How Long Will The EcoFlow Power Station Run My Furnace? | Power Outage Emergency Heat
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
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Just a minor point about Watts vs Watt-hours:
Your Ecoflow battery stores about 1000 Watt-hours of energy. Watt-hours, not Watts.
Watts: On average, over the 8 hours this battery powered your furnace, it must have been drawing about 125 Watts, but of course it would be much less than that when the furnace is idle, and more when the furnace is producing heat, as it has to power the fan.
Important implications:
1. To get the longest run time from your battery, turn down the thermostat
2. Run times will depend on the weather
3. Run time will depend on how well the house is insulated and how drafty it is
oh definitely, there are a lot more variables in the equation, as in the house size, insulation and amount of time doors open and closed allowing cold outside air in, furnace size and efficiency, single vs variable stage fan modes. etc...
good general representation of the capabilities on this device though.
Thank you for stating how many watts the furnace draws. I have been looking at several videos and no one seems to mention the power requirement. Seems like this is important to know. It lets me do my own calculations.
@@litnoregrets7551 Gas HVAC units use 400-550 running watts and about 1000 peak watts. You are getting 4 or less hours from a 2000 watt-hour unit.
@@litnoregrets7551 What?? I've watched the vid twice, looking for that value, and not found it. Can you share?
Watt hours is the correct term but is stupid as it makes it sound like the 1,000 watts goes on for hours. As you know, it does NOT. Only 1,000 watts total. Take out 100 watts per hour and that is a ten-hour run time. Great. Draw 1000 watts and it only works for a single hour. Using a furnace seems like a large-draw appliance. That is BS. Electricity only runs the thermostat on the wall and a fan. BIG DEAL. The heat comes from the gas and not the battery. Try to get the same heat from the inverter battery, and you would get much less than a single hour from even a high-yield, large unit. These videos are deceptive. Purposely so.
Another feature of the EcoFlow Delta's is that they will recharge to about 80% in about one hour when plugged into a wall outlet, generator, or inverter hooked up to a car alternator. I'd prefer to run my generator for an hour, two or three times a day, to recharge my EcoFlow than to run it hour after hour and overnight.
The LiPo batteries can not be kept fully charges or they will degrade lose power capability and risk catching fire. They must be put into storage mode as I mentioned in a previous post. So the power fails and you want to use your LiPo powered back up but no its not charged and the power company didn't send out the email saying we were going to have a power failure. Now how am I going to charge the back up system. Maybe we should buy a gas powered generator to charge the backup unit. Well then why do we need a back up unit that can't be used in an emergency. Ask any RC pilot about their electric RC aircraft and how LiPo batteries must be used in a safe manor. Many home have burnt down from ignoring the safety rule. They need to be charged in a outdoor environment away from fuel if a fire occurs. Check out other backups that don't use LiPos. Lithium Polymer. I not sure about Lithium Ion. A solar powered charging station might work as long as the weather is right for it.
@@rickknowles9620Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries are not prone to fire when stored at 100% like lithium ion batteries are, they are MUCH safer than lithium ion. They will degrade more quickly at 100%. For long term storage they should probably be stored somewhere between 50% to 85% depending on what balance you want. They also get 3000+ cycles before they degrade to about 80% of original capacity whereas lithium ion usually get something like 800 cycles usually.
@@rickknowles9620Lithium Polymer and Lithium Iron Phosphate (which the ecoflow has) are different chemistries. Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePo4) is very safe and has a lot of great attributes for storage and use. The reason it’s not used in cars or RC uses is its weight for the same energy is higher.
I really like learning about how to keep the furnace going when the power goes out, which happens here. Thanks.
I have my heating oil fired boiler setup in a similar fashion. I run the Ecoflows (2) at night because their quiet and startup my dual fuel generator during the day if grid power is still down. If a winter storm is forecast I plug the EcoFlow into the grid power and the boiler into the EcoFlow and turn it on. Power is passed thru the power station but if the grid goes down the EcoFlow battery power takes over. I don't like waking up to a cold house.
