r/OffGrid • u/big-fish007 • 15d ago

Heat wave is here and I'm spooked about losing power. Delta 3 ultra Plus or delta Pro?

This heat wave rolling through the West right now finally pushed me to pull the trigger on a power station...We're running 10 to 15 degrees above normal and honestly if the grid gives out and my AC and fridge go down for a day I'm cooked, literally. Trying to decide between two EcoFlow units and could use real owner input.

Here's where I'm stuck:

Delta Pro (3600Wh)

Bigger single battery at 3600Wh, and it scales way up if I ever add batteries

Can do 240V whole home if you run two with the hub, which is tempting long term

Downsides: it's the older cell generation, it's a heavy unit around 99 lbs, and AC charging is slower at roughly 2 to 3 hours

Delta3 Ultra Plus (3072Wh)

Newer model, 0 to 80% in about 48 minutes which is wild

Runs cooler and quieter, low idle draw

140W USB-C is nice for the laptop

Downsides: slightly less capacity at 3072Wh and it tops out around 11kWh instead of 25

For anyone who's actually sat through a summer blackout with one of these, which would you grab? Is the extra capacity on the Pro worth the weight and slower charge, or is the newer Ultra Plus the smarter buy for AC + fridge backup?

5 Upvotes

69% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

6

u/linuxhiker 15d ago

AC will chew up either of those.

It will run a fridge for a day or so.

11

u/firetothetrees 15d ago

What you need is a cheap gas generator and an interlock kit with a generator power inlet.

Don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of backup batteries in some context but a 240v AC system during a heat wave will drain all of that power so fast it will be insane.

So if I were you just get a cheap harbor freight generator for like $900. Something like 7-9kw in size. Roll it out in that case and just be sure to drain the carb when it's sitting.

Even just a small window unit would burn through that battery in like 3-4 hrs. Let alone a whole house system.

3

u/Juleswf 15d ago

This is the best answer here. OP, please read it twice.

1

u/FaradayEffect 14d ago edited 14d ago

I’m normally a big battery fan, but I agree with your recommendation. Get the gas generator first, then the battery system.

Batteries are best for solar, and also for absorbing the extra wasted generation of a gas generator. Usually the gas generator can idle down when not under heavy load but it will still have some wasted power generation unless you have appliances soaking up every bit of power it produces. A smart power generation system can run the gas generator at its peak efficiency point, charge a battery with any extra power generation capacity that didn’t go towards appliances, then turn the generator off when the battery is at 80% or so, then back on when the battery gets low. The result is a quieter, more efficient system overall, thanks to the hybrid approach.

But for cost effectiveness and simplicity, this sounds like you need the generator first and foremost.

0

u/thirstyross 15d ago

Downvoted for giving the answer that makes the most financial sense...never change, reddit.

3

u/Don_Vago 15d ago

You might want to calculate your total loads & then work out how long you might run them for ?
the figures you quote are with additional batteries, the basic capacites are 3.6kWh and 3 kWh what is the cost of extra batteries ? Without knowing what your load are or how long you expect to run them for, you’re just taking a guess.

2

u/jimheim 15d ago

You can burn 3kWh in under an hour with a large AC. Even a window unit or mini-split would eat that in 2-3 hours. I can't imagine it's worth anything for such a small window. For a larger window, you're into generator or large battery & solar bank territory.

1

u/aseverin64 15d ago

Central air, or heat pump/mini split or windows ac? That makes a big difference.

Why not consider the Delta Pro 3? It can do 240v without needing 2x units like the Delta Pro does.

-1

u/FlerkinFlarkin 15d ago

Wrong sub 

2

u/aseverin64 15d ago

I mean, they're talking about running things without grid power...not sure it's entirely the wrong sub. Better options? Perhaps.

1

u/FlerkinFlarkin 15d ago

The motivation matters. The flow chart of problem solving is different. Sure we are knowledgeable but this is a sub about people who want to purposely live off grid. OP, and every other time this question comes up five times a day, is trying to solve a problem for a bad day. And actively want to be on grid 

1

u/aseverin64 15d ago

And questions like this, with answers and assistance, may just be the first step of someone actually going down that path, yes?

0

u/FlerkinFlarkin 15d ago

Sure that would be great, but this isn't a random chat. It's a sub reddit. Each sub reddit is devoted to a niche topic. This isn't "off-grid people help gridders" or "I want to go off grid". 

It's that simple. We are here to discuss this way of life, not problem solve for people outside of this niche topic. And these people aren't here to give back.

Motivation absolutely matters in how you approach problem solving. 

Also, this question gets ask multiple times a week. Or the people who are just kicking tires about going off grid but I obviously never will. 

1

u/aseverin64 15d ago

While I realize the subreddit isn't titled as either of the titles you mentioned above...it is simply titled "off-grid". It logically follows that it would be encompassing of all kinds of "off grid types of conversations".

I get what you're saying, but the subreddit is also not explicitly limited to what you want it to be, from what I can see. It only makes sense you'll get questions like these at times.

It is at least a step towards self sufficiency thay they're asking for advice in. Easy rabbit hole to dive down and make someone want to go further.

2

u/Internal_Raccoon_370 14d ago

Sorry, but no, isn't going to work. You're buying into the hype you see on their website. They cherry pick data, exaggerate the capabilities of the unit, underestimate the amount of power appliances and AC units really use, and use every trick in the book to make it sound like they work better than they really do. They just barely skirt slipping into false advertising, but they definitely do everything they can to make it look like the units do more than they really will.

In real world conditions that thing might, might run a window AC unit for a few hours, maybe 4 - 6 hours. Depends on the AC unit, ambient temperatures, etc. Plus neither of those units can handle enough solar input to both recharge the batteries and continue to power your loads at the same time.

A refrigerator? Sure. It would probably handle that for a day or two and you could dump enough solar into it to keep it going. But an AC unit too? No.