WHEN BUYING XT60I CONNECTORS ON AMAZON! Please check the description or reviews to see if center pin is connected to the negative. Most of xt60i connector including mine was listed as xt60i but center pin was not connected. But there are some out there!
I highly recommend fuses to prevent damage to your vehicle and wiring. The EcoFlo units with the Orange (not yellow) XT60i connectors charge at 8A with the i pin open or shorted to positive and 15A when shorted to negative. This can be confirmed with the XT60i car cable and MC4 cable.
Guys!!! With so much power in a 12 volt car system you have to be careful with the thickness of the cable. With 400 watts and only 12v, the cable has to be a certain thickness depending on how long the cable is!! Please always use a cable thickness calculator from the internet!! Otherwise, if the cables are too thin, a cable fire will start!! And your car could burn down!!
Yes. I did use online calculator. Each cable transfers 200w to each port not 400w. I got two set of cables connected to ecoflow each port receiving 15amps. Calculation shows OFC 12gauge wire thickness. Ran test for couples weeks now everytime i drive. Wire temperature is barely over ambient temperature. On most newer cars, cigarette jack can roughly output 150w-200w and i know for sure those wires are not 12gauge.
@@gunwiththewindCould you plug in the cigarette lighter charger as well as the two ‘solar’ ones? To get a bit more (although I think this solution gives more than enough for most use cases anyway).
@@gunwiththewind I did not know about the connectors! I just got a small EcoFlow recently and a solar panel. Also bought some extra cables. The 12V cig lighter cable, no center conductor. The cable for the panel, center conductor. I also now realize to NOT jump that center pin to ground on the cig lighter cable as that would cause too much current draw from the lighter socket. Would probably blow the fuse but the wires just can't handle the current anyway. Also, people, please don't jump the center conductor and try to bypass (the cig lighter fuse) with a higher rated fuse as this could result in a fire. If you go for the faster charge, only do this diectly from the battery and with an inline fuse that is the FIRST thing the current goes through after leaving the battery post. Thanks GWTW!! You've got my Sub! 👍
Very clever. I am going to get the pecron car charger it can be used on any power station. It charges up to 500watts which is enough. You can lower it as well and its 142 bucks with the discount out the door. I would do this I just don't trust myself. Lol great video!!!
@@johnmal5975 yeah they are on backorder. Shipping sometime in August if they were ordered before July 15. If not they have no idea when they will be available again.
Thanks for the comment. As long as powerstation is rated for solar panel input I think it should work no problem. If your Pecron power station uses XT60 for solar input you don't need to buy xt60i connectors. and if it does use xt60i cable check if center pin is connected to the negative. Because my connector was listed as xt60i connector but it did not have connection between negative and center pin.
@@gunwiththewind On the pecron car charger they have mc4 connectors just like a solar panel has. So whatever you connect solar with normally you use as if you were using a solar panel.
Smart thinking. I've been looking to do something similar, except i have the Delta 2 and the River 2 Pro that only have one XT60i so i will need a 12-24 converter to make it work. I would advise checking the temperature of your alternater after charging for a while to make sure it doesn't overheat, it may reduce its lifespan.
My oe alternator was 80 amps. I upgraded to 140amps and only pulling 30 more amps from charging the battery. I haven’t checked the temperature but i think it should be fine. But i will take your word and check it before my next roadtrip next month
I would add an inline fuse to those lines for safety. Size the Fuse to the wire size. if the keep popping then you will need bigger wire for bigger fuses.
Yes for final installation i did install inline fuse near the battery. After putting in wiring information into online calculator 12gauge was sufficient.
Here is my solution to connect my 30A DC charger to alternator w/o pulling wires through the firewall. I install two fuse tap on the two fuses for lighter sockets, each of them originally has 20A fuse, and I install 2x15A fuse to the tap because I know the fuse holder can handle 30A. Pulling two 1.5mm2 (18A rated) to the charger. I believe this is a safe solution even if i use the lighter sockets to it’s max and charging my batt simultaneously, but I don’t plan/need to .
Good video. I already purchased the EcoFlow 800 charger, so I am behind the curve. I was wondering if you could show how you can daisy chain the ecoflow battery to another solar generator while being charged from your alternator. In other words, charge two solar generators at the same time. Thanks. I subscribed!!.
