EcoFlow River 3 Plus - "Pure Sine Wave" Oscilloscope Captures - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 12:21:08 am
content: I picked up a Rigol DHO804 and a Micsig DP3000 probe to take a closer look at the AC output from an EcoFlow River 3 Plus and other portable power stations. I've noticed that the River 3 Plus makes my Yamaha receiver's transformers vibrate/buzz when it's running on battery. Thus, I am trying to figure out what is causing that to occur.Here are a few captures of the waveformMultiple cyclesFull cycleZoomed around 0V crossing - rising edgeZoomed around 0V crossing - falling edgeHere is what happens when it's running a Yamaha receiverCurious to hear what others make of this. Thanks!

author: jwet
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 03:31:12 am
content: That's a pretty decent looking sine wave. I imagine what's giving you problems is that cross over distortion. That has some high frequency content in it. Try looking at the sine with FFT mode.A fix would be an AC line filter. You don't have to go crazy but that sine could stand a bit of cleanup.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 04:16:02 am
content: I was thinking about getting a slightly larger Ecoflow (Delta Pro or Delta 3 Pro) as they seem to have a good name, but went for the Pecron E3600LFP as it's exactly half the price of the Delta 3 Pro (albeit with only 3kWh capacity not 4kWh and 3600W rated output vs 4000W) but has very good features and reviews. Even with a 3kWh expansion battery (it can take up to four) it's still cheaper than a Delta 3 Pro (similar to what the original Delta Pro is going for now).It should be arriving in the next week or ten days, from the first shipment to New Zealand (240V AU/NZ model).Here's a screenshot of the waveform (from a youtube review) while delivering its rated 3600W. Looks cleaner than that River 3, though the guy could still hear something in a guitar amp. I'd say it's significantly better though. It's never going to be as clean as an actual rotating coil/magnet generator.

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 04:16:48 am
content: Yeah, it's the zero crossing that looks funky to me.On the rising edge:Starts with normal sine waveSteeper slope from -10V for 100μsDead time of 200μs held at 0VOvershoots to 21V for 100μsCorrection back to 20V for 100μsNormal sine wave continuesI don't have the theoretical background to understand why this is happening, but that doesn't look good.I also see that average voltage is -2V, which I assume is what people call "DC offset", which apparently transformers hate.I've seen companies selling DC offset plugs for audio equipment for $150 or more. Not sure if that would help here and seems like a bit of a ripoff.I haven't got around to learning how to use the FFT. I've only been using a scope for a few days and my instructor is YouTube.

author: klammerj
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 04:48:41 am
content: It's probably a FET bridge switching. What be interesting too is the output current under load. Do you have a current probe?/can you build one?

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 04:58:22 am
content: Quote from: klammerj on May 27, 2025, 04:48:41 amCan you explain the FET bridge switching issue?I have a clamp meter and a Kill-A-Watt type meter. Don't have a current probe for the scope.This was testing with no load at all. I briefly tried it with a 600W heater, I think the waveform was a bit smoother, but I'll have to take detailed screenshots zoomed in. Though 600W is at the limit, and a better test would be with something like a 300W load. Will have to find a smaller load and try it.

author: jwet
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 06:29:39 am
content: Call the vendor and explain the problem. There may be some kind of hidden menu that allows adjustment/tweak of the dead time and zero crossing behaviour. Its a pretty small error.

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 06:55:23 am
content: Quote from: jwet on May 27, 2025, 06:29:39 amI opened a support ticket with EcoFlow on May 6th regarding the DC offset and the resulting transformer vibration in connected loads. They've repeatedly told me that R&D is looking into it.Now that I see the waveform, it seems like the issue goes beyond just DC offset. I honestly wonder if they cut some corners assuming nobody would notice. That’s concerning, especially since they market this unit as a UPS. I doubt I’m the only one using it to power a TV and receiver.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 07:34:36 am
content: If you want to look at the DC offset try slowing the horizontal timebase so you have many (hundreds) of cycles on the screen. With only one or a few, you may get erroneous results. As for looking at the voltage characteristics, I'd recommend you look at it while actually powering the receiver that is having the transformer noise issues. The UPS may have issues that show up more when powering a complex load. Is your transformer noise more of a hum or more of a buzz?