Forced hot air? I've been trying to find out if this same set up will work with my oil burner (forced hot air)
I have a whole-house inverter generator, but have to keep it gassed up. I used the ecoflow delta2 in a recent 3-day outage to run my internet, tv and pellet stove (the essentials). When the delta 2 got low, I would fire up the gas generator to cool down the fridge and freezer and charge up the delta2. As soon as it was charged, off went the gas generator. It saved me a ton in gas.
Something to note is your typical natural gas furnace requires around 600 watts to get the blower motor going and about 400-500w as the furnace runs.
It's good that the power bank will run the furnace for 10 hours, but one must remember that with just a 160 watt solar panel, and in the winter, it will take several days of good sunshine, to recharge your power bank back up. So that unit is really only good for a 10-hour emergency.
Would be interesting to know how much time in actual furnace run time. Colder outside would mean furnace will cycle more often therefore shorter than ten hours.
there really just rich people toys and only good for running things while you get the gas generator going.
That’s great unless there’s a power grid blackout , and eventually you can’t get gas ! Solar is the way to stay in power no matter what .
I remember in your PREVIOUS Video- the VTOMAN Power Station gave you 14 Hours of Runtime & the EcoFlow only gave you 10 Hours!
I took advantage of the $650 off coupon you linked when I purchased the VTOMAN 1000 and the TWO-100 watt Solar Panels all for $1150!, thanks Dave!
Something you must remember about ecoflow and similar rechargeable batteries is that your ambient room/operating temperature will greatly affect the battery discharge due to the inordinate amount of energy the battery expends on its internal cooling fans!
I ran 3 tests of an ecoflow 1280 wh batteries at ambient 70 degree F room temp., powering a small 35 watt fruit dehydrator. Simple math suggests that, at even 1200 actual watt hours, a batterry should easily power the 35wh device for the 12-15 hours required to dehydrate fruit. In fact at 80degree fahrenheit ambient temperature (and no external power source such as solar or 120v) in three tests the battery barely lasted 4 hours because it consumed 35 wh when only the dehydrater was running, but the batterry fan constantly cycled and when it kicked on battery consumption consistently jumped to 610 wh.
Ran this experiment a half dozen times with 2 different Deltas, results were within about 3 percent variance; nice little inverter package, but if the sun isn’t shining, then even at ambient 70f temps it’s internal fan energy draw renders it practically useless, even when only drawing a steady 35 watts over a half dozen hours. It does make a handsome doorstop, and if you have a sunny cloudless day and a few hundred watts of solar power panels properly aligned it can be useful, just not so much on a long 6:13 dark night:-)
Thank you for a real practical test! In my area of Ontario Can I think we saw the sun two, maybe three times in January this year. All these other videos show people doing whole home turning things on-off (can it run a dryer?- oh yay, it started!...then turns off- as if you're actually going to run a dryer). Folks will want a furnace to run, then a fridge or freezer or both, and at most after that a light or two. These guys never advertise how long in real scenarios. I'll stick to a gas generator for now.
Good review DIY guy 🤘🏼 respect from an Ontario HVAC guy
One of the features I like in that Delta 2 is the 500W maximum solar input. It won't take that long to charge it using my solar panels.
Pretty Handy! I am a fan and have a bit smaller unit at home as well. I need to get those solar panels 👊
The life of the EcoFlow will depend on the size of furnace and temp outsize. Your furnace could be a 80% or 90% with a one stage or two stage. Your 90% may have a condensation pump. When you turn of the furnace it is better let it cool down with the blower motor because over time a quick turnoff could damage your heat exchangers. The heat exchangers parts maybe covered on warranty but the labor to change them is expensive.
Hype! these types of tests are amazing! Well done.
Wow this is pretty cool that it can run for this long. Normally I would use a generator but this is nice for over night so you can shut it off
AWESOME VIDEO...thanks for doing these videos...our power goes out regularly here in Baltimore...and 1 week without power happens a lot...I am contemplating buying one of these battery backup systems
Does Baltimore really have multi-day power outages on a regular basis? I'm surprised that a major city would have that problem.
