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gcrank1
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2024 20:31 - Edited by: gcrank1
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Ive been studying up and watching for a deal for the last year or more; Amazon Prime Day sucked me in.....
So, after about a (anxious) week it arrived today, well double boxed, and a good thing because the outer box showed some rough handling (delivery via UPS).
The pics and the specs are readily available online but briefly this 'River 2' model (R2) has a 256W LFP battery, about 20ah, so is the small unit at 7.8ish pounds.
I wanted it for my light duty, usually short duration purposes for mostly 12vdc (cig-lighter port), 2 USB type A and one type C ports and occasional light 120vac via the built in PSW inverter. Ive been using a now ancient 12v 'jump pack' for such for years. It is on its last legs and has no 120vac capability. This R2 will likely have better performance than the jump pack that has a sealed LA battery (and this one abused).
As delivered the face display showed 23% charged. It is said to fully recharge to 100% from 0 in an hour. It will charge off 120vac (wall cord) or 12vdc (cig lighter), cords included, or solar (unit has internal MPPT SCC)that is not included and a suitable cord also required. It did charge to 100% off AC in about 45min. while reading 359W (!) at which point it shut off charging and fan continued for about 6min (the fast charging did make the case warm) and shut itself off. I think it is a good idea to let it do that and dump that heat out after charging.
The nominal 12vdc charging is amps limited (to keep from blowing out cig lighter port fuses (or worse, melting wires!) to 8A. This will charge a good bit slower depending how far depleted; Ive yet to test it out.
It is a handsome little chunk that actually feels heavier than the rated 7.8# (maybe it goes 20oz to the pound?). Im looking forward to trialing it right away, first to just do the same as Ive done with the old jump pack to get comfortable with it then look for 'the limits'.
To be continued
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paulz
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2024 22:36
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Nice. I’m not familiar with those potable power units, do you charge on grid power, or with solar or a genny? You still have that big Lfp battery, right? So you can plug that in and get extra power time that way?
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2024 23:44
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Ive been using the Meanwell (thanx So much!) since the beginning with the 2x100ah lfp's, it has worked so well that I haven't rebuilt the solar at all, I just exchange the charged one and take the other home. Our modest elec use is such (as part timers) that this last one has lasted since May 1 when the new cabin came in but is getting close to swap-out. I know I can make a cord that will connect into the R2 solar port to act as an aux bat just so I have that option. As is the big lfp's are the main system, this little box will be handy for across the cabin where there is no wiring (like to power the little dvd player) outdoors stuff, etc.
Why, we could even power the dvd player out on the deck for an evening movie 
All the charge methods you mention are possible. Im planning on mostly topping this unit up from my suv trip back and forth to home. If/when it gets down far I'll just grid charge at home. I may even set up my 2x100w portable solar panels to feed it at the cabin.
Ive got options galore!
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Tim_Ohio
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# Posted: 30 Jul 2024 12:09
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Pretty cool!
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Brettny
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# Posted: 30 Jul 2024 12:12
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I had a ecoflow river for about 28days once. It failed to provide power for the length it said, shut off by its self, failed to charge via solar and took 30ish hours of being plugged into 120v to turn on.
I returned it.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 30 Jul 2024 13:29
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Though your experience was bad I have to wonder if the one you tried was the earlier model? This latest version has lfp and I think has been out since '22ish?
And so far, so good...everthing is checking out. I do intend to put it to the limits while in the return window.
I also know enough to not expect the 'max rated' of anything; these type units are probably like the old horsepower listings for engines (typically rounded up from reality).
Another factor in use is that a lower amps/watts draw device will eek more time out of a battery than a heavy load. My loads will be low to moderate.
I plan to work it gently for a few cycles, say down to 50% and recharge to 85%, then go to 100% and load it with a highish steady load to watch the depletion in watts and time to shut down take place. Im hoping to get 240ish out of its rated 256.
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Brettny
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# Posted: 31 Jul 2024 11:46
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If I remember correctly I was running a fan overnight and the meter showed it should run for 12hrs. It shut down in early morning so ran about 1/2 what it should have. I returned it and put it into my stationary system.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 31 Jul 2024 15:22 - Edited by: gcrank1
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I think that 'run time' meter is likely a 'guesstimeter'; I check my device amps/watts and do my own calc to compare (and trust my calc more).
For instance, with 256w @ 12.8v this unit is a 20ah bat. Note that for lfp I use 13v for calcs.
I minus at least 10%, 15% might be better, to account for system overhead, say 220w or about a realistic 17ah?
Then the run time of my device per hour is off that to figure how long it should go and knowing that a higher draw will have more voltage sag than a lighter draw and probably shut down 'early'.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 31 Jul 2024 17:07 - Edited by: gcrank1
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Proved it will run my little 90w @ 120vac crock pot.
The display showed 87w. At that rate it would likely use 1/3 the bat capacity for a 1hr cook (iirc a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew takes about 45min).
I was just doing a display test and see how the unit took a good load. Think I will cook a batch next trip.
