, this is an incredible device with great technical specifications and a classic sturdy design with a matte texture.
This solar generator gets charged to its full capacity in less than two hours when charged from a wall outlet. This fast-charging capability, when combined with all the advantages described, makes it a solid purchase.
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