@@bobkantor4695 eastern seaboard ice storms can put a couple of million people out of power at once. Not sure about baltimore, but in rural areas north it's not uncommon to be without power, and if you're unlucky - in an area where only a small group is out of power and thus low priority, you can be out a week.
This device would be pretty worthless in that scenario as changing weather in the winter often comes with little sun, and the days are short, anyway.
But having a gas generator is pretty common.
This is one pretty awesome power station since it has a 5 year warranty that goes with it. My old power station only had a year of warranty then it went kaput.
Nice setup for an emergency. This is a good setup for people that are electrically challenged. Simple to implement. Your electrical interconnect is just fine, but if it were me, I'd simply use a standard 3-way wall switch to route the furnace to grid or alternate source. I use them a lot for my solar projects here. When properly wired, just flip the switch! It only switches the HOT (black) wire. The neutral (white) is still tied to both grid and backup sources! Your setup with the plug may isolate both HOT and neutral wires.
Another option is to keep a 1000 watt (or larger) inverter handy. In the case of power failure, just connect it to your car/truck battery. In the event of a power failure, you should be able to run it with your vehicle idling, all day or night. Just be sure to keep your vehicle topped off! And of course make sure your car is outside when idling, because you know - carbon monoxide. The price of an inverter is a fraction of a generator or large battery solution such as this.
He has already shown that.
Wouldn't that put your car alternator at risk of early failure?
@@MorganTheva A typical car alternator can output about 1500 watts, so a large inverter can be handled easily. Most people won't be running an inverter at full output anyway, unless they have a space heater or other high draw device on it.
I used to run my truck idling with an 8 liter engine 32 gallon tank for a week at a time without running out of fuel running an inverter to power a gas compressor station during a power outage.
What burns more gasoline at idle, a car or a generator?
Nice video. Just picked up the EZ Generator switch from your other video and I already had the EcoFlow Delta2 which I use in my campervan. I never thought of using the power station to supply power to my furnace. Thanks!
One thing to remember is that simply running the inverter draws power. Perhaps as much as 25W. This becomes the primary constraint when powering low loads.
Lots more testing possibilities like with versus without solar panels. I would like to see how long it would power just the fridge or how many loads of laundry it could do.
don't get too wild hoping to do laundry on "backup power". a regular top load washer has large amperage draw when the agitator tries to spin. a dryer, well, you would be fine if it's a gas dryer.
I Installed an outlet / switch just like you did. That was a great idea. Thank you for that though. I have two batteries and one 100 watt panel. I may need to get a generator. Thanks again! Great idea.
The efficiency of the building envelope has the biggest impact on your results. My setup would drain your item at or before 5 hours. I love my new wood heat
Im wondering if you’d be willing to share the approximate square footage of your house, as well as the efficiency of your furnace. The reason as I ask is I’d like to make a comparison with my home to get an idea on how an Ecoflow unit that size would work for me.
Remember that the electrical draw of the furnace is very small as compared to the heat output. The biggest electrical draw is the furnace fan. Obviously a larger furnace will have a larger fan (motor) which will draw more.
I would suggest you to get Kill-A-Watt meter and use it on your furnace for 24hr to find out what the kWh the furnace uses and how many Watts the blower needs to run, so if you know the kWh of battery capacity of the Ecoflow or similar unit, then you can estimate the run time (you will de-rate the battery kWh by 15% because inverter has conversion loss when converting DC to AC) and the size of the inverter (should be at least 2 x the Wattage of the blower) of the Ecoflow that you will need.
@@budmartin3344 yep. Mine showed about 5 watts not running, 200 watts starting and 95 watts not running. I didn’t get as fancy with the switch, just took off the hard wire to the fan and made it a male plug that I can unplug & put on my bluetti.
95 watts running
@@budmartin3344 I think I’ve read that the inverter loses 10% ie you can only run 90% of your watt hours
For a 1024Wh power station, that Delta 2 sure is very compact.
