EcoFlow Delta Max Review – Everything You Need to Know
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EcoFlow has established itself as one of the leading brands when it comes to portable power technology. Its compact and practical solar power generators offer fully integrated, high-capacity deep-cycle batteries, efficient, built-in charge controllers, high-performance power inverters, and many useful output ports.
In the past, we reviewed the EcoFlow Delta 1800 and found it to be an extremely impressive and capable unit. It remains one of our favorite solar generators, and it continues to be one of the best-selling units on the market today.
We are incredibly excited to take a close look at EcoFlow’s updated and expanded version of the Delta 1800 – the EcoFlow Delta Max. Not only will we review the upcoming EcoFlow Delta Max, but we will also take a look at some of the exciting accessories EcoFlow announced alongside the Delta Max.
Our Review of the EcoFlow Delta Max
The EcoFlow Brand:
Before we look at the new models and accessories, it is worth taking a quick look at the EcoFlow brand to learn what it’s all about.
Given that it started in 2017, EcoFlow is a relatively new company. However, in the short time the brand has been around, it has shaken up the portable solar power industry. In many ways, it has fulfilled its ambitious aim of reinventing the way people access power.
Its reliable and highly portable solar power generators have given consumers the ability to access renewable power from even the most remote locations. As previously mentioned, the EcoFlow Delta 1800 has earned an impressive reputation as a durable, high-performance solar generator available at an extremely competitive price, which is why it continues to be the brand’s best-selling unit.
This is where the EcoFlow Delta Max and Delta Pro come in.
The Upcoming Product Launch:
In August of 2021, EcoFlow announced that it would be launching two new solar generators with a variety of accessories and a smart gasoline-powered generator.
As expected, this announcement was met with excitement from consumers and industry professionals alike. People excitedly backed the Kickstarter announcing the upcoming solar generators, contributing $10,000,000 in just over ten days!
While the accessories are exciting, the real buzz stems from the announcement of two upgraded and updated versions of the popular EcoFlow Delta 1800 – the EcoFlow Delta Max, which we will be taking a look at today, and the EcoFlow Delta PRO, which we will explore in a separate review.
While both are much larger than the Delta 1800, the Delta PRO is the largest and most powerful, which is why it is marketed as the big brother to the Delta Max. While one unit is larger than the other, both new models are massive and offer incredible features.
The EcoFlow Delta Max
The Delta Max primarily acts as a backup power supply for emergencies, but like its predecessor, the Delta 1800, it is incredibly versatile, which is why it is a practical choice for anyone looking for the ability to access power in off-grid situations.
Battery Capacity, Life Cycles, and Shelf Life
Battery Capacity:
The first thing we noticed when we examined the Delta Max is its outstanding battery capacity. The Delta Pro features a built-in 2,016Wh deep-cycle solar battery, a significant upgrade over the Delta 1800’s 1,260Wh battery.
While the larger battery is a major upgrade, what is exciting is the fact that EcoFlow has made both the Delta Max and Delta Pro expandable.
So, you can expand the Delta Max’s already impressive battery capacity to a staggering 6,028Wh by adding two compact and affordable battery packs! Even without expanding the internal battery, you can use the Delta Max to charge and power some fairly demanding electric appliances.
For perspective, a Delta Max could power a full-sized refrigerator for nearly two days, charge a standard laptop over 60 times, or run a 32-inch LCD television for nearly three days. On top of that, expanding the battery could potentially triple these figures!
Battery Shelf Life:
Given that EcoFlow designed the Delta Max for the specific purpose of supplying reliable power during emergencies, such as grid failures and natural disaster-induced power outages, it is no surprise that the battery has an impressive shelf life.
Essentially, shelf life refers to the length of time you can leave a battery charged before it will lose its power through a natural draining process. While all batteries lose power over time, higher quality batteries can hold their charge for longer than inferior batteries.
Shelf life is incredibly important for those that plan to use their generator as a source of emergency or backup power, as you want a unit that can be relied upon to charge your appliances and electronic devices when you need it.
With a shelf life of over 12 months, users can leave the Delta Max in storage for an entire year with the expectation that the unit will still have a charged battery if the power in their home goes out.
