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expiredowl posted Feb 01, 2022 07:57 AM
expiredowl posted Feb 01, 2022 07:57 AM

Costco Members: EcoFlow River Pro Portable Power Station

& More + Free Shipping

$430

$579

25% off
Costco Wholesale
182 Comments 108,697 Views
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Deal Details
Costco Wholesale has for its Members: select EcoFlow Portable Power Stations for the prices listed. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Community Member owl for finding this deal.

Available:Features (River Pro):
  • Three 600W Outlets and 720Wh Capacity
  • Recharge from 0% to 80% in One Hour
  • Compatible with 80% of Home Appliances
  • Control with Ecoflow App

Editor's Notes

Written by powerfuldoppler | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • Our research indicates that the EcoFlow RIVER Pro Portable Power Station is $119.01 lower (21% savings) than the next best available price from a reputable merchant with prices starting from $549
    • These prices match the most recent Frontpage deal.
    • Please read the Forum Thread for more deal discussion.
  • About this product:
    • Rating of 4.6 from over 120 Costco customer reviews.
  • About this store.
    • Details of Costco's return policy here.

Original Post

Written by owl
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Costco Wholesale has for its Members: select EcoFlow Portable Power Stations for the prices listed. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Community Member owl for finding this deal.

Available:Features (River Pro):
  • Three 600W Outlets and 720Wh Capacity
  • Recharge from 0% to 80% in One Hour
  • Compatible with 80% of Home Appliances
  • Control with Ecoflow App

Editor's Notes

Written by powerfuldoppler | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • Our research indicates that the EcoFlow RIVER Pro Portable Power Station is $119.01 lower (21% savings) than the next best available price from a reputable merchant with prices starting from $549
    • These prices match the most recent Frontpage deal.
    • Please read the Forum Thread for more deal discussion.
  • About this product:
    • Rating of 4.6 from over 120 Costco customer reviews.
  • About this store.
    • Details of Costco's return policy here.

Original Post

Written by owl

Community Voting

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+58
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Top Comments

owl
404 Posts
123 Reputation
OP here. Perhaps as a helpful comparison, I have been considering the Tesla Powerwall. The current version is spec'ed to have 13.5kWh accessible at around $10,500, before installation, permitting, and other accessory parts. Plus, Tesla no longer sells this without bundling with Tesla solar. There are other brands that sell battery backups for the home these days, but I trust Tesla for the battery cells at the moment.

With the Tesla pricing, that's about $778/kWh (without taxes, installation, circuitry, etc), and the Powerwall is not portable, if that matters to some of us.
With the EcoFlow pricing, it's $791/kWh (without taxes and still need something like a power transfer switch installed) at the Costco price or $1,000/kWh (at the EcoFlow retail price of $3,600) and $750/kWh for the extension batteries (at the EcoFlow retail price of $2,699).

I consider the EcoFlow Delta Pro model as a DIY (as someone else has put it) starter version of a home battery backup system, with some other benefits, such as having clean energy for camping and other peripheral uses. To have it fully able to be a home backup system for a decent amount of time (12-24 hours), I will probably need 4 of these linked in series, which might be the max at this point in time. With ~14kWh, that should be more than enough for my essential needs, if I turn off non-essentials. (I'm using around 6-8kWh for essentials per day and about 12-14kWh for a typical day that includes non-essentials, too. This is in San Francisco, so no A/C.)
Rudibager
204 Posts
38 Reputation
Delta Pro cannot do everything a gas generator can do, but not everybody lives in a residence that is conducive to running a gas generator. For example, If you're in a small apartment, where are you going to run the gas generator? If the power is out because of a violent storm or hurricane weather, are you going to set up the generator outside in that situation?

The Delta Pro can power essential things for at least a few hours in a serious pinch.
daclements
40 Posts
85 Reputation
It's just additional capacity. It has a purpose.

182 Comments

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Feb 01, 2022 08:03 PM
47 Posts
Joined Jul 2016
combi1Feb 01, 2022 08:03 PM
47 Posts
Quote from MostCleverName :
So, judging from the majority of responses to my comments, it's safe to conclude this somewhat of a large glorified mobile battery pack for smaller appliances. The thought of an electric generator is very appealing. too bad the tech isn't there yet.

