Very good info on how to use extension battery charging for portable inverters..I have the Renogy battery monitor ,and it really helps to remotely show battery state and draw ,like yours does...
Wow even being and electrtion I have leard alot ! I have a bluetti ac180, for the road , I know how to supplement power to it when driving ( alternator) systems, but would love to use it at home , sat run my pellet stove for heat , mind you when it is home ( bluetti ac180) I have two solar panels able to plug into it , as of this date in Eugene Oregon, I can fully charge the ac180 in just a few hours ,, well that what I got now and weather permits, ( 100wt reneegy and the bluetti 120 solar pannel in series) that helped alot ! Hope even with low solar input, just might fully charge the 180, ,,with that said , I know I will need more storage, and more solar charging system. Hey it is Oregon..hehe ,,, anything thing that you have to direct me to a system that can help would Be very helpful, and yes you have been given not all the parameters ..great video, look forward to watching them all ,,cheers
This was exactly the video that I needed!!! Just purchased two 24V batteries during Prime Day to expand the battery capacity of my solar generators. Thanks so much for sharing!
Julieth- Would you mind telling what generator you added the batteries to and how you wired the batteries together? I'd really appreciate it. I'm trying to do the same with my setup.
Hello. Thanks for a great video. On the 12V battery, can you use a 12V Step Up to 24V 20A boost converter to simulate the 24V battery? I have the Li Time 12V battery
I purchased a second 12V and put them in parallel. I am getting 325 watts without any boost converter. I was going to put them in series to see if I can get the max 500W that my solar input will allow
Very informative video. One thing I would mention to help others out is right now a 24 volt 200 AH battery on Amazon is a whopping $1100 . However, 4- 12 volt ,100 Ah batteries, which equals the SAME amount of power ( and by the way, power IS watts) is $760, plus some wire and connectors. If you want the less expensive route get 4-12 volt batteries, if space is a consideration, the more expensive battery might be a better option.
Excellent work and knowledge Sir. The RV world is changing for the easier with technolgies and people like you leading the DIY's masses...Dale in Ottawa
Your video is awesome! My area have been having "blackouts" in 2023, so I been looking into electrical portable generators. The VTOMan fits my budget, but it doesn't have the solar charger plug (XT60 or XT90). The VTOMan has a plug in DC. The extra battery from vendor is costly... and your way looks very economical! I'm on a budget and is looking for a cheaper way... and I think I found if from your video. Thank You very much! 😁👍
@YouLookinAtMe-Bro The port to plug the solar panel into the VTOMAN, is not an XT60 like the ones in this video. It is a barrel connector like an older laptop charger
I wish someone would show how to permanently connect one of these with SG hooked up to solar and additional battery connected at same time while also recharging from solar. Have ac200max set up for home backup with solar
There's gotta be a good way to do this. Ecoflow's for example have good automation controls, so, for example you set up an automation to turn on DC output when the state of the Solar Generator's charge reaches a high state of charge. Use the DC output to charge the external battery. The trick is to later reverse the flow from the external battery to the SG when the SG's state of charge is low -- and the solar input is already occupied. Some of newer SG's like Ecoflow Delta Pro 3 have 2 solar inputs. Like to see if there's an alternative. Maybe Bowman's Woods can do a follow-up video. Subscribed.
Hey I’m totally new to solar charging haven’t purchased anything yet ! Question : What is that device on top of the 24 volt battery ? Looks like a shunt or a buss bar ?? I didn’t see a link to it . Thanks for the video it’s the direction I’m gonna go . Csn u advise what solar panel you use in that configuration ! Cheers from NL 🇨🇦
It does Ndlovu yourpower station last longer but then you have to buy a new system to keep batteries charged which makes the power station not really needed. It just turns onto a converter with more plugs
Concerning my Anker 767/ F2000, Is it possible to hook multiple batteries via the 5 port solar adapter (included)? I have not seen anyone try this procedure yet. If i attach 3 12 volt batteries then i could get above the 32 volt threshold. Just an idea i have been thinking about. Guess I will try it out.