Great video. @8:09 the batteries are not actually at 0% which means no charge left otherwise the display will not be on, they actually drain the battery down to about 5% SOC (State of Charge) to have some buffer.
And to protect the battery.
Nice test. Imagine how long you could run your furnace using the Delta Max or Delta 2 Max.
Great info - I am curious as to what the furnace was using when it was in active mode (how many current watts were drawn)? I have an EcoFlow Delta Mini and plan on using it during winter power outages.
@4:32 it shows 455W.
Some furnaces will not operate with a floating neutral, which most small generators have. Ground neutral plugs are available for your generator but I have not tried that yet.
What I like best about that Delta 2 is that I can still use my Delta Max extra battery to it and increase the capacity.
Thank you, this is exactly what I needed to know
Liked subbed commented for having the exact video I was looking for. Thanks bro.
Shows the limitations of back up battery generators. When you're most likely to need it [ bad weather ], it won't get sufficient daylight to be fed from solar panels.
Always great thanks you 😊
I tested my ALLPOWERS S700 V2.0 606WHr last night running my 2018 fossil gas furnace last night -5 Celsius with wind-chill -12 degrees. It ran for 4 hours AC mode but then AC mode turned itself off with aprox 58% remaining at 4 hours! That's disappointing considering that I'd hope to sleep through an over night (6 hrs expectation) power outage. I turned AC back on but within 40 minutes it ran down to 18% I had the charger plugged in for the entire test run. As it's not a quick charge capable battery chemistry (not a LiFePO4), am not surprised that there was not much power use mitigation. I'm glad I have an EcoFlow River 2 Pro 786WHr to rely on.
I like the whole go green idea but I will stick to my gas/propane generator. When Hurricane Sandy clobbered us we were without power for about 8 days. Have purchased a 5000w generator and transfer switch about for years earlier I was well prepared. I was able to run my burner, 2 refrigerators and most of the essential lighting. The dual fuel was a huge plus as most of the gas stations were without power and the ones that had it were having trouble getting refilled. The propane was readily available. My home a well insulated and I ran the generator from 8am until 10pm just to be neighborly 😃. The temperatures were in the 40’s so the house stayed warm enough on the overnight. This might have been a problem if it was in the 20’s. It was fun to have nearby family calling to stop by for a hot shower 🤪. My wife thought I was crazy when I bought the generator but I’ve long live by the saying “It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it!
Ext cord. You really need to talk about the minimum gauge as this could be a fire risk
Very insightful video, interesting product idea.... but I had hoped it would power a furnace or boiler for days, not hours since the heating source is oil or gas. I really need something that will power HVAC for several days in case of an outage from an ice or heavy snow storm up here in the New England. I guess a NG generator is still really the best option, unless there are other options ?
Are backup battery systems like these (Ecoflow, Anker, etc.) designed with proprietary connectors so that the customer HAS to buy that manufacturer's accessories, say if you wanted to link two batteries or add more solar panels?
I've got the delta max 2, so in theory, even if there is no sun, I can run my gas generator for an hour or two (to charge the ecoflow) and have 24 hours of the furnace running.
Ralph is a good doggo! Please send him scritches from me.
Will do :)
Wondering if maybe I’m overlooking something, I have a rheem RCF3617STAMCA gas furnace, I believe 95%. Looks similar in size to the one you’re using, obviously there’s variance with draw. However, running my ECOFLOW to the power on the furnace will not fire whatsoever. I get the fan running but nothing else. No heat, no “loud” blower motor like I get with grid power. I’m running the exact same ECOFLOW delta 2 with if I recall can surge up to 1800-2000w on startup. Being a gas furnace I cannot imagine this drawing over that. What on earth am I doing wrong?
Hi, I converted my furnace so it's plugged in instead of directly wired and tried it with my EcoFlow River Pro, it can only run the blower but not the igniter.
RiverPro is 720W with xboost up to 1440. Wondering if it's my furnace or I just need a higher capacity Ecoflow.
