Battle for the BEST Portable Power Station - EcoFlow River Pro vs Duracell PowerBlock 500
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- Опубліковано 7 лип 2024
- We take a look at the EcoFlow River Pro Portable Power Station and the Duracell Powerblock 500 Solar Generator with the purpose of using these to Power up our camping trips. I have been using the Duracell Powerblock since April and after starting to Camp with it, I realized some of the limitations. After returning from the first camping trip I took a look at brands like Bluetti EB3A, Jackery Explorer 500 and Jackery Explorer 1000, Goal Zero Yeti 500, and then EcoFlow River series. I ended up picking up an EcoFlow River Pro for a fantastic limited time deal at Costco (over $100 off) and have been using it for the last 2 months now in different scenarios including taking it up to the Forest on a 4 day camping trip. These things REALLY come in handy!
We take a look at all the nitty gritty specs like Charging times on AC, DC, Car, and Solar. Then we try some real world tests to see which one works better in different situations.
There are some things I still like about the Duracell, like it's size and weight, but comparing the EcoFlow to it it's a Night and Day difference.
Overall the Duracell Powerblock 500 is going to be going back to Costco due to the overload issues. Also when comparing the prices, the EcoFlow was a better deal. The EcoFlow also comes with a lot more accessories in the box, where as the Duracell only comes with a AC Wall Outlet. I just got a Solar Panel this past week and plan on doing some solar charging testing of my own.
Let me know what you think and if I missed anything!
Pick up an EcoFlow for your next camping trip
EcoFlow River Pro - amzn.to/3vDqRrl
River Pro Extra Battery - amzn.to/3d87tw0
* This video includes affiliate links. Me and my family make a small commission off of any links and products you may click on and buy. I only share items I have experience with and believe in.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:39 Reason I bought the Duracelll
01:05 Camping With Duracell
01:41 Issues with Powerblock 500
03:12 What I like about EcoFlow
03:38 Specs: Battery Type
03:59 Specs: Capacity & Runtime
04:35 Specs: Battery Lifespan
05:10 Specs: AC Charging
05:34 Specs: Car Charging
05:53 Specs: Solar Charging
06:34 Specs: USB Ports
07:21 Specs: DC Outputs
08:24 Specs: Size & Weight
09:04 Accessories Included
09:55 Tests: Video Lights
11:45 Tests: Air Bed Pump
12:22 Tests: Tire Inflator
13:18 Specs: AC Power Output
14:13 Tests: EcoFlow X-Boost
15:04 EcoFlow Pros App
16:40 Future Review?
16:57 Outro: Did I get anything wrong? - Наука та технологія
Great news! Just noticed over on Amazon they have great deals on the EcoFlow.
EcoFlow River Pro (Save $50 with clipped coupon!) - amzn.to/3vDqRrl
River Pro Extra Battery (Save $100 with clipped coupon!) - amzn.to/3d87tw0
Thanks for all of your hard work. I bought mine after the first ten minutes.
Great, great real world review. Thanks 👍
Great video…well reasoned.
Returning my recently purchased Duracell power block.
I absolutely love my Ecoflow power stations. I have them for emergency back up power but I've been playing with them to see how they work with solar. I've been running my wifi and computer on power stations and charging through solar which works fantastic as long as I have sun. Recharging on slow mode approximates the draw you would get charging on solar, and theoretically it's easier on the battery if you utilize a slower recharge. So I only use the super fast recharging if it's an emergency. I also invested in a Delta 1300 for my kitchen and it's a great unit. It's the only Delta without wifi so I can't monitor what it's doing for the app, but I do like the unit a lot. I'm looking at the smaller Delta Max and mulling it over so we'll see what the next month is like. They are addictive and playing with solar panels and learning how to set them up and use the equipment is a fun hobby. And useful!
Good, easy to understand comparison vide.
Thank you
Dude, your review is over the top. I'm an IT guy and was considering the Duracell before really doing all the homework (I have Duracell batteries in my 'Vette and my Harley). I knew about ECOFlow were highly received by Brighteon / Natural News / Mike Adams. Great, thorough comparison & review. Great stress tests w/pump, compressor & AC blower! BTW, even with a sale price of $399 on the Duracell, the as-tested EcoFlow is available for - you guessed it - 40% more on AMZ.