Thanks for subscribing to my channel. Currently ecoflow is my only powerstation. But if you want to charge two powerstation using same cable, i would splice into my current charging cable and put connector on it. Since xt60 is rated for 60 amps and i am only using 15, i dont see any problem doing it this way.
No matter how you wire it the source is the alternator. It is certainly more efficient to charge DC with a DC source. Im curious how does one determine how much spare capacity a vehicle alternator has to be able to allocate to accessory loads like this without overloading the alternator? Car manuals are typically rather lame… lacking in technical info.
Thanks for the comment. First i check the maximum amp that my alternator could generate. Afterwards i checked amp draw using DC clamp meter with everything turned on AC, high beams, audio, and etc to see how much difference there are. My original alternator was rated for 80amps and i was drawing max 60amps. Since charging ecoflow will draw 30 extra amps i decided to upgrade my alternator to 140amps.
I'm concerned about the massive added draw you're pulling from that alternator if you're wanting to drive and charge at the same time, as that charging system is rated to handle the electrical demands of the trucks accessories like the A/C system, the defrost, lights, computers etc... Trying this on a newer vehicle with way more power demands can cause some serious damage to your cars electrical systems. I don't recommend doing this
Yes you are right. Many people don’t realize how much their alternators can handle before installing other accessories. My OE alternator was rated for 80amps and checked draw with clamp meter showing ~50amps, 60amps with everything on. In order for me to do this i did upgrade my alternator to 140amps ahead of time. Also i used manual isolator so i could charge my battery when i am not using other accessories.
No it did not. I will make another video of my install. xt60 is rated for 60 amps. I am only running 15amps on each connectors and my wires are full copper and thick enough for 60 amps.
You can do this exactly the same way. Sadly delta pro only has one solar connector with 15amp max and it will take forever to charge delta pro. You want to incorporate voltage changer to make this work more efficiently.
I know you said an inverter has an efficiency problem but who cares if the truck is running. you can charge at 500w, 750w and so forth with an inverter. It's better than 400w
My old setup i had to install inverter in my cab and fan ran really loud and alternator I had i could only do 400-500watts on inverter anyways. If alternator can support bigger inverter i would have used inverter setup again. But point of this video is to do it cheap without purchasing other equipments.
This is my test run. Just to see if i am getting 30 amps between two lines. For the final installation i did use relay to isolate two batteries. I did not use automatic battery isolation because i want to turn it off when i am using other accessories. There are some that can be by passed using a switch but couldnt find the information about duration of the bypass.
Mmmmm im confused. Ive seem someone on here charge their ecoflow delta with the eco 800w charger from a battery with no alternator ,, so just a battery and still get 800w
Your cars alternator is controlled by ECU to produce amount of charge depending on the load you are putting in the system. If the load goes over the amount that alternator can produce you will probably blow fusible link between alternator and the battery to prevent your car from burning down or damaging electrical components. Without alternator you don’t have to worry about producing charge for your battery and your car burning down from overloading alternator. So it can run as long as battery has enough power and keep up the voltage. Most of the car starter battery can’t run 800w for long time without proper alternator because voltage will drop under 12v and ecoflow alternator charger will shut off. It makes more sense to use if you use deep cycle battery.
There are ways to run full 800w with small alternator but it will cost more money. 1. Buy auxiliary deep cycle battery. 2. Buy DC to DC charger to control the charge into auxiliary battery. But it will only work until your auxiliary battery has power. Since 800w 12v is 66amp and most of the deep cycle battery is 100amp. With 20amp dc to dc charger your system will work for about 2 hours or less while your car is on. Or Just lower the charging speed on ecoflow app according to what your alternator can produce. And at that point is alternator charger really worth it?
Thanks for the comment. I made second video to show how everything is getting charged with amp meter. If what you are saying is correct, charging ecoflow with cigarette jack port or installing bigger sound system will kill your battery but it won’t. All your electronics are powered from your main car battery. Your cigarette jack port is connected to the battery same way as my set up.
