Dirt-Cheap Solar Generator Setup - What Can It Power?

I was not expecting such a cheap solar generator setup to be able to power so much!

🛒 PRODUCTS in this video

*This is the newer model which wasn't featured in the video but came out about 5 days after I bought the River 2. It has very similar specs to the River 2 and is worth a close look. As of this writing, it's available for a similar price to what I got in the video. If you get this one, you'll have to buy a solar adapter cable separately, though.

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Let’s find out what you can run with a dirt-cheap solar generator setup! By "solar generator setup", I mean 3 things: 1) portable power station, 2) compatible solar panel, and 3) solar adapter cable. (The solar adapter cable is what allows us to connect the solar panel to the power station.)

Based on the Amazon price history charts I showed in the video, here's my advice on getting a good price: if the price of the power station you're considering is quite high when you're shopping, don't buy yet. Check in on the price every week or two for the next couple months. Based on historical trends, you'll likely see a price drop during that time and can snag it for a good deal.

Note: The EcoFlow River 3 came out like 5 days after I bought the River 2 🤦‍♂️. It was probably announced before I bought the River 2, but I didn’t see the announcement. You might think that’s why I was able to find the River 2 for so cheap, but it turns out the River 3 is (as of this writing) on sale for a similar price to what I got in the video. (There are also variants called the River Max and River Pro which are more expensive and not what I tested in this video.)

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Editor: Javan Khabi

Music:

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DISCLAIMERS

Some of the links in this video description and in the comments below are affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on one, I may earn a commission which will help fund more videos like this one. Thank you! 🙏

For general informational purposes only. Nothing in this video is intended to be professional solar or electrical advice. Please consult with a licensed professional in their field of expertise in your jurisdiction.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

[AW]

Saw your $100 solar set up video and challenged my son to see what we could do...
Now we are running dual LiFePO4 in parallel and bought a power bank like this video's to share the power around the house.
Now all our phones, laptops, batteries, and even a rechargeable hand held vacuum run on solar power.
Keep up the good content.

[IanRush-nyyl]

You're the first person to show me the proper capacity of these things

[roundsrapid]

13:54 Electric motors usually take a huge current for milliseconds when they first start. I think that’s what X-boost is for.

[moussaniang]

Why this video isn’t viral yet? This is literally the best solar video i have seen in a while. Taught me a lot. Thank you

[DarkPassenger_]

I'm gonna say this is probably the best in depth real world review of this unit I have seen so far. Great Job 👍!

[anthonydebski]

You Folks in the US are SO lucky!! Here in Britain....the usual..."you CAN'T do THAT!...or the ever regular "we FORBID you to DO that..." prevails...besides, the SALES infrastructure is just not around! GOOD LUCK to YOU GUYS!!! well impressed!...& if you're in Arizona, Texas, Florida....WOW!!!

[jepolch]

I have the original EcoFlow Max. I first plugged it into the wall and after charging, plugged the refrigerator into the Max. The Max died after one month. I called EcoFlow and they said it could not be used as a UPS permanently. They sent me a new unit. The second one died after a couple of month while leaving it plugged it with nothing plugged into the Max. Called EcoFlow and they told me you can't leave it plugged in all the time. They sent me a new unit. So now after it's charged I unplug it and only use it during power outages. Disappointed.

[clintonelliott]

Subbed, I absolutely love that you aren’t just doing sponsored stuff and actually buy the stuff kinda like jerryrigeverything does. I have a battery bank I got on a deal with a solar panel and will be trying to power a room with it! Keep up the excellent work!

[idee]

Before seeing your video, I didn’t think I could afford a solar generator. Thank you for the detailed info from unboxing and setup to testing voltage and capacity, addressing assumptions, and reassuring those of us nervous about electricity!

[joyfulgypsy]

This is the most comprehensive, set up, and use of power stations. So informative and helpful. I am a first time buyer. And This vid helped immensely. Big props. Thank you

[criostasis]

I got the river max for $220 and i love it. 576Wh, 3 600w plugs, can do up to 220w solar input. Just need to get a couple panels. Used it to run my fridge for a few hours during a power outage and it still had over an hour of charge left when the power came on. Great video!

[m.h.english]

Thank you for this!! I made the mistake of purchasing a small 300 watt inverter for $60 thinking I was getting a great deal, but not realizing how much energy it talked to brew a single cup of coffee. But after figuring out how to do the math to meet my needs, I was able to purchase a 600 watt (w/1200 watt surge) power station for the price of a 300 watt station on sale, and it performed remarkably well during our most recent power outage. The World needs more people like you to educate the rest of us who simply weren’t born with this knowledge. 😇

[AndrewSheldon]

Best intro video to solar and power stations for buyers ever. You even identify best brands and buying strategy. Very educational for a guy who watches a lot of these videos. Only addendum would be if car fast charger will work with this, I.e. from bluetti, pecron or ecoflow.

[aaronstathatos]

7:20 Fun fact about modern batteries: they charge slower as they near full capacity. This is partly due to increased internal resistance at higher charge levels, which makes it harder to move electrons back in. This process creates a bit of internal pressure and helps protect the battery from damage, ultimately extending its lifespan. Rapid charging, especially with excess heat, can also lead to the formation of dendrites—tiny structures that obstruct electron flow. You might be familiar with this if you have an older phone that dies quickly or no longer charges to 100%.

[NeckMiNipp]

Amazing Video, would love to see a follow up video using a 500$ budget!

[infidelcastro]

First time viewer here from the UK.
Your ability and willingness to explain stuff in terms everyone can understand is the reason I just subscribed.
You should do a video with Alex from Technology Connections 😊 Both of you are natural ‘explainers’ 😊

[desupernoodle]

When you charge the battery up to 100% the first time it takes forever because it's calibrating the battery. That's why it stayed around 90-95% for so long.

[redandgoldfan]

thank you for helping the community understand this stuff! good job!

remember keep the box (batteries) in the shade, nice n cool !

SOLAR panel in the SUN and batteries cool <--- there's a reason the solar generator comes with fans inside

[lua-nya]

Ecoflow says you can overpanel these slightly, but you can safely overpanel them a bunch more to get closer to maxing out the MPPT in these. I've run two theoretically 100W panels in parallel, each capable of 80W on a good day, to get approximately 100W on a relatively average sunny day, and over 50W on a white clouds day.

[bignamehusband]

I love the mix of technical and practical. So many of these videos online dont compare to your super simple approach of... this is what you can plug into it and how long it will last. Great job. Forever thankful subscriber.