We have been enjoying our EcoFlow Portable Battery and its ability to provide portable power and recharge via solar panels. This solution covers most of our needs, but is still vulnerable to extended periods of cloudy weather (or significant shade) and we wanted a backup solution.
One popular option is a portable generator. The Honda EU2200i is a very capable portable generator that can provide power in nearly any situation. Honda and its competitors also offer many other variations depending on your budget, noise tolerence, and power needs. However, we didn’t want to cary an additional (heavy) generator with us, along with fuel, for what we expect to be a pretty limited need.
Luckily, EcoFlow has a solution to quickly charge their portable batteries directly from your vehicle’s alternator. The EcoFlow 800W Alternator Charger connects directly to your battery and then connects via a proprietary connector to your EcoFlow portable battery. As the name implies, it can charge at 800W. For our Delta 2 Max this means it can fully recharge in about 2 1/2 hours (2048Wh/800W).
The installation in our 2021 Ford F-250 was pretty straight forward. I ran the cable from inside the cab through an existing plug in the floor to the engine compartment and the battery. The cable sits under the passenger’s seat when not used, and can be quickly plugged in to the charger and the portable battery when needed.
If you are concerned about the drain on your vehicles electrical system you should look at the alternator(s) you have and make sure there is plenty of capacity. Our truck has two alternators capable of outputting a combined 377 Amps (4.5kW @ 12V), so the 800W draw from the alternator charger was not a concern.
After installing, we tested its ability to charge while driving and idling. In both cases it charged at the full 800W without issue. We now have the ability to easily recharge our portable battery during any drive, or even sitting at the camp site idling (as a last resort).
While the MSRP is $599 you should be able to find it for much less at third parties or during regular EcoFlow sales. I purchased it from Amazon for $399.