I just want to make it clear, your ECU determines how much amp to generate from your alternator based on the voltage of your system. When running more electronics on your vehicle offroad lights, sound system, AC, inverters, etc will make your voltage drop. When ECU detects drop in voltage it will cause more resistance on the alternator to generate more amp to raise the voltage. As long as your alternator can supply the amp that is required it will keep your car battery around 14v.
Brother, you are not saving money doing this, idling your car like that for long periods of time will cause a lot more than 300 in wear, tear and maintenance cost, not to mention fuel costs. You're better off getting a generator, then leaving your car running for 5 hours to charge the battery...i have a battery like this, and will be grtting a generator soon, itll fill the battery in about an hour because it can charge at the full 1600 watts. The generator can run for 16 hours on a 4 gallon tank.
Thanks for the comment. 1. I am on a road trip and most of my days i am driving 6+ hours a day. I don’t really idle unless i have to. 2. I normally use about 500w - 700w per day. With my battery i can last about 3 days without charge. 3. I also stealth camp residential areas and using generator will get me kicked out. People have been charging dual battery setup using cars alternator for ages now. This is nothing new. But some companies like ecoflow and anker came out with “alternator charger” and selling them for ~$500 and i am not buying it. For sure if i need to stay in one place weeks at a time generator is the better option.
@gunwiththewind That's good! Was worried about that idle time, but sometimes you do what you have to with what you've got. I tend to avoid trying to camp in residential myself, commercial areas are the easiest to hang out in just because there are always unknown vehicles around so much. Also if there is a home depot nearby I have found that a lot of the time the light poles in the parking lot have 120v plugs you could use to charge, and they're usually okay with overnight parking. 500 for an alternator charger is obserd. You'd be better off getting 4 or 5 100 watt panels at that point, lol I recently found out harbor freight sells 100 watt panels and they actually put out just over that at around 104 watts, first panel I've found to output more than the rating, and they regularly go on sale for around 80 to 90 a panel.
![Jack Harlow - Hello Miss Johnson [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q86_nlRoIGw/mqdefault.jpg)
WHEN BUYING XT60I CONNECTORS ON AMAZON! Please check the description or reviews to see if center pin is connected to the negative. Most of xt60i connector including mine was listed as xt60i but center pin was not connected. But there are some out there!
Or connect it yourself when you put the connector on the wires.
This also makes using external 12V batteries for capacity expansion 2x as practical. Nice!
I highly recommend fuses to prevent damage to your vehicle and wiring. The EcoFlo units with the Orange (not yellow) XT60i connectors charge at 8A with the i pin open or shorted to positive and 15A when shorted to negative. This can be confirmed with the XT60i car cable and MC4 cable.
Thank you for the comment! And yes i did add the inline fuse to my final installation.
Thank You!! 😀
What a solid solution. The ‘solar’ charge controllers are DC/DC converters after all!
Guys!!! With so much power in a 12 volt car system you have to be careful with the thickness of the cable. With 400 watts and only 12v, the cable has to be a certain thickness depending on how long the cable is!! Please always use a cable thickness calculator from the internet!! Otherwise, if the cables are too thin, a cable fire will start!! And your car could burn down!!
Yes. I did use online calculator. Each cable transfers 200w to each port not 400w. I got two set of cables connected to ecoflow each port receiving 15amps. Calculation shows OFC 12gauge wire thickness. Ran test for couples weeks now everytime i drive. Wire temperature is barely over ambient temperature. On most newer cars, cigarette jack can roughly output 150w-200w and i know for sure those wires are not 12gauge.
@gunwiththewind yep 12 ga is plenty you could even go with 14 ga. 12ga is good for 20a and 14ga is good for 15a in conduit.
Yeah voltage drop calculator would be handy not a bad idea to put an inline fuse on there either
@@gunwiththewindCould you plug in the cigarette lighter charger as well as the two ‘solar’ ones? To get a bit more (although I think this solution gives more than enough for most use cases anyway).
How about heat shrinks between wires! Car battery can supply lots of A if shorted!
Fantastic test my friend, thanks for sharing this! Great video.
Thank you for the compliment! Glad to hear my video helped.
I had been thinking about this for weeks but you did it first! Great job, thanks for sharing
Thanks for your comment. I will try to upload update video sometime this week.