When you reversed the process to charge the battery it sounded like you said AC (17:34 approx) … is that right? I thought that would be DC , via one of the DC output ports of the power station
Neat trick connecting the 12v batteries into series to get 24v then using the solar input. Unfortunately I tried this on my Ecoflow AND Bluetti and it only doubled the watts to 200 which is an increase but I was hoping to get the 500watts you showed. What unit is the one on top?
Check the settings menu for your charge input. Setting it to car charging only allows about 10amps.Setting to PV (solar) charging might allow more power depending on your model of Bluetti.
I dump to a Lead acid, works the same but the agm only starts to help out the lipo at %50 no need for acharger and it means I dont have to throw away my Agm.
So you are telling me I didnt need the Pecron 500w car charger? just needed to get a 24v battery?... I actually bougth the Pecron charger to plug to my car running its alternator to charge up in case all batteries are dead or no sun for solar harvest.. But I have the AC200max and I believe it is limited to 15A for Solar charging, that means i only get 24v*15A=360w of solar charging from a 24v battery directly plugged to the solar input of my Powerstation(PS).. Than mean the Pecron500w still is better at making the most from a car battery? Btw where do you add your cable fuses and what sizes are the fuses and cables? Also can you share links to your Volt meter?
@bowman’s woods sorry for what is surely a newbie question…when I tried to connect my 24 v battery to Bluetti AC 180, I only get about 200 watts. You seem to get double, do you know why? Thanks in advance
@11.33 Craig from bowmans shows only 211watts. AC180 and AC70 caps the current to 9 to 10 amps so if you want 500watts you need 48V (2x 24V) batteries or 60V (5x12V) batteries, or get a dc to dc converter with to change the voltage and Amp.
With the proper xt60i connector and 36v-48v input it will indeed charge at 500w. 12v battery will charge around 189w and a 24v battery will be around 360w charging. The Delta 2 has a 15a maximum input I believe. To get 500w you’d need 36v at slightly below 14a
You probably can. The manual states that the DC input "Charges from solar panels, cars, or lead-acid batteries." It doesn't mention other battery chemistries, but DC is DC and you don't need the Bluetti to babysit the battery (these LiFePO4's have an internal BMS for that), so it should theoretically work fine. The manual does state that you need to switch the DC input mode to "other", and that it can charge at up to 192W at 24v from a car. I think that likely means it's disabling the MPPT controller in "other" mode, and enabling features to not over discharge a lead acid battery. I'm not sure what the risk is if you were to leave the mode at "PV" and plug in a LiFePO4 battery, but the app also warns you not to do it, so I'd stick to "other" mode and settle for 192W to be safe.
So you are actually just increasing the run time correct? You are basically using battery to charge another battery. If your solar generator had a max output of 3000 watts its still going to have that but this will just let it run longer?
I thought about the same thing, but in the day time when the sun is shining there is no need to have the battery in between when you can just plug in your solar panels directly to your generator, The idea of this video is having an extra fully charged battery to connect it to your generator when there is a power outage or to go camping to extend battery time.
My batteries are connected to my Delta 2 and solar is connected to the batteries also. Works great at keeping the Delta 2 charged and much greater capacity FTW
Why charge solar generator, you can connect pure sine inverter to your LifePo battery, and skip solar generator. Charger, battery and inverter, will be cheaper then the same power and capacity inverter. You can size components according to your needs. Need extended time - get a big battery and small charger, need the opposite, get bigger inverter and smaller battery. Inverters in idle also consume lot of power. If you use AC to run DC power supplies, dont convert to AC. Use DC to DC converters to get the needed voltages. There are plenty of USB chargers designed for 12V. Battery + Inverter efficiency will be better then charging internal battery using external battery.
Interesting, I tried with a pure sine 1000watt inverter on my ecoflow. It actually worked, but because the wire that went from my battery to my inverter were 6 gauges and at 500 watts charging they were very hot I had to tune it down. I assume if I go to a bigger wire it could work but I also assume lots of energy wasted to take from 12v then convert to 110v to the inverter then puts it back to 12v in the ecoflow is not very efficient.