You’ll DEFINITELY want to see the video that comes out tomorrow morning. It might resolve your problem. Cheers
@@diyhvacguy Thanks, just watched it. Not sure how that will work as the 3rd hole in the Ecoflow station is not connected to anything, there's no metal. It's just a hole to accommodate a 3 prong plug.
@@dadstoysnthings Similar issue I'm having with my Ecoflow Delta 2 (floating neutral). I hear the blower motor come on, but shuts soon after before the heat comes on. Wondering if you had found a resolution?
Was the issue with your furnace? Ground plug helped as per ua-cam.com/video/18nH231ECQI/v-deo.html A River 2 Pro worked fine for me ua-cam.com/video/Ys1g6wFMbT8/v-deo.html
@@MorganTheva Yes, purchased a Ground Neutral plug off AMZN (ASIN: B08HZGMRB1). That did the trick and was able to get heat without grid power.
I would have thought that ecoflow delta 2 would have ran that furnace a lot longer , luckily I have my Honda 2000 watt inverter generator that uses very little fuel , I would probably top off the battery after the sun went down so I can run my furnace all night
The price is stupid ridiculous. For such a tiny wattage
100% yes … but, this can run in UPS mode. Meaning during an ice storm you could plug this in and go to bed.
I use my delta max 2 to plug in my fridge alot for poweroutages. Worth every penny so I don't have to go out in the La. heat to run a gas generator.😂
Hook up a fully charged 12.8V 100A Lifepo4 battery ($150 on sale) to the Ecoflow with an XT60i cable ($15). It will feed your device 180W of power for about 7 hours. This is a nice method of giving you more time in an emergency. I use a Noco 10 charger ($100) to fill my lifepo4 battery when power is available. Takes it 10 hours to refill a 100A (amp) battery. Research this idea. Plenty of vids online. The Noco charger can recharge and repair car batteries, too. 😊
Does this need to be ground bonded?
Be sure you have smoke and carbon monoxide alarms that work in such situation also
Saw the Delta 2 for $400 on Amazon in late November 2024. Hoping it goes back on that sale again in 2025.
Can this be used on an oil forced hot air furnance?
Spoke too soon. I found the other video.
Cool!
What wire type, size and connectors do you need to make extension cords between power station and solar panel connectors? I’d like to make up a 50 foot set.
Do you know if they have a through the wall adapter for the solar connectors?
Why not a manual transfer switch and power a few 15amp breakers?
I agree .. thats the way to do it.. trouble is in most places that means a permit and licensed electrician.. and that is big bucks $$$!
@@W-4-Z-D MTS is the way to go, you can switch between your fridge, furnace, lights, whatever else you want. I've made plans but not implemented yet. If you're confident about the wiring, you don't need an electrician. You do need to get a permit and an inspection. In WA state it is about $100, so not bad at all.
The ecoflow has an almost identical display as the Oupes
Just get to the running of the furnace, screw all the other diversions
Not sure if it’s mentioned or not but I suspect a dc variable speed motor will not draw as much as an ac powered fan motor as far as how long you can go..
Great video & information 😊
I seen on the specs that it runs on 50 herts instead of 60 herts.
Check it out.
It never says how much power your furnace pulled when running??
I was shocked when I learned that this 1024Wh power station only needed 80 minutes to get a full charge.
I didn't see you deal with the bonded ground issue in this video. I wondered the Ecoflow doesn't have that problem?
Gas Generator?
Never mind the extra battery. it is essentially useless without this primary unit. Best bet is to purchase another primary unit to hook up to the first one.
Would this run a circuits with a generator switch I want to lower my electric bill and charge it with solar in day?
Could the male prongs on that ever be live under any conditions?
How many watts does it take to run your furnace? I have a Trane and it draws close to 600 watts when running.
What gauge plug cord do we use for running a furnace to go to the Generator I'd run it from a Extension cord to the Generator thanks
My furnace won't run with the open ground provided by the Ecoflow Delta 2. I have a ground bonding plug but is it safe to use?
My plan is to just ground to ground - that is connect ground on the battery to a ground on an outlet of the house.
