VANLIFE POWER: Generator vs Ecoflow- which is better?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ธ.ค. 2022
- When we bought our first motorhome and wanted to head into the 'wilds' (we literally camped in a field), we bought a generator. We were convinced that it wasn't possible to tour Norway or the Alps or Croatia or a thousand other places without some sort of power-making machine.
In 4 years, we used it fewer than five times.
And that's not because we stayed on campsites. It's just that there are other ways to manage power.
In this week's video, I answer a question which caused a lively debate between myself and a friend of mine- do you NEED a generator to have off-grid adventures in your van?
We still don't agree, so here are the pros and cons- let me know what you think.
Learn more about motorhome generators here: www.wandering-bird.com/motorh...
If you'd like to try off-grid camping in your van, grab your FREE checklist here: wandering-bird.ck.page/3ccf5c...
Thanks to EcoFlow for providing my River 2 Max. All opinions remain my own.
If you'd like to take advantage of their Christmas offer, you can do so on this link: uk.ecoflow.com/pages/christma...
Or you can find it on Amazon here (aff link): amzn.to/3YBhPbn
Thanks for watching x
#vanlifeuk #motorhomes #lifeontheroad #ecoflow #SolarGenerator #PowerStation #Christmas2022 #christmasgifts
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ABOUT WANDERING BIRD
In 2018, I quit my job as an air traffic controller to travel in a van. That's adulting, right?
Since then, I've spent most of my time living in a motorhome, touring the UK and Europe, sometimes with my husband, sometimes with my daughter and sometimes enjoying solo female vanlife (well, with my dog, Mac!)
Wandering Bird was created to help motorhomers and campervanners make the most of their time on the road.
We share weekly tips, tricks and reviews to encourage and inspire your next adventure, whether you're a complete motorhoming beginner, or a more experienced owner looking for new ideas or places to visit.
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Thanks for watching!
It's basically a small leisure battery in a box, with its own inverter, solar controller and charger, so rather than having a large heavy box floating around the van it makes more sense to use the money to upgrade the van system.
Hi Kat, just bought that Eco Flow. Brilliant price at the moment. Thanks I’m now ready for any power cuts at home as well as use in the camper. Merry Christmas
Cool stuff girl,cool !
very informative as always. Will probably get a powerpack at some point. Right now want the power to be in the system to run the heating system fan when on gas so going for a 2nd battery.
Much better idea.
Bought our ecoflow at the NEC and it's fantastic. 12v socket and USB chargers and 4 sockets. Highly recommend.
They seem very expensive for a 40ah battery with an 8A trickle charger, we already have a 50A B2B so for the money I could buy 110ah of lithium and have nearly three times the capacity with a fraction of the charge speed.
Yes!! Improve your leisure batteries and a suitable inverter.
I've got an Ecoflow-Pro .. really couldn't motorhome without it!!
I would always pick the River 2 Max over gas generators because they are easy to maintain and easy to move around.
I’ve watched this and the video on lithium batteries but quite honestly Kat, I find the whole concept of off gridding a complete mystery still! For an idiot such as I, could you do a video where you arrive on site and show us exactly what you do because my husband is so anti off grid as he says we couldn’t last a night! Ie, no telly no netflicks, no starlink, and he has a sleep pap machine which require a three pin ac mains feed. 😢. (That where I thought the eco flow would work)…Recently we were in a site that was metered and we used £6 a night on electric (which I found quite a shock given we only watched to in the dark and ran his sleep machine), but I feel that we could have explored the “free” option already on the Motorhome!! It’s like trudging through sand getting through to my hubby 😅!
With poor or zero solar in a UK winter why by something else that needs charging along with your onboard batteries? Three choices are run the engine, generator or hookup on a campsite or at home. Also the prices are ridiculous for what is a battery, a charger and an inverter in a box.
Pretty balanced video ,definitely a generator is best for winter imo simply because at the end of the day ,that's what is needed power to be generated, as you said there basically batteries with an inverter and few sockets , most good builds will already have good lithium or other batteries and inverters built into it , with a storage device for heavy power users off grid using say 50 ah in 24 hrs ,that would take a lot to replace . A lot depends on weather any said build already has a good system built in ,if it doesn't then yes a storage device may be benefit depending if you can charge it from a mains socket but that's the main thing I guess majority of people from experience won't be near mains ,yes you can charge while driving but not sure how long that would take to fully charge a heavily used storage device .you mentioned 10 hours , in summer its different again because solar is more beneficial ,I think there (storage device )good for remote work like building vans with no available power etc .
