Portable Solar Generators

[JtTribe]

Anyone have any exsperience with solar Generators? I'm currently putting the EBL 1000watt voyager and 100watt apollo solar panel through its paces. So far so good! I spend most of my time overlanding in my Jeep. I have been able to do alot more boondocking! I will report back soon!

Have a blessed day! Stay Outdoors!

[RambleOnNW]

pnichols wrote:
Well ... I paid ~$400 for the Bluetti on a Black Friday sale:

1) Instead, I would have to have installed/wired a 12V DC recepable back by the rear bed, which would have been a real pain (I have higher payback things to do with my time).

2) In addition to 1) above, I would have needed to buy a 12V DC to 20V DC upconversion adapter (medical grade - for failure-proofness at ~$130) to power the CPAP machine.

3) Sometimes our family group campouts have their outside evening camp fires too far away from our rig to run the long extension cords from our rig necessary for powering heated throw-blankets for us.

4) The DW and myself didn't know what other Christmas gift(s) to buy for ourselves, anyway. :B

P.S. #1: So far during my in-home testing of the 537 Wh Blueitti it has powered a CPAP machine for 4 nights - while consuming only around 35% of it's LiFeO4's stored energy.

P.S. #2: It's ultra-safe LiFeO4 lithium battery electrochemistry is way safer than me trying to make my own more dangerous-to-use-in-confined-spaces Lithium-ion, or LA, or AGM portable concoction.

I missed this thread but it turns out I bought the same unit on the same sale.
pnichols you missed a couple capabilities I use:
- Hi/Low diffuse LED lantern on the back
- Qi wireless charger built into the top
- Both USB A and C ports. So I can charge a laptop through the 100 watt USBC ports
- Overall size is that of a group 34 battery at 1/3 the weight of an AGM. And greater capacity to 0% than a Group 34 AGM to 50%.

MPPT input can be used for solar input up to 200 watts OR you can hook any 12 volt battery into it. For example get one of the inexpensive 100A or 200A LiFePo4 lithium batteries to get an additional 1200 or 2400 watt hours.

Pass through charging: Charge with solar while powering loads at the same time.

I already had a 200 watt Renogy solar suitcase that I can hook into it and works well. We have long wires so that we can camp in shade and have the panel in the sun.

DW can run hair dryer on medium (500 watts) without starting Onan generator.
I have used it with a 200-watt AC tire inflator so I wouldn’t have to start the generator for tire inflation.

The only thing that didn’t work was a 12-volt tire compressor. It sat there and chugged and drew 68 watts but didn’t fully run.

I am not interested in wiring in a large inverter in our class C. I did enough contorting in replacing the failed transfer switch under the drawers in the rear wardrobe.

It will be the go-to unit now in a power outage at home in the dark until I get the generator set up. Grab flashlight under bed, go to closet, get power station, turn on LED light, go to living room, plug lamp into inverter outlet.

It’s also a bug-out unit. You’re not going to get that with a roll-your-own.

I realize the OP was shilling for a particular brand/unit which I took a look at online. It had a number of obviously fake reviews which is a definite warning sign.

[pnichols]

FWIW: Bluetti is about to have ready for orders a couple of sodium-ion based portable power stations ... the Bluetti NA300 & B480. Do a further search beyond this link on sodium-ion battery technology - and notice the estimated recharge times:

https://www.bluettipower.com/pages/ces-2022

[Grit_dog]

It's becoming more apparent who the target market is for these technological wonders!

[jaycocreek]

pianotuna wrote:
jay,

Cost depends on capacity. For example a 200 watt inverter vs a 3000 watt inverter, so what you are asking for is not going to happen.

These little things are really feature packed for the price...Now there coming out with the UPS feature included in that tiny box that weighs 10 pound and it's kinda cute..lol
600W AC Pure Sine Wave Inverter (1,200W surge);
268Wh Capacity;
430W Max. Fast Dual Charging (Solar+AC);
LiFePO4 Battery with 2,500+ Life Cycles to 80%;
6 Ways to Recharge (AC/Solar/Car/Generator/AC+Solar/AC+Adapter);
9 Outputs for Charging Multiple Devices at once;
Smart Control & Monitor in BLUETTI App;
200W Max. Solar Input;
Easy to Carry/ Fast Charging/ Safe & Reliable/ Cost-effective

For $200

[pnichols]

pianotuna wrote:
Great for a tent, pnichols. It would do bacon and eggs for breakfast, with a NuWave induction cooker limited to 700 watts. It is attractively priced.

The location my condo is in has infrastructure that is 70 years old. There are a lot of power outages. Every time I look at these units I find I could roll my own more cheaply, for the capacity I want. Add that to a 1000 watt psw inverter that I carry as a back up which would serve me well at the Condo.

So far, I've managed on my laptop battery and a couple of batteries intended for cell phone charging. I do have a boost pack for starting the car that I could use with the 1000 watt inverter. So my costs to have back up would be nearly zero.

