This little box provides on-demand power when off the grid

EcoFlow’s Alternator Charger is simply a instrumentality you instal successful your pickup truck, van, oregon RV to complaint the elephantine powerfulness presumption you transportation to support each your cogwheel running.

While your vehicle’s on, the Alternator Charger produces up to 800W. That’s astir 8 times much powerfulness than you tin typically extract from a 12V cigaret lighter jack, and it’s capable to complaint EcoFlow’s caller 1kWh Delta 3 from zero to afloat successful a small implicit 1 hr of driving. It takes 5 hours if you’re traveling with EcoFlow’s larger 4kWh Delta Pro 3.

It’s besides clever capable to reverse the travel of electrons, utilizing the powerfulness presumption to support your starter artillery with a trickle complaint oregon jump-start it backmost to life. When you instrumentality location from the occupation tract oregon vacation, those big-ass portable batteries tin beryllium connected to EcoFlow’s $200 balcony star kit to assistance offset your vigor measure and supply emergency powerfulness during a blackout.

EcoFlow’s Alternator Charger is acold from an manufacture first, and it uses proprietary connectors that lone enactment with Ecoflow’s ain batteries. But the institution brings simplicity, elegance, and a superior idiosyncratic acquisition to a merchandise usually designed for electricians and mechanics.

After 3,700 miles (6,000km) of testing, I tin accidental that the $599 Alternator Charger could beryllium a game-changer for many. It allowed my woman and I to unrecorded and enactment carefree from a Sprinter van this summer, comforted by each the modern conveniences afforded by truthful overmuch on-demand power. 

It’s reasonably communal for RV builders to instal aftermarket DC-to-DC chargers connected a vehicle’s alternator. They’re incredibly adept astatine keeping stacks of leisure batteries charged to powerfulness off-grid luxuries similar e-bikes, projectors, 3-in-1 refrigerator-freezers with crystal makers, java makers, and air conditioners. Some basal chargers outgo little and others are much almighty than EcoFlow’s, particularly erstwhile built astir a secondary alternator — but those connection less features and necessitate nonrecreational installation. 

To debar overloading the vehicle’s alternator, EcoFlow’s charger regulates itself truthful that lone surplus power, which tin beryllium little than 800W, is sent to the powerfulness station. (The Alternator Charger tin propulsion a maximum of 76 amps.) In my case, the Sprinter’s beefy alternator has capable capableness to easy present a near-continuous 800W adjacent with the A/C moving and the wipers and lights on.

I besides question with 420W of star panels installed connected the extortion for an other boost, resulting successful conscionable implicit 1,100W of simultaneous real-world complaint erstwhile driving connected sunny days. This combo besides works portion the van is parked and idling if I ever request the Sprinter to enactment similar an exigency diesel generator.

Installation

EcoFlow’s installation qualifies arsenic a DIY task for galore Verge readers, though successful my lawsuit I turned to an adept for help: Fabian van Doeselaar, who was already outfitting my banal cargo van with his Solo interiors and antecedently helped retired with my reappraisal of the EcoFlow Power Kit.

Installing the Alternator Charger requires wiring it backmost to the starter battery, not the alternator itself. The circumstantial steps for each conveyance volition vary, but successful the lawsuit of my Sprinter, we ran the heavy 16-foot (five-meter) cablegram up to the busbar successful the auxiliary artillery fuse box, which meant removing the driver’s seat. The cablegram was agelong capable to scope the Alternator Charger container mounted wrong a furniture successful the backmost wherever I negociate my electricity.

My Sprinter van is designed from the crushed up to beryllium powered by immoderate portable star generator, which is conscionable a ample powerfulness presumption that includes an MPPT complaint controller for star panels. For this review, we connected my van’s circuitry to EcoFlow’s archetypal Delta Pro which successful crook was connected to the Alternator Charger utilizing a proprietary EcoFlow cablegram and adapter.

The Delta Pro keeps my laptops, phones, drones, and headphones charged, successful summation to powering my Starlink internet, lights, fridge, h2o pump, induction cooktop, and rooftop ventilation, arsenic good arsenic EcoFlow’s Wave 2 aerial conditioner and heater combo I conscionable reviewed. So having a mode to reliably complaint it was captious this summertime since I wanted to unrecorded and enactment arsenic remotely arsenic possible.

Performance

After a straightforward installation, it was clip to configure the Alternator Charger successful the fantabulous EcoFlow app, which makes monitoring show some amusive and addictive.

The Alternator Charger lone sends powerfulness to the powerfulness presumption aft 2 conditions are met. First, the charger has to beryllium turned connected with a fastener connected the portion itself oregon from a “start working” toggle successful the EcoFlow app. Then, the voltage measured astatine the starter artillery has to surpass the “start voltage” threshold you acceptable successful the EcoFlow app. If near on, it should automatically complaint the attached powerfulness presumption erstwhile driving — but that didn’t rather enactment for my setup.

I initially went with the app’s default 13.0V commencement voltage. Starting the van causes the starter battery’s voltage to leap from astir 12.6V - 12.8V to beyond 14V, frankincense triggering the 800W charging session. But my van’s fitted with a astute alternator which causes the voltage to fluctuate implicit time, occasionally dipping beneath that 13.0V threshold. This causes the Alternator Charger to unopen disconnected and connected repeatedly, frankincense reducing the velocity astatine which the Delta Pro is charged.

To “fix” this, I lowered the charger’s commencement voltage to 12.5V (it’s constricted to 0.5V adjustments) successful the app with a predictable broadside effect — erstwhile I arrived and unopen disconnected the motor, the Alternator Charger began depleting my van’s artillery and would person continued doing truthful until it reached the 12.5V threshold and stopped. 

That’s not the extremity of the world, but it is beneath the 12.6V resting threshold considered steadfast for a lead-acid starter battery. EcoFlow does marque it casual to manually determination that stored vigor from the Delta Pro’s artillery backmost to the Sprinter’s by switching the Alternator Charger into Reverse Charge oregon 100W Battery Maintenance modes — but this is acold from ideal.

Ideally, each this would enactment automatically, truthful that each clip I thrust I cognize that 800W is being fed backmost into my powerfulness station, and I don’t person to interest astir the wellness of my starter artillery aft I park. Lacking those assurances, I decided to play it safe, and permission the commencement voltage astatine 12.5V but toggle the “start working” power successful the app manually each clip I started and stopped driving. 

Still, aft investigating EcoFlow’s Alternator Charger, I tin archer you $599 is simply a tiny terms to wage for the bid of caput of having each that powerfulness disposable immoderate clip I needed it for 2 months this summertime — rainfall oregon shine, adjacent successful the mediate of nowhere. Shame that it has to beryllium turned connected and disconnected manually successful my case, and lone works with EcoFlow’s ain batteries.

EcoFlow’s products tin often beryllium recovered connected merchantability passim the twelvemonth with reductions besides recovered successful bundles. An $848 bundle that includes the Alternator Charger and caller $649 Delta 3 Plus looks beauteous compelling for a 1kWh star generator that tin turn with your needs.

All photos by Thomas Ricker / The Verge