@Kari Mastin - Looks like I'm having the same issue with my Ecoflow Delta 2. The furnace shuts down after approx. 10-15 secs before the heat kicks in. Was wondering if you had figured out a workaround to the open ground issue.
why not keep the battery near the furnace?
Could you buy three and use one to charge one (with a battery charger) leaving one in service? So, can a car battery charger with AC power from another unit charge the third unit?
What exact unit is that? Thank you.
The better question would be how much solar would you need to recharge it daily for an extended period of time in the winter.
My battery starts the inverter motor but then does not start the burner. Then the blower comes on with no heat?
Thanx for the information and the video! Are the battery generators really appropriate for larger loads with motors and compressors? Yes the battery generators will work but current in rush on startup is very taxing and surely will foreshorten the lifespan of the battery generator if not damage it at some point? Has there been any testing in how many cycles (of inductive) loads are practical (or even really appropriate)? Battery generators are not cheap, expensive and time consuming to repair if it can be repaired (type of damage, parts, supply chains), and can be a fire hazard if safety measures fail. I’m not knocking the tech … I own 4 battery gens that run computers, lights, televisions… but I’m Leary of furnace and refrigerators…. Love my Honda 2000i gas gen that I use to recharge everything
Why do you caution us not to place this ecoflow unit near the furnace? How far away should it be?
He probably is spacing it far enough away that it doesn't get hot, although most furnaces don't get that hot externally anyway.
If you are charging it with solar simultaneously it will emit hydrogen so you don’t want it close to an open flame. From what everyone has said.
If you aren’t charging simultaneously you can leave it right next to the furnace
@@diyhvacguy This is not true. It's not vented lead acid battery....
You’re 120 outlets are not grounded, they just put the third prong in there so that your plugs will fit!
What is the implication of this with regard to safety and code compliance with the furnace wired the way he did it?
@@BSerrell4
I’m the wrong person to ask on that. But I’m sure it helps if you understand a lot of the electrical code.
I prefer to run my whole house off of 48 V with a solar system I built myself, that way it runs everything, not just the furnace. But I’m sure for people who can’t afford to do what I did, this is a good back up.
He’s done a few updates, and there’s a few other people who’ve done the same, I would make sure you watch everything before you try this.
the battery back up does not have a ground reference. so you can safely touch either the hot or natural and the earth and not be at a shock risk. ofcours if you touch both at the same time.. you will be
I don't understand. Why can't it sit next to the furnace if that is what you are using it for? You said not to do it, but didn't explain the reason.
My Bluetti eb55 won't run because of no ground or improper neutral. My Ego inverter runs it fine.
Don't know if it's just a Bluetti thing.
That seems like it's defective. Have you opened a case with them? Their product should be on par with EcoFlow's in terms of performance. Did you update the firmware using their app?
Is the Delta 2 Max floating or bonded neutral? Nope, I don’t know much other than winter outages aren’t fun. Looking to do this or the ezgenerator product…when the time comes.
Good question. I just had the EZ Generator switch installed by an electrician. Unfortunately on my setup with the Ecoflow Delta 2, my furnace stops operating after 10-15 seconds. Its possible my issue is linked to a floating/bonded neutral on the Ecoflow?
I’m not an expert on this, still learning what I want, but it sounds like the EZ switch was installed in the incorrect manner for floating neutral generator. It can be easily rewired and should solve your issue. The EZ comes with the alternate wiring instructions. Pretty easy fix. @@piyushan_abeynayake
I have a Ecoflow Delta II. I installed the EZ Generator switch after watching your video. I just installed it this morning. The furnace works just fine on normal mode drawing power from the grid. However, when I plug in my Delta II, the furnace fan kicks on then kicks off very shortly . I have a Goodman furnace installed in 2012 (don't know BTU) for a 1400 sq ft house. What am I doing wrong. I have the Delta II set on X-Boost.
Maybe you need a neutral grounding plug? I've heard that some furnaces are sensitive to this and plugging one of those in can resolve the issue.