Great vid Kat. 👍
IMO it’s Old tech vs New Tech. Neither are worse or better neither are have both or one of them. The truth is in terms of power a good generators similar power can be cheaper than the portable power stations. I have used both. A 2000w Honda ‘silent’ generator is about £1100 but that is the most expensive version of those as you can buy as little as £300 -£400 for 2kw (2000w) diesel generator.
My Ecoflow Delta Flow Max gives 1600w but gives a boost to 2400w for 20 to 30mins for power products and is about £1400. The main difference for me is that the honda is heavier, has fuel so smells a bit, and whilst it says silent there is a buzzy continual noise (other cheaper brands are much louder) The Ecoflow is convenience and why is the Modern version because it is lighter and easy to power from your vehicle rather than fuel adding and there is no real start to setting up like the honda which is in the garage the ecoflow just connects is moved simply and instant power supplied. More and more I now leave my honda in the house garage and just keep the Ecoflow delta in my MH but It’s great to have both for back up.
Better off upgrading your onboard electrics with Lithium and solar. I have a small battery pack similar to the Ecoflow and its a useful device for sure. I mainly use it to power the 12v pump for the air awning or kayak, Also charges my laptop as well. Generators are old hat and really only needed if your away in winter and sat for a week without moving, such as a skiing trip. Nothing worse than hearing a 'silent' generator on a quiet campsite, they really are a pain.
I considered both and eventually went for the new Anker 767 because of the silent running.Great bit of kit especially with the early bird discount
Charging it thru solar panels is one of the many advantages of using the River 2 Max.
Hi, a great informative video. I wish I’d had my new little EcoFlow for a 12v electric blanket when my diesel heater failed a while back. They’re an invaluable bit of kit 😊👍🏻
Oh no! Why did it fail? And yes- I’m addicted to my electric blanket. It’s magical.
We are E-mountain biker, my wife & myself go off grid in our motorhome most weekends (when not working) & the biggest problem we have is getting more than one day out of a full charge on our E- bikes so we have to take our non E-bikes with us just to ride more than one day. I have been thinking about getting an Ecoflow to charge my 2 E- mountain bike (2 or 3 times each) & after doing some research I will need the biggest Ecoflow at a cost of around £3500 plus a big sola panel to try & keep it topped up. So I have been looking around at getting a silent running (94db) generator. as for the weight they are around the same (with a full tank of fuel) plus i will need a full fuel can to keep it topped up. At a cost of around £600 for the generator (depending on what one i go for?) plus fuel. So I have been thinking with the money I have left over I can get 2 more batteries for the E-mounting bikes as well as the generator & still have over £1000 to spend on the fuel. We will only be using it to charge the bikes as the motorhome runs 12V on every thing except for one 3 pin plug outlet that we have never used. So I think it is pros & cons, I would be nice to have the Ecoflow as it is quiet but I don't think it will charge the 2 bikes 3 times each even with a sola panel charging it up all day when we are out riding? So I think it will have to be 2 fully charged spare batteries plus the 2 batteries that are on the bikes (fully charged) before we leave the house & then a few hours (2 to 3) of the generator running to get a charge in to the one's we have used. Good video, keep them coming.
We bought the Ecoflow Delta Max 2000 for same purpose, not cheap though. We also use it at home so helps pay for itself. I was so impressed I bought the Delta Pro and a shed load of solar for the garden.
You can plug directly in to the sockets on the unit or, as we've done a few times, plug the motorhome hook up socket directly in to the 3-pin on the battery. It allows us to boil kettles, run the toaster and heater and even got 3 hours air con one day when we left the woof in the motorhome on a hot day in Zaragoza. Any questions please ask.
I've added a reply below but not sure it has replied to your comment. Factor in that you can also use something like the Delta Max 2000 at home as well.
I also bought a now largely unused generator, but don’t get this powerbank thing, if you have an inverter in your van then another leisure battery is a much cheaper option, if solar isn’t providing enough power, well if you install a battery to battery charger it can be nearly as useful as a generator, all you are gaining with a powerbank if portability
Good advice has always 👌 love how the dog gets in lol 😂 , have a great Xmas 🫶🏻
🙄🙄 he steals the show. 😂 Happy Xmas to you too
Does your dog discharge much quicker when it’s cold then ? Happy Christmas to all of you.
