Gas generator vs power station

C

CarDoc66

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Apr 17, 2021
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I have been looking for a new emergency back up power source for my home. I’m very interested in the EcoFlow delta 2 power station. With the add on battery it’s rated for 2200 watt surge and 1800 watt continuous and 2048kw-hr. It’s about 1400 dollars, or about the same or less than a gas 2-3000 watt gas generator.
My question is if only using it once a year or so is going to affect the longevity of the unit? It has the lifepo4 batteries, I’m just hesitant because it’s not going to get used but a couple times a year.
I live in a townhouse community so running a gas generator might make my neighbors complain even though it’s only 55-57db at 3/4 load. The power station is completely indoors so it would be ideal.
Any input is appreciated!
 
I guess i would ask this. How long are your average outages? Will that battery station cover it? What are you really going to power besides lights and a refrigerator ? How long will this $1400 battery inverter run that?

Maybe ask the neighbor on each side, if a small genset would bother them. Some are really quiet now.

 
If you loose power, the neighbors will most likely lose power, too, so I doubt they would complain under the circumstance and would be silly to do so.

Taking a quick look at the Delta 2 would make it a no go for me. I realize you'd buy 2, but the sales info says one can run a fridge for 7-14 hours or a 40 watt fan for 17 hours. What will those run times be when the batteries are 5 + years old?
It's great for what it is when you know its limitations and don't set unrealistic expectations for it.
 
CarDoc66 said:
I have been looking for a new emergency back up power source for my home. I’m very interested in the EcoFlow delta 2 power station. With the add on battery it’s rated for 2200 watt surge and 1800 watt continuous and 2048kw-hr. It’s about 1400 dollars, or about the same or less than a gas 2-3000 watt gas generator.
My question is if only using it once a year or so is going to affect the longevity of the unit? It has the lifepo4 batteries, I’m just hesitant because it’s not going to get used but a couple times a year.
I live in a townhouse community so running a gas generator might make my neighbors complain even though it’s only 55-57db at 3/4 load. The power station is completely indoors so it would be ideal.
Any input is appreciated!
Click to expand...
Forget about the battery thing. To store it for backup the instructions will tell you to store it at less than half charge.
Just get a quiet inverter generator.
 
You both are right on with my thoughts. The gas generator I was looking at runs 57db at 3/4 load and it’s rated for 3000 continuous. It holds 2.5 gallons and is rated to run for 8 hrs at half the rated 3000. Not bad at all…..
57db is pretty quiet especially if it’s 25-50 feet away and the windows are closed.

The batteries are what worries me. They claim the delta 2 will sustain 3000+ charging cycles and last up to ten years. That’s pretty optimistic IMO since the technology hasn’t been out for that long.
Then, like I said, I MIGHT use it once a season for my gas heat, a couple of lights and a gas water heater. So that must be a factor for the life of the battery.
A refrigerator for 7 hours isn’t all the spectacular, I really just want it for heat and a couple of lights so I’m guessing a 12-18 hour per battery? So one full day on a charge then I’m screwed.

I guess I was “romancing” the idea of having everything self contained inside the house.
 
CarDoc66 said:
I have been looking for a new emergency back up power source for my home. I’m very interested in the EcoFlow delta 2 power station. With the add on battery it’s rated for 2200 watt surge and 1800 watt continuous and 2048kw-hr. It’s about 1400 dollars, or about the same or less than a gas 2-3000 watt gas generator.
My question is if only using it once a year or so is going to affect the longevity of the unit? It has the lifepo4 batteries, I’m just hesitant because it’s not going to get used but a couple times a year.
I live in a townhouse community so running a gas generator might make my neighbors complain even though it’s only 55-57db at 3/4 load. The power station is completely indoors so it would be ideal.
Any input is appreciated!
Click to expand...
maybe a little more info on your situation would help to make a choice.
do you expect short term outages and just want to keep a few items powered up for the short term or are you preparing for a long term outage that might last a few days
and what sort of electrical usage do you need to cover?

for instance I live in hurricane country, its not a concern what the neighbors think or listen to
but I need enough power to run a house at least 8 hours a day for a week
this includes a well, some lights, the reefer and freezer.
so I keep a 8000 wat genset and 30 gallons of gas during cane season.
also have a 3500 watt Predator for my RV.

but a backup battery set with an inverter or something along that lines is great if you need to run small medical devices and a phone or puter...

so what eventuality are you preparing for?
 
I would rethink if you really need a generator. Is there a medical reason or is it for convenience and comfort?

What will come in handy are charging blocks for electronic devices like phones. In my case we have a small butane stove that can heat a pot of water or food. Battery lights and lanterns. A battery radio.
 
Generally when I loose power it’s for less than a day, happens a few times a year and I never break out the generator for that.
If it’s going on day 2 or 3, I will usually set it up especially in the winter for some heat, or summer so I don’t loose food. The last time I had my generator out we had no power for almost six days.
I was looking at the GP3300i which is powerful enough and half the cost of the EcoFlow.
I think you all convinced me to stay on the gas unit. My current Generac 7500 unit is huge and loud, I needed to power a well pump along with everything else and in that area I lost power several times a year.
With the townhouse I don’t need anything more than 3000 watts.
 