Thanks!
Not true jump on there site. You would need other accessories
Feb 01, 2022 08:58 PM
1,638 Posts
Joined Jul 2005
h2dealFeb 01, 2022 08:58 PM
1,638 Posts
If there is a power outage and this "runs on" electricity instead of gas or propane... how would you "refill" it to keep it going? Seems like this is best for camping or other planned needs for mobile electricity, not for an outage at home.
2
Feb 01, 2022 09:05 PM
28,267 Posts
Joined Jan 2007
cgigateFeb 01, 2022 09:05 PM
28,267 Posts
i have free night electricity plan, I wish it can power my house in daytime and charging in night time
Feb 01, 2022 09:08 PM
30 Posts
Joined Nov 2008
dthlinFeb 01, 2022 09:08 PM
30 Posts
Quote from cgigate :
i have free night electricity plan, I wish it can power my house in daytime and charging in night time
The roundtrip cost per kWh is far too expensive for this to financially work out in your favor.
Feb 01, 2022 10:08 PM
204 Posts
Joined Jun 2017
RudibagerFeb 01, 2022 10:08 PM
204 Posts
Quote from h2deal :
If there is a power outage and this "runs on" electricity instead of gas or propane... how would you "refill" it to keep it going? Seems like this is best for camping or other planned needs for mobile electricity, not for an outage at home.
This is not a replacement for a gas generator. However, to answer your question, the most expensive option (Delta Pro) can be fitted with an attachment to be charged at EV charging stations. So if you had a power outage, and ran the Delta Pro until it ran out of juice, you could charge it at an EV charge station relatively quickly (if one is close by, but far enough from the outage area), and then bring it home to use again.
2
Feb 01, 2022 10:34 PM
134 Posts
Joined Aug 2010
StachFeb 01, 2022 10:34 PM
134 Posts
Quote from h2deal :
If there is a power outage and this "runs on" electricity instead of gas or propane... how would you "refill" it to keep it going? Seems like this is best for camping or other planned needs for mobile electricity, not for an outage at home.
The smaller Delta's can be charged via solar panels (over several hours and used at the same time) or someone else's household current in 1 hour to 80%
1
Feb 01, 2022 10:46 PM
1,725 Posts
Joined Sep 2014
leeterbikeFeb 01, 2022 10:46 PM
1,725 Posts
If you're looking for a power storage solution and are thinking of a Tesla Powerwall, this is a great option. Cheapest price/kWh

https://www.electriccarpartscompa...age-system

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Feb 01, 2022 11:03 PM
1,638 Posts
Joined Jul 2005
h2dealFeb 01, 2022 11:03 PM
1,638 Posts
Quote from cgigate :
i have free night electricity plan, I wish it can power my house in daytime and charging in night time
I have a feeling your power company will catch on you to real sooner if you start pulling loads at night and little during the day!
Feb 01, 2022 11:07 PM
1,371 Posts
Joined Dec 2008
madcow3417Feb 01, 2022 11:07 PM
1,371 Posts
Quote from PurpleHarrier7406 :
Good question. The eco flow can be directly recharged by solar panels, while the vehicle cannot. So if you want to be able to recharge your EV with solar panels, hook up your panels to the eco flow and the eco flow to the EV
The button for "give rep" is missing from your comment, but I fully agree. This is one of the consideration I had while building my off-grid system.
There is an interesting project in the works to charge EVs with solar panels. Someone did it by carrying separate batteries, a charge controller, and an inverter in their trunk. This other person decided to make a charge controller that could boost the voltage for 300V+ EV batteries, eliminating the need for all that extra weight. It's kind of an R&D project right now. For example, I read somewhere that charging a Nissan Leaf with solar panels with this method bypasses the BMS so you can end up with an unbalance battery pack.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/U...1-jsQfNXRg
https://realsolarcars.com/
Feb 01, 2022 11:09 PM
3,693 Posts
Joined Jul 2019
94c107ea-869c-45a5-becd-c6b552Feb 01, 2022 11:09 PM
3,693 Posts
Quote from MostCleverName :
So, judging from the majority of responses to my comments, it's safe to conclude this somewhat of a large glorified mobile battery pack for smaller appliances. The thought of an electric generator is very appealing. too bad the tech isn't there yet.