😂😂 he never discharged quickly.
When me and mum had our big motorhome we bought a hyundai key start generator. We were so pleased to get it- until I stuggled to get it in and out of the van, and the room it took up etc. in the end I used the generator four times and ended up selling it. Then of course, mum passed and I sold the van as I couldnt bear to use it. I now have my converted camper van Viv-i-van so power has become an important issue. Sadly, I like many cant afford the high costs of solar generators like the ecoflow but believe me, if I could, I'd have two of them. Ive seen them in action and one day, I will get one. the video was really informative, Kat. Bessie regs-Kenny.
I know- most generators are so heavy! Prices for powerbanks are definitely dropping- and they’re cheaper then most generators, which is what started this debate in the first place. 🙃
Solar isn't necessarily trickle charge, it depends on the size of panel/foldable panel you have.
And where you live!
Thank you for another good vid kat, and may I say you looked very pretty today :-) ❤
Thank you. On both counts :)
I have been living in Tanja Forest in SE Australia for five years with nothing but several small powerbanks and a 120W solar panel to power caravan lights and charge laptop, iPads and iPhone plus power tool batteries. Far cheaper than using a generator and peaceful with no noise or moving parts. I chose an apple laptop and tablets because they are by far the most power efficient, Having lived for years with generators, I love the luxury of set and forget solar power. ☕️🦘
Thanks Kat!
You’re welcome 🙃
With those gas generators I would be limited by the amount of fuel I have, but if I use solar panels to charge that River 2 Max, it would run indefinitely.
Only if you had solar power… not always guaranteed in the UK over winter
These things are great for someone going camping in a tent. For a camper or motorhome better to save some money and invest in a solar and leisure battery set up. USB points and if you really need it an inverter.
But you still can’t get power outside! There’s no one best solution- depends on what you need it for.
Would you recommend this over a Jackery? It's a silent generator but more expensive.
This is very similar to a Jackery. I’ve used both & prefer the Ecoflow.
Generator all the way, we fulltime and now switching to massive solar and 270 amps of lithium.
Previously 2 kw generator £350 pure sine.
A btob charger and good smart alternator is all that is needed.
Eco flow units way too expensive.
Keep it simple .
Interesting thanks!
We don't really need either tbh . We've a 100amp solar on roof of LWB T6 keeps our leisure battery topped up.
However, big problem these days is modern vehicles have all sorts of electronics running in the back ground, my T6 has to sit in the layby next to our house, so can't run lead or generator to it. Been experimenting and the solar now keeps main and leisure batteries topped up! Via Victron MPPT, both batteries wired in parallel ( MPPT thinks it's one battery) the main battery can loose a lot of power over the course of a week or so, lead acid , and a 5 amp dash panel can't keep it charged enough. But over the past month of testing both batteries are charged and holding. Wife won't do "off grid" so we've mains power when.
Now the experiment is over I've just got to fit a isolator switch in the cab to quickly separate the main battery when driving due to smart alternator etc etc.
> We've a 100amp solar on roof of LWB T6
100w or 100A? The latter is hard to mount on a camper, even a LWB :-)
Take a look at devices which trickle charge the vehicle battery from the leisure battery. That way there is nothing to remember and when the sun is out both batteries get charged.
A generator can produce surges, especially shortly after starting....so you need a surge protector to protect your devices. Presumably a power pack has a stable o/p.
Please have a word with Ecoflow...the power pack I wanted is out of stock?!?!?!
Ha- I don’t have any kind of power with them. Which one were you after? And the Ecoflow is designed for use with things like laptops and CPAP machines, so it’s pretty stable.
Aside from being low maintenance the River 2 Max has a ton of advantages over those clunky generators.
Less hands movement would be nice other than that not a bad video. I found myself sometimes watching your hands more than paying attention to the video. That's just constructive criticism though and not a sly comment. Big fan of Ecoflow have the Delta 2 and it's excellent.
Ha- can’t stop that sorry. I talk with my hands 🫣
Why buy an ecoflow when you can get 600ah batteries for the same money in your motorhome. Generator is not replaceable from ecoflow. In winder without solar only with generator you can cope.