@@gunwiththewind I did not know about the connectors! I just got a small EcoFlow recently and a solar panel. Also bought some extra cables. The 12V cig lighter cable, no center conductor. The cable for the panel, center conductor. I also now realize to NOT jump that center pin to ground on the cig lighter cable as that would cause too much current draw from the lighter socket. Would probably blow the fuse but the wires just can't handle the current anyway. Also, people, please don't jump the center conductor and try to bypass (the cig lighter fuse) with a higher rated fuse as this could result in a fire. If you go for the faster charge, only do this diectly from the battery and with an inline fuse that is the FIRST thing the current goes through after leaving the battery post. Thanks GWTW!! You've got my Sub! 👍
Very clever. I am going to get the pecron car charger it can be used on any power station. It charges up to 500watts which is enough. You can lower it as well and its 142 bucks with the discount out the door. I would do this I just don't trust myself. Lol great video!!!
I'm having a hard time finding one.
@@NigelNaughton Go to their website.
@@johnmal5975 yeah they are on backorder. Shipping sometime in August if they were ordered before July 15. If not they have no idea when they will be available again.
Thanks for the comment. As long as powerstation is rated for solar panel input I think it should work no problem. If your Pecron power station uses XT60 for solar input you don't need to buy xt60i connectors. and if it does use xt60i cable check if center pin is connected to the negative. Because my connector was listed as xt60i connector but it did not have connection between negative and center pin.
@@gunwiththewind On the pecron car charger they have mc4 connectors just like a solar panel has. So whatever you connect solar with normally you use as if you were using a solar panel.
"I 'believe' the square side is the positive..."
I guess you'll find out pretty quick.⚡
Really appreciate your work on this! Thanks a ton.
I had been wondering if this would work since I’d like to do it with a standalone battery (not in a vehicle) so thanks for showing that it does work.
Smart thinking. I've been looking to do something similar, except i have the Delta 2 and the River 2 Pro that only have one XT60i so i will need a 12-24 converter to make it work. I would advise checking the temperature of your alternater after charging for a while to make sure it doesn't overheat, it may reduce its lifespan.
My oe alternator was 80 amps. I upgraded to 140amps and only pulling 30 more amps from charging the battery. I haven’t checked the temperature but i think it should be fine. But i will take your word and check it before my next roadtrip next month
Yep, and with a separate 12-24 on each input of the D2M we would see 800 watts total input/or same as the EF alternator charger.
Man, great job!
Hey, thanks!
I would add an inline fuse to those lines for safety. Size the Fuse to the wire size. if the keep popping then you will need bigger wire for bigger fuses.
Thanks for the comment. I did use inline 80amp fuse for the final installation. Thank you
probably want to oversize cables of that length. and as others have mentioned, fuse the hot nearest the power source for safety
Yes for final installation i did install inline fuse near the battery. After putting in wiring information into online calculator 12gauge was sufficient.
Next time, use red and Black wires, so you can tell Positive from Negative.
You know, the standard way, of doing things.
Thx for this work around 💪🏽💪🏽
No problem!!
Thanks. Good to know.
Here is my solution to connect my 30A DC charger to alternator w/o pulling wires through the firewall. I install two fuse tap on the two fuses for lighter sockets, each of them originally has 20A fuse, and I install 2x15A fuse to the tap because I know the fuse holder can handle 30A. Pulling two 1.5mm2 (18A rated) to the charger. I believe this is a safe solution even if i use the lighter sockets to it’s max and charging my batt simultaneously, but I don’t plan/need to .
This is BRILLIANT my brother!!! Wowwwww BRILLIANT!!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽SUBSCRIBED!
Thank you so much for your support!
If you use xt60 it depends on solar limits. Mine Delta mini uses 300w solar max and that’s what you get without the 60i
I use that relay in my setup and have it wired so it only engages when the car is running so I don’t accidentally drain my battery. 🤓
Awewsome video. i needed that info.
The BRUCE LEE of what he does ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Good video. I already purchased the EcoFlow 800 charger, so I am behind the curve. I was wondering if you could show how you can daisy chain the ecoflow battery to another solar generator while being charged from your alternator. In other words, charge two solar generators at the same time. Thanks. I subscribed!!.