@@ericvigneault1616 I ment not to use ecoflow at all. Use it as seperate system, connect the load directly to inverter. For 12V to 110V there is 10 times more current in 12V wires then in 110A. 1000W/12V = 83Amps in 12V wires, and 1000W/110V = 9Amps in 110V wires. 12V wires must be 10 times thicker then 110V wires. If you want to charge ecoflow from external battery then it is better to do it using DC connection as described in video.
Unfortunately these manufacturers are learning this. Since they are trying to sell their "backup batteries", they are now making units shut off their outputs (Ecoflow does this on the 30A plug) when you connect A/C charging. This eliminates "daisy chaining" multiple units.
@@tonyinfinity I don’t have any Ecoflow so I wouldn’t know but I daisy chain my Bluetti 200M to a 200L to another 200L so that they all can have separate SOLAR arrays coming in and make sure my main 200L is always able to stay charged even on cloudy days.
@@Bowmans-Woods Nice, seems once the general public starts to learn the "tricks" usually from youtubers like yourself the manufacturers have to ruin it! LOL I always wondered why would anyone buy one of these backup batteries that cost almost as much as just buying another stand alone unit that you can just daisy chain. I know there is some efficiency lose but using 100AH LifePo4 like you show is even cheaper! Under $200 now for one, I remember about 5 years ago they were $1000!
Dude, you did it backward! The battery charger burns power from the power station you just filled. If you hook your solar panel(s) up to your batteries with an inexpensive MTTP charge controller (Renogy for $18) then your panels charge your batteries, your batteries charge your power station - and if at that time your panels are now feeding any power you are currently using. Come nighttime, everything is at 100%. Just my 2 cents.
Yep. I was just saying if you can charge your battery (probably with an inexpensive MPPT charger) you can extend your sol gen capacity without having to spend big $$ for their additional battery expansion. Cheap way is charge a battery and use it as fake solar when there is no sun.
Or use EcoFlow alternator charger and reverse charge. Power can flow either way without switching cables around and no need for a charger, shunt or a battery monitor.
Very good info on how to use extension battery charging for portable inverters..I have the Renogy battery monitor ,and it really helps to remotely show battery state and draw ,like yours does...
Thanks
Wow even being and electrtion I have leard alot ! I have a bluetti ac180, for the road , I know how to supplement power to it when driving ( alternator) systems, but would love to use it at home , sat run my pellet stove for heat , mind you when it is home ( bluetti ac180) I have two solar panels able to plug into it , as of this date in Eugene Oregon, I can fully charge the ac180 in just a few hours ,, well that what I got now and weather permits, ( 100wt reneegy and the bluetti 120 solar pannel in series) that helped alot ! Hope even with low solar input, just might fully charge the 180, ,,with that said , I know I will need more storage, and more solar charging system. Hey it is Oregon..hehe ,,, anything thing that you have to direct me to a system that can help would Be very helpful, and yes you have been given not all the parameters
..great video, look forward to watching them all ,,cheers
This was exactly the video that I needed!!! Just purchased two 24V batteries during Prime Day to expand the battery capacity of my solar generators. Thanks so much for sharing!
Glad I could help!
Julieth- Would you mind telling what generator you added the batteries to and how you wired the batteries together? I'd really appreciate it. I'm trying to do the same with my setup.
@@evilss6064there are tons of videos on that. Pls research.
You just amaze me on your knowledge… Thanks
Glad to help. Thanks.
Lmao
Hello. Thanks for a great video. On the 12V battery, can you use a 12V Step Up to 24V 20A boost converter to simulate the 24V battery? I have the Li Time 12V battery
Ya. Or buy a 24v battery. :-)
I purchased a second 12V and put them in parallel. I am getting 325 watts without any boost converter. I was going to put them in series to see if I can get the max 500W that my solar input will allow
You have a set up that I think it would qualify for the series charging, I would go for it.@@tonyjirik2145
I would go for it.
You can, just be careful because the higher amp ones like that, get pretty hot without keeping a fan on them.
