New generator technology product

[udidwht]

https://www.tweaktown.com/news/83512/bluetti-unveils-next-gen-power-na-battery-packs-solar-generators/index.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=newsletter

[3_tons]

Skibane wrote:
^Depends on your definition of "generate".

You could also argue that gas engine generators don't "generate" electricity either, but simply convert energy stored in the fuel into electricity.

Kinda like “what is the definition of IS” eh, except that in ‘common parlance’ most folks know better…

3 tons

[FWC]

If we want to get all pedantic - these battery packs are really doing the same thing as a petrol generator, which should really be called a genset anyway. They are both converting chemical potential energy to electrical energy. The difference is in how you replenish the chemical potential energy, in a genset you pour in more chemical, in a battery pack you put it back as electricity.

Now I agree it is all marketing bunk, but what isn't these days? These things can replace some petrol-powered generators in some situations, but not all petrol generators in all situations.

[2oldman]

time2roll wrote:
These things store electricity and invert the battery power to alternating current.

Yeah, "Solar Generator" just has more of a ring to it than "Stores electricity and Inverts battery power!"

[time2roll]

road-runner wrote:
I wish they wouldn't call them generators. Very misleading, IMO.

100% agree. Does not generate electricity.
These things store electricity and invert the battery power to alternating current.

More "Battery-Inverter" than a "Generator" to me.

[Reisender]

JaxDad wrote:

road-runner wrote:
I wish they wouldn't call them generators. Very misleading, IMO.

There is a huckster here in the Toronto area marketing a device he euphemistically calls the “Car Generator”. In reality it is nothing more than an inverter in a waterproof case with cables to clamp on the battery of a car like booster cables. You then run an extension cord to what you need powered. The ironic part of the deal is that Toronto has, like many places do, an anti-idling law. Merely using it therefore is illegal since it requires leave the vehicle running.

The really sketchy part of his pitch is his claim, beyond that you have “Backup power for days without the generator hassle.” is his rather incredulous claim that “Running a compact sedan at idle uses less gasoline than running a generator. Honda 1000watt generator .19 gal/hr, compact sedan 2 litre engine .16 gal/hr.”.

I’m not sure what you do for power after someone drives away with your car you left idling in your driveway for 3 days, but who am I to question a P. T. Barnum-ite…….

For your reading pleasure …….. or good OL’ belly laugh …… click here.

I think I saw these guys on shark tank. Not sure. EV owners do this albeit at reduced capacity as the 12 volt batteries on EV’s are smaller capacity and don’t play nice with big inverters. Still. Furnace motors or fridges or entertainment centres are not a problem. We kind of do this but use a 2 KWH AGM battery bank as a buffer and then just trickle charge that battery bank from the EV. Works good. We have tested it in real world conditions. Probably good for four or 5 days although hopefully we’ll never find out. :). Nice thing about an EV is you can run it in the garage so no risk of theft. Albeit without a pin code or card key it would be hard to steel the car anyway.

[ajriding]

lol, is running the motor for power generation still considered idling, or is it now a generator and thus not at idle?
If it uses less gas and if it is a leased vehicle then why not? I would not do that to my own vehicle though.

Best way to use the vehicle alternator is to charge a bigger bank of batteries and run inverter off that as the inverter probably is not needed constantly, only in shorter burst such as fridge run-time, or a few mins of lights here n there... Then you can run the vehicle motor just enough to keep batts charged, not run it all the time.
Kinda dumb after you think about it a little though.

You can set your vehicle up to idle without a key, and shut off if someone tries to put it in gear without a key. This is not sci-fi stuff, very common nowdays

[JaxDad]

road-runner wrote:
I wish they wouldn't call them generators. Very misleading, IMO.

There is a huckster here in the Toronto area marketing a device he euphemistically calls the “Car Generator”. In reality it is nothing more than an inverter in a waterproof case with cables to clamp on the battery of a car like booster cables. You then run an extension cord to what you need powered. The ironic part of the deal is that Toronto has, like many places do, an anti-idling law. Merely using it therefore is illegal since it requires leave the vehicle running.

The really sketchy part of his pitch is his claim, beyond that you have “Backup power for days without the generator hassle.” is his rather incredulous claim that “Running a compact sedan at idle uses less gasoline than running a generator. Honda 1000watt generator .19 gal/hr, compact sedan 2 litre engine .16 gal/hr.”.

I’m not sure what you do for power after someone drives away with your car you left idling in your driveway for 3 days, but who am I to question a P. T. Barnum-ite…….

For your reading pleasure …….. or good OL’ belly laugh …… click here.

[wa8yxm]

Heaven permit I get a visit from Publisher's clearing house there is a 10 acre plot a mile or so from where I'm sitting I'll build on.. and when Consumers power comes by to hook it up I'm not going to tell them "Go climb a pole" but rather "Don't climb a pole" Oh I'll buy gas from 'em (or bury a propane tank) but no kilowatts.. This is the kind of thread I am interested in,

I am currently looking at how much power I eat here in the apartment (not all that much it turns out)

[ajriding]

All hype. You probably should not have bothered posting this fluff...

There is also nickel iron batteries that have been around 100 years. Very robust, but not really the best for packing into a small RV.

Any solar system is made of solar panels, a charge controller and batteries. After that you can add an inverter or just have DC outlets only and run inverter off a DC outlet. This set-up is not a generator! There is no solar generator on Earth! The sun is actually the generator in this situation, the solar panels just capture the energy the generator gives off and convert it into store-able DC power.

[Skibane]

valhalla360 wrote:
It's intentionally misleading people to imply it will work the same as an ICE powered generator.

Yep.

Typically, there is lots of boasting about how much power the "generator" can produce - but absolutely no mention of how long it is capable of producing it - or how long it would take the solar panels to replenish it.

[sch911]

Its not a generator and it's not new technology. Lion batteries have been around for years. So....

[2oldman]

Skibane wrote:
You could also argue that gas engine generators don't "generate" electricity either, but simply convert energy stored in the fuel into electricity.

And the energy stored in the fuel is.. ta da... solar!

[valhalla360]

Skibane wrote:
^Depends on your definition of "generate".

You could also argue that gas engine generators don't "generate" electricity either, but simply convert energy stored in the fuel into electricity.

Of course, they will claim on technicality that it does generate power but...

In common usage, when you say "generator", people think of an ICE powered generator.

It's intentionally misleading people to imply it will work the same as an ICE powered generator.

A solar/battery/inverter system has it's place but in an RV it's not to deliver high output over long periods of time.

[Skibane]

^Depends on your definition of "generate".

You could also argue that gas engine generators don't "generate" electricity either, but simply convert energy stored in the fuel into electricity.

[Lwiddis]

False advertising...promising power they can't deliver. It only "solar generates" IF you buy their $499 solar kit.