Life Cycles:
In addition to its extraordinary capacity and shelf life, the Delta Max’s internal battery is rated for over 800 life cycles. Life cycle rating estimates the total number of times you can charge and drain the battery before its storage capabilities begin to diminish.
800+ life cycles is rather impressive, especially when you compare that number against the industry standard. Most solar generators start to lose some of their storage potential way before reaching 800 charge cycles. It is also worth noting that a cycle refers to a full recharge followed by a full discharge, so partially discharging the battery would not have the same impact as a full cycle.
You could partially use the battery rather than fully drain it, and the impact on its lifespan would be insignificant.
What is New About the Delta Max?
While the Delta Max features an incredibly capable MPPT charge controller and an efficient power inverter, we have come to expect these features from an EcoFlow solar generator. What excites us about the Delta Max is some of the new features:
Wi-Fi Connectivity:
The Delta Max is Wi-Fi enabled, which means it is compatible with EcoFlow’s user-friendly mobile app. You can monitor everything from charge output and input information to the brightness of the LCD screen from your smartphone, tablet, or computer.
As we will explain in greater detail, it also means that the Delta Max is compatible with the new EcoFlow Smart Generator, which can efficiently and automatically charge your solar generators using gasoline when they need a boost.
X-Boost Charging:
X-Boost allows you to quickly charge connected devices much faster than you could with a conventional solar generator. X-Boost technology and 3,600W dual charging capabilities also mean you can fully charge the Delta Max itself very quickly.
A full recharge can be achieved in just 1.8 hours using a standard AC wall plug-in! Given that generators with a similar battery capacity can take as long as 8 hours to charge, these speeds are truly incredible.
Whether you are charging your Delta Max through a wall outlet, car charging port, or solar power, it will charge quickly and efficiently.
Emergency Power Supply Mode (EPS Mode):
EPS Mode means the Delta Max will automatically fire up when your main power source fails. For anyone interested in emergency preparedness, this is incredibly helpful.
Whether you have concerns about natural disasters or want to ensure that occasional power outages and grid failures do not disturb your lifestyle, this new feature offers a real improvement over the previous EcoFlow generators.
Battery Expandability:
As mentioned above, EcoFlow has designed the Delta Max to accommodate two extra batteries, taking the total storage capacity up to 6,028Wh.
Given that this would take the Delta Max’s battery capacity up to nearly five times the capacity of the Delta 1800, it is a really useful feature!
Our Overall Impression of the New EcoFlow Delta Max
Simply put, the EcoFlow Delta Max met and exceeded our high expectations. At just 48lbs, it offers an incredible weight-to-power ratio and is still much lighter than its competition.
It offers some of the fastest charging in the portable battery bank industry, which is important to us. Aside from its big brother, the Delta PRO, there is nothing like the Delta Max out there.
Wi-Fi connectivity and the new EPS mode are great additions, as is the ability to increase the overall capacity with expansion batteries.
The Delta Max is so powerful that you can easily use it to run power tools, including incredibly demanding devices, like an arc welding machine. The battery capacity is so large, and the internal components are so powerful that you could even give an electric vehicle a quick charge. This news is huge for those who own an electric vehicle, like a Tesla, as it allows you to keep an emergency power source in your trunk in case your vehicle’s battery ever drains before you can reach an EV charging station.
A wide range of charge ports sets the Delta 1800 apart, and EcoFlow built on this with the Delta Max. In addition to six AC wall-style plug-ins, you get a variety of USB ports, including two of the new USB-C 100W ports for fast-charging iPhones, Android smartphones, laptops, and more. It even features a car-style 12V input and output, so you can connect the Delta Max to your vehicle’s battery.
One of the best portable solar generators on the market just got better! We were already massive fans of the EcoFlow Delta 1800, so to see an announcement for a new and improved version got us excited. Luckily, EcoFlow has not disappointed, and the new Delta Max is just as incredible as we had hoped it would be.
Overall, it is just an extremely capable unit. With 5,000W of surge power and 2,400Wh of storage capacity, it is more powerful than a Honda EU 2200i gasoline-powered generator!