EcoFlow portable power station adapter for bonded plug issue and EV charging from the EcoFlow generator/ batteries. $49.00 at their store
Dear HVAC Guy, I have tried exactly like your setup. I have EcoFlow Power Station Delta2. When I plug the pigtail into EcoFlow the furnace controller board LED is blinking it's not power up the furnace, I unplug the pigtail then plug it back into combo switch receptacle the furnace power back normal. I do not know why. Can you explain more detail please. Thank you.
Might be a floating ground issue....see if your EcoFlow mentions it in their install manual.
Help! I hooked up my EF Delta II to my furnace just like you did. It wouldn't run it. It had a full charge. So I plugged in the AC power and it did run it until I cut off the AC power. Then the burner went out but the fan kept going. What do you think is wrong?
Try taking an old 3 prong extension cord and and cut off the flat power and neutral tabs so you are left with a cord with only the ground prongs on each side. Plug one into your home outlet and the other into one of the outlets on your inverter/power station. Let me know if that works for ya! It’s worked for several people.
@@diyhvacguy It didn't work for me. I have an older house with old wiring. My furnace is less than a year old and the HVAC guy grounded the furnace but the outlet wasn't grounded. So he disconnected one of the plugs that had only a ground hooked up, disconnected the ground wire so there was just the plug, and put the neutral tab back in it. Then he cut a piece of wire and connected one end to the ground and the other end to the neutral. Closed it back up and plugged it into one of the 3 prong inlets on the ECOflow. Then connected the furnace plug to an extension just like you did. Now it's working. Between you and my HVAC guy the problem is solved. Thanks so much.
Thanks for the video. Pig tailing a gas furnace to run off another electric power source is a smart thing to do.
You showed the ECO Flow displaying a draw of 452 watts in one scene which is about average for a gas furnace. You can assume a starting draw of 1K Watts for a few seconds. His 2K watt-hour ECO Flow can power his furnace for about 4 hours continuously. Furnaces DO NOT run continuously to maintain heat. The amount of time they run depends on your house and the outside temps. In my house, a 2K Watt-Hour ECO Flow would last for about 10 hours in 30 degree weather with the gas furnace set at 72 degrees.
Most modern furnaces need pure sine wave and/or a grounded connection. Many of these electric generators have pure sine-wave but not a grounded connection. Even when you see the third prong, you are likely seeing a dummy port with nothing connected to it!!! You can buy or make solutions to bond neutral to ground for less than $20.
Buy a 1K Inventer and hooking it to some cars may increase the risk of damage to its computer systems. Please plan accordingly with your particular vehicle. I have ran a setup like this for 6 hours using an older BMW with an inline 6. This is now a tertiary solution.
An inverter gas generator can be the way to go for some. As long as you got gas, you have capacity. Running the generator overnight means noise nuisance, exhaust safety, and the chances of theft. We run our inverter gas generator in the day and our battery generator at night during power events.
So, it lasts about 10 hours when the temperature is set st 64F, right?
My furnace run on breaker 14&15 20 amp double pole however they use 12/2 wire so I know they are not 208/220. I was just going to cut the romex and install a male and female plug. Yes I know it's not braided cable and not meant for that but hey it's only going to get used in a extended power out situation so I don't really care. My question is my thermostat also runs of breaker 14/15 but where does the thermostat get it's power? Does the thermostat get power from the furnaces in other words if I can provide generator power to my furnaces via your method will my thermostat be on to call for heat?
I believe these power units, some of them anyway run on Lipo Lithium polymer batteries. As a RC pilot a great deal of the hobby has gone electric using LiPo batteries. An important maintenance issue with these batteries is the fact they must be put into storage mode after use so you don't charge them after the use period. A single cell at full charge is 4.2 volts. Its normal storage voltage is 3.8 volts. If they are left in the fully charged voltage for extended periods of time the cell will degrade and become dangerous and could catch fire. So the very nature of a back up battery pack using LiPo batteries is not a sound strategy. You require it to be at full charge for it to be functional but you can't keep it at full charge for safety and utility reasons.