Next was my 2 ceiling fans/led lights (each fan has a 2 bulb globe).
The lights don't even register on the display Love led's!). With both fans on high it reads 98w so 49ish w each. I run these off my big 100ah/300w psw Bestek but its good to know the R2 will do it fine if needed.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 1 Aug 2024 01:04 - Edited by: gcrank1
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Just got done running a test at home tonight.
200w immersion heater (a simple heating coil to drop in a pot), no 'stat.
R2 at 100%
All on unit showed 191w load
Ran it under periodic (about every 10min) observation
Unit shut down at 68 min run time, 0% with 1 min left on its dashboard 'timer'.
Fwiw, at 30 min out unit was at 50%
191w/60min x 68min = 216.5w
Based upon the spec 256w capacity I got a practical 85% so 15% for inverter overhead; not bad imo, well in the high end for these type units. This almost 217w equates to about that almost 17ah/13v battery calc.
If Im figuring right the delta between that and the rated 256 is maybe 10 min. run time; not that big a deal.
Note that running off the inverter is the most inefficient, straight 12vdc or the usb will be better, so this was a worst case trial.
There is also the likelihood that at lighter loads the inefficiency will be bit higher.
At cabin I have a diy small box fan with a 12v motor and I think a cig plug which should be a good test load device. It will take a lot longer to test out than the one today. Since we will be in the upper '80s with high dew point Fri and Sat I should be able to run that box fan enough to get the data.
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paulz
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# Posted: 1 Aug 2024 14:01
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Quoting: gcrank1 . I may even set up my 2x100w portable solar panels to feed it at the cabin
Sounds like the perfect setup for your new cabin’s occasional use. Adding the panels would allow it to keep up some while there in case you stay an extra day.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 1 Aug 2024 14:42
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My main power source is still the 100ah lfp (with a fully ready swap bat in the suv), and there is always the little 'Champ inv/gen. Boy, do I have redundancy!
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paulz
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# Posted: 1 Aug 2024 15:04
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That’s all you need. Did you put the decks back up yet?
We’ve been living at our cabin almost full time, one or two nights a week at the city house for shopping etc. one thing I’ve noticed is how much more attention I have to give to the essentials. Water well is keeping up no problem, power has been great with lots of sunshine, I keep a half dozen 20# LP tanks here..
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 1 Aug 2024 15:26 - Edited by: gcrank1
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Yes, decks have been on since mid May. We also found some nice kitchen cabinets/countertop at the local Restore. It is totally livable; we have done a number of overnighters so far, need to do a dbl-nighter but other obligations have prevented that.
Regarding recharging the R2:
After letting the unit sit after the load test last night there was no 'bounce back', it still read -0- today.
I had done several top-up/use cycles before so I started fresh today. They are said to fully recharge in one hour.
My first stage was to take it to 55%, that took 34 min and watts-in climbed quickly to 336w; I unplugged and shut it down completely.
I let it sit an hour and fired it up again.
Read 360w in, went to 85% in 8 min.
Did the shutdown/rest again.
Fired up in 1/2 hr, read 360w in, went to 99% in 15 min.
Did the shutdown/rest for another 1/2 hr.
Fired up at 251w in, went to 100% in 2 min.
Why do in stages? Because hammering in amps in a quick charge may leave it somewhat shy of full recharge density. Now I can load test the cig-port dc and recharge in one setting and retest to see if any appreciable change.
Futzy but that is what I do, lol.
Funny thing....the total time recharging in stages took 59 min on my timer; close enough to the 1 hour rate.
I can't prove it but I suspect the recharge timer on its dashboard is based upon the % of charge left and it adjusts the amps/watts in to meet the 1 hour. I swear I saw the dash timer slow down at the tail end until it hit the 100%.
All in all, the recharges Ive done on wall power are satisfactory.
My next tests are the dc cig-port for run time capacity then dc charge time off the suv.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 3 Aug 2024 22:17 - Edited by: gcrank1
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Best layed plans, etc.....
We did Fri/Sat at cabin and had other things going on so no test to -0- on the R2.
But we did watch the dvd Appaloosa, 2+ hrs, running on it; went from 100% to 89%. Then wife charged her phone on usb A and it went to 87%.
Today on the way home charging on the car cig-port it went to 100% within 10 miles.
Remember this is the smallest of the EF 'River' line; I can see that for me this is good but suspect for most folks the River Max (512wh) or River Pro (768? wh) would likely be better, though the more wh the bigger and heavier the unit.
Energy audit!
Ya gotta know what ya want to run and for how long And for how many days.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 4 Aug 2024 03:32 - Edited by: gcrank1
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Ran the dc cig-port test tonight at home.
Load was my old diy box fan that the R2 meter says draws 59w after running a little bit (starts at 66).
R2 at 100%
At 102 min out it read 50%
At 229 min out it hit 0%
If my calc is right that is 225Wh of the spec 256
Almost 88% efficient on dc compared to the 85% ac so only a smidge better (that narrow delta surprised me).
