Bluetti Solar Generator

marsman

marsman

Senior Member
Joined
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357
Location
Sudbury
We just received a brand new Bluetti 200ACMax Solar Generator and a portable foldup 350W Bluetti Solar Panel yesterday. They had a great Black Friday deal and so I get the entire setup delivered to my door for $2900 CDN.

I decided to go with this setup because of the following reasons:
1. I did not want to renovate the system I currently have with my 2019 5.0 because we paid good money for it and it works quite well; the only drawback we have found in two extended trips taken are a lack of power after a couple of cloudy days - we paid Escape a lot of money for this AGM battery and MPPT controller and we want to use them as long as they work,
2. Power outages at our remote summer cottage have gone from 1-2 times per season to several outages per season - last summer one outage caused by one of ever more frequent severe thunderstorms lasted 1.5 days; we saved all the food in the freezer by transporting all of it home; that was a huge job!!,
3. Power outages at home have gone from never to 1 or more per year and we have two freezers and a very large refrigerator to keep running as well as a furnace in the winter,
4. If I ever upgrade my trailer I don't want to have to de-install a large solar system - this way the portable solar system stays with us for the next trailer.

Therefore, this portable power station along with a future upgrade to a small-medium sized lithium based solar system in the trailer is perfect for us.

I will let everyone know how this system works for us throughout all of our 2024 winter boondocking season - may even make a couple of YouTuber videos about it all.
 
marsman said:
We just received a brand new Bluetti 200ACMax Solar Generator and a portable foldup 350W Bluetti Solar Panel yesterday. They had a great Black Friday deal and so I get the entire setup delivered to my door for $2900 CDN.

I decided to go with this setup because of the following reasons:
1. I did not want to renovate the system I currently have with my 2019 5.0 because we paid good money for it and it works quite well; the only drawback we have found in two extended trips taken are a lack of power after a couple of cloudy days - we paid Escape a lot of money for this AGM battery and MPPT controller and we want to use them as long as they work,
2. Power outages at our remote summer cottage have gone from 1-2 times per season to several outages per season - last summer one outage caused by one of ever more frequent severe thunderstorms lasted 1.5 days; we saved all the food in the freezer by transporting all of it home; that was a huge job!!,
3. Power outages at home have gone from never to 1 or more per year and we have two freezers and a very large refrigerator to keep running as well as a furnace in the winter,
4. If I ever upgrade my trailer I don't want to have to de-install a large solar system - this way the portable solar system stays with us for the next trailer.

Therefore, this portable power station along with a future upgrade to a small-medium sized lithium based solar system in the trailer is perfect for us.

I will let everyone know how this system works for us throughout all of our 2024 winter boondocking season - may even make a couple of YouTuber videos about it all.
Click to expand...

I understand why you did it. Two or three(?) years ago, I bought one of the Bluetti portable models - EB70 (700w output) + a 200w foldable solar panel. We bought it to complement our tent camping, roadtrips, and/or picnicking. It's power is pretty limited, but it sure came in handy multiple times. Now that we have our 21C, it doesn't get nearly as much use. I plan to use the solar panel to supplement our rooftop panels, and <if I find we need more battery power next year> I may add one or two more batteries to our trailer.
 
One 100ah BattleBorn battery in Canada was on sale Black Friday for $1267 Cdn ($939 USD); or they had two for $2500 ($1850) or approximately $1.27 per amp hour; my Bluetti was purchased on Black Friday for $1800 ($1330 USD) for 150ah or approximately $1.20 per amp hour. There is little difference in price. I could buy a cheaper (well reviewed) lithium battery for about 0.80-0.90 but again the price difference isn't huge and I still would have to buy a new controller, a shunt and either install it all or have someone else do it which adds a lot more expense.

I also lose all the flexibility and easy expandability I have with this unit. Like I said, this is kind of an experiment as well to see if this route makes sense. I'm going to use this system all through this winter and try and report back honestly on pros and cons.

As for the solar panel, I got a 350W foldup panel for $840 CDN ($620 USD) which looks very high quality, is nicely portable and really easy to set up. I'll be testing this panel out over the next while to see its performance but from reviews I've watched, the usability and performance are said to be top-notch.
 
I should also mention an interesting side note. The Bluetti AC200Max comes with a 30 amp AC 2200 watt maximum (with 4800 w surge) RV plug which I'll probably use quite bit but I'm even more interested in this 30 amp DC aviation plug that comes with it as well - there are several folks on the net who have modified their 12V fuse panel to be able to plug this directly into it and then basically run all of their 12v trailer systems off of it directly with no DC to AC to DC conversion losses. Interesting stuff but I have to look into it a bit more.
 
The very high quality SOK 206AH batteries I installed in my trailer are under $900 now, that's $0.33 per Watt*Hour or $4.30 per AH (I think you missed a decimal place)

The LG NeonR 350W monocrystalline solar panel on my roof was under $400. My Renogy 2000W inverter was $230.
 