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 08:09:23 am
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on May 27, 2025, 07:34:36 amIt's more or less consistent at -2V to -2.5V when looking at a few cycles with 5ms/div. I will look what it shows with a lot more, that'd be interesting to see.I haven't tried powering the receiver and looking at the waveform. Definitely worth looking at.I posted a video of it in my first post. The transformer is vibrating the chassis and it can be felt. Someone called it a growling transformer on another forum. It's nearly silent when powered from the wall or another power station like the Anker Solix 521. It's not a grounding issue as the sound output itself is actually clean.Anker Solix 521:Home Wall Power:

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 09:16:55 am
content: Assuming that noise is coming directly from the transformer--which it appear to be--then I'd say the DC offset and saturation is the likely cause. Confirm that you actually have that DC offset, making sure it isn't coming from your DP3000 or scope, then I think you can stop looking.The zero-crossing noises are not going to cause this, harmonics and noise above 60Hz will simply be passed through the transformer and won't cause any saturation or other core issues. Mains transformers tolerate huge harmonic distortions without issue but you usually don't see them looking like that. Even the modified square wave (cheap UPS) works fine without humming on most transformers.

author: gf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 10:14:32 am
content: Quote from: AdriftAtlas on May 27, 2025, 08:09:23 amOn the screen, your sine wave starts and ends at a different phase, so clearly the average over the screen width won't be zero. With a large number of cycles, the leakage due to this mismatch will be smaller, though.Multiplying the waveform with a window function before averaging would help as well (then about 5-10 cycles would suffice to reduce the 60Hz to DC leakage significantly), but I have no idea how you could do that with the scope's on-board features. Maybe with FFT, provied that the scope also displays the DC bin, but I'm not sure if it does.

author: klammerj
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 27, 2025, 10:15:59 am
content: QuoteIt's just four FETs arranged like a Graetz (rectifier-)bridge that reverse the voltage every half-wave.And the switching regulator might also take a bit to come up.(The waveform looks okay IMHO.)

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 04:14:17 am
content: I put a simple 65W SMPS load on it here, notice how the Vmax does not match Vmin:And here's what happens when it drives the Yamaha receiver:I'm guessing this is bad...

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 04:51:49 am
content: Oh! A very interesting ~5kHz instability there.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 05:00:09 am
content: Quote from: AdriftAtlas on May 28, 2025, 04:14:17 amCan you get your money back? That unit is looking pretty grim.

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 05:12:05 am
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on May 28, 2025, 05:00:09 amI bought three of these EcoFlow River 3 Plus units to replace SLA UPS' around the house. All of them do this to various degrees. Starting to regret it. It's been several months since I bought them.I also have an EcoFlow Delta 3 Plus that also has a jagged sine wave, but at least it doesn't seem to be offset. Nor does the Yamaha receiver's transformers affect it much. Though, I'm starting to wonder at what point is a "pure sine wave" considered not pure?

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 05:27:49 am
content: Here's a more consistent stopped view of the waveform of the EcoFlow River 3 Plus powering my Yamaha Receiver TSR-5830 at idle (normally under 50W):

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 06:53:44 am
content: Can you put some sort of a choke on the power cable to the Yamaha Receiver?The 100:1 difference between the 50Hz power cycle and the 5kHz oscillation is pretty big to stick a powerful low pass filter in.https://support.klipsch.com/hc/en-us/articles/4416949281044-Using-Ferrite-Chokes

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 07:05:52 am
content: Quote from: AdriftAtlas on May 28, 2025, 05:12:05 amThe harmonic content of mains voltage generally isn't a big deal and your receivers linear PSU really wouldn't be bothered by it much. However, that 6kHz oscillation looks like a failure of the feedback control and is very similar to what I've seen (typically >1MHz) in audio amps when a transistor is replaced that doesn't exactly match the original. The fix is usually just adding damping in the feedback loop. It looks like your PSU may be sensitive to the current phase, similar to the issues an audio amp faces driving the complex load that is the typical loudspeaker. I still think the DC offset is a more serious issue, but I would be looking for a way to either get these fixed or returned. If they're inherently unstable and have DC offset issues, you may end up damaging more than your receiver.Also, not to talk you into buying more equipment, but it would be really interesting to see the currents on a scope. An AC clamp would suffice, but an AC/DC clamp would be better.