I stuck it on the ac charger and brought it up from 0 to 30% (didn't take long) and will finish out the charge to 100% in the suv. At this point I have no reason to doubt the spec for that will be correct too.
Conclusion:
The 256Wh rating is like all? the other companies; that is, they use the battery Wh without factoring the conversion and running losses. I wish they wouldn't but I expected it; if one doesn't disappointment will likely follow.
It is a tidy little unit and has met my modest needs thus far, though for many it will be too small capacity.
For instance, a c-pap that takes 55w will eat it up in about 3.75-4ish hours. Check the running watts of what you want to run, taking the 256Wh rating x the 85%ish efficiency for a more realistic 220ish and see how long your device will run.
This rating battery units by watt hours I think throws some folks who are used to think of bats in amp hours. This '256Wh' unit equates to a 20Ah bat, but with the losses is more like a 17Ah and if only 80% efficient a 16Ah bat. It is likely that at lower loads the unit is less efficient so maybe better to think of the 80%? and if you get more be glad.
I expect most will be happier with a larger size. It comes at a cost though the R-Max at 512, 2x the Wh of this R2 is not 2x the price.
Fwiw, I had considered getting a 20Ah lfp battery, multi tap cig-port/usb, a small inverter, a solar port and a small charger and putting it all in an ammo box but the fact is I couldn't build a comparable unit to this for less (though I did get it on the Prime Days sale).
Now if it will last I'll be a happy Cabineer
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 10 Aug 2024 14:13
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Charged a phone at the cabin so the 30% charge dropped to 28%.
That was all the use we gave it, then I plugged it into the suv rear cig port for the 50min drive home.
At home the unit reads 60% so we got 32% in the drive. Looks like a home and back trip will recharge it by 60ish % so if I use it down to 30-40% we can have a pretty full unit at our return.
I also got a XT60i cable with a SAE end (Amazon). This can plug into the unit where the cig-port cable does and to a max input 30V of solar (for a max of 110w @ 8a, charge input)
OR (my main intention) with the 'gator clips/SAE I can connect to my 100ah lfp for Long Power and recharging.
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Steve_S
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2024 10:35
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Great "real world" test & write up, the exact kind of thing people NEED to know because marketing stuff is often too optimistic
You are likely quite right about it's inverter being only about 88% efficient and if it is, that's good, most are not even that efficient, usually cap at 85%. Virtually all of these are High Frequency as well.
There are of course higher end models with more efficient inverters and such but WOW the prices can get ridiculous in a hurry.
I dunno if anyone has noticed yet, but several companies that started out with the smaller portable systems like this are moving into bigger systems with modules but even further into complete "Plug & Play" Home UPS & More, even up to including EV Chargers ! and to be honest, some are pretty darn impressive.
The Evolution of these is amazing to watch from the sideline and I have to wonder how this will all look & be in 5 Years... Boy oh boy to have a Crystal Ball...
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paulz
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2024 16:03
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Agree great testing and write up. Still trying to figure out how I would use one.
Campgrounds must be full of them!
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2024 17:21 - Edited by: gcrank1
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Thanx guys, appreciate it!
The round trip suv recharge went about as figured and was at 87% upon the return to cabin.
I put it on my rigid 'portable' pair of 100w panels wired parallel. It stopped and shut off charging at 92% instead of 100%; there is an app for this that allows you to adjust charging levels and Ive read about 'firmware updates' whatever that all means, lol.
That is another learning curve Im not ready to jump into right now...........
Oh yeah, the hook up to battery via the XT60i cable with some 'gator clips at bat worked as expected; ie, it's just another '12v source'. Im pretty sure I could have just got a cable with the same XT60 as the included one for the cig-port.
The diff of the XT60i is it has an extra 3rd 'sensor' connector (tied with the neg term) that signals to the unit it is a 'solar' connection. On this unit that means a 110w input from solar vs 100w from the cig-port (limited because you don't want to burn up the car's cig-port or the wiring for it!). The 10w delta on this unit isn't that big a deal but on their larger units there is a higher solar limit. I figured the cable that would cover all my options was the smart buy.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 15 Aug 2024 02:10
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I finished off the solar recharging today. I ran the unit down to 90% and plugged in the XT60i/SAE cable to my SAE motorcycle fused cable and that to my 100w cheapie panel (direct, NOT thru a SCC, the R2 has its own), got 74ishw. Paralleled in the second panel and the readout maxed out at the spec 110w input (even though the array was producing more). It didn't take long, maybe 1/2hr?, to hit the 100% and unit shut down.
All Good and to spec.
From this point on it will just be in use and see how it holds up.
Thanx for following 
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 15 Sep 2024 02:12
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Update:
Been using it for whatever seems appropriate considering its size. Recharging 'devices' with usb, playing dvd movies on the portable, etc. We have watched 4 movies so far and the R2 is now at 59%, that's a smidge over 10% per 2ish hr movie.
Still happy with it.
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