EcoFlow 800W Alternator Charger EASY OVERLAND RIG INSTALL! Defender x CamperVan HQ (Links below)
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- I had the opportunity to collaborate with the great team over at @campervanhq to install the EcoFlow 800W Alternator Charger in our 2022 Land Rover Defender! (Links to SETS below)
If you have a need for off grid power when overlanding, camping, or RV and Van Living then the EcoFlow 800W Alternator Charger is what you have been waiting for! Watch, learn and follow along as I install the EcoFlow 800W Alternator Charger in my Land Rover Defender to make it the SUV perfect power solution for off grid camping and adventures! Plus hear ideas around the install, see whats in the box and brainstorm possibilities that the technology of the EcoFlow 800W Alternator Charger provides to make your off grid lifestyle more simplified.
CamperVan HQ sells a variety of EcoFlow DELTA install kits, including "set" kits with all you need to get going and "buildable" kits that you can add onto as you build out your rig! Check out the links below!
BUILD YOUR KIT:
www.campervan-...
SETS:
www.campervan-...
www.campervan-...
www.campervan-...
I wonder if the alternator will work with other brand power stations
I don’t think the alternator charger will attach to other brand power stations currently it uses an ecoflow cable called an XT150 cable that connects the ecoflow power stations together. The XT150 cable is also the cable that connects the power stations to the Wave 2 AC unit. I did see some talk about an output that may plug into a solar port. If that is something that they come out with I would assume it would output just like a solar panel.
i just installed mine today and in the APP it says output watts 500 ..... is this defect? can someone tell me if they have run into this also?
Great to hear you got it installed. But not so great if it’s only out putting 500. It may be a number of things, it may be your connection points to the battery or possibly it’s only set to 500 in the app settings. Mine will self adjust sometimes to a lower output if it’s sensing something from the vehicles output. Try to check your connection points first and also make sure your firmware is all up to date. Facebook forums were helpful to me as well when I bought mine. I also talked to the techs at Campervan HQ where I got it from and they helped me with my connection points. If you still have a problem I’d reach out to would see if you can get clarification from ecoflow technical support. Let us know what you learn and how you resolve the problem.
So it's a DC to DC charger dedicated to that power station connection?
Correct- it’s created to fast charge the ecoFlow power stations with their XT150 connector.
Yeah but that also means you can run solar and ac charging at the same time.
@@Defianthuman oh yes, you could have 2 solar inputs and the 12v inputs all charging the unit at the same time.
@@Defianthuman very true!
I have added this set up to my 2022 Defender-90. However, even when I am sure my battery is full, I keep getting an error in the Land Rover app when I try to use auto start for climate control. Since installing this it keeps saying the battery is too low to use that function. However, if I remove it and hook everything back up, auto start functions normally on the Defender for climate control. Have you notice this on your vehicle?
Thanks for your comment and sorry to hear you are having that issue. I have never had that happen in the few months I have had it installed. Now I will say when I bought my 2022 Land Rover Defender I had a battery issue within the first 7k miles. It was a faulty battery that would not charge properly. (I have the p400 engine if that helps you to know how similar our vehicles are) I’m at 56k miles now and no issues. I sometimes will use the Land Rover app to start the car just so it can start the alternator charger charging. The one thing I did learn and I think we talked about it some in this comment thread, is our alternator in the Defender puts out variable voltage depending on what the vehicle needs. I normally have the alternator charger app set for 13v So because of this sometimes it drops below that and I manually adjust it in the Ecoflow app to 12v or 12.5v. I have used it extensively at this point and it seems to be working well. I would recommend keeping an eye on your battery and maybe talk to the service department about faulty batteries in the 2022 Defenders to see if they know about any problems that may be covered under warranty.
@@WhyWeLikeItAppreciate the comment. I have the P400 as well. I haven’t had many issues with the battery and I’m at 45k miles, no issues at all. I went back through everything and noticed I was hooked up to the battery pole nut. I moved it to the ground connection point that is wired to the frame. So I will give that a go and see if it solves the issue. Perhaps it’s getting a weird reading on battery voltage. Not sure but I’ll mess around a report back.
Shockingly enough. That was the issue. I moved to the ground point on the negative cable and it fired right up remotely and it’s getting 800watts. So if you have a Defender and see this. Make sure you are connected to the ground point.
@@Brandon_Rivera great to hear! Thank you for sharing your experience! So just so I know, did you connect to the same area I had it connected or somewhere else?
@@WhyWeLikeItI connected to the same area in the video. Initially, I wasn’t sure about the black box there (perhaps it’s a fuse or some sort of resistor or relay) so I was hesitant to connect to that point as finicky as LR electronics can be. I connected to the Pole because I had seen other vehicles doing it that way. It seems with LR there is some electrical impact using this set up if you go directly to the pole on what the vehicle is reading back to the vehicles cpu. Just to clarify, when hooked to the pole the charger was working as advertised with no issues. It was only the auto-start in the LR app that was not. So something about connecting to a different ground or to the battery pole directly impacts the auto-start. After adjusting, all good.
