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R600p - a mobile Solar and Battery Setup - too for 4x4 rigs / buildups? R600p - a mobile Solar and Battery Setup - too for 4x4 rigs / buildups?
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Equipping the Overland Vehicle Vehicle accessories - Making your home away from home comfortable, safe and reliable.
Photo by Helmut Koch, Vivid sky with Northern Lights, Yukon, Canada

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Helmut Koch,
Camping under Northern Lights,
Yukon, Canada



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  #1  
Old 15 Dec 2020
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R600p - a mobile Solar and Battery Setup - too for 4x4 rigs / buildups?
The "usual heavy duty battery setup" many of us did use may be arround 35 kg, if we use a small battery with 95 AH (most use 100ah or 200ah Batterys in the rear)

26,40 Kg Battery (if using a small 95ah AGM Battery)
3 Kg Inverter 110/220
5 kg Cables
1.5 kg DC / DC charger, booster
1 kg 220v/110 Battery charger
1 kg Solarcharger with cables

Because of the weight and also the space my built-in Power-Setup need, I look a long time after a better solution arround.

At June 2020 I did see a very good solution at a crowdfunding plattform:



After a comparison of different Datasheets I did decide to give the Ecoflow R600pro a try:

https://www.4x4tripping.com/2020/06/...rbatterie.html

It did arrive yesterday - too bad that we have winter and snow here in switzerland, not the best time for overlanding ;D

Can these small 8kg unit really replace my aged, but well designed Power Setup?



First Impressions:

- Android/iOS App allows to see charging / Power drain
- It allows to charge a MacBook Pro over USB-C and without the 220v Adapter

I will hopefully find some time soon, for a detailed test / review

Surfy
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  #2  
Old 16 Dec 2020
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Charging my current setup in wintertime - was one of the first steps. Did use the embedded Inverter - with 220v it dont need much time :-)



Surfy
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  #3  
Old 17 Dec 2020
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The first view tests did run very well.

The embedded 220v Inverter even fire up my Water heater who is rated for 1800W.

And the embedded USB-C Port with 100W is able to charge any modern notebook like the Lenovo Yoga X1 (Gen5) or MacBook Pro (2020).

Here you find some more impressions:
https://www.4x4tripping.com/2020/12/...-eindruck.html

Surfy
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  #4  
Old 18 Dec 2020
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That dont sound after a real usecase - who will use a water heating device abroad - but I will do the test :-)

I did it already - but didnt count the time or water temperature.

In the review of the weaker small brother, the R600max at youtube:

https://youtu.be/5WPs1hKtvKI

You can see at Minute 20:10 how the Inverter is able to do that job, he just undervolt the device.

Its amazing how many different gear he is able to fire up!

Any Idea how I can masure, how strong the battery really is?

Surfy
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  #5  
Old 18 Dec 2020
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Test done.

1L Water at Room temperature (20degres celsius)

79% charged at beginning
53% charged at the end

Difference 26%

The time wasnt same impressive 12 min for 1 Liter.

If I compare the ammount of effort to boil water, this way it is more relaxed compared to a jetboil (gas) or Coleman Dual fuel (gasoline)

My temporary solution we bought in Congo - is also easyer and a lot quicker ^^ Just because of that, I dont carry them with me ;-)



Final words: I would never ever would take a water heater with me, when travelling the world by a Land Cruiser. That is fancy shit for motorhomes...

At the end we want to be able to drive offroad - that is the reason why we try to save weight. Why we buy these energy boxes. We dont buy them to carry an additional water heater..

In my Article you find informations how the Inverter is able to handle that load. These Energy box is in my focus, because we dont need the inverter anymore.

Even any modern notebook can be charged by usb-c directly (12v). In my personal usecase I would just use the inverter rarely to charge my drone... And just for that. So I`m wondering, how we can test these box with the 12v ability??

Surfy
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  #6  
Old 3 Jun 2021
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I was so lucky to be able to work on my rig! And to test my new power setup at severall trips

I did went the way with crowdfunding to get one of the Ecoflow R600 Pro. Lucky me, because it will not hit the market with lifepo4. But the Ecoflow River Pro is near the same with Lithium batterys. The shipping did arrive late, at december 2020.

I did remove my 95 AH Battery, a 25a DC DC Booster, a 600w Sine-Inverter, a Wall Charger and cables - it was 35kg - 77 lbs. And I just add this small and lightweigt Ecoflow device with 8.5kg / 18.7lbs.



Here is my detailed review and new setup:
https://vanlife.4x4tripping.com/2021...olar.html.html

It is a perfect fit for overlanding purpose! Did was able to stay a week self-sufficent offgrid just with solar (and still full batterys afterwards). Would work too in a boat, a tiny house or similar.

There are severall competitor products - but no one was able to fulfil our need that well.

Surfy
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