Advocate I
I found this little gem a couple of years ago, but the price was impossible. I searched the forum to see if anyone might have it in use. No joy, so I decided to start this discussion.
What is so special about it ? well, in my opinion, for trips longer than a week-end out there are few things worse than to rely on a cigarette plug connectors that most of this type of power stations use
When I tried to transfer my redarc to the Disco4, being an SDV6, getting a wire from the alternator in the back became mission impossible, there was no space what so ever without some major disassembly that I wanted to avoid. So the redarc went in storage and I got the ecoflow.
I used it even on the jeep, since I got it a week before leaving, no time to do anything to it, so I chucked the ecoflow in it and I left for 3 weeks. The Disco did not last long enough with me to be able to test it in any meaningful way.
The ecoflow was a nightmare because of the 12V cigarette plug connection. Not 1 h into the road, some crap in my trunk got loose and hit the plug, the plug broke and made a short that killed the fuse. Managed to rig something up and I continued. Than at every stop I would have to check the connections between car and ecoflow and between fridge and ecoflow. Almost half of the time, one of them would be loose, meaning either the thing was not charging or worse, my fridge would be off.
This victron thing seems to solve this . Specs below.
Basically it is something similar but with a twist. It has a integrated MPPT controler, you can charge it from a 12V plug in the car, and even straight from the alternator , there it will accept about 20A. The beautiful thing is the size and connections. Basically you can wire anything, any combo you want.
It keeps the versatility of a portable thing that you can move from car to car because you can wire it very easy with a 12v cigarette input, ( ready made adapters ) liek all the other powerstations, so it is very portable as well and allows a very easy install for those who do not want to mess with the electrics in the car. Even there you haave some options, just splice the cigarette plug in the trunk so you don't deal with crap 12V cigarette plug and you are done. No 4 awg wire from the alternator, etc..
If you want a more fixed installation, with durable reliable plugs, you can do that as well. Because it does not have an inverter, it is more compact. In a jeep, this is a big plus.
The 30 amp output you can send to a small distribution box with what ever your heart desires, like USB connections, anderson for fridge , what ever. You want fast charging - no problem, wire it like DC-To DC straight to the alternator. It also has a high 200 A output if you want to boost your main battery in a pinch or help it when winching.
In my opinion this is like a swiss army knife of the PowerStation world and I have no idea why is not more popular ( seems very successful in the RV world ) .
I
And the cherry on top, I found in some places for 100 euro less compared with a ecoflow or bluetti or what ever that store 40 Ah
So I will put my money where my mouth is, I have a small trip in week time, after that the Ecoflow will go on ebay and I am ordering one and come back with some real world testing.
In the mean time, if any of you guys have it I would love some feed back on this.
What is so special about it ? well, in my opinion, for trips longer than a week-end out there are few things worse than to rely on a cigarette plug connectors that most of this type of power stations use
When I tried to transfer my redarc to the Disco4, being an SDV6, getting a wire from the alternator in the back became mission impossible, there was no space what so ever without some major disassembly that I wanted to avoid. So the redarc went in storage and I got the ecoflow.
I used it even on the jeep, since I got it a week before leaving, no time to do anything to it, so I chucked the ecoflow in it and I left for 3 weeks. The Disco did not last long enough with me to be able to test it in any meaningful way.
The ecoflow was a nightmare because of the 12V cigarette plug connection. Not 1 h into the road, some crap in my trunk got loose and hit the plug, the plug broke and made a short that killed the fuse. Managed to rig something up and I continued. Than at every stop I would have to check the connections between car and ecoflow and between fridge and ecoflow. Almost half of the time, one of them would be loose, meaning either the thing was not charging or worse, my fridge would be off.
This victron thing seems to solve this . Specs below.
Basically it is something similar but with a twist. It has a integrated MPPT controler, you can charge it from a 12V plug in the car, and even straight from the alternator , there it will accept about 20A. The beautiful thing is the size and connections. Basically you can wire anything, any combo you want.
It keeps the versatility of a portable thing that you can move from car to car because you can wire it very easy with a 12v cigarette input, ( ready made adapters ) liek all the other powerstations, so it is very portable as well and allows a very easy install for those who do not want to mess with the electrics in the car. Even there you haave some options, just splice the cigarette plug in the trunk so you don't deal with crap 12V cigarette plug and you are done. No 4 awg wire from the alternator, etc..
If you want a more fixed installation, with durable reliable plugs, you can do that as well. Because it does not have an inverter, it is more compact. In a jeep, this is a big plus.
The 30 amp output you can send to a small distribution box with what ever your heart desires, like USB connections, anderson for fridge , what ever. You want fast charging - no problem, wire it like DC-To DC straight to the alternator. It also has a high 200 A output if you want to boost your main battery in a pinch or help it when winching.
In my opinion this is like a swiss army knife of the PowerStation world and I have no idea why is not more popular ( seems very successful in the RV world ) .
I
And the cherry on top, I found in some places for 100 euro less compared with a ecoflow or bluetti or what ever that store 40 Ah
So I will put my money where my mouth is, I have a small trip in week time, after that the Ecoflow will go on ebay and I am ordering one and come back with some real world testing.
In the mean time, if any of you guys have it I would love some feed back on this.