Have you run into any problems with the Defender voltage dropping below 13V thus it stops charging the Delta? Also, do you have to turn your Alternator on every time you turn off your vehicle? I'm just wondering if my Defenders alternator is not able to charge both the vehicles battery and the Delta. I drove over 2 hours and only charged my Delta 10% before the vehicle battery dropped below 13V and it never did go back up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My vehicle is a 24 Defender P400.
I also have the P400 and have been running the EcoFlow alternator charger for about two weeks for testing. The defenders have some type of smart alternator that regulates the output as needed. I did notice what you’re talking about one time where it was under 13v for one of my daily drives. I normally leave the alternator charger at 13v and it works fine. But in scenario where I’m parked at a camp site and I need to charge up I would start the car, monitor the output, drop to 12v and adjust it back up once I’m finished charging.
I also reached out to Ecoflow to see if they could add their app to Apple CarPlay so I could monitor the charging from the defenders center screen.
@@WhyWeLikeIt Great info. I'll have to play with the voltage settings. An app on CarPlay would be nice.
@@Outboundlife I kinda had that same freak out moment when I saw the volts go to 12.7, so like anything I think we learn how to best use the tool (alternator charger) to our advantage and our need! Let me know what you learn as you use it more.
@@WhyWeLikeIt I just got back from a trip and adjusted the alternator to 12v. It worked flawlessly and didn't appear to impact the Defender battery. Just a little update.
@@Outboundlife thanks for the update! I plan on doing a Pennsylvania overland trip in August so I’ll do some more long term off grid testing. Did you adjust the output watts at all or just leave it at 800?
is your defender a patrol or diesel engine? wonder if this could be applied to the diesel 48v hybrid
Great question! Mine is petrol (gasoline) you will want to do some more research in regards to this. I have sent a message to a tech I met from Ecoflow and also a tech at Campervan HQ to see if I can get an answer for you. STAY TUNED!
I reached out to one of the technicians at CAMPERVAN HQ got the following answer that may be able to help you with your question:
The unit is only designed to be connected to 12V or 24V starter or house batteries at those nominal voltages only. I am not familiar with this particular vehicle, but if it has a 12V(13.6V) converter option with 12V positive/negative posts, you could connect the positive/negatives from the Alternator Charger with the same method. Just be sure the converter is indeed 12V or 24V and does not exceed the allowable Voltages of charging input.
You can view the Alternator Charger install instructions here:
manuals.ecoflow.com/us/product/alternator-charger-800w?lang=en_US&ref=FOR
@@WhyWeLikeIt thanks for the further information. ! i
I just got this device few days ago. I tested it, unfortunately it never reaches 800w! Only around 500-600w maximum! Over priced and exaggerated!
Sorry to hear you had such a problem. Glad you were able to sent it back. Mine works fantastic so maybe you just need a replacement unit.
Dont blame ecoflow because your alternator is crap.
I've just installed mine to my BMW X5 and it charges the Ecoflow Delta 2 at a full 800W even stationary with the engine at idle... Perfect! So you obviously haven't set up yours correctly or have a faulty unit. Or maybe you have a crap low powered alternator in your car.
Great video guys, excellent!
Glad you enjoyed it! I appreciate you taking the time to comment.
You have Land Rover money, get a quality tie wrap gun. They cit the leg tight to the tie wrap buckle. Keeps from cutting/scraping when you reach between things.
Good idea I’ll look into it!!
Great video ! Does the EcoFlow alternator charger stays idle when the engine is not running so it is always ready to switch to charging mode when you use the vehicule again? Or you always need to turn the device ON everytime ?
Thanks for the questions and for watching the video. YES! The alternator charger will stay on and will activate once it senses the vehicle is sending a charge from the alternator. It does this by sensing the voltage drop coming into your vehicles battery once the engine is shut off (the voltage is adjusted in the app so that it will turn on and off once it gets to the output voltage that is desired for the charger to activate) So you can leave the charger switched on in the app and it will do the rest. Also once your power station gets to fully charged the alternator charger will shut off. You also have the option to toggle OFF the charger in the app. I have not once had to physically turn the alternator charger on with the button on the unit which is a huge help because of where I have it located.
@@WhyWeLikeIt thanks for that valuable info
Why not get a 3000 watt inverter and plug the Delta into that? Much cheaper.
Sounds like another great option, thanks for sharing. I wanted to be able to use the power from the power station to also back charge my battery if needed so that’s a reason I was interested in the Alternator Charger.
Would it make sense to upgrade the car battery or the car generator to get more benefit from this charger?
Great question, thanks for the comment. I’m not a mechanic so I only have a basic knowledge on this but a higher amp output alternator would be more beneficial. I don’t know if it would add any benefit to the alternator charger itself but it may not be as taxing on the vehicle’s electric system.
The alternator charger operates with an input voltage of 11V-35V, so in theory, any vehicle with a starter battery operating on a 12V or 24V voltage can use this product.