CarDoc66 said:
Generally when I loose power it’s for less than a day, happens a few times a year and I never break out the generator for that.
If it’s going on day 2 or 3, I will usually set it up especially in the winter for some heat, or summer so I don’t loose food. The last time I had my generator out we had no power for almost six days.
I was looking at the GP3300i which is powerful enough and half the cost of the EcoFlow.
I think you all convinced me to stay on the gas unit. My current Generac 7500 unit is huge and loud, I needed to power a well pump along with everything else and in that area I lost power several times a year.
With the townhouse I don’t need anything more than 3000 watts.
Click to expand...

I have a Predator 3500 inverter generator... its been pretty good, it is quiet and starts on the first pull.. the couple years I have had it. seems like it runs about 8 hours on a tank of gas. ( I think it holds 2.5 g) so something equivalent to that should do what you need.
generator 015.JPG
 
I like that unit, it’s a good price and has good features. A little heavy @ 102 pounds but that’s manageable for me and it’s pretty compact. Thanks for the input on the Predator….I was looking for someone who had that exact inverter.
MSCH said:
I have a Predator 3500 inverter generator... its been pretty good, it is quiet and starts on the first pull.. the couple years I have had it. seems like it runs about 8 hours on a tank of gas. ( I think it holds 2.5 g) so something equivalent to that should do what you need. View attachment 179798
Click to expand...
 
CarDoc66 said:
I like that unit, it’s a good price and has good features. A little heavy @ 102 pounds but that’s manageable for me and it’s pretty compact. Thanks for the input on the Predator….I was looking for someone who had that exact inverter.
Click to expand...

yeah, the one drawback for me is picking it up and sticking it in the RV on that tray. older I get the less ambition I have to pick the sucker up. :) . those other versions you posted are newer and smaller with similar output.
I would have bought something like that if they had em back when I bought the Predator.. I think I have had the Predator for 6 years now.

FWIW I suspect darn near every affordable compact generator on the market is made out of the same parts . kinda like lawnmowers.
 
CarDoc66 said:
I have been looking for a new emergency back up power source for my home. I’m very interested in the EcoFlow delta 2 power station. With the add on battery it’s rated for 2200 watt surge and 1800 watt continuous and 2048kw-hr. It’s about 1400 dollars, or about the same or less than a gas 2-3000 watt gas generator.
My question is if only using it once a year or so is going to affect the longevity of the unit? It has the lifepo4 batteries, I’m just hesitant because it’s not going to get used but a couple times a year.
I live in a townhouse community so running a gas generator might make my neighbors complain even though it’s only 55-57db at 3/4 load. The power station is completely indoors so it would be ideal.
Any input is appreciated!
Click to expand...
My Ryobi 4kW generator was $500… not sure what Cadillac you’re looking at that is $1400 for 2kW…

Batteries degrade over time with or without use, no matter what you do. A properly prepped gas generator will work from now until a local EMP shorts out the coils…
 
CarDoc66 said:
I have been looking for a new emergency back up power source for my home. I’m very interested in the EcoFlow delta 2 power station. With the add on battery it’s rated for 2200 watt surge and 1800 watt continuous and 2048kw-hr.
Click to expand...
I think you have a misplaced decimal. 2048 kw-hr is a lot of power!

My off-grid cabin uses (4) deep cycle, 91 amp-hour 12V lead acid batteries. Even discharging them to only 50%, that's 2.18 kw-h. That said, they run the 130 watt (when running) fridge all night along with a few LED light bulbs and occasional well pump.

You could also consider running a 1000 watt inverter off your idling car battery. Neighbors usually don't object to running cars.
 
Since you are in a Town house and mentioned gas water heater I am wondering if you have Natural gas at your location. If so you can buy or convert a gas generator to run on Natural gas. With a QD connector outside you just roll the genset out and plug it in. No more gas storage and they run much cleaner on NG than gasoline. And it is much cheaper to run if you need it for several days.
 
I don't think you can beat a dual fuel generator and a breaker and interlock but I do live in a hurricane zone and have been through several.
 
The idea that they are even comparable is in error.

A quality generator will provide adequate power for years if treated right. A battery can do it for at best, a portion of a day. At which point, it must be lugged somewhere to charge it for another day. Just to use it again. A battery is not useless, but it is not the solution for power outages lasting more than a few hours.

Unfortunately, After hurricanes Francis, Jeanne and Wilma, my power was out for months. Fortunately, I had a quality generator.
 
oil pan 4 said:
Forget about the battery thing. To store it for backup the instructions will tell you to store it at less than half charge.
Just get a quiet inverter generator.
Click to expand...

Why would anyone want to store at half charge? Doesn't seem to make much sense for an emergency backup to do that. I thought for backup the best thing to do is keep a backup power unit plugged in and let the charging circuitry do its thing. Maybe even use it occasionally just to "exercise the electrons".

I do remember shipping a used computer once that I was no longer using and wasn't sure how long it would take before it was used. Then I made sure it was around 50% state of charge.
 
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