Thanks! Yeah I’ve typically had good luck with the Duracell stuff especially at Costco. When I got my EcoFlow at Costco it was discounted to around $429 so that price difference between the Duracell sale price was minimal. It seems like they come back in about every 3 months or so for a limited couple week EcoFlow event.
Amazing video. 👏👏👏
Great video
There is a local auction house that I go to. They sell a lot of Costco and Amazon returns. The Duracell powerblock has been in every auction for a few months, like a dozen every week. They auction for around $150. I knew something had to be wrong with them, but I never got a straight answer from google. UA-cam must have saw that and recommended your video. Thanks for giving me some closure.
Wow. That’s interesting to know. From what I can tell they aren’t selling well in the stores. They keep reducing the price then raising and over etc. There’s barely any on the shelf now.
I think for $150 it would be nice, understanding the limitations of it.
I wasn't expecting that from such a big brand...
Well done 👍🏿
The Duracell is nothing but a battery bank for a phone that's it. I have the eco flow river pro bluetti eb3a . I use it for 2 queen size sealy air matress for camping just like the one you have in this video. Both the ecoflow and bluetti run the pump perfectly. Great video
Thanks for watching. I would disagree with it being a phone battery bank. They do have some that are overpriced power banks that can “jump start a car” etc but the PowerBlock 500 does have solar charging and runs most things on the AC perfectly fine. It’s only the DC Out that is troublesome. We used the Duracell to pump the Queen Bed up perfectly fine (minus the 2nd pump sleep number thing because of timeout) and have used it on a bunch of other things. The weight / portability of it is really quite nice in comparison.
How do you like the EB3A? I’m testing out a new competitor product from a new to the scene company that’s getting ready to hit the market, but 🤐 for now.
@@TheLynchBurgers gotcha. I love the eb3a. I guess you can say the eb3a is the start of bluetti next the iteration of devices. They also been having it priced fairly low on Amazon. Looking forward to see your review of its competitor.
Actually, I have the Duracell and during my tests, I ran a chest freezer on it for 6 hours and still had about 50% capacity. It really depends on what your purpose for buying it is. I don't camp but I live in a small apartment where any power outages are going to leave you kinda just sitting there hoping your cold foods don't go bad.
It certainly would be advisable to buy as much capacity as you can afford. However, I'm not going to complain that Duracell threw their hat into the power station game. It's about time you could just walk into a local store and buy one of these. It is not that competitive on the price but it's not terrible either.
@@humanvideosponge4529 yes agreed. The Duracell really wasn’t a bad unit minus the weird DC Out controller. The rest of it was very simple and worked. I often miss how light it was.
In my long term testing of the EcoFlow I’ve been running into some issues and with some other units I have been testing. It’s definitely been enlightening though. I returned my Powerblock 500, but I also paid $549 for it. It keeps going from $399 to $499 and back now at Costco.
What kind of charger do you use to charge the Duracell from your car? Is it just from a 12 V to an Anderson?
The instructions state that the unit turns off when running low-draw devices for a long time. When you turn it on, simply hold the port's button for three seconds. This overrides the auto shutoff. That should have been mentioned in this review, I believe.
Thanks for noticing that Larry. In the times I read over the instructions I never saw that bit. (Makes me wonder if they updated the instructions).
Good catch though! I still stand by that the Duracell is not a bad unit but only when it’s at it’s sale price of $399 or less. There’s better competition out there for $450+ but I do miss the weight and easy use of the Duracell.
Reading the Duracell's instructions, pressing the ports' "on" buttons for three seconds at startup ovrerrides the Duracell's auto shut-off function. So the auto shutoff in the Duracell is not an issue.
I don’t see that on my instructions. The FAQ section on the websites says 5 watts and it will not auto-turn off.
At about 1:50 you state that the inverter isn't the greatest due to fans running during battery charging from the wall outlet. This wrong. The fans are not on because of the inverter, they are on because the internal battery charger isn't 100% efficient and generates heat that must be dissipated. You shouldn't make statements about the internal electronics unless you are very familiar with electronic circuit design.
The Duracell powerblock has recently gone on clearance at my local costco. Looking just to charge some phones, run a usb fan, and maybe some led lights on some 1-3 day camping trips. For 300 bucks is the deal worth some of the drawbacks? Seems like the auto shutoff isn’t an issue after looking at comments from others.