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2025, 07:39:44 am
content: Quote from: brucehoult on May 28, 2025, 06:53:44 amIt's 60Hz as I'm in the US. Would a Ferrite really do anything?Quote from: bdunham7 on May 28, 2025, 07:05:52 amIt starts oscillating even with a simple doorbell transformer, just not as wildly. A box fan also produces a similar, but even smaller oscillation. A purely resistive load like my oil radiator set to 600W doesn't bother it, nor does any sort of SMPS.I know it's not good for connected equipment. For now I'm collecting data and insights to have something solid to show to EcoFlow. Though I bet they know about this issue.Can the feedback loop be corrected in firmware or does it require actual hardware changes? That's a very expensive oops for EcoFlow if all River 3 Plus units are flawed.I was looking at a Micsig current probe yesterday, that's another $260. The Micsig differential probe was like $250, but money well spent to ensure I don't destroy my scope or electrocute myself. I have an insulated banana plug to standard power outlet plug cable so that nothing high voltage is exposed.

author: klammerj
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 29, 2025, 09:49:59 am
content: The fact that it's only happening with transformers suggests the inverter might not like too much inductance on the output.try putting 1uF+100OhmR in series across the line (a Snubber).L -----------*-------|===|| || ||N -----------*-------

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2025, 05:36:59 pm
content: Quote from: AdriftAtlas on May 28, 2025, 07:39:44 amNot knowing exactly how the internals of the unit function I can't say for sure, but yes it might be possible to correct this in firmware. I'd be more concerned about the DC offset and it isn't at all obvious how the two are related. In any case, the fact that they let these units out the door like this doesn't give my any confidence that there's going to be a quick fix. If you can't return the units, then I'd look into making DC blocks for any devices connected that use input transformers. The vast majority of SMPS PSUs won't be affected at all.DC blocks can be made with two large back-to-back electrolytic caps in parallel with two diode strings so as to limit the voltage across the caps. These caps have to be able to handle the full current draw of the device, so that's not trivial. 2V is a lot of DC offset so you'll need 5 diodes in each string and capacitors in the 6300µF range.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 02:01:11 am
content: Quote from: AdriftAtlas on May 27, 2025, 06:55:23 amThese days, the majority of typical household loads are SMPS that may be fine with even a pure DC input. Do you have a big induction motor to try it with?

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 04:27:15 am
content: Quote from: klammerj on May 29, 2025, 09:49:59 amI don't have the needed skills to build my own, and most of the off the shell stuff doesn't appear to be using a cap large enough.Quote from: bdunham7 on May 29, 2025, 05:36:59 pmI've looked into buying a DC block, for some reason they're really expensive.Quote from: amyk on May 30, 2025, 02:01:11 amYes, SMPS have no problem with it. But the Yamaha receiver has a plain transformer that really doesn't like it.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 05:54:01 am
content: Quote from: AdriftAtlas on May 30, 2025, 04:27:15 amThey're typically an audiophool product. I'm away from home, but if you still need one in two weeks I'll draw one up. The most expensive part of it will probably be the case, although the capacitors may be a close second. $50 at the most, probably less. But I'd actually recommend not plugging your receiver into that power supply at all, it will be safer just dealing with the mains directly.

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 06:02:59 am
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on May 30, 2025, 05:54:01 amYeah, I think I'll just plug it into the surge protector that sits before the River 3 Plus. Not a big deal if it looses power and the surge protector has low/high voltage cutoff. Meanwhile, going to bother EcoFlow about fixing their junk.

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 08:07:22 am
content: This is my surge protector:https://www.ametekesp.com/esp/next-gen/next-gen-120-208vHere are pictures of its guts:https://imgur.com/a/Tk0tLWGI had to use a N-G bonding plug to get it to work with the River 3 Plus, so I did not want to plug my AV receiver in at the same time. Interestingly enough, it being connected was enough to drastically reduce the voltage oscillations even with a doorbell transformer hooked up. Even more curious, the doorbell transformer didn't have to be connected through the surge protector, nor did the probe. I think it's acting as a snubber?Unfortunately, it does nothing for the DC offset, it's still -2V. And the doorbell transformer is still noisy.