Very informative video. One thing I would mention to help others out is right now a 24 volt 200 AH battery on Amazon is a whopping $1100 . However, 4- 12 volt ,100 Ah batteries, which equals the SAME amount of power ( and by the way, power IS watts) is $760, plus some wire and connectors. If you want the less expensive route get 4-12 volt batteries, if space is a consideration, the more expensive battery might be a better option.
temu..12v 100ah are now as low as 99-120
and before the brand zealots start attacking me.. its the same batteries being sold on amazon!!
24v 100a down to $699 on Amazon
May need an xt60i to get past the car charge limiter on input
Excellent work and knowledge Sir. The RV world is changing for the easier with technolgies and people like you leading the DIY's masses...Dale in Ottawa
Your video is awesome! My area have been having "blackouts" in 2023, so I been looking into electrical portable generators.
The VTOMan fits my budget, but it doesn't have the solar charger plug (XT60 or XT90). The VTOMan has a plug in DC.
The extra battery from vendor is costly... and your way looks very economical! I'm on a budget and is looking for a cheaper way... and I think I found if from your video.
Thank You very much! 😁👍
What do you mean...
It doesn't have a solar charger plug?
@YouLookinAtMe-Bro The port to plug the solar panel into the VTOMAN, is not an XT60 like the ones in this video. It is a barrel connector like an older laptop charger
Can I charge the 2 hundred amp hour battery at the same time with solar When everything is connected together
You can charge the external battery at least...
I have the AC200 P so can I connect a 24 volt lifepo4 battery to the bluetti ac200p solar generator ?
Does anyone know what a 24v battery would bring into the popular EcoFlow Delta 2 before I purchase a 24v battery? I thank you greatly.
Should be at least 200w of solar equivalent coming in.
@@Bowmans-Woods I thought the same but was hoping for the 400-500 like some other electric gens. Thanks for your response.
Hi can someone send the link for the battery monitor he’s using ?
I wish someone would show how to permanently connect one of these with SG hooked up to solar and additional battery connected at same time while also recharging from solar. Have ac200max set up for home backup with solar
There's gotta be a good way to do this. Ecoflow's for example have good automation controls, so, for example you set up an automation to turn on DC output when the state of the Solar Generator's charge reaches a high state of charge. Use the DC output to charge the external battery. The trick is to later reverse the flow from the external battery to the SG when the SG's state of charge is low -- and the solar input is already occupied. Some of newer SG's like Ecoflow Delta Pro 3 have 2 solar inputs. Like to see if there's an alternative. Maybe Bowman's Woods can do a follow-up video. Subscribed.
Hey I’m totally new to solar charging haven’t purchased anything yet !
Question :
What is that device on top of the 24 volt battery ?
Looks like a shunt or a buss bar ??
I didn’t see a link to it .
Thanks for the video it’s the direction I’m gonna go .
Csn u advise what solar panel you use in that configuration !
Cheers from NL 🇨🇦
Awesome video! Thank you!
It does Ndlovu yourpower station last longer but then you have to buy a new system to keep batteries charged which makes the power station not really needed. It just turns onto a converter with more plugs
Ndlovu- nguni totem/ elephant?
Concerning my Anker 767/ F2000, Is it possible to hook multiple batteries via the 5 port solar adapter (included)? I have not seen anyone try this procedure yet. If i attach 3 12 volt batteries then i could get above the 32 volt threshold. Just an idea i have been thinking about. Guess I will try it out.
Excellent video for a beginner like me. Subbed.
Thanks for the sub!
When you reversed the process to charge the battery it sounded like you said AC (17:34 approx) … is that right? I thought that would be DC , via one of the DC output ports of the power station
Did you connect a fuse to the batteries?
Neat trick connecting the 12v batteries into series to get 24v then using the solar input. Unfortunately I tried this on my Ecoflow AND Bluetti and it only doubled the watts to 200 which is an increase but I was hoping to get the 500watts you showed. What unit is the one on top?
Check the settings menu for your charge input. Setting it to car charging only allows about 10amps.Setting to PV (solar) charging might allow more power depending on your model of Bluetti.
I received the battery of Litime 200Ah a few days ago, which is great ~! No obvious fever, very good work. I'm thinking of buying a new battery.