Thanks for subscribing to my channel. Currently ecoflow is my only powerstation. But if you want to charge two powerstation using same cable, i would splice into my current charging cable and put connector on it. Since xt60 is rated for 60 amps and i am only using 15, i dont see any problem doing it this way.
Subscriber #301 here. Thanks for the Ecoflow hack!
Thank you so much! I have it fully installed in my car now. I will try to make an update video this week. Thank you again.
No matter how you wire it the source is the alternator.
It is certainly more efficient to charge DC with a DC source.
Im curious how does one determine how much spare capacity a vehicle alternator has to be able to allocate to accessory loads like this without overloading the alternator?
Car manuals are typically rather lame… lacking in technical info.
Thanks for the comment. First i check the maximum amp that my alternator could generate. Afterwards i checked amp draw using DC clamp meter with everything turned on AC, high beams, audio, and etc to see how much difference there are. My original alternator was rated for 80amps and i was drawing max 60amps. Since charging ecoflow will draw 30 extra amps i decided to upgrade my alternator to 140amps.
I'm concerned about the massive added draw you're pulling from that alternator if you're wanting to drive and charge at the same time, as that charging system is rated to handle the electrical demands of the trucks accessories like the A/C system, the defrost, lights, computers etc... Trying this on a newer vehicle with way more power demands can cause some serious damage to your cars electrical systems. I don't recommend doing this
Yes you are right. Many people don’t realize how much their alternators can handle before installing other accessories.
My OE alternator was rated for 80amps and checked draw with clamp meter showing ~50amps, 60amps with everything on. In order for me to do this i did upgrade my alternator to 140amps ahead of time. Also i used manual isolator so i could charge my battery when i am not using other accessories.
Great idea. By any chance did either the cables or the converter emit sufficient heat to be concerned?
No it did not. I will make another video of my install. xt60 is rated for 60 amps. I am only running 15amps on each connectors and my wires are full copper and thick enough for 60 amps.
I bet your heart stopped for a second after the screen turned off when you were checking if it worked.
That's a good video
That’s a good comment
I wonder if I can do this on my Anker?
I don't see why not. If Anker uses regular xt60 instead of xt60i then there is no need to modify the cable.
Outstanding! How can I make this work on a Delta pro?
You can do this exactly the same way. Sadly delta pro only has one solar connector with 15amp max and it will take forever to charge delta pro. You want to incorporate voltage changer to make this work more efficiently.
@@gunwiththewind Yes, have 12v to 48vdc converter. Get 720W coming in to Delta Pro
Simple genius
I know you said an inverter has an efficiency problem but who cares if the truck is running. you can charge at 500w, 750w and so forth with an inverter. It's better than 400w
My old setup i had to install inverter in my cab and fan ran really loud and alternator I had i could only do 400-500watts on inverter anyways. If alternator can support bigger inverter i would have used inverter setup again. But point of this video is to do it cheap without purchasing other equipments.
Sounds like a lifter is taping
Dealer told me it’s not lifters. They said its the pitting on the cylinder walls. But i have hard time believing them.
@@gunwiththewind yeah, don't believe them.
👍
Hi can you explain why you didn’t use a battery isolated and then hook up the wires? I don’t really understand
This is my test run. Just to see if i am getting 30 amps between two lines. For the final installation i did use relay to isolate two batteries. I did not use automatic battery isolation because i want to turn it off when i am using other accessories. There are some that can be by passed using a switch but couldnt find the information about duration of the bypass.
@@gunwiththewindWhich relay did you end up using? Link? Thanks
search on amazon “irhapsody 200amp relay” i over sized the relay for safety reasons.
Why not connect a Honda generator?
Now find out what that ticking in you engine is,
I would suggest watching Gadget John's experience with ecoflow in his van build before buying/ installing anything
What happens if you just connect one xt60i plug?
Since ecoflow limit each solar input at 15amps. I will only average around 200watts with single connector.
Mmmmm im confused. Ive seem someone on here charge their ecoflow delta with the eco 800w charger from a battery with no alternator ,, so just a battery and still get 800w
Your cars alternator is controlled by ECU to produce amount of charge depending on the load you are putting in the system. If the load goes over the amount that alternator can produce you will probably blow fusible link between alternator and the battery to prevent your car from burning down or damaging electrical components.