The review is helpful in pointing out that the Duracell is not very good at running 12V DC loads, especially motors that typically require greater power at start up. The flip side of this design is the unregulated 12V socket doubles as a charging port if your solar panel has a controller. Buying a tool that you needed in a pinch and that got the job done, then returning it for refund after further prolonged "real life testing", because it has shortcomings (but no defect) seems to be, may I say, taking excessive advantage of Costco's excellent customer service. Customer service is not cheap, certainly not free. Someone pays for it. Maybe that's why great customer service is harder and harder to find these days.
EcoFlow has a regulated 13.6-volt output on the 12 volts. Duracell most likely does not have a regulated 12-volt output on that 12-volt outlet. I have the new BLUETTI EB3A Portable Power Station 600W its $239 on sale its normally $299. it has worked great for me. has a 13.6V regulated output at a full 10A.
Nice! Definitely agree. From my testings it appeared Duracell wasn’t regulated and they spec (hidden in the manual) at 9-12.6v @ 10A. My guess is it was dropping to 9v to maintain the 10a but that is only 90w of output not 136w of the EcoFlow so some things just won’t run. It’s too bad too besides that it would be a decent unit especially when it’s on sale for $399.
I’d love to try out one of those EB3A units. Even the EcoFlow River Mini would be awesome for taking around everywhere in the car.
A 10 amp DC port can power a 100 watt 12v mini rice cooker. They work great but are a bit slower than the stovetop. You can cook a lot of things with one. If you can preheat the water used even a little it will greatly reduce cooking time. 10 amps also works with 12o watt 12v immersion water heaters for heating water in a cup for noodles, instant coffee or tea.
Have you tested either for powering a space heater? Would you be able to run that test? Thank you for your review video, very informative
I have not tested a space heater yet but they pull A LOT of juice. Even with the EcoFlow boost it would put a strain on the heater if it uses a fan. It would most likely overheat the coils.
If it’s a radiating heater possibly. I’ll see what I can do about a test
@@TheLynchBurgers we have a tower fan heater. Are the coils on the heater Or generator station?
@@TheLynchBurgers 1500 watt space heaters don't run on 500 watt inverters. Anything that heats is the fastest way to kill the battery.
I ran into the same auto turn off, I am returning mine as well.
Thanks for the comment Adam. Another viewer left a comment below and said this about the auto shutoff. I don’t have mine anymore so I cant check it, but maybe you can and report back.
@Larrydailey4004 “The instructions state that the unit turns off when running low-draw devices for a long time. When you turn it on, simply hold the port's button for three seconds. This overrides the auto shutoff.”
Hello. I have this Duracell power block 500. In course of charging via electricity, i noticed it sometimes display 0 watts and then few mins or longer resumes charging. Is this also applicable to your box?
Hi. I only had the Duracell Power Block 500 for a couple of months I didn’t experience the charging issue like that, but it could be the plug going bad or the cable. If I remember right it had a pretty standard charging cable? Maybe try a different one.
@@TheLynchBurgers thanks
I have a River Pro too but I want to return it to get the Delta 2 that is the smallest from EcoFlow that runs on LFP. Longevity matters a lot to me.
This is a good point, but have to remember usage. If you are using the River Pro for something that runs down once - twice per day every day and needs to be recharged on a daily basis, then yes go up to the Delta and LFP. You will still have 2.5 years of expected life at daily recharge* (according to their specifications). If you are doing a recharge once a week, you are going to get 38 years of expected battery life (but totally not expected for any electronic)
I'm having a few issues with the EcoFlow which I am going to talk about in the full review, but nothing that is a return it killer yet. Currently working on uniform testing procedures to test the different Portable Power Stations I'm working with right now.
@@TheLynchBurgers yes you're right. Maybe I don't have to return it because I'm certainly not going to run it down once a day, it's for my grandma's fridge, I don't know how long will be the announced shortages that the government told us about. I didn't think about the longevity of the electronic.
But I think about something, I have another solution that may be cheaper and better. To use a LFP car battery. Then there are not the overheating issue that cuts off the battery.