Thats good.
Did you use a fuse to the Batteries?
I have 2 solar panel Jinko 585 w...if I use one to charge my new 24v lithium battery will work? Or is better of I use bothe in series?
One 585-watt panel will charge the battery. You could add a second for faster charging.
@Bowmans-Woods thank you so much for your advice
@Bowmans-Woods does it make any difference if I put them in parallel or series?
I dump to a Lead acid, works the same but the agm only starts to help out the lipo at %50 no need for acharger and it means I dont have to throw away my Agm.
OK. Good to know
So you are telling me I didnt need the Pecron 500w car charger? just needed to get a 24v battery?... I actually bougth the Pecron charger to plug to my car running its alternator to charge up in case all batteries are dead or no sun for solar harvest..
But I have the AC200max and I believe it is limited to 15A for Solar charging, that means i only get 24v*15A=360w of solar charging from a 24v battery directly plugged to the solar input of my Powerstation(PS).. Than mean the Pecron500w still is better at making the most from a car battery?
Btw where do you add your cable fuses and what sizes are the fuses and cables?
Also can you share links to your Volt meter?
Whered you get your monitor
@bowman’s woods sorry for what is surely a newbie question…when I tried to connect my 24 v battery to Bluetti AC 180, I only get about 200 watts. You seem to get double, do you know why? Thanks in advance
@11.33 Craig from bowmans shows only 211watts. AC180 and AC70 caps the current to 9 to 10 amps so if you want 500watts you need 48V (2x 24V) batteries or 60V (5x12V) batteries, or get a dc to dc converter with to change the voltage and Amp.
One thing to remember if your generator is too small so is the voltage controller.
@lifeisgood1624 ecoflow delta 2 has a amp cap of 15amps that you can access via XT60i plug.
Thanks for the informative video!
Glad to help
Could you use a 48v battery, and if so what does that do to the charging rate?
What is the device on top of the 200 AH battery that you clamped the negative wire to? Love your videos. Thank you :D
Sorry this is an old video to me. Im guessing it is the state of charge meter? Going from memory.
Thanks
Nice Video, Thanks for making it .. Any idea on optimal way for Ecoflow Delta 2 setup? considering the XT60 vs XT60i limitations?
Thanks. Sorry. Never been sent a Ecoflow to test.
Does anyone know if the Delta 2 would also charge around the 500 watt rate? That is it's max solar charge rate.
With the proper xt60i connector and 36v-48v input it will indeed charge at 500w. 12v battery will charge around 189w and a 24v battery will be around 360w charging. The Delta 2 has a 15a maximum input I believe. To get 500w you’d need 36v at slightly below 14a
Can I do this with my Bluetti 200 V2? It says that you can not add an expansion battery. I don't see why this wouldn't work.
You probably can. The manual states that the DC input "Charges from solar panels, cars, or lead-acid batteries." It doesn't mention other battery chemistries, but DC is DC and you don't need the Bluetti to babysit the battery (these LiFePO4's have an internal BMS for that), so it should theoretically work fine.
The manual does state that you need to switch the DC input mode to "other", and that it can charge at up to 192W at 24v from a car. I think that likely means it's disabling the MPPT controller in "other" mode, and enabling features to not over discharge a lead acid battery.
I'm not sure what the risk is if you were to leave the mode at "PV" and plug in a LiFePO4 battery, but the app also warns you not to do it, so I'd stick to "other" mode and settle for 192W to be safe.
Thanks for sharing 😊
You are welcome
So you are actually just increasing the run time correct? You are basically using battery to charge another battery. If your solar generator had a max output of 3000 watts its still going to have that but this will just let it run longer?
Doesn’t the battery charger tell you the level of power in the battery? Why do you also need a battery monitor?
5400 Wh capacity in that 24V 200Ah battery?
+++ Exactly what I needed. Looking to connect Nissan Laef 48 volts to eccorivver model DNK model in September 2024.
Thumbs up!
So much cheaper than the expansion batteries some of these power stations sell
You have three batteries there so why not charge it with 48 volts?
