EcoFlow 800W Alternator Charger Review – 800W Without Solar Panels! Does this Change Everything?
When we first got our hands on the EcoFlow 800W Alternator Charger, we were more than a bit skeptical. It seemed like the type of gimmicky accessory we’d end up just making fun of. Charging your power station with 800 watts directly from your car? It just sounds far-fetched.
However, after putting this through its paces, we’re ready to eat our words. Turns out this unique little piece of equipment isn’t just practical and convenient—for some people, it’s going to be a legit game changer.
Today, we’re going to dive into the details of this alternator charger, breaking down what it does, what we like and dislike about it, and how it compares to charging with solar power in real-world scenarios.
Quick Overview: What is the EcoFlow Alternator Charger?
First things first, what is this thing? The EcoFlow 800W Alternator Charger is basically a DC-to-DC amplifier that allows you to charge power stations using your car battery.
Typically, if you’re trying to charge something using your vehicle’s battery, you pull power from the 12V outlet (the trusty cigarette lighter port). Unfortunately, doing so means you’ll only be able to pull about 100 watts of power.
While that’s enough power for something like a phone, when you’re charging something with a high-capacity battery, like a power station, 100W of input power just doesn’t cut it. Basically, you’d have to have your power station hooked up to your car forever to get any meaningful power into the battery.
This is where the EcoFlow 800W Alternator Charger is supposed to change the game. Basically, with this little accessory, you can bypass the cigarette lighter and plug directly into your vehicle’s battery. It allows you to take 12V DC power directly from your car battery and boosts your potential input power up to a whopping 800 watts. This makes it possible to charge smaller power stations in just a few hours, rather than, well, over a day.
The best part? The EcoFlow Alternator Charger doesn’t just drain your battery recklessly. It works with your vehicle’s alternator to only draw excess power, meaning it won’t leave you stranded with a dead car battery. That’s because it’s meant to function as a smart, 3-in-1 device: a fast charger, maintainer, and jump starter. Basically, it only pulls this extra power to charge your devices when the engine is running, allowing you to stay powered up when you hit the road.
It’s smart, efficient, and a really practical accessory for people who are constantly on the move. Whether you’re in an RV, camper van, or just road trippin’ with a power station in tow, it can help you access power.
Coming in at a regular price of just $599, it’s probably not going to break the bank either. Plus, for the functionality it offers, we think that’s great value.
Testing the EcoFlow 800W Alternator Charger
The EcoFlow 800W Alternator Charger looks like a really useful piece of equipment on paper, but, as always, we wanted to actually test it out for ourselves. Here’s how this alternator charger worked out for us:
Set-Up and Installation:
We discovered that one of the best things about this charger is just how easy it is to set up. Seriously, anyone with a pair of hands can do it. It basically just requires three connections:
1. A positive connection to your car battery
2. A ground connection
3. And a connection from the other end of the positive to a fuse
There are detailed instructions on how to wire it up in the instruction manual, so don’t get too bogged down. Trust us, it’s not that difficult.
Once you’ve got everything hooked up, the rest of the setup is essentially just plug-and-play. You just connect the charger to your power station, fire up your vehicle, and you’re ready to roll. In our case, we hooked it up to an EcoFlow DELTA Pro to a Jeep Wrangler and it worked flawlessly.
We tried a few different setups when we hooked it up—grounding the unit to the vehicle’s frame versus grounding it directly to the battery—and saw the same performance both ways, so it is pretty foolproof.
Testing the Charge Rate: Can it Really Deliver 800 Watts?
By now you know that here at The Solar Lab, we never sugar-coat things. We like to really put products through their paces by testing them rigorously, and as we mentioned, we were initially really skeptical about whether the alternator charger could actually deliver the advertised rate of 800W. Well, when we put it through our tests, we were pleasantly surprised.
After connecting the Alternator Charger to the DELTA Pro that we had on hand and firing up the Jeep, we saw it hit 800W almost instantly. This was hugely surprising. We just didn’t think it would be able to supply that much power, especially with the Jeep pulling electricity for other purposes (lights, stereo, etc.).