Thanks!
What you're after is called 'power wall', the tech is def there so long as your pocket book is, Ford will be one of the first to allow battery back up for home with Ford Lightning, my primary reason for pre-order.
Feb 01, 2022 11:20 PM
1,813 Posts
Joined Aug 2011
NateRulesFeb 01, 2022 11:20 PM
1,813 Posts
Quote from DoctorBoudreau :
I'd love to build a powerwall diy but need to learn more about battery banks. I like the Will Prowse YouTube channel - his solar to bank to EV sounds Iike a good setup. Not grid tied

All that being said, which of these is good for fridge and cell phone power. I can live without the rest during an outage
I would say that if you are already watching Will Prowse videos then these are all a bad deal. You should build your own. You can go to Will's forum and see where members are sourcing batteries from china and order a bunch. It may take months for them to arrive. Actually, the small one for $420 is a good deal if you are just looking for a big phone/computer/other stuff charger while you are away from electricity. But anyone looking for something bigger should consider building their own. It's fun to do and you can build a serious power system with the money you would spend on one of these guys. At least go watch some Will Prowse videos to see if it is something you would want to do.
Feb 01, 2022 11:23 PM
2,507 Posts
Joined Aug 2010
PlatinumButterflyFeb 01, 2022 11:23 PM
2,507 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank PlatinumButterfly

Quote from MostCleverName :
So, judging from the majority of responses to my comments, it's safe to conclude this somewhat of a large glorified mobile battery pack for smaller appliances. The thought of an electric generator is very appealing. too bad the tech isn't there yet.
The tech IS there, you just won't find it for $500, otherwise everyone would have it. You can get a Tesla PowerWall for $10.5k and it can power the average home for a day, depending on exactly how much power your house uses. Possibly more if you ration your electronics during an emergency situation. The EcoFlow could probably keep your fridge alive for 2-3 hours or you could use it to keep your computer and router on (assuming that the outage didn't take out internet entirely) and charge laptops/cell phones.

For comparison, a PowerWall is a 10.5kWh battery, whereas the EcoFlow River Pro is 0.72kWh - less than 7% the capacity. The PowerWall is also directly wired into your house so it switches over automatically - you're not just plugging in individual appliances.

There are also other competing products but none of them are cheap.
2
Feb 01, 2022 11:39 PM
3,693 Posts
Joined Jul 2019
94c107ea-869c-45a5-becd-c6b552Feb 01, 2022 11:39 PM
3,693 Posts
Quote from PurpleHarrier7406 :
Good question. The eco flow can be directly recharged by solar panels, while the vehicle cannot. So if you want to be able to recharge your EV with solar panels, hook up your panels to the eco flow and the eco flow to the EV
EV can most certainly be charged with solar panels; when over generating will pull excess before grid.
Feb 01, 2022 11:40 PM
333 Posts
Joined Apr 2011
youeeeeeediotFeb 01, 2022 11:40 PM
333 Posts
Quote from adtruck :
What is the point of charging an EV with another battery pack? An EV itself is just another big battery pack so if you own an EV, you dont need any of these power stations because it is just a build in function with your EV. In addition, the energy storage in these little battery power stations is not enough for any meaningful EV usage.
No idea why you are being downvoted, this is the correct assessment. This unit may be good for a lot of things, charging an EV would not be one of them. Even the largest one listed at the top has a capacity of slightly over 4kWh. My EV has a 90kWh battery for example.

Again, perfectly fine product and would be great for a ton of different things... charging an EV is not one of them.

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Feb 01, 2022 11:53 PM
39 Posts
Joined Mar 2017
alwayszivFeb 01, 2022 11:53 PM
39 Posts
great discussion and I'm hoping people will chime in with their opinion (i know, stranger opinions online should be taken with a grain of salt but its all I've got).

I'm looking for a power source to power my 90w CPAP while camping for a few days (90w x 8hrs x 2days = 1,440 watts). Would this be considered a good price for a portable power source?

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