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2025, 05:35:27 am
content: I bought the River 3 Plus version that Costco is selling today to see if a newer revision is any better.EcoFlow River 3 Plus Wireless Boost Combo:https://www.costco.com/ecoflow-river-3-plus-wireless-boost-combo.product.4000358863.htmlAs soon as I put it on the scope my jaw dropped and my blood boiled:Notice how Vavg (DC offset) is 53mV and Duty is 49.8%? Well the above screenshot is with the Yamaha AVR connected. No oscillations apart from a small overshoot/undershoot at the zero crossing. The Yamaha AVR slightly hums with this unit, indistinguishable from mains. What the actual ****?The firmware version is the same as my other units. The production date is 2025/03/12, so a bit more than four months later than my other three River 3 Plus'.It looks like they fixed a hardware design issue between 2024/12/03 and 2025/03/12. They're likely hoping that nobody notices their glorious **** up. Well someone did notice and I'm livid!

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2025, 08:47:18 am
content: Or your original one has a dud component or a bad joint or something.At any rate it's ammunition for you to get it fixed or replaced.

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2025, 09:28:50 am
content: Quote from: brucehoult on June 24, 2025, 08:47:18 amI have three of the original units. All three have the same issue with DC bias. What are the chances all three are duds? They were all manufactured about a month apart of last year.I'm considering asking EcoFlow to replace all three with this slightly different model, not sure if they'd go for it though.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2025, 10:47:36 am
content: They are all, including the new one, River 3 Plus, no?That would be weird.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2025, 12:03:47 pm
content: Meanwhile I picked up my new Pecron E3600LFP from the local courier depot on Thursday. omg, 35kg in a featureless cardboard box is rather unwieldy to lift in and out of the car! I don't think I could have managed a 51.5kg Ecoflow Delta 3 Pro! Good thing I took a hand truck with me. It's much more manageable once its unboxed, with nice handles in the top edges.I've got it pretty well set up already in the weekend, running all my "all day" electrical loads including the fridge, Starlink, WIFI, M1 Mac with 32" 4k monitor, i9-13900 Linux laptop, a bunch of SBCs (mostly RISC-V, some Arm) -- all of which together max to 200W, but usually about 120W. Then dehumidifier (~300W), and 4kW portable air conditioner (1000W). When everything is going at the same time it's 1500W, but most of the time it's ~120W. It can charge the battery at about 1800W rate, using about 1900W of input. Total power draw from the 240V input maxes at 2500W. If all the loads are running at the same time when it also wants to charge the battery then the battery losses out and only gets 900W-1000W until the aircon cycles off.I just a couple of minutes ago finished my "free hour of power" for the day, in which the aircon used 0.425kWh (outside temp is 10º C, it's keeping the house at 22º C), the total input to the E3600 was 2.342kWh, and it charged the battery from 24% to 68% (after using from 100% down to 24% running just from battery power in the 5-9 PM peak period). So in theory 1.35kWh (44% of 3072Wh) went into the battery in that time. It's now using half price night rate electricity to slowly top it up to 90% and sit at that most of the night, before juicing it to 100% in the last 15m before the 7-9 AM peak period. In the same hour about 0.43kWh went to the dehumidifier, fridge, and computers with around 0.12kWh of loss to inefficiency.I've got the Pecron app set up with seven different time periods during the day (weekdays, skipping some on weekends), each with their own battery charging rate from AC (10% to 100% of 1800W in 10% steps) and battery charge percentage above which it won't charge from AC at all (0% to 100%, in 10% steps).23:00-0645: slowly charge tp 90%, hold there06:45-07:00: charge to 100%, at 100% rate07:00-09:00: morning peak, don't charge; use TP-Link Tapo P110 to turn off the AC input to force battery use09:00-16:40: slowly charge to 90%, hold there16:40-17:00: charge to 