EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max Power Station Review: Lifesaver | Battery pack | Solar Battery | Tech Reviews

EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max Power Station Review: Lifesaver During Emergencies The recent floods across different parts of India have made me curious about whether it is time citizens across India should start looking at buying a portable power station. While portable power stations are quite popular in countries where people regularly go out camping, in India, the use cases may be different. Portable power stations are expensive and EcoFlow is a popular brand. The latest EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max Power Station costs Rs 51,900. But these power stations last for up to 10 years. So, why should you consider getting a power station? Well, you will have reliable power backup during road trips and long power outages due to flooding or other crisis situations. Not just that, you will also have peace of mind while working remotely from hills, beaches or villages. Another USP is that the power stations like the EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max can be charged using a car charger and when plugged to an AC power socket, it takes just 1 hour to get fully charged.I used the EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max power station for more than a month and here is my review. EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max Power Station: What’s cool?The power station offers 512Wh capacity and can provide 500W output (with boost output to 1000W) and it takes just 1 hour to get fully charged. You can charge using the regular power socket or your car charger and you can also buy a separate solar panel and to solar charge it. The device features LiFePO4 battery and is claimed to be safe for use for up to 10 years. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells are claimed to be durable and the company claims that using the RIVER 2 Max six times a week, 3000 full 100% cycles will last 9.6 years until it drops to 80%. Another aspect is LFP cells can withstand warm temperatures plus it comes with its own cooling fans that engage automatically. The rated storage temperature is around -10°C to 45°C with the company claiming 20°C to 30°C as the ideal temperature to store this power station. So, you have to make sure that the device is kept in a cooler space during harsh Indian summers. In terms of safety, there’s TÜV Rheinland certification.This power station is pretty compact measuring 27 x 26 x 19.6 cm and weighing 6.1 kgs. You can easily carry it around. You can charge this power station by connecting to any AC power socket with 220-240V~ 50Hz/60Hz, 660W. The good part is that you can continue to use the device while it is getting charged. As mentioned, you can buy a portable solar panel separately and plug it in to charge it. Do note that for solar charging, it’s rated for 11-50V 13A, 220W. You can plug a regular car charger too rated at 12V/24V, 8A, 100W. Now, let’s talk about charging speeds. The three USB Type-A ports can deliver an output of 5V, 2.4A, 12W. This means your phones will take some to recharge as there is no support for fast charging. Meanwhile, there’s one USB Type-C port that can charge a bit quickly at 5/9/12/15/20V, 5A, 100W. You can also use the same USB Type-C port to recharge the device itself. Talking about AC power output, you can connect any appliance that consumes up to 500W. Note that the total surge output is 1000W, 230V at 50Hz/60Hz. So, it is recommended that you disconnect other devices when you intend to plug a high power consuming appliance like a mini fridge or some kind of heating device. It goes without saying, always look at the power rating of an appliance before plugging it to the EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max Power Station. You can also connect an external power strip to plug in more devices for charging but make sure you don’t exceed the 500W rating or surge output of 1000W. Another cool feature is the super high switchover speed of less than 30ms. If you connect it to any essential device like a CPAP machine or even a Wi-Fi router you won't even realise that the power was down. There’s a dedicated app called EcoFlow that allows you to change charging speeds and settings as well. EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max Power Station: What’s not cool?The EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max Power Station does its job well but there are some areas where it needs to improve. For starters, there should be an option to turn off auto cut-off when it’s running on battery and is not connected to the wall socket. For example, I was using it as a power backup for my Wi-Fi router and the auto cut-off is quite annoying. To avoid this from happening, I had to keep the power station connected to my wall socket always, even after it’s already charged to 100%. n18oc_tech