I will watch your next video for sure ;)
great chanel
@@stephanes. that is a great point on the LFP car battery. I wonder how much it would cost for the charge controller circuitry and then the AC converter in a clean package. Thank you for watching means a lot. I’m in no way an electronics expert on these things I’m still learning as I go, but it’s definitely interesting discovering how everything works. One thing I found interesting with the River Pro and on the Delta is that if you plug in the unit to AC wall and then plug the fridge into it, once the internal batteries are charged it cuts off the charging circuit and passes through the electricity to the fridge directly. Once the power cuts it’s something like 0.5sec switchover to battery. Great for fridges but not as nice as a UPS for computers. But then you’re not messing up or messing with the batteries during standby.
@@TheLynchBurgers no problem! =) a pleasure
the charger costs 50$ and the AC converter pure sinus costs 200-250$ (like Edecoa brand). I will also run my mac mini on that, so with a 100Ah battery, I will have 1 to 3 weeks lol.
Yes, the Ecoflow is very convenient for this capability to let the electricity pass through when charged. I've been told so, but never tried. That's a really strong point. Do you know if we can set a maximum charge to not fully charge and then preserve the battery? let's say 70% for example and then it stops charging?
@@stephanes. Yes. If you log in through the app on wifi there is a bunch of settings on there. You can choose max capacity like that. You can have it go to slow charging and change how everything else responds. If you want to charge from a car dc out you can have it pull less than the regular 8amp so it won’t blow the fuse if you have a lot of draw. I’d have to go check the options again, but I think you can even limit how much output each output can put out.
Question please. Why does your Power 500 look completely different than the Duracell Power 500 on their site? Is this an older model? Newer? Please help. Thanks!!
Looking at the site. It seems like they updated it. This is the Powerblock 500 the new one is called Power 500. So they took another model from a manufacturer and put Duracell on it.
Thank you very much.
If this Duracell is like the 1440watt it's like all the unit
Cuantos ciclos de carga tiene?
Si tiene 800 ciclos has tirado tu dinero a la basura, si tiene más de 3000 ciclos muy bien.
Si 800 ciclos. Pero cargar una vez al día serían dos años y medio. No cobro tan a menudo. LIFePo4 es 3000, pero casi 5 libras más pesado. Es una compensacion!
My 2 Duracell Power Blocks have failed. They stopped charging with solar.
Wow. How long have you had them?
@@TheLynchBurgers 1st one was purchased in June 2022. The replacement was purchased a week ago.
I just bought the Duracell from Costco for 399$. I don't get why your stuff didn't charge over night? If I run a fan through it will the fan just stop?
That’s more of a user error issue. So I had a power strip running to the Duracell and was plugging in different electronics without realizing it had auto shutoff. So I plugged them in and nothing in morning.
If you have a load on it even a little it should stay on just fine.
Oh and I also saw that price the other day. I hope it stays around there I think it’s a pretty good deal for that. When I got mine it was $550. They reduced the normal price to $499 around the time of the EcoFlow special event. I don’t think they are selling as many as they hoped.
@@TheLynchBurgers Thanks for the prompt reply! I also thought for 400$ it was worth it, for 550$ I would probably also skip it so I don't blame you there! I don't plan on using the 12v DC output for anything in the foreseeable future so that wasn't a deal break for me. I'll be sure to let you know if it craps out on me or anything too! great review! Thanks!
Use a USB fan. Box fans use a ridiculous amount of watts. You can run a couple dozen of the small fans on low for the same wattage as a box fan.
The FAQ section on the websites says 5 watts and it will not auto-turn off.