Input of the alternator charger:
Charging mode:
11V-35V, 76A Max
Battery maintenance mode: 40V-60V, 3A Max
Reverse charging mode:
40V-60V, 21A Max
Γεια σας απο Θεσσαλονικη ΕΛΛΑΔΑ....Εχω το ιδιο καμπερ με σας....Ευχαριστω τα βιντεο σας ειναι αξιολογα ....γνωριζετε αν αυτος ο εναλακτης μπορει να συνδεθει στη μπαταρια του Α/C wave 2 ?
Thanks for your question and for watching! I don’t personally have a Wave2 extra battery, I run my Wave2 directly from the Delta 2 Max so I can’t test the theory. But ecoflow waits the Alternator Charger powers up the WAVE 2 Add-On Battery independently and 8× faster than traditional methods-fully recharging 1kWh in just 75 mintues.
What this means is you can charge it separately from the wave 2 so you cannot run the wave 2 and charge at the same time. But to answer the question yes it seems like you can charge the battery (just not while the wave 2 is plugged to it and running)
"I spent some time thinking about mounting."
Same here.
Thanks for the comment! How did you end up mounting yours?
I originally was not planning on mounting mine upside down. But once I started the installation I realized because of its weight the mounting needed to be bolted in well. Also I wanted to make sure I could remove everything easily if I needed. Plus I didn’t know how warm the Alternator Charger would get I wanted it to get good ventilation. And having it kinda hidden away was important too!
Wait so we are getting more power from the alternator? How is that possible? Are with built in inverters just not as good? My car has a 150w ac inverter built into it. But then this can go up to 800w. Are we just typically not using our alternators to their max headroom?
Alternator is meant to run every single Electrical thing in your car, so wether you have power to spare depends on what systems you're running on your car. AC, headlights, music, etc draw a lot of power
He probably has a 100 amp alternator (13.8 volts x 100 amps = 1,380 watts Max output). I personally wouldn't add an 800 watt draw to that system. But I'm not a Karen, folks can do what they want.
Γεια σας απο Ελλαδα.....ευχαριστω πολυ για το βιντεο σας...
Εχω μια πολυ σημαντικη ερωτηση,απορια...μπορει ο εναλλακτης να συνδεθει κατευθειαν στην μπαταρια του wave 2 A/C ....και να τη φορτιζει ενω το wave 2 να λειτουργει στη ψυξη????.......Ευχαριστω απο Θεσσαλονικη Ελλαδα...
That’s a good question and I don’t want to answer wrong, you may want to reach out directly to Ecoflow technical support for that answer.
@@WhyWeLikeIt Ευχαριστώ πολύ.
Can you set it to kess than 800 watts? I don't think my alternator could do that.
Great question. Yes the app has an adjustment slide where you can adjust the output with 800w being the maximum coming out of the DC to DC charger. Looks like you can adjust all the way down to 100W. I’ll have to test it next time I am in my vehicle.
@@WhyWeLikeIt good Intel thanks
💪🏽💪🏽🔥🔥 can’t wait to add this to my Ecoflow Delta 2!!!
I’ve been running mine now for 2 weeks and it’s done great, I’m super thankful to have it. Especially for a long-term camping where I may have a car parked for several days, defenders are kind of notorious for depleting batteries if you’re in and out of the vehicle, I feel peace of mind knowing that I can reverse charge if I need a jump. You can turn the unit off as well if needed all from the app. I keep the voltage set on the alternator chargers app to 13v (meaning it will turn on and charge the power station as long as the alternator is putting out 13v + volts) I did once have to adjust the voltage down to 12v because of the Defender has some type of self adjusting smart alternator that can drop down the voltage if the vehicle is not needing the extra power. It only happened once but it’s something I am now aware of and I will monitor depending on my situation and need. So once you get it installed just learn how it interacts with your vehicles electrical so that you can understand how to best manage the system for your set up.
Be careful! It will damage your Ecoflow detail 2, it just damaged mine
@@jamesyao9199 wow really! That’s not good! Make sure you reach out to EcoFlow to see what they can do about the damage. What exactly happened?
@@jamesyao9199Obviously you've not installed it properly.
Super info
Thanks a lot. I appreciate you tuning in.
Hello. Great video, and thanks for detailed explanation. Could you please share what kind of handle is that on the hook?
Hey thanks for the question! Do you mean the hook I use to grab the wiring?
@@WhyWeLikeItone which is used for hammock 🙃
@@lazymusicmatters I got it on amazon - it’s a hitch hammock
MIKODA Hammock Hitch Stand Mount... www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4MX1SM4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
@@lazymusicmatters not sure if it’s still available on amazon now.
@@WhyWeLikeItthanks!
Like you guys!
Thanks for tuning in
The first time I plugged into my Ecoflow 2 battery, it damaged the battery! It showed overload and shut down immediately and never turned on again! I just sent it back to Ecocflow today!
Sorry to hear that