Portable Power Stations

OutlawJoseyWales said:
That's why you always use a surge protector plug with your power station.
No point in spending 15k just to have it fried by a surge.

Not all plugs are created equal.

This is probably the best https://surgeprotection.co.za/protect-your-large-appliances-0
Click to expand...

Those are not very good. I've had numerous ones fail on me, in that the delay either was not on the plug out of the box or it stopped working a couple weeks in.

The PPS are not UPS devices. They should not be plugged in 24/7 and should be connected up during load shedding to power your kit and then disconnected when the power returns, and recharged later.
 
Mirai said:
Those are not very good. I've had numerous ones fail on me, in that the delay either was not on the plug out of the box or it stopped working a couple weeks in.

The PPS are not UPS devices. They should not be plugged in 24/7 and should be connected up during load shedding to power your kit and then disconnected when the power returns, and recharged later.
Click to expand...

Interesting, I was told those were better than most.

Some of these PPSs, like the Geewiz one, are advertised as UPS compatible.
Personally I wouldn't use it as a UPS, but would still like to use a surge protector just in case.
 
OutlawJoseyWales said:
Interesting, I was told those were better than most.

Some of these PPSs, like the Geewiz one, are advertised as UPS compatible.
Personally I wouldn't use it as a UPS, but would still like to use a surge protector just in case.
Click to expand...

I can only feed back from personal experience. I've had at least 3 of these fail on me with the delay. I don't know how good this thing is otherwise. I've even had one without the delay right out of the box. And you won't know unless you test this socket.
 
Mirai said:
I can only feed back from personal experience. I've had at least 3 of these fail on me with the delay. I don't know how good this thing is otherwise. I've even had one without the delay right out of the box. And you won't know unless you test this socket.
Click to expand...

What do you use now?
 
OutlawJoseyWales said:
What do you use now?
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On fridges and washing machine we have these and the Ellies one. The PPSes are not plugged in 24/7. They still seem to work.

To be honest I only connected these powerline devices this year, since loadshedding started we never lost an appliance to it. Although the led display on one of my aircons has died, the thing functions perfectly, just the led's don't light up. I don't know if it's a surge from LS, probably not, as it should have blown the whole thing if that was the case.
 
purple face said:
Are you not meant to use them till the end when it has no more battery? I read that somewhere
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Older battery chemistries ie like ni-cd and ni-mh had memory effect

Lithium does not suffer from this

In fact using lifepo4 to zero soc will actually reduce the cycles by quite a lot

ie only discharging 80% will see them last up to 5000cycles

Cycling 100% reduces cycles to 2000

If you could reliably keep it between 20-80 they would last even longer

But lifepo4 flat voltage curve does not lend itself to that

The battery in your cell phone doesn't have such a flat curve and can be used with the 20-80 idea extending its life
 
OutlawJoseyWales said:
That's why you always use a surge protector plug with your power station.
No point in spending 15k just to have it fried by a surge.

Not all plugs are created equal.

This is probably the best https://surgeprotection.co.za/protect-your-large-appliances-0
Click to expand...
Imo a surge protector is more meant for spikes related to lightning so those living in areas that see lots of lightning

At what voltages do they trigger?

ie has anybody actually had to replace a surge protector , if you have never had to then you were never saved by a surge protector imo (according to my understanding of how they work)

Edit- seems i had a flawed understanding MOV types make a difference and protects as long as not popped but can degrade and thus offer less protection - so what you have to replace them every x amounts of spikes or time?
 
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Park@82 said:
Delta 2 at R18500 on Takealot. Cheapest Ive seen them. Hopefully pricing will drop even more.

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R17k now
 
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im considering the Delta 2 with extra battery 3KWh harsh price but will have to cough it up
 
leon.davibe said:
Thats a lot of money for a 1kwh battery

Ie is the inverter portion of this device worth 11-12k cause a person can buy 1.28kwh battery for 5-6k

It is a beautiful camping package though
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thank you for advice still weighing options in..would pay the extra for solar but have the property up for sale
 
leon.davibe said:
Thats a lot of money for a 1kwh battery

Ie is the inverter portion of this device worth 11-12k cause a person can buy 1.28kwh battery for 5-6k

It is a beautiful camping package though
Click to expand...
It's a lot of money indeed.

1800w inveter + 1kwh lifepo4 + very fast charger + mppt solar charge controller + WiFi and Bluetooth and a very nice app that even allows you to control it over the internet form anywhere, new features gets added via firmware updates, it has many DC output ports, a useful display and a 5 year warranty.

You pay a premium for all of this. I think it would be very hard to build something like this yourself.
 
Park@82 said:
It's a lot of money indeed.

1800w inveter + 1kwh lifepo4 + very fast charger + mppt solar charge controller + WiFi and Bluetooth and a very nice app that even allows you to control it over the internet form anywhere, new features gets added via firmware updates, it has many DC output ports, a useful display and a 5 year warranty.

You pay a premium for all of this. I think it would be very hard to build something like this yourself.
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Agreed the warranty and if you use the features

But if it is only being used as a one trick pony, to power things in load shedding. Then i would rather spend that extra money on capacity

It charges full in an hour it is a fast charger indeed but still it is only 1.2kwh in that hour

While a a 48v system can charge upto 100A most 50-80

So max 5kwh in an hour, and at 50A that is 2.4kwh in an hour

So though ecoflow is fast with more context it is actually medium (though they claim fastest charging inverter )

Yes it has solar capabilities 500w other cheap trolley systems outshine it ie nova trolley i think does 960w

So pr speak is often that bullshit made to make it sound like more than it is

Don't get me wrong probably a nice quality product longer warranty tends to deliver better products but PR is just that bullshit dressed up
 
Hi guys

So I am new to these things. Looking at getting a portable power station for the holiday home and when camping.
Any suggestions as to what unit to go for?

I found the Bluetti EB3A at Geewizz for R4k. It will be used to charge phones, tablets, and maybe some tv and tv box use for the kids when LS. Also to power the router when LS.


Any other units I should look at?

1701923065922.png
 
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W@P said:
Hi guys

So I am new to these things. Looking at getting a portable power station for the holiday home and when camping.
Any suggestions as to what unit to go for?

I found the Bluetti EB3A at Geewizz for R4k. It will be used to charge phones, tablets, and maybe some tv and tv box use for the kids when LS. Also to power the router when LS.


Any other units I should look at?

View attachment 1630245
Click to expand...

It's pretty much these and the Ecoflow River 2 series. There are some local equivalents but have no experience with them.
 
The Ugreen brand is quality all around, something I would definitely recommend. They have three models.

Ecoflow was one of the first on the market if I recall and IMO their prices are too high. Don't get their first generation models, they are lithium-ion with only 800 cycles, you want the 3500 cycle second gen models with lithium iron phosphate batteries. They usually end with the number 2 to indicate second gen.
 
W@P said:
Hi guys

So I am new to these things. Looking at getting a portable power station for the holiday home and when camping.
Any suggestions as to what unit to go for?

I found the Bluetti EB3A at Geewizz for R4k. It will be used to charge phones, tablets, and maybe some tv and tv box use for the kids when LS. Also to power the router when LS.


Any other units I should look at?

View attachment 1630245
Click to expand...
The WH rating is tiny so will most likely not be ok for 4hrs shedding

Sure only for internet and phone charging and some tv tine it will suffice but not 4hrs of tv

2hrs shedding probably fine for tv and internet dependant on tv power consumption

Imo you have to look at 500-700wh to avoid disappointment
 
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