Ecoflow River 3 as a Cheap and Reliable USV
My Quest for a Better UPS
I've been running a homeserver for a while now, and one of my biggest annoyances has been dealing with power outages. A traditional Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) was my first thought, but I wasn't thrilled with the idea of dealing with heavy, short-lived lead-acid batteries. So, I started looking for alternatives and stumbled upon the Ecoflow River 3 .
Why the Ecoflow River 3?
The Ecoflow River 3 isn't marketed as a UPS, but it has a feature that makes it perfect for the job: an "EPS" mode (Emergency Power Supply). Critically, only the USV variant of the River 3 has the super-fast switchover time of around 10ms that's needed to keep a server running without interruption. The standard version is slower, so make sure you get the right one! The River 3 USV-Variant is not extendable with additional batteries, but cheap at the moment.
The Good Stuff (Pros)
- Easy Setup: It's incredibly simple to get going. You just plug it into the wall, and plug your devices into it. That's it.
- LiFePO4 Batteries: This is a huge advantage. The Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries have a much longer lifespan than the lead-acid batteries in most consumer UPS systems. We're talking years longer.
- A Feature-Packed App: The Ecoflow app is surprisingly good. It connects via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and lets you monitor power usage, battery levels, and tweak a ton of settings. You can control the charging power (from 60W to 300W), switch the AC/DC outputs on and off, and set charging limits to preserve battery health.
The Not-So-Good Stuff (Cons)
- Accidental Power Off: This is my biggest gripe. The power button for the AC outlets is right on the front and very easy to press by accident. I wish there was a way to disable it or a cover for it. I've accidentally turned off my server more than once.
- No Easy API: This was a bummer. There's no officially supported, easy-to-use API for getting data from the device.
The API Workaround: iobroker and MQTT
Luckily, where there's a will, there's a way. I found a workaround for the API issue using iobroker and a plugin called ecoflow-mqtt.
Here's how it works:
- Get an Ecoflow Developer Account: You'll need to sign up for a developer account with Ecoflow to get API credentials.
- Install the
ecoflow-mqttplugin in iobroker: This plugin uses your developer credentials to pull data from your Ecoflow device. - Forward to your own MQTT Server: The plugin then forwards all that juicy data to an MQTT server of your choice.
I've got this hooked up to Home Assistant, and it works like a charm. I can now see the battery percentage, input/output wattage, and more, right in my Home Assistant dashboard. It's a bit of a process to set up, but it's a solid solution for monitoring.
The Upcoming River 3 Plus
For those who need more capacity, the upcoming Ecoflow River 3 Plus is worth waiting for. It will also feature the crucial <10ms USV switchover time and will be extendable with an additional battery , making it a more versatile option for longer outages.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I'm really happy with the Ecoflow River 3 as a UPS. It's a modern, flexible, and long-lasting solution that's perfect for a homeserver. Despite the annoying power button and the API workaround, the pros far outweigh the cons for me.
The author of this blog post did not receive any of the mentioned devices from the manufacturer for free and is not in any other connection with the manufacturer. This post contains affiliate and referral links for which the author may receive a commission for sales or sign-ups.