Dangerous Ecoflow kit?

Otter Spotter

Otter Spotter

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I know we don’t think much of gadget John & Mandy but take a look at the section of this vid where he talks about a graded lead Ecoflow supplied in a bloody expensive new set up (I think best part of £6,000), it was getting very hot and could have burnt his van down to hubs 🤪. Story around 8.4t mins in .

 
I watched it earlier today, free or not that won’t be good advertising…. 😎
 
Words fail me. If that had happened in my van with a pre-made cable, I'd be ripping the system out. How can he possibly have faith in the other wires or the rest of the system?

It's not like this is the first fail he's had with EcoFlow. Although by far the most serious.

This kit is top money. Using a good brand LiFePO4 and all Victron charging/inverting would cost less. Seems a pile of overpriced junk.
 
Wissel said:
Words fail me. If that had happened in my van with a pre-made cable, I'd be ripping the system out. How can he possibly have faith in the other wires or the rest of the system?

It's not like this is the first fail he's had with EcoFlow. Although by far the most serious.

This kit is top money. Using a good brand LiFePO4 and all Victron charging/inverting would cost less. Seems a pile of overpriced junk.
Click to expand...
I seen this earlier.
I did think I would rip the lot out and get the money back. But the trouble is the system probably means ripping the van apart again and routing all new cables.
I think they will find a compromise All new looms probably and the idiot that made the original loom is probably looking for a new job as we speak.
My concern would be how many mistakes did he make?
Difficult to blame the company for a rogue worker. But I would think it would require a full recall of the looms on safety grounds

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There is nothing wrong with jointing cables if done correctly. But this was not done correctly, not even close. The person who did this shouldn't even be installing equipment because they obviously have no electrical training at all.

I would be ripping out all their equipment.
 
I think this is the piece of kit he bought

uk.ecoflow.com

EcoFlow 5kWh Power Kits - Get Set Kit (5kWh) - EcoFlow UK

• 4 Charging methods include up to 4800W solar, 1000W alternator, 3000W shore power, and 1800W Smart Generator input. • Plug-and-play for simple assembly • Compact, integrated design, all-in-one inverter hub • Save space with stackable batteries • 48V system, a safer, smaller power solution •...
uk.ecoflow.com uk.ecoflow.com
 
Lenny HB said:
OK the cable may have been iffy you never know with GJ but connecting a Lithium straight to the starter battery without a B2B s a big No, No in my book nothing to limit the current drawn.
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That's a bit harsh as the kit is complete from eco flow. plug and play.

It was their worker that made the loom. Also I'm sure he said it was fused

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To be fair to Eco Flow, it might have been a pre made lead with connections that they had bought in from a supplier. I doubt they make their own components, but I may be wrong ....

The test is how they respond and deal with the issue. I would hope a full recall of all installations or a competent person visiting everyone who has this system and carrying out extensive testing (if there is a test method of course).

Either way though, their reputation is tarnished and it may be difficult for them to overcome this in such a specialised field.
 
MisterB said:
I would hope a full recall of all installations or a competent person visiting everyone who has this system and carrying out extensive testing (if there is a test method of course).
Click to expand...
Yes there is a test method. Measure the resistance of the wire. The resistance of copper cable of known cross-sectional area is very predictable. It's not really possible to measure with a multimeter on the lowest resistance range, it doesn't go low enough, but there are many other good methods. Basically you measure the voltage drop when passing a known current (amps). Mind you, I reckon this bodge would have shown up even with a multimeter.

This kind of fault is one that a fuse doesn't protect against. The duff joint is a resistance that generates heat, but that's because the joint is 'stealing' power from the appliance and dumping it in the joint, heating it up. The fuse doesn't know anything about this, the amps flow is perfectly normal, actually if anything slightly reduced. In fact the best scenario is when the insulation melts and the pos and neg touch, which will blow the fuse. If they don't touch, it would probably cause a fire.
 
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Two scenarios……

1) Yes patched up join when feeds was installed or…
2) To much draw on feed causing the join to create heat at its weak point.

Regardless rip out and replace or cut the bad bit away and do a proper job.
 
