South Africans are a resilient bunch. Sometimes too resilient to our detriment. But given the current state of affairs, we know loadshedding will be with us for some time to come. While solutions to become completely independent of the grid are still very pricey and outside of the reach of most South Africans, there are other solutions meant to solve our most immediate needs in day-to-day life. The EcoFlow River 2 is such a solution, and in this review, we’ll take a look at how it can be used to support work from home during loadshedding, a camping lifestyle or general power on the go.
As famously stated in Back to the Future, “maybe in some alternate universe, things might be different, but this? This is our reality.” In our review of the EcoFlow River 2, we see how adept it is in delivering reliable loadshedding protection for all our electronic gadgets and more.
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Features
The EcoFlow River 2 is a compact and user-friendly portable power station tailored to efficiently store and replenish energy. With its diverse access points, it caters ideally to charging phones, laptops, and small appliances during both brief weekend getaways and extended periods of loadshedding. This upgraded model offers notable enhancements over its predecessor, featuring one AC outlet, two USB-A ports, a USB-C port, and a DC port, all packaged within a lighter design weighing only 3.5kg, compared to the original River’s 5kg. It boasts a capacity of 256Wh.
Internally, the EcoFlow River 2 has undergone significant changes from its predecessor, with EcoFlow transitioning to Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries (known as LiFePO4 or LFE type). These batteries replace the Lithium-Ion ones utilized in the original River, offering increased durability against heavy usage and improved performance in colder conditions. EcoFlow asserts that these batteries can withstand up to 10 years or 3000 charge cycles, despite providing only a 5-year warranty.
Moreover, the inclusion of WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity on the River 2 allows seamless integration with your smartphone. Through the EcoFlow app, available for both iOS and Android, users can monitor the charge level, manage outputs, and gain insights into the battery’s status.
The River 2 also supports passthrough power, enabling simultaneous usage of power outputs while the battery charges. This feature is particularly beneficial for home use, facilitating emergency backup power supply for devices like CPAP machines or tropical fish tanks. However, it may not be suitable for computers due to a slight delay of about 30 milliseconds during the transition from external to internal power, which could disrupt computer operations. Nonetheless, it serves as a reliable emergency power backup for devices less sensitive to minor power interruptions.
Performance
The River 2 effortlessly delivers stored power, accommodating laptops, phones, cameras, and small appliances like fans. Charging my phone at a respectable rate of 14 Watts, while my laptop received the maximum 60 Watts output from the USB-C port on the front of the River 2.
With AC and DC outputs capable of managing 300 Watts or 600 Watts momentarily, it’s suitable for devices such as fans and small blenders. However, larger appliances like toaster ovens and electric heaters exceeded this limit, causing an overload. In response, the River 2 will turn off the socket after approximately 30 seconds, though it will reset quickly once the device was unplugged.
Maintaining the same capacity as its predecessor at 256 Watt Hours, the River 2 can charge an iPhone 15 Pro up to 15 times or a small laptop approximately four times, making it sufficient for a weekend camping trip or a day full of loadshedding interruptions.
Charging the River 2 from a wall socket is swift, reaching full capacity in under an hour due to its ability to draw 340 Watts directly from a 110 or 240 Volt socket. Utilizing a kettle-style power cable that plugs directly into the back of the River 2 eliminates the need for additional power adapters, maximizing available power during longer excursions.
Alternatively, the River 2 can be charged from a USB-C power supply, a car lighter socket, or a solar panel, albeit at a slower pace. Even with a sizable USB-C laptop power adapter, charging speed is reduced to about a third compared to a wall socket. Additionally, the River 2 can only handle approximately 110 Watts of power from a solar panel.
Another thing to note is the cooling fan. It can get quite noisy, especially when you are drawing power close to its limit. It also tends to switch on when it is charging again. This isn’t a problem during the day, but if you need to power some gadgets while you’re trying to sleep it can be a minor annoyance.
Conclusion
The EcoFlow River 2 is a very good solution for dealing with loadshedding outages of the active outdoor lifestyle. It can keep several of your gadgets charged at the same time, or even power your TV so that you can stream during your allocated loadshedding slot.
While you can’t run more power-hungry appliances on the River 2, at this price point you won’t find anything that can. It is currently available from EcoFlow South Africa for R3,999 at which price we can whole-heartedly recommend this portable power station.
