awk wrote:So, asking as a complete ignoramus on all things electrical but willing to learn, what is the difference please between this and a leisure battery - especially pros and cons?
There's a good article by a well-known supplier of leisure batteries here:
https://www.yuasa.co.uk/info/technical/ ... batteries/
Essentially a leisure battery is (usually) a lead-acid battery - somewhat like a 12V car battery, but differently optimised. Nothing else: no charger, no 230V AC inverter, no 3-pin/12V/USB sockets, no state-of-charge (SoC) or time remaining display. Just a battery.
So that's the first major point of divergence: the EcoFlow (and other similar units) package everything up into one handy box (charger, battery, inverter, supply sockets), that you can plug straight into the mains (or your car 12V socket) to charge, and plug your laptop/printer/phone/whatever straight into for their power supply. All very neat, all very convenient and easy to use.
The second big difference is in the battery technology. Whereas leisure batteries are normally based on lead-acid, the EcoFlow and similar "power banks" (is there a generally accepted term for these?) are using Lithium-ion technologies of one sort or another.
According to the Yuasa article, "subject to the application, a durability range of 70 to 360 cycles @ 50% DOD [depth of discharge] is common [for a leisure battery]". Their own units run up to a rated 160 cycles.
At the other extreme, LiFePO (Lithium-Iron-Phosphate) can reach over 2000 charge cycles (but isn't brilliant in sub-zero temperatures); the EcoFlow my and MIE's clubs have bought is based on another Li-ion technology and rated at 800+ cycles but also down to -20 degrees C. For maximum battery longevity, I would regard cycles for these as between 80-20%, but wouldn't hesitate to charge to 100% and run down pretty low when really needed. Note that Li-ion batteries don't abruptly die (unlike 12V car batteries in my experience!); they just gradually store and release less energy. So after a thousand or so cycles (which is a lot of years' worth of events!), maybe the useful capacity will have declined by 30% or so, which... will still be a very useful battery!
Now, the elephant in the room... yes, £££ ! Leisure batteries are cheaper to buy (leaving aside charger, inverter, etc). But... with the Li-ion power bank you are getting one-box convenience (better for volunteers), potentially longer life span, more information (real time SoC, power usage, time remaining displays), all in a compact, relatively light weight (7.6kg for ours, from memory) unit.
@MIE, please feel free to add in any other comments on what guided your decision.