Even taking into account the conversion rate that's about half the price of the system I bought so, I agree, there re definitely cheaper options out there; like I mentioned, the flexibility of the system is important to me personally. In fact, I'll probably be purchasing at least one of the large expansion batteries on Boxing Day sales because I've already found that when I tilt the panels high enough, I'm getting 150-200 consistent watts through my 350 watt panel through my dining room window.

Yesterday I charged my snow blower batteries from 45-80% and, then in two days I was back up to 90% on my Bluetti. I now have all my power tools plugged into it. This summer I'll be using solar to completely run my lawn mower and electric bikes as well. Already getting a lot of uses for this thing besides RVing.
 
I built my system for my Escape, its permanently installed, its always on, and it always works. if there's sun, my batteries are charging. I actually have two of those 206AH batts, so 5300 watt*hours.

If I need to charge somethign like a tractor or ebike, I use an extension cord, either at home or from the trailer.

I do plan on adding 25KWH or maybe even 50KWH of batteries to my 16KW home solar at some point but that's a whole other story, and it too will be built in, quite possibly using 1 or 2 of these battery racks, https://www.currentconnected.com/product/fully-loaded-25kwh-48v-server-rack-battery-kit/ along with a suitable charge controller/inverter package.
 
Rossue said:
Not everyone agrees:
https://www.promasterforum.com/threads/sok-battery-w-bluetooth-heaters-a-troublesome-review.101496/
Click to expand...
Those posts on Promaster were written last winter and SOK/Current Connected will replace your BMS if one wishes. We have two 100ah SOK's purchased January 2023 and a 2000 watt inverter.

SOC and CALC Capacity were totally unreliable with SOK's ABC app, however our Victron BMV-712 shunt reported the SOC of the battery so no worry there. To begin our winter 2023 trip, the batteries were installed outside in the battery tray of the Bigfoot in Portland after buying the camper with tired flooded batteries. We went over a month before running into freezing temps and a week of snow in Chiricahua National Monument. Since the snow prevented hiking I moved the batteries inside so they could be kept warm and charge. Don't know what temp the batteries shut down charging, but they didn't start charging until they reached 41F.

Since the batteries were purchased by Current Connected, in June I asked for and received a new BMS under warranty, did the simple BMS swap, and now the SOC and CALC Capacity work properly, and match the readout from SOK's ABC app.

We had no problems keeping the SOK's full last winter with a 160 watt panel on the roof and our 100 watt Renogy portable. Just like in our 5.0, we have NO 120v charger and charge just fine. We'd rather have 600 watts on the roof working when we're camping without services, than 200 watts and a DC-DC unit that only works when hooked up to your tow vehicle with it running.

OTOH, I know I'm not the only one who questions the claimed +10 years of life for LiFePO4 batteries, but am one of the few to admit my skepticism. One BMS failure on charging below freezing is enough to smoke your batteries.

Enjoy,

Perry
 
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So for those of you that may question the wisdom of getting a large capacity solar generator like my recently purchased Bluetti AC200Max; we just had a severe winter snowstorm hit here about 3 days ago and it blew out our power from about 10pm to almost noon the next day. It was also very cold with a wind-chill below -20 Celsius that night.

What I did was hook up my gas fireplace to the generator and ran extension cords to my freezer, my refrigerator, numerous lamps upstairs and my TV. My house remained a comfortable 20 degrees C the whole night, my freezer and fridge had no ill effects and we watched TV all night. The wholes neighborhood was dark the whole time and we instead barely noticed the power outage.

Furthermore, the next 2 days the sun came out and if necessary I could have recharged it to 100%. Very Very Cool!!

Funny enough, we're supposed to be getting hit hard with another Texas low coming through here tonight and tomorrow forecasting additional 10-12" of snow and possible power outages - no worries here,
 
Back-up power

I acquired a 2,000 watt pure sine wave inverter to hook up to my electric vehicle, a Chevy Bolt EUV. That vehicle has a 65 kWh traction battery, 960 pounds of Li-Ion juice. I can hook up the inverter to it and run the refrig and furnace for days, being judicious with electrical use.

I also have a 2K Champion gas generator. An ice storm can knock power out for a week. Here's hoping we don't experience one.
 
marsman said:
So for those of you that may question the wisdom of getting a large capacity solar generator like my recently purchased Bluetti AC200Max; we just had a severe winter snowstorm hit here about 3 days ago and it blew out our power from about 10pm to almost noon the next day. It was also very cold with a wind-chill below -20 Celsius that night.

What I did was hook up my gas fireplace to the generator and ran extension cords to my freezer, my refrigerator, numerous lamps upstairs and my TV. My house remained a comfortable 20 degrees C the whole night, my freezer and fridge had no ill effects and we watched TV all night. The wholes neighborhood was dark the whole time and we instead barely noticed the power outage.