My little (16 lb.) 700W Bluetti is primarily for a CPAP machine back in the RV's rear corner bed when we're drycamping. Plus of course it will be a convenient source of 120V AC and 12V DC whenever we need it in portable form. Also, it will temporarily power my 120V battery charger when the battery charger is set to it's "50 amp starting mode" for emergency engine starting via boosting of a partially discharged chassis battery. Of course note that 50 amps of DC is only around 600 watts of total power ... well within the limits of my little 700 watt (1400 watts surge) Bluetti 16 lb. power station.

FWIW: We kindof live "in the boondocks" and have some power outages year-round. I have a 4400 watt contractor type generator wired into our home's main power panel to keep the whole house running (except for the electric water heater and our home's main heat pump system) during power outages.

[Grit_dog]

valhalla360 wrote:

stevekk wrote:
Costco has the Goal Zero Yeti 3000 watt $500 off just a few days. At 3000 watts, how many 12 volt 100 amp RV batteries would that be equal to? 3000/1200= 2.5 batteries??? Curious minds want to know.

A single 12v truck starting battery with 750CCA rating can put out 9000 watts (more if it's warm outside).

The question is how many watt-hours can it put out and that's where the manufacturers tend to put out confusing advertisements to take advantage of people who don't understand.

Wow, didn't think Yeti could overprice anything more than their coolers, but I was wrong...lol.
Btw, they are 280ah capacity, so a little less than 3 100ah LFP batteries or about the same as 4 6v GC2 batteries.

[pianotuna]

Great for a tent, pnichols. It would do bacon and eggs for breakfast, with a NuWave induction cooker limited to 700 watts. It is attractively priced.

The location my condo is in has infrastructure that is 70 years old. There are a lot of power outages. Every time I look at these units I find I could roll my own more cheaply, for the capacity I want. Add that to a 1000 watt psw inverter that I carry as a back up which would serve me well at the Condo.

So far, I've managed on my laptop battery and a couple of batteries intended for cell phone charging. I do have a boost pack for starting the car that I could use with the 1000 watt inverter. So my costs to have back up would be nearly zero.

[pnichols]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Be my guest. Spend double the money for 1/2 the capacity.

Don ... I spent $400 for my 537 watt-hour Bluetti EB55 using an ultra-safe LiFePO4 lithium battery bank that can be discharged to near zero and can tolerate 2500 or more charge cycles. 537 watt-hours about equals a 45 AH LA or AGM battery. Built into the EB55 is a 700 watt inverter with 1400 watt surge capability, an MPPT solar panel controller, DC down-converters for two kinds of USB ports and a 12v port, plus a 3-mode wide area night light (2 brightness levels and an SOS flasher). All of this is covered by a 2-year warranty and mounted in a convenient little carrying case.

How much cheaper could I have DIY'd the same ... with each part in it warranted for 2 years?

I used to be an electrical engineer, so I probably could have put one together - but should I have?

[valhalla360]

dieseltruckdriver wrote:

Bobbo wrote:

When I bought my Airstream, there were no 12v outlets. Anywhere. SNIP

When we were shopping for our current 5th wheel, that was one of the things I looked for. It wasn't just Air Stream that didn't have them, almost no manufacturer had any 12 volt outlets. A few had one. We decided on our current 5er, which had 12 volts available at both the living area and bedroom tvs and each side of the bed.

The only other manufacturer we looked at that had that many were Ice Castles, and if you haven't heard of them it doesn't get cold enough for them where you live. They are made for ice fishing and sleeping on the lake.

How long ago were you looking? Even bargain basement rigs have USB charging ports.

If you want an old style cigarette lighter, they are dead easy and cheap to install.

[valhalla360]

stevekk wrote:
Costco has the Goal Zero Yeti 3000 watt $500 off just a few days. At 3000 watts, how many 12 volt 100 amp RV batteries would that be equal to? 3000/1200= 2.5 batteries??? Curious minds want to know.

A single 12v truck starting battery with 750CCA rating can put out 9000 watts (more if it's warm outside).

The question is how many watt-hours can it put out and that's where the manufacturers tend to put out confusing advertisements to take advantage of people who don't understand.

[pianotuna]

jay,

Cost depends on capacity. For example a 200 watt inverter vs a 3000 watt inverter, so what you are asking for is not going to happen.

[jaycocreek]

pianotuna wrote:
build your own.

1 Sio2 100 amp-hour battery
2 battery charger
3 inverter
4 solar panels
5 charge controller
6 hire a handy man

Give us a price list of a build your own with the same features and a visual of what it looks like...

:B

[pianotuna]

build your own.

1 Sio2 100 amp-hour battery
2 battery charger
3 inverter
4 solar panels
5 charge controller
6 hire a handy man

[Lantley]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Be my guest. Spend double the money for 1/2 the capacity.

For those who don't have the expertise or knowledge to manage , adapt or build there own systems, these devices are a simple solution to meet and expand their power usage. Its not always about the money.
As the popularity of these devices increases the prices will fall.
Eventually these devices could become real game changers as they improve
Once upon a time those of us with the talent built our own computers.
We assembled the components and made our own a computer much cheaper than we could buy one.
THis is where the solar generators stands today. If you haver the knowledge you can assemble you own.
If you lack the knowledge you buy a box.
Ultimately the concept continues to grow, becomes cheaper in price, and replaces the traditional gensets in many applications.