EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max: Unpacked and returned!

I wanted to get a power station to use the solar power from the balcony comfortably and to be able to continue working in case of power failure.

The River 2 series power stations from EcoFlow made a good impression on me at first. I have read numerous articles and watched YouTube videos, which also attest to good quality, the sine wave converter is also often praised. In practice, the RIVER 2 Max did not convince me.

This is how I tested the Powerstation: On a sunny weekend I had an online seminar. On that day, I ran my workstation (MacBook Air M1 and monitor) entirely off the EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max. I simply plugged it into the powerstation from the normal office socket and activated the AC output.

The consumption was around 30 watts, but the fan of the EcoFlow Powerstation was already roaring after a few minutes. This background noise was much too loud for an office to work with concentration.

Shortly after the seminar startet, another problem appeared: My USB devices lost the connection to the Mac several times per minute and reconnected a few seconds later. This was particularly annoying with my microphone. With normal mains supply from the wall socket the problem does not occur. Even with a sine wave converter from Victron this doesn’t happen. I don’t know, if this is an isolated case with this power station or a fundamental problem of the build in sine wave converter.

What I did not like about the EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max:

• USB devices on the MacBook are disconnected and reconnected several times per minute when the MacBook is connected to the power station (AC, 230V, original Apple power supply).
• Fan noise too loud, it’s impossible for me to stay concentrated.
• A user account is mandatory for app use and the app is mandatory to configure settings like charging speed and X-Boost.

I contacted the retailer with my problem of the disconnected USB devices. The problem was not known there, I was offered to send the device back. I have accepted this offer.