Is the Hybrid worth the upgrade?

[SlammedZero]

Came from a 17 3.5 Ecoboost. Loved that truck, but was wanting a Powerboost for some time. Found one and finally pulled the trigger.

Was it worth it? Hell yes!! Love this truck so far.

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[Samson16]

Nearly 3 years and over 30,000 miles and I still have zero buyers remorse. It’s settled in to just a great ownership experience day and day out no more real mysteries to solve. I don’t even use the power flow feature or that anymore. I know how it works for the most part. Just enjoy driving it every day.

 

[Munch]

It is for me...so far...(2 months owning the PB).

I have been (and still am) a Super Duty owner for 35+ years.

I can only hope the PowerBoost affords me the many years of trouble-free ownership all of my Super Duties have provided.

I decided to try a PowerBoost for the Hybrid feature. I live in a small shrimping village along the SC coast. Rarely does my speed get above 30mph in the Village. It's nice to putz along on the electric motor.


Even with the "heat dome"a few weeks ago, the truck spent about 70% of the miles in electric mode. But with temps in high 90s and 85%+ humidity, the gas motor energized quite a bit more than the first few weeks of ownership...my Lab insisted on MAX cooling!

 

[rtf150]

With the addition of a soft start device added to my HVAC unit my PB powered my entire house with load managed appliances as well as kept the boss lady cool all night as we had a power outage. So yeah. Worth the upgrade. Much better than my loud gas powered portable generator, more efficient and saved me from a 20K plus whole home generator purchase and install. Now get me 10-12K on a super duty and I’m sold again!

 

[Gros Ventre]

With the addition of a soft start device added to my HVAC unit my PB powered my entire house with load managed appliances as well as kept the boss lady cool all night as we had a power outage. So yeah. Worth the upgrade. Much better than my loud gas powered portable generator, more efficient and saved me from a 20K plus whole home generator purchase and install. Now get me 10-12K on a super duty and I’m sold again!

Don't forget the no altitude reduction benefit. As to softstart... is there one out there that can be used for a hotwater heater?

 

[redline]

no hate against the powerboost, i love the concept of it, but in its current form it does not help on the hi-way with milage and for me it hurts payload too much... if they improve this on newer models i would buy one in a heartbeat.

If you drive alot in a city and need the gen it is great option.

 

[Snakebitten]

no hate against the powerboost, i love the concept of it, but in its current form it does not help on the hi-way with milage and for me it hurts payload too much... if they improve this on newer models i would buy one in a heartbeat.

If you drive alot in a city and need the gen it is great option.

If you are one to need an RV (~30Amp) generator with you anyways, that Payload hit is basically a wash. Except ProPower Onboard is about double the output rating. And you get back a LOT of truck bed space when you don't have that Yamaha/Honda 3000 and gas cans back there.

I'm describing my nomad lifestyle and I am far from the only one.

 

[madsend81]

Don't forget the no altitude reduction benefit. As to softstart... is there one out there that can be used for a hotwater heater?

Short answer: not likely.

Long answer: Hot water heaters are usually resistive loads and as such don't require a current surge at startup like an inductive load (e.g. motors) will have. The water heaer pulls the current it needs to heat your water. You could limit the current draw, but your water will take longer to heat up.
A soft start for a motor, however, will control the startup current to the motor to minimize the startup surge until the motor reaches full speed, then the soft start steps aside and lets the motor run.

Clear as mud??

 

[v8440]

Short answer: not likely.

Long answer: Hot water heaters are usually resistive loads and as such don't require a current surge at startup like an inductive load (e.g. motors) will have. The water heaer pulls the current it needs to heat your water. You could limit the current draw, but your water will take longer to heat up.
A soft start for a motor, however, will control the startup current to the motor to minimize the startup surge until the motor reaches full speed, then the soft start steps aside and lets the motor run.

Clear as mud??

You an EE?