100%, at 100% rate17:00-22:00 evening peak, don't charge; use P110 to turn off AC in from 17:00-21:00.22:00-23:00 free power, charge to 100%, at 100% rate (in fact it's never going to make it, added 44% today, I got +53% another day with aircon off)In the morning and evening peak times -- when electricity costs twice what it does from 23:00-07:00 -- I use a Tapo P110 to turn off the AC in to the E3600. That Tapo also gives access (via an app, or script on a computer) to current W and total kWh for the day and month, and also some graphs. The Tapo is controlled from Python scripts run from cron on a RISC-V SBC. That's also logging various data on the SBC.I'll include below the hourly graph showing power into the Pecron today (up to a little after 23:00), and also from another P110 showing power going from the Pecron to the aircon each hour. I didn't alter aircon settings today, it's just set to 22º C all day.I'll do a much longer write-up on this thing soon, but after five days I'm pretty pleased. There are a couple of niggles, but overall it's GREAT, especially at literally half the price of an Ecoflow Delta 3 Pro (which to be fair has 33% more kWh and a 10% bigger inverter ... but you can get the Pecron and TWO 3kWh expansion batteries (9kWh total) for about the price of the 4kWh Ecoflow), and with much better features than the original 3.6kWh/3.6kW Delta Pro.I'll spill the biggest niggle now: it runs the 1000W air conditioner just fine, on either AC pass-through or inverter, have not seen a single problem. BUT at the instant of losing (turning off) the AC power and the Pecron switching from AC pass-through to the inverter (UPS feature) there is almost always a loud CLUNK from the aircon, if it is running at that moment, and roughly one time in five the Pecron will display "Inverter Overload" and shut down. This is not good for whatever I'm doing on my Mac at the time -- UPS functionality is a major reason for having this thing.I've worked around this problem by making sure the aircon is not running before I turn off AC to the Pecron.Code:#!/bin/env python3from PyP100 import PyP110from time import sleepdef outlet(ip):tp = PyP110.P110(ip,"tapo_username","tapo_password")tp.handshake()tp.login()return tpaircon = outlet("192.168.1.31")e3600 = outlet("192.168.1.41")def aircon_running():# using more than 100W?return aircon.getEnergyUsage()["current_power"] > 100000while not aircon_running(): sleep(1)while aircon_running(): sleep(1)e3600.turnOff()Without the first while loop there is a small chance that the aircon could turn on in the 3-4 seconds between checking it and the Pecron switching to battery/inverter mode. But when it turns off it is always off for a minimum of 3m30s. Similarly the "on" time is a miimum of 30s. This can definitely be improved, for example by recording recent "on" and "off" times and checking that an "on" is unlikely in the next few seconds.Again this Python is running on a RISC-V SBC ... currently a $30 one, but I'll probably drop it down to a $10 Milk-V Duo S with a camera module at some point. The camera, pointed at the Pecron's screen, will allow me to parse out things such as the current battery charge and script things around that e.g. turn the AC back on before the end of the 5-9 PM evening peak period if the battery is empty. It was particularly cold on Saturday night and the unit shut down at 8:59:45 just 15 seconds before the power was due to come back on. The other nights so far there has been between 8% (Friday) and 24% (today) battery left at 9 PM.Attached: today's log of power into the Pecron, power from Pecron to aircon, and WIP Python image processing of the Pecron's status display.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2025, 12:28:22 pm
content: Quote from: brucehoult on June 24, 2025, 12:03:47 pmPerhaps this screenshot from the video above is relevant.I can imagine a motor could "object" to that discontinuity. No idea what guarantees are made about phase during switchover.It might be interesting to capture the waveform when your aircon did and did not cause shutdown, then "compare and contrast" what's visible.

author: Seekonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2025, 06:29:54 pm
content: Use this to remove DC offsethttps://sound-au.com/articles/xfmr-dc.htm