It holds more energy, supplies more power, charges faster, and has more versatile charging ports than anything we have seen at this price point. The fact it is also compact, lightweight, has Wi-Fi capabilities, can be used as a complete EPS for an entire house, and is expandable, just means the upcoming Delta Max is something worth getting excited about!
The New EcoFlow Accessories and Smart Generator
Now that we have reviewed the Delta Max, we can take a quick look at some of the accessories EcoFlow announced alongside it.
The Delta Max Smart Expansion Batteries:
The new battery expansion packs have a similar appearance to the Delta Max itself. They each feature a total storage capacity of 2,016Wh, as well as an easy-to-read LCD screen. They weigh approximately 40lbs and have a built-in carrying handle, so they are also portable enough to be a practical power solution for RV enthusiasts, campers, and anyone else who values mobility.
Like the Delta Max, the Smart Expansion Batteries are rated to 800 life cycles. They easily connect to the Delta Max with a simple connector cable and have a grooved bottom, which allows them to safely sit on top of the generator.
The Smart Home Panel:
For those interested in emergency preparedness, the upcoming Smart Home Panel allows you to connect your generators and expansion batteries directly to your home’s electrical panel. The Smart Home Panel communicates with any Delta Max or PRO that you have connected to it, so when the power fails, your solar generators will immediately begin supplying power to your home’s electrical system.
The panel can be easily installed and integrated into your home’s power system. It can connect with up to ten home circuits and has less than a 20-millisecond switchover response time. As with the Delta Pro, the Smart Home Panel is Wi-Fi enabled, so it is compatible with the new EcoFlow smart app.
In other words, the new Smart Home Panel can instantly supply your home’s electrical system with up to 7,200W of power in situations when your home would otherwise be without power.
The EcoFlow Solar Tracker:
This exciting and highly portable device connects to your existing solar panels to make them more efficient. A series of sensors detect the sun’s movement and automatically reposition your solar panel for optimal orientation for sunlight absorption.
Not only will the Solar Tracker move the direction of your panels, but it can also alter their angle. It can accommodate any solar panel, including rigid panels and flexible varieties. The entire Solar Tracker is water and weatherproof, so you can leave it out in all conditions.
It is really easy to use and adjust, as there is no need to program it. Right out of the box, it will automatically orient your solar panels using its sunlight sensors. Best of all, it barely uses any power, as it only draws about 30W while it is moving. EcoFlow also designed the tracks to keep the cables separated. You do not have to worry about them tangling during movement.
You can manually control or position the panels using the smart app if needed, but the sensor almost always works best. It contains multiple light sensors rather than a single sensor, so it is incredibly sensitive and accurate.
The EcoFlow Smart Generator:
While we have come to associate EcoFlow with renewable energy storage, it also announced the release of a Smart Gasoline-Powered Generator, which is compatible with the Delta Max and Delta PRO.
Essentially, the new Smart Generator is designed to act as an emergency power supply that will automatically start when your solar generator’s battery is critically low. Assuming your Delta could not be charged with AC or solar power, the Smart Generator’s engine would fire up just long enough to fully charge your generator.
Once the batteries have been fully charged, the generator will immediately shut down, so you do not burn unnecessary fuel. It is also incredibly efficient, especially compared to a traditional gasoline-burning generator. EcoFlow claims its Smart Generator is at least 25% more fuel-efficient than a standard generator.
You can also control the Smart Generator with the EcoFlow app, or you can manually start it. It is incredibly easy to use and offers a really useful and practical power solution for anyone that lives off-grid or just wants a reliable source of emergency power.
The Best EcoFlow Delta MAX Solar Kits
Final Words
With the success of the EcoFlow Delta 1800, we were excited to see what EcoFlow would release next. Luckily, we were not disappointed!
Both the Delta Max and PRO are incredibly powerful and exciting solar generators and the collection of accessories it is launching alongside them are interesting. Unique and practical items like the Solar Tracker and Smart Generator are incredibly innovative.
With these announcements, it is safe to say that EcoFlow is going to continue fulfilling its aim of reinventing the way people access portable power. For more information, take a look at EcoFlow’s Kickstarter Announcement.