 

[Snakebitten]

I purchased a little 16' lightweight RV a few days ago while I was in Indiana and will be camping in it until I get back to the Texas coast. During its PDI, I wasn't impressed with its traditional rooftop AC, which was no doubt the least amount of AC the manufacturer could equip it with.
So I had them replace it with the new Furrion 18k btu Furrion Chill Cube that has a variable speed compressor and variable speed fan, AND is rated seer 22.

(finally this residential technology made it into the RV industry)

All I can say is that it doesn't need a soft start to be installed on it. It's amazing compared to any of the 6 rooftop AC's on top of my other RV's.

The Powerboost ProPower doesn't really care if you have a soft start or not. It has a pretty robust inverter. But I bet it sleeps while supporting this new RV AC technology.

 

[Gros Ventre]

Short answer: not likely.

Long answer: Hot water heaters are usually resistive loads and as such don't require a current surge at startup like an inductive load (e.g. motors) will have. The water heaer pulls the current it needs to heat your water. You could limit the current draw, but your water will take longer to heat up.
A soft start for a motor, however, will control the startup current to the motor to minimize the startup surge until the motor reaches full speed, then the soft start steps aside and lets the motor run.

Clear as mud??

Understand all that. However, the H/W heater does impose a surge when first connected. A 4 kw heater trips the 7.2 kw generator off line for over load on startup...

 

[Davexxxx]

I purchased a little 16' lightweight RV a few days ago while I was in Indiana and will be camping in it until I get back to the Texas coast. During its PDI, I wasn't impressed with its traditional rooftop AC, which was no doubt the least amount of AC the manufacturer could equip it with.
So I had them replace it with the new Furrion 18k btu Furrion Chill Cube that has a variable speed compressor and variable speed fan, AND is rated seer 22.

(finally this residential technology made it into the RV industry)

All I can say is that it doesn't need a soft start to be installed on it. It's amazing compared to any of the 6 rooftop AC's on top of my other RV's.

The Powerboost ProPower doesn't really care if you have a soft start or not. It has a pretty robust inverter. But I bet it sleeps while supporting this new RV AC technology.

There is about to be a revolution in RV air conditioning.

Started by the Furrion Chill (the one I have), improved but still more or less traditional RV AC. Then the Cube (the one you have), using an inverter and minisplit tech, being radically more quiet and efficient, now being taken up by others and yet another batch, going straight to DC.

Friends installed a Velit 12V, last weekend, in a Sprinter Van build they're doing. It'll use ~400W at full load.

 

[turbopilot]

I purchased a little 16' lightweight RV a few days ago while I was in Indiana and will be camping in it until I get back to the Texas coast. During its PDI, I wasn't impressed with its traditional rooftop AC, which was no doubt the least amount of AC the manufacturer could equip it with.
So I had them replace it with the new Furrion 18k btu Furrion Chill Cube that has a variable speed compressor and variable speed fan, AND is rated seer 22.

(finally this residential technology made it into the RV industry)

All I can say is that it doesn't need a soft start to be installed on it. It's amazing compared to any of the 6 rooftop AC's on top of my other RV's.

The Powerboost ProPower doesn't really care if you have a soft start or not. It has a pretty robust inverter. But I bet it sleeps while supporting this new RV AC technology.

Let us know how many kW's this new Furrion pulls delivering 18k BTU.

 

[Snakebitten]

Let us know how many kW's this new Furrion pulls delivering 18k BTU.

How will I know when it is actually pumping out 18k btu?

I CAN accurately see how many watts it's pulling by plugging the RV into the LFP generator though.

I'll do so and just describe what it pulls for you.

 

[turbopilot]

How will I know when it is actually pumping out 18k btu?

I CAN accurately see how many watts it's pulling by plugging the RV into the LFP generator though.

I'll do so and just describe what it pulls for you.

Should be at highest kW draw just after startup with lowest thermostat set point dialed in. Just want to compare efficiency to typical RV Dometic 15k BTU air conditioner. I think mine is around 1.6 kW but I will double check.

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