OK my phone did it again added my comment before I was done the Duracell 1440 solar generator is like all the unit's I've found that uses sealed lead acid batteries if a sealed lead acid battery is treated right it'll last between 5 to 8 years if abused it'll barely last past the warranty period of one year another words keep them between 13.4 and 14.8 and do not discharge below 12.2 and don't store them discharged I used to buy booster packs with modified sine wave inverter to run a drill and charge my cordless tools they lasted about a year but 60.00 to 100.00 dollars was cheap for the convenience of being able to work where there wasn't power then I found utube and found out why they didn't last longer they were only being changed to 12 volts and being discharged way too far I thought that the manufacturer should know proper charging for their products and since I had my old black and decker handy I took it apart to find out what the battery manufacturer website said was the proper charging parameters their batteries but didn't need to written right on the battery was do not discharge below 12.2 float charge is 13.4 and full charge is 14.8 since I'm looking at going off grid solar and I need to do it very low cost I looked at the Duracell 1440watt modified sine wave inverter solar generator found a few videos on it and both had great reviews worked as stated one even told how to make the modified sine wave into a pure sine wave but I wanted to know if the charging parameters were correct and after getting in touch with the manufacturer I found they were not battery might get you past warranty as a ups unit if you didn't check your battery capacity regularly when the power goes out the battery would probably be dead so false security I also found out that nature's generator is the same problem just better in the ac out put it has a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter but if you have to replace the battery in under a year it makes them very expensive for a backup or full time power supply I had hoped to get the big four reviewers to give it a review but they're too rich to them a unit cost 3 thousand dollars or more is pocket money but what they don't understand is that with a proper mppt solar charge controller that could be programed for lithium they'd be a great starter unit in 5 to 8 years anybody can put aside enough money to buy a new lithium battery for them
When did batteries become generators ?
When marketing depts decided to coin the terms “Gasless Generator” and “Solar Generator”. The solar generator moniker makes a little sense since you can use a straight solar panel to charge at up to 200w. But yes mostly Marketing Depts lol
So boomers will know what it is. Seriously. People my dad's age grew up with generators that ran on mixed fuel or diesel, so when they hear "power supply," they're thinking of something strictly for charging phones or powering his Pentium 486...
@@AmbuBadger it’s a battery in box. It don’t generate shit.
@@Hero1395 Well, if it`s connected to solar panels it does generate electricity. Gas is stored solar power too in a different form, technically.
@@baneverything5580 marketing gimmick
love't can you send me one?
EcoFlow has a very high failure rate. So many people I know had issues that I would never buy one for hurricane emergencies. AskIve Solar had issues, LeadFarmer, I think Jasonoid, and way too many more.
Thanks for your comment. I'm going to check out the channels you mentioned. I actually left out a section regarding issues I'm watching out for in editing due to video run time. This is definitely something we're going to be keeping an eye out for a followup full review of the EcoFlow. It seems that in my research people that have been having a lot of issues were early adopters or using the River 600 beta unit, which wouldn't be completely unexpected. I used to be a quality assurance tester, so testing process / procedures are pretty important. Thanks for the watch, appreciate it!
@@TheLynchBurgers I don`t know which particular models of this kept having issues but one of them was the one with the strange light bar on the front. I don`t remember the exact issue they were having. I`d be very wary of them myself. I have 11 solar power stations of all brands and types. I bought a lot of very inexpensive no name ones and have two Bluetti EB70s. Ask Jasonoid and AskIve Solar what they think. Jason knows his stuff. They`ll answer you if you give them time. Not sure about LeadFarmer.
@@TheLynchBurgers Leadfarmer had an issue with the River Max product with is the small River with a battery addon to double capacity. I have two Max units and mine have been working out great. I love them.
@@PattymacMakes awesome to hear! I have a feeling a lot of the early production models had more issues than what we will experience today, but we shall see.
@@PattymacMakes So far I`ve had only minor issues with some of my power stations. My Golabs sometimes has a screen issue where it`s unreadable. I think it`s a ribbon cable connection issue because if I tap it or push on it it clears up. I dropped a Bluetti EB70 and the shunt doesn`t read accurately sometimes. I have two of those. It`s great that you have a backup. We may desperately need these devices in the future. Getting products that work well with these is important...like efficient low wattage rice cookers or 12v mini rice cookers, very low wattage USB fans instead of box fans, pressure cookers like Instant Pot style devices for very fast cooking, etc, to get the best use out of these. You can also get 300 to 600 watt bucket water heaters for heating water to bathe or small 12 volt immersion water heaters that can cook an egg in a cup or heat water for noodles, instant coffee or tea, and battery chargers that use ports other than the AC for better efficiency.
The review sounds biased.
Definitely no bias on this one. I did pay for both the Duracell and the EcoFlow, unlike some reviewers out there who were given these units. Unfortunately due to some life changing events I have yet to do my follow up full review of the EcoFlow, but now that I have owned and used it for over 6 months it has given me a good sense of its capabilities and some of its issues.
Stay tuned and we’ll see if we can get the full review out sometime here. It might be a 1 Year Followup. Thanks for watching!