Power and Light · EcoFlow
EcoFlow DELTA 3 Classic
1,024 Wh, 1,800 W: the carry-in size
Options at us.ecoflow.com
- DELTA 3 Classic (1024Wh)$499
- DELTA 3 Classic (1024Wh) + 220W Solar Panel$699
- DELTA 3 Classic (1024Wh) + 160W Solar Panel$709
- DELTA 3 Classic (1024Wh) + 2 × 100W Rigid Solar Panel$659
- DELTA 3 Classic (1024Wh) + 500W Alternator Charger$759
- 2 x DELTA 3 Classic (1024Wh)$998
- DELTA 3 Classic (1024Wh) + Smart Generator 3000 (Dual Fuel)$1209
Buy first
Why it's on my list
The station in the short-outage tier of my portable solar guide: one room for a night or two, carried in one hand. It runs the refrigerator overnight, a CPAP for two nights, phones, lights and the router, and a 400 W panel refills it in about 3.5 hours of sun.
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What it is
4 Ways to Charge, 0 to 80% in 45 minutes on AC. 1800W output, 3600W surge; X-Boost runs loads up to 2600W (microwave, fridge, AC). 10ms auto-switch UPS. 30dB at 600W. Automotive-grade LFP cells, 10-year life, BMS, CTC structure against condensation and bumps. App: Storm Guard mode starts backup before weather, scheduled tasks. 3-year warranty, 5 with app registration.
What it is
A kilowatt-hour in one hand: the short-outage station in my portable solar guide
A portable power station is a battery, a charge controller and an inverter in one box, and the panel plugs into it with one cable: nothing to wire, nothing to permit, nothing to fuel. This is the smallest of the four EcoFlow stations in my portable solar guide and the solar option in my backup internet guide: one room through a night or two, the Starlink Mini all day, and a 400 W panel refills it by lunch. The arithmetic behind the numbers is on solar power basics; the wired version of the idea is the home backup power system.
The six numbers on the label
Read them once and you can size it against any outage in your head
Why it matters
Hours on a charge are the watt-hours times 0.85, divided by the load's watts; the inverter eats the other 15 percent. The pipe is the most it runs at once; add up what is plugged in. Surge is the first second, which is what a motor asks for as it starts. The solar cap is the fill rate, and the voltage window decides which panels fit. LFP is the chemistry: 4,000 full cycles to 80 percent, which is 11 years at a cycle a day, so storage, not cycling, decides its life.
The numbers
- 1,024 Wh stored
- 1,800 W continuous, 3,600 W surge
- 500 W solar input, 11 to 60 V
- Lithium iron phosphate cells, 4,000 cycles to 80 percent
- About 27 pounds with a handle
- Wall to 80 percent in 45 minutes; 10 ms switchover, so it works as a UPS
What it runs, and for how long
At 85 percent of the rated watt-hours, from the guide's chart
Why it matters
The fridge and freezer figures use their average draw, since the compressor runs about a third of the time. A space heater is the load this size does not do; a well pump is beyond it. Your fridge is not typical: twenty minutes with a plug-in meter gives you your own number, and the guide shows how.
Hours on one charge
- Phones, lights, a radio (20 W): 44 hours
- CPAP with the humidifier (25 W): 35 hours
- Refrigerator (150 W running, cycling): 17 hours
- Starlink Mini (25 to 40 W): 25 hours
- Chest freezer (120 W, cycling): 17 hours
- Window air conditioner (900 W): 58 minutes
- Space heater (1,500 W): 35 minutes
The panel to pair with it
One 400 to 480 W panel, or two 250 W blankets in parallel
Why it matters
Two rules: stay under the station's 500 W solar cap, and inside the port's 11 to 60 V window. One Zoupw 400 W, 430 W or 480 W panel does it, and a panel delivers 70 to 80 percent of its rating in good sun, so the tank refills in about three to three and a half hours. A second panel is money spent on watts the port never pulls, and two 480s in series add their volts past the 60 V window. The panel's XT60 lead plugs straight into the solar port.
The pairing
- One Zoupw 400 W, 430 W or 480 W folding panel
- Or two 250 W blankets in parallel
- Empty to full in about 3 to 3.5 hours of good sun
- XT60 solar input; the Zoupw box has the adapter
Living with it
Pass-through, cold, and where it sits between outages
Why it matters
Pass-through is the normal mode in an outage: sun in, fridge out, the battery as the buffer. It refuses to charge below freezing, so in winter it lives indoors and the cable goes out the window. Most stations die on a shelf, not in an outage: park it at 60 to 80 percent, set an 80 percent charge limit in the app so it can stay plugged in, and fill it the night before a storm. Never feed the house through a wall outlet; plug the appliance into the station, or have the big system wired in through a transfer switch. The guide's troubleshooting table covers the rest.
The habits
- Charge from the wall first, solar through the day, the vehicle's 12 V on the road
- Run DC loads on the USB ports to skip the inverter's 15 percent
- Store at 60 to 80 percent; full the night before a storm
- Never through a wall outlet; a transfer switch or the appliance directly
The stations in my guide
Where it earns its place
- Off-Grid Portable Solar Power Field Guide: How to Size, What to Pick and Why (Full Overview)How to size a portable power station and portable solar panel for an outage, and what to pick. Six label numbers explained with graphics, fo…
- Backup Internet with Starlink Mini and Portable PowerA running list of ways to power a Starlink Mini off-grid, with plan costs, the Standby Mode downgrade, and runtimes from a pocket power stat…
- The Car as a Generator: 80 kWh of Backup Power from an EV with the PowerBridge ProHow the RoamEnergy PowerBridge Pro turns my Tesla's 100 kWh pack into a 3,500 W / 7,500 W generator with no fuel: what it puts out, what it …
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