You bring up a good point….Most of the DIY type videos I've watched on the topic barely make mention of the safety issues involved. Personally, I'd like to see a more thorough analysis before I commit to one backup system vs another. To me, it sounds impractical to have a backup system in another room of the house & run a long extension cord to power the furnace. Practically speaking, one would want the batteries to be placed as near the furnace as possible in order to gain the greatest benefit (in terms of run time). I need to do more research in this area before I subject myself & my family to the possible risks.
I think LiFePO4 is quite different, can be left fully charged, less hassle RE how to maintain or having to avoid zero charge. It's still good practice to avoid below freezing temperatures which damage cells. I also will use/drain it one every 2 or 3 months and then fully charge it. My battery is just for running my furnace if there's an ice storm. I run my work laptop off it every 2 months aprox, bring charge down to 10% to 30% and then fully charge / power it off. My power provider once took 3 days to restore power in some areas of my city after a wind storm, thus my city-dweller concern. I do have one natural gas fireplace in my 3 story home that will work safely while power is out but that's hardly enough for saving pipes/home. A generator isn't a good option for me. Worst case, once the backup LiFePO4 is drained (6.5 hours estimated EcoFlow River 2 Pro 768Wh running furnace only at freezing temp), I can charge it up outdoors in my car as it comes with a car charge cable. ua-cam.com/video/Ys1g6wFMbT8/v-deo.html
Most newer, high quality power banks use Lithion-Iron technology. More forgiving and a bit safer. Standard recommendation is to keep them approx 2/3rds plus charged for long-term storage as a best practice...
You may have been correct a couple of years ago but that is no longer the case.
I wonder how long it would last without the solar panel charging it?
I just got a Delta 2. My furnace is hard wired to the panel. Did you install the AC power plug yourself?
He did....look at his other video to see how he isolated the panel power into a receptacle as seen.
If I wanted to hire an electrician to install one of those "switches/outlets" on my gas furnace what is the official or technical term I would use? There is already a box with a switch installed on my system. Would that void my warranty?
There is such a thing, ‘ez generator transfer switch’, but you get into code compliance issues with a ‘floating neutral’ generator, such as a solar generator, with no external grounding.
I'd use this and use a 2000 watt generator to charge as needed quiet over night and use less gas
Would it be wise to install a soft start on the hvac in this scenario?
I have a soft start on my small 2 ton ac unit to use with my gas generator for hurricanes. It will help it last longer too. At least I can cool down a bedroom.
What was the draw of the unit when running? You didn’t show that. Mine drew 600 wats
At 4:31 we can see a glimpse of the power output which read 455 and the expected time was 2 hours (rounded)
Question to all ... is this Ecoflow good for "clean power"? I have a newer Rheems furnace and I read once if you don't have good power or a really top end generator that it can burn out the electronic panel. Any thoughts anyone???? (Thanks!)
Any reputable brand LiFePO4 power station is good for clean power. EcoFlow, Anker, Jackery and BLUETTI are the top names for new technology products. You really need to compare the specs to those brands if going with, for example, Energizer, DeWalt or ROCKSOLAR which may be more likley to outsource, use old battery chemistry or electronics.
@MorganTheva ... Many thanks for "sharing the knowledge". Cheers!
Why would you not keep the Ecoflow near your furnace?
Didn't the vtoman go 14 hours?
Why can't you have the unit by the furnace when charging?
Because it emits hydrogen which is flammable so it’s advised to not have it by the furnace
@@diyhvacguy I have tried to recreate your experiment and it got no luck. When I connected the ECOFLOW Delta 2 to the furnace it gave me error (steady red light), Replace IFC. Switching back to the power grid the furnace works as it should. Am I doing it wrong?
@@ZenS-jg5zsfor high efficiency furnace, you need to ground it using a ground neutral bonding plug or by connecting it to your home ground. If you leave it plugged in like charging while using it, that should ground it.
I wish you showed how much power the furnace was drawing when it was running
At 4:31 we can see a glimpse of the power output which read 455 and the expected time was 2 hours (rounded)