@@oliverlloyd8762 I could have put batteries in series for faster charging. But most viewers won’t have that option. Just showing the basics.
I wish it's bilateral charging and discharging.
🤯
:-)
Top it off, out of the trunk? That will take forever
My battery's stay connected to my power station and solar stays connected to my batteries therefore no worries I don't run out of power.
Good system
I thought about the same thing, but in the day time when the sun is shining there is no need to have the battery in between when you can just plug in your solar panels directly to your generator,
The idea of this video is having an extra fully charged battery to connect it to your generator when there is a power outage or to go camping to extend battery time.
My batteries are connected to my Delta 2 and solar is connected to the batteries also. Works great at keeping the Delta 2 charged and much greater capacity FTW
Why charge solar generator, you can connect pure sine inverter to your LifePo battery, and skip solar generator. Charger, battery and inverter, will be cheaper then the same power and capacity inverter. You can size components according to your needs. Need extended time - get a big battery and small charger, need the opposite, get bigger inverter and smaller battery. Inverters in idle also consume lot of power. If you use AC to run DC power supplies, dont convert to AC. Use DC to DC converters to get the needed voltages. There are plenty of USB chargers designed for 12V.
Battery + Inverter efficiency will be better then charging internal battery using external battery.
Interesting, I tried with a pure sine 1000watt inverter on my ecoflow. It actually worked, but because the wire that went from my battery to my inverter were 6 gauges and at 500 watts charging they were very hot I had to tune it down. I assume if I go to a bigger wire it could work but I also assume lots of energy wasted to take from 12v then convert to 110v to the inverter then puts it back to 12v in the ecoflow is not very efficient.
@@ericvigneault1616 I ment not to use ecoflow at all. Use it as seperate system, connect the load directly to inverter. For 12V to 110V there is 10 times more current in 12V wires then in 110A. 1000W/12V = 83Amps in 12V wires, and 1000W/110V = 9Amps in 110V wires. 12V wires must be 10 times thicker then 110V wires.
If you want to charge ecoflow from external battery then it is better to do it using DC connection as described in video.
Unfortunately these manufacturers are learning this. Since they are trying to sell their "backup batteries", they are now making units shut off their outputs (Ecoflow does this on the 30A plug) when you connect A/C charging. This eliminates "daisy chaining" multiple units.
@@tonyinfinity I don’t have any Ecoflow so I wouldn’t know but I daisy chain my Bluetti 200M to a 200L to another 200L so that they all can have separate SOLAR arrays coming in and make sure my main 200L is always able to stay charged even on cloudy days.
@@Bowmans-Woods Nice, seems once the general public starts to learn the "tricks" usually from youtubers like yourself the manufacturers have to ruin it! LOL I always wondered why would anyone buy one of these backup batteries that cost almost as much as just buying another stand alone unit that you can just daisy chain. I know there is some efficiency lose but using 100AH LifePo4 like you show is even cheaper! Under $200 now for one, I remember about 5 years ago they were $1000!
Dude, you did it backward! The battery charger burns power from the power station you just filled. If you hook your solar panel(s) up to your batteries with an inexpensive MTTP charge controller (Renogy for $18) then your panels charge your batteries, your batteries charge your power station - and if at that time your panels are now feeding any power you are currently using. Come nighttime, everything is at 100%. Just my 2 cents.
i was thinking the same thing, but i get the idea of using the solar generator’s built in MPPT too
Yep. I was just saying if you can charge your battery (probably with an inexpensive MPPT charger) you can extend your sol gen capacity without having to spend big $$ for their additional battery expansion. Cheap way is charge a battery and use it as fake solar when there is no sun.
Or use EcoFlow alternator charger and reverse charge. Power can flow either way without switching cables around and no need for a charger, shunt or a battery monitor.
they dont underperform americans just cant do simple math cause counting with shoes
LiTime batteries are crap
I have two and they work great 👍
Li Time batteries are NOT crap, they are well made, dumb comment
I have the LiTime lifepo4 200ah and I trying to find out with POW-HVM4.5K-24V software Hy-Power. BMS But not yet, it does not show