I think Eco Flow were using GJ as a social media Guinee Pig to push their "Plug & Play" electrical kit, thats why in his last video he had problems with the Hub & Control Panel communicating with each other. Eco Flows answer was to send him out replacement parts, including a new set of 6KW lithium Batteries and new firmware to boot.
Its an interesting, although very expensive concept to design an easy to install, DIY Plug & Play system that incorporates everything needed to supply 12v & 240V in a Van, Boat, or any off grid install. I think GJ's system would have cost more than his stated 4.5Grand, I think it would have been more like 6 Grand with the 3 batteries he used.
Not looking good for Eco Flow marketing if they were thinking of having a stand at the Feb NEC show is it:unsure: I am not sure how they will recover from this situation now that its out there all over tinternet.
LES
 
Looks like video been removed!!
Ah maybe not, just tried ti view it again and it appears to be back... strange.
 
Fragle said:
I seen this earlier.
I did think I would rip the lot out and get the money back. But the trouble is the system probably means ripping the van apart again and routing all new cables.
I think they will find a compromise All new looms probably and the idiot that made the original loom is probably looking for a new job as we speak.
My concern would be how many mistakes did he make?
Difficult to blame the company for a rogue worker. But I would think it would require a full recall of the looms on safety grounds
Click to expand...
Don't think John paid for the system, think of him more of the tester and salesman.
 
TinaLes said:
I think Eco Flow were using GJ as a social media Guinee Pig to push their "Plug & Play" electrical kit, thats why in his last video he had problems with the Hub & Control Panel communicating with each other. Eco Flows answer was to send him out replacement parts, including a new set of 6KW lithium Batteries and new firmware to boot.
Its an interesting, although very expensive concept to design an easy to install, DIY Plug & Play system that incorporates everything needed to supply 12v & 240V in a Van, Boat, or any off grid install. I think GJ's system would have cost more than his stated 4.5Grand, I think it would have been more like 6 Grand with the 3 batteries he used.
Not looking good for Eco Flow marketing if they were thinking of having a stand at the Feb NEC show is it:unsure: I am not sure how they will recover from this situation now that its out there all over tinternet.
LES
Click to expand...
If DIY yourself, it would cost around £2500, included in that would be 3 x 200AH Lifepo4 Battery,
 
The Wino said:
I bet ecotree are going to have a problem with getting a bit of tar from the brush just by having a similar name. As far as I'm aware they are a totally separate enterprise very unfair if they get some fallout.
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To be honest as I had used neither company I was conflating the two until you mentioned it.

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The lesson I take from this is my electrical DIY efforts are good! I may not be a fully trained electrical expert but for many years I've tinkered and built up some decent knowledge.
Cable high, fuse low.
I often put hefty cables in convoluted tubing - one for + one for - .
I'd never joint a high power cable - for all the expense I'd use a continuous length BUT if I were to joint a cable I'd use something like this https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/butt-splice-copper-tube-crimp-connector-22-25mm-cable.html
with double heat shrink sleeve.
I shouldn't have shown vid to my wife ....:oops::oops::oops:
 
arthur49 said:
The lesson I take from this is my electrical DIY efforts are good! I may not be a fully trained electrical expert but for many years I've tinkered and built up some decent knowledge.
Cable high, fuse low.
I often put hefty cables in convoluted tubing - one for + one for - .
I'd never joint a high power cable - for all the expense I'd use a continuous length BUT if I were to joint a cable I'd use something like this https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/butt-splice-copper-tube-crimp-connector-22-25mm-cable.html
with double heat shrink sleeve.
I shouldn't have shown vid to my wife ....:oops::oops::oops:
Click to expand...
I use the same Connector for the joint, but before I press them, I put Flax & solder in them, them press, then use heat again to make sure.
 
Peregrinator said:
I use the same Connector for the joint, but before I press them, I put Flax & solder in them, them press, then use heat again to make sure.
Click to expand...
You should never solder crimped joints it really is asking for trouble.
 
dna said:
New update video has been posted

Click to expand...


No surprise there, typical business response in my experience, we’ve got ya money and don’t want to know….😎

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