Even after putting more strain on the Jeep’s battery by turning on the headlights, air conditioning, and stereo system—which includes a more demanding aftermarket setup—we didn’t see the power output dip below the advertised 800 watts. With everything on, the EcoFlow Alternator Charger was still drawing full power without any issues!
The fact it could do so even with this vehicle’s particularly demanding electric steering system engaged was even more impressive.
The only noticeable voltage drop occurred when engaging the brake pedal, which caused the alternator to momentarily dip to around 13.8 volts from 14.4 volts. But despite this minor drop, the charger kept pulling in the full 800W.
Testing the Other Modes:
Another standout feature you get with this alternator charger is its 3-in-1 functioning. It’s not just a one-trick pony. Aside from being able to charge your power station, the unit has these two additional functions:
1. Reverse Charging Mode – This allows you to use your power station to charge your car’s battery when your vehicle is off. When we tested it, the reverse charging worked at a slower rate (around 200 watts). This would be really handy if your vehicle’s battery needed a top-up.
2. Maintenance Mode – If you’re parked for an extended period, this mode will automatically manage the power flow between your vehicle battery and power station, ensuring everything stays charged and topped up. It maxes out at 100 watts, making it ideal for maintaining the battery over time. This could be useful for RV owners, or those doing the whole van-life thing.
Given that both of these extra modes worked as advertised, it was pretty difficult to find any major faults with EcoFlow’s Alternator Charger’s performance.
What We Liked and Disliked About the EcoFlow Alternator Charger
Now that we’ve covered the basics and the results of our tests, let’s talk about the things that make this charger genuinely impressive, and areas where we think the design could be improved:
The Pros:
Build Quality: This is hands-down one of the best-built products we’ve seen from EcoFlow in a long time. The casing is all metal, giving it a premium, sturdy feel. The rubber feet on the bottom keep it from sliding around in your vehicle, and the wiring harness is top-notch, complete with a well-made fuse and high-quality wiring.
Performance: The fact it performed exactly as advertised is huge! Getting 800 watts from a vehicle’s alternator is no small feat. The fact that it does so effortlessly is a big win. Whether you're road-tripping, camping, own a camper van, or you go on lengthy RV trips, having access to that much power without having to rely on solar panels or other external sources is a major advantage.
Value: At a regular price of $599, this charger offers a lot more wattage for your dollar compared to solar panels. You can also get this 800 watts of power without worrying about setting up panels, cloud cover, or other weather conditions that could impact sunlight availability. This is particularly useful for people on the go. Solar is great, but this might be an even better option for certain users.
The Cons:
As much as we love this unit, it’s not without its flaws.
Semi-Permanent Installation: It’s fairly easy to install, but once you’ve got your alternator charger hooked up, it’s not the easiest thing to transfer over to another vehicle. The wiring harness gets tucked into your vehicle’s panels, and removing it to use it in another car would be a hassle. On the other hand, solar panels are much easier to move from one setup to another.
Voltage Settings: Another thing we wish EcoFlow would address is the voltage thresholds. For those who don’t know, a 12V battery should always be in the 12-volt range or higher. If it dips into the 11-volt range, it’s on its way out. The charger lets you set a minimum voltage threshold, but if someone sets it too low, they could accidentally kill their car battery by over-discharging it.
It’s Always On: This unit always remains on, unless you manually turn it off in the app, or wire it with an inline switch. We highly recommend the latter if you don’t want it to slowly drain your battery when not in use. Sure, you can use the app, and a simple switch could solve this issue, but it would have been nice if EcoFlow covered that for you with a physical switch on the unit.
Our Final Thoughts: Should You Buy It?
The EcoFlow 800W Alternator Charger turned out to be drastically better than we expected it to be. It’s incredibly easy to set up, delivers impressive performance, and offers a lot of value for those who are frequently on the road.
With three different modes and durable construction, this little unit is more than just a charger—it’s a versatile tool for anyone who needs a different source of reliable, mobile, and off-grid power. Sure, it has a few drawbacks, but most of these are manageable issues.
If you’re looking for an alternative to solar panels, or just need a reliable way to charge your power station while you’re driving, we’d definitely recommend picking it up!
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