Without alternator you don’t have to worry about producing charge for your battery and your car burning down from overloading alternator. So it can run as long as battery has enough power and keep up the voltage.
Most of the car starter battery can’t run 800w for long time without proper alternator because voltage will drop under 12v and ecoflow alternator charger will shut off. It makes more sense to use if you use deep cycle battery.
There are ways to run full 800w with small alternator but it will cost more money.
1. Buy auxiliary deep cycle battery.
2. Buy DC to DC charger to control the charge into auxiliary battery.
But it will only work until your auxiliary battery has power. Since 800w 12v is 66amp and most of the deep cycle battery is 100amp. With 20amp dc to dc charger your system will work for about 2 hours or less while your car is on.
Or
Just lower the charging speed on ecoflow app according to what your alternator can produce. And at that point is alternator charger really worth it?
The Ecoflow Alternator Charger can deliver 800 watts because it is connected to the extra battery port not the solar input port.
What you’re doing with work but your alternator is no longer charging your car battery only the EcoFlow so eventually your car battery will go dead
Thanks for the comment. I made second video to show how everything is getting charged with amp meter. If what you are saying is correct, charging ecoflow with cigarette jack port or installing bigger sound system will kill your battery but it won’t. All your electronics are powered from your main car battery. Your cigarette jack port is connected to the battery same way as my set up.
I just want to make it clear, your ECU determines how much amp to generate from your alternator based on the voltage of your system. When running more electronics on your vehicle offroad lights, sound system, AC, inverters, etc will make your voltage drop. When ECU detects drop in voltage it will cause more resistance on the alternator to generate more amp to raise the voltage. As long as your alternator can supply the amp that is required it will keep your car battery around 14v.
Leaving metal tools on top of your battery? C'mon man.
Tuats great but the Toyota soinds like its going to grenade
Yup. Waiting for that to happen. Lol dealer told me nothing to worry about. I doubt it.
You should use 8awg wire. 12 is to small. Be carefull!
Maximum wire gauge thickness for xt60 cable is 10 gauge. After doing calculation 12gauge wire was sufficient for my install.
Brother, you are not saving money doing this, idling your car like that for long periods of time will cause a lot more than 300 in wear, tear and maintenance cost, not to mention fuel costs. You're better off getting a generator, then leaving your car running for 5 hours to charge the battery...i have a battery like this, and will be grtting a generator soon, itll fill the battery in about an hour because it can charge at the full 1600 watts. The generator can run for 16 hours on a 4 gallon tank.
Thanks for the comment.
1. I am on a road trip and most of my days i am driving 6+ hours a day. I don’t really idle unless i have to.
2. I normally use about 500w - 700w per day. With my battery i can last about 3 days without charge.
3. I also stealth camp residential areas and using generator will get me kicked out.
People have been charging dual battery setup using cars alternator for ages now. This is nothing new. But some companies like ecoflow and anker came out with “alternator charger” and selling them for ~$500 and i am not buying it. For sure if i need to stay in one place weeks at a time generator is the better option.
@gunwiththewind That's good! Was worried about that idle time, but sometimes you do what you have to with what you've got. I tend to avoid trying to camp in residential myself, commercial areas are the easiest to hang out in just because there are always unknown vehicles around so much. Also if there is a home depot nearby I have found that a lot of the time the light poles in the parking lot have 120v plugs you could use to charge, and they're usually okay with overnight parking.
500 for an alternator charger is obserd. You'd be better off getting 4 or 5 100 watt panels at that point, lol
I recently found out harbor freight sells 100 watt panels and they actually put out just over that at around 104 watts, first panel I've found to output more than the rating, and they regularly go on sale for around 80 to 90 a panel.
Considering that you use 2 cables, you only increased charge rate per cable from 12v 8A to 24v 8A
That’s why he added the specially wired XT60i connector, that allowed it to go to 15 amps.
Umm charge it from your outlet at home, 120V. Come on now
Thats way too easy haha
What if you have a power outage?
Iota makes nice small chargers
You can buy stronger alternators. 220,280,300,350, even 400 amps.
You can, but they get expensive really fast.