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2025, 06:40:13 pm
content: Quote from: brucehoult on June 24, 2025, 12:03:47 pmThe other reason the aircon might cause a problem is the reason fridges/freezers can cause a problem. I've measured the startup current in a 90W freezer. I've seen it draw >1kW for over a second. Usually the peak time and/or amplitude is lower, of course.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 12:53:46 am
content: Quote from: tggzzz on June 24, 2025, 12:28:22 pmYes, as it ONLY happens at UPS switch-over, and not always, the way the transient works out is clearly the cause.The case shown doesn't look that bad to me. If you have to have 9ms or 10ms missing then losing a peak but having the new waveform in phase with the old one -- as this photo appears to show to a pretty high degree of accuracy -- should be as good as it gets. It should be much worse to have the new waveform 180º out of phase with the old one i.e. the wave cut at a point and the right half simply slid along 10ms (at 50Hz, as we have in NZ).QuoteMaybe at some point when I do a controlled shutdown on all my other stuff first.Via the magic of IoT I have a good work-around for the twice every day deliberate UPS switch-over (just make sure the aircon motor is off before I turn off the power to the UPS), so it's just the random unexpected 2 or 3 times a year actual power outages that are a potential problem.I don't even know if the way the grid power shuts down will cause the same problem. Maybe it fades out over a few cycles, with many kms of power lines and a few massive transformers between me and the problem, not the abrupt cutoff from the WIFI-controlled switch? And if that happens, does the unit make any attempt to keep the same phase? I don't know.Also, it happens about 1 in 5 times that the aircon compressor is running at the time. During the daytime or early evening when most power cuts happen the aircon is normally at a very low duty cycle running maybe 10% of the time. Even when it's cold at night it's usually no more than a 50% or so duty cycle. So you're looking at a 1 in 10 to 1 in 50 or 100 possibility of the problem actually happening.That said, is there any way to smooth the transition a bit? Choke? Isolating transformer?

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 01:27:34 am
content: Quote from: tggzzz on June 24, 2025, 06:40:13 pmThat's clearly not the problem here. There hasn't been a single problem when the aircon starts up, probably around 1000 times by now. It uses ~1000W continuous, the Pecron inverter is rated at 3600W continuous, 7000W for a 1 second peak.I experimented with a 2400W oil column resistive heater. All is fine with the heater cycling on the 800W and 1600W settings, but it trips the Pecron overload on the 2400W setting. It probably has a pretty big inrush. And, no, I'm not planning to actually run that from the battery. In fact I really don't use it at all since getting the 4kW portable aircon, which puts out 1.67x more heat while using 0.42x of the electricity.I'm undecided whether to add the espresso machine (1400W), air fryer (1700W), toaster (700W), microwave (1200W), and electric kettle (2200W) to the Pecron. They're all high power when in use, but typically only used for a few seconds or minutes at a time (or per day, for that matter). And they all only operate when deliberately turned on, not autonomously in the background all day like aircon or computers. Even collectively they will be using very little electricity -- I think less than 1kWh/day -- so the only benefit in normal times is being able to make a cuppa in 2x priced peak electricity hours using stored 1x priced power (or solar, in a few months).Boiling 0.5l of cold water for a cuppa takes 1:30 until very energetically boiling, another 15s for the automatic cutoff to operate. So at 2200W that's 55Wh, 1.6c at off peak prices, 3.3c at peak. Not a big deal cost-wise either way for something I do 3 or 4 times a day.The thing I do need to know is whether I can power those things when I have a 4 day power outage like I did in Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023, or 2 days with Cyclone Tam in April this year. Looks like all but the kettle should be fine (for sure if carefully run individually). And for a cup of tea I can use the gas cooktop with a saucepan like some kind of animal (or American).

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 03:31:51 am
content: Quote from: brucehoult on June 24, 2025, 10:47:36 amCorrect, all four units are River 3 Plus, except the one that I bought now is a slightly different version with a wireless charging bay on top.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 03:38:45 am
content: Quote from: AdriftAtlas on June 25, 2025, 03:31:51 amThose are different models!Looking right now on the Ecoflow site "River 3 Plus" is $299 while "River 3 Plus Wireless" is $409.

author: AdriftAtlas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 07:18:05 am
content: Quote from: brucehoult on June 25, 2025, 03:38:45 amYes, they have different model numbers. The original is EF-RV-H02-1 and the one with the extra appendage is EF-RV-H04-1.The only difference between the two is a bay for a Qi2 power bank on top and the power bank that goes inside. Not worth any price difference at all as equivalent power banks are like $20 each.Costco was selling the River 3 Plus Wireless for $220 until Tuesday. I bought my three original River 3 Plus units for around $160 each.I plan to return the Costco one when I'm done testing. Hopefully EcoFlow will send me replacements for the other three units that actually work correctly.

author: jh15
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2025, 02:00:49 am
content: I was wondering how much RFI it radiates vs the new ones. Have you tried listening to AM radio on the receiver?