Furthermore, the next 2 days the sun came out and if necessary I could have recharged it to 100%. Very Very Cool!!

Funny enough, we're supposed to be getting hit hard with another Texas low coming through here tonight and tomorrow forecasting additional 10-12" of snow and possible power outages - no worries here,
Click to expand...


I think this having a gen like this for dual use power for trailer and house is really smart. I hope to do the same eventually.
 
Well, the heart of this snowstorm has passed and at least the power didn't go out this time, but wow, did we get a lot of snow again. In 8 days we've gone from green grass (no snow at all) to over 3 feet of snow in the yard and, more then 5 feet in the front yard where we throw our driveway snow!! :eek:

Apprently, both storms originated in Texas so we're gonna make sure and stop for at least a couple of days in San Antonio and chow down on some BBQ and beers to say thank-you to all you Texans ;)
 
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HABBERDABBER said:
I acquired a 2,000 watt pure sine wave inverter to hook up to my electric vehicle, a Chevy Bolt EUV. That vehicle has a 65 kWh traction battery, 960 pounds of Li-Ion juice. I can hook up the inverter to it and run the refrig and furnace for days, being judicious with electrical use.
Click to expand...

I like the sound of that. We are just starting to look into an EV for around town.
The Bluetti Solar generator sounds like a good idea, too.
Something for backup power sounds smart.
We don't get many power outages here but I'm thinking it's only a matter of time before it happens. We had one a couple years ago that lasted about 12 hrs and we were starting to get concerned.
 
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HABBERDABBER said:
I acquired a 2,000 watt pure sine wave inverter to hook up to my electric vehicle, a Chevy Bolt EUV. That vehicle has a 65 kWh traction battery, 960 pounds of Li-Ion juice.
Click to expand...

Where are you attaching the inverter? I have a Leaf with a chademo connector on it, and you got me thinking.
 
Prices for solar generators are pretty cheap in some cases for good ones.

Bluetti AC200Max on their website now $1,299 sign up for email first and get another $100 off.
https://www.bluettipower.com/products/ac200max-power-station?variant=44272419995867

Goal Zero 3000X at GZ now $1,799- thier $1,500X is only $200 less. We needed this much power for our van build; I suspect this unit will be discontinued soon in favor of their new Yeti Pro lineup.
https://www.goalzero.com/collections/portable-power-stations

Ecoflow Delta Pro now $2,599.
https://us.ecoflow.com/pages/new-ye..._7z9uGQLyUiXgHxx1WjznwHEHkr6aU7BoCT5sQAvD_BwE
Pros & cons to each; I love competition though.
 
2K inverter

splitting_lanes said:
Where are you attaching the inverter? I have a Leaf with a chademo connector on it, and you got me thinking.
Click to expand...

See the attached photo. The inverter is connected to the 12V DC, AGM battery that the vehicle has to run the computers and other electronics. 3AWG cables interconnect the inverter to this battery. A 200A fuse is located on the positive inverter cable.
The vehicles 12V AGM battery is tied into electronics that charge it from the 400V DC traction battery.

I've not used this yet, haven't needed to, but from the EUV Bolt forum, this info and set-up was obtained. If you search this form for "inverter", you'll find more. There are suppliers that provide a full set-up to do this.

https://www.chevybolt.org/forums/🚙-2022-2023-chevy-bolt-ev-euv-general-discussion.519/

Extension cords from the inverter would be used to power a furnace blower motor or refrigerator. This is a jury rigged set-up, but only intended for emergency/occasional use. The Ford EV truck would or could do about the same thing.
 

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Depending upon your situation, generators, storage batteries, EVs,
etc. can be a good emergency substitute or a planned accessory for boondocking or electrical outages. I’ve run our home for 11 days with a pair of Honda 2200i units. Main consideration was the availability of gasoline. We have a 40 HP diesel tractor, but I don’t have a PTO powered generator for it. Could get one but usage would be rare.

I can’t keep up with the new models of EVs, EUVs, Pickups and all that. Must be getting old.
I thought I was a car aficionado when I was in high school. Kept up on everything. Watched the new cars go by on the truck carriers, had scrapbooks with car pictures, all that.
One day I came to work and my dad casually remarked he’d seen the new little Oldsmobile that day. “F85?” I asked.
“No, the little one” he said.
I gave him a perplexed look
He said “Look you got the 98, the 88, the F85 and the new little one”.
“What’s it called?” I asked
He never smiled or broke character
He said “It’s the urinate, it’s for just pissin’ around.”
No wonder I lost interest after that.
-11 F here, 18 mph wind out of the west, about 2 feet of new snow on the ground. Winter in iowa.
Iowa Dave
 
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