Bluetti: AC180 three month review
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- A short and honest review of my camping/rv experiences with using the Bluetti AC180 over the last few months - my likes, and dislikes and suggestions for anyone considering purchasing any similar solar power station in the next few months.
Amazon Links:
CROS 200 Watt portable panel: amzn.to/4bVWsXH
Gear I normally use: (Prices may fluctuate daily/weekly)
Baldr - Lithium Battery: amzn.to/48EYlaQ
Bluetti - EB70: amzn.to/3umBHUE
Bluetti - AC180: amzn.to/49y30vo
Bluetti - PV200 (Solar panel): amzn.to/49xck2M
Foam Mattress pad: amzn.to/3rKmP1v
Coleman Sleeping Bag: amzn.to/3PAvgEC
Coleman Cooler: amzn.to/3ZHCStr
USB Lighting (remote): amzn.to/45aP2fK
My Camera Gear:
Dji Action 2: amzn.to/3RLyKac
Dji Mini 3 pro: amzn.to/48zIbzf
Go Pro Hero 7: amzn.to/3teURLL
Go Pro Hero 9: amzn.to/45fib9I
Kingston D4 Dash camera: amzn.to/46SiwQX
Music: Digital Doxology: / @digitaldoxology
Dave
#bluetti #solarpower #rvsolar
Thank you for explaining the difference between a power bank with inverter and a generator. It really upsets me that not only reviewers but even companies called them generators. Thanks again.
This is the best review I have seen yet. You showed the app! You're the only person I have ever seen do this. Thank you.
I bought a used AC180 and love it. It's the perfect size for camping and home. I have two Bluetti EB3a's and I like their size. The AC180 is a little heavy but manageable any of the newer ones you are going to have to get a cart.
Please can it run ceiling fans charge phones and laptops for like how many hrs?
I love mine. It has gotten us through several outtages now. It's been a great unit.. I would recommend.
Nice breakdown. Living off solar for 25 years on boats in the Caribbean, if you're having to use 400 watts of panel on the ac180 which has a 100amp hour batt, you might want a bigger house bank/ac200 which has 200amp. Point is, if you're rolling through that much power and get a cloudy day you're outta luck with the smaller battery that's always getting maxed.
Thanks for the tips and advice, I’m planning to eventually upgrade my house batteries to lithium but have to also upgrade my charging system to be lithium compatible - in the meantime I think what I’m using right now works perfect for our needs since we aren’t full-timers yet but only do short trips (2-3 weeks at most)
Great video!
I just boxed my EB70s up
to do a trade in towards the AC180. I also have a 300watt Bluetti that runs my dc frig and I have the B80 I just got before I headed to Quartzsite for January. I just feel the AC 180 will be a better fit for me in my vintage trailer. It will run anything I want.
I also have two solar panels, to keep them babies fed! ~Janine 😂⛺️
Update! I’ve had my AC180 2 months now, it’s a game changer! I have used it along with the B80 but mostly just as a stand alone unit. I’m very impressed with all that the AC180 can charge up. Bluetti is the only brand I’ve stayed with, I’ve tried all the others. 😊
I bought 2 at $650 each. Great for a backup at home.or for the rv. I bought mine for.the reasons you mentioned.
Yes, and they have them on sale through the 20th right now what a deal!
I think a power station like this should be required equipment for people living in California. Electricity is getting more and more expensive and we're continually under the thumb of the utilities randomly shutting our power off for 'safety' issues. Don't forget how they keep voting themselves a rate increrase/salary increase.
As of 7/16/2024 Amazon Prime Deal is $549 for the AC180. I also got an additional 5% off! Hope this helps you make a decision. I just ordered mine and the Prime Deal pushed me over the edge.
we just built a tiny home (TH-cam studio) and just bought this with Amazon Prime Days savings!
The one thing I didn't hear you touch on is the extension batteries. That was a plus 4 me in purchasing it as well
I have the B80 expansion battery to use along with my AC180. Very nice to have the extra watts!
FYI, I have been having issues changing mine. Keep getting an error. I am still awaiting a replacement. I am not happy with the customer service.
Thanks holiday for two,great review!
Silent mode assumes you want the unit it's self to be silent... Which means it won't do the heavy lifting hence it pulled from source more with priority!
This company is the worst to deal with bought one of the AC180 after watching a ton of influencers push this crappy product. Six days after getting it I get in my car to smell electrical this is on a fall 60 degree day. Get out the bluetti is powered off and hot will not turn on tried everything. Returning it has been nothing short of a nightmare buyer beware they are slow to respond to emails and could care less if they help you.
@@jeremyCrawfordphotog wow, that’s the first time I’ve heard of that happening to anyone. Knock on wood, I’ve had mine for almost a year with no problems, anyone else ever hear of that issue before ? You should be able to return it I’d think 🤔
On July 28, 2024 it was/is on sale for $599, ($999 with a $400 coupon). A great unit at that price.
@@chadperling2766 I know, what a deal - I think I saw them on sale during Prime Day for even less than that!
@@HolidayForTwo42 You're right, it was $500.
Would be nice to have a B80 connection port on it.
Yes it would be nice, hopefully they will start including the port in future batteries, in fact it would be nice to have an AC plug in the B80 for that matter - you could still use a B80, you’d just have to use the 12volt DC plug output to connect the two - you would be limited somewhat (under 200 watts I believe) but it would work. That’s how I use the EB70 as an expansion unit, and so far it’s worked fine for me.
B80 useless, just use 2 x 180s cheaper and better.
@@ZxAMobile Im finding the expansion batteries quite handy now. You’re not kidding about the cost, the new AC180P is a nicely priced at $999 compared to the AC60P for $699… $300 difference for alot less output.
Yes, these are solar generators when coupled with solar panels. They generate electricity. Just like an inverter generator turns gasoline (or propane) into power, a solar generator turns sunlight into power. If your negative comments apply to the entire class of products then why drag Bluetti down into it?
I wasn't being negative towards Bluetti at all (or any other company for that matter) I was just stating a fact that none of these units "generate" power on their own (some folks mistakenly believe that due to the word "generator" being included in the descriptions of the devices on various websites) by themselves, they are simply power storage devices with inverters built in to them - if folks buy one of these alone they will need to purchase the solar panels separately. I have had folks who did not understand that, they have purchased one of these and think it just magically generates power - so that's why I added that in the video. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
How log does it take to charge a 180 from a gas generator?
With the built in charger it won’t take long at all @1440 watts - under an hour! I’ve had mine down to 20% and plugged it in an it was back to 100% in 30 minutes.
If you got a USB C cable from your car and plugged it into the DC/PV Input would that charge it at all?
@@bradlederer7493 they actually make a DC car charger that works with several brands of power stations that will let you charge it while driving, I’ve never seen a USB C cable to DC/PV car charger though..🧐
@@HolidayForTwo42 I've got some C chargers in the back of my Yukon. I was hoping to use on of those.
@@bradlederer7493 they also sell a PV charger with alligator clips attached so you could charge the AC180 directly off a 12volt battery charger. If you’re handy with electrical cords and wiring- you could also make your own set up!
Thank you so much for this video. We bought an AC180 about 8 months ago and finally was able to use it last weekend. We also purchased an electric Iceco ice chest to run off of the Bluetti. What we found is that the Bluetti turned off overnight and the fridge was at 41 degrees by morning (we had the Iceco hooked up to my husbands truck battery until bedtime and plugged it into the fully charged Bluetti at bedtime). Any idea why the Bluetti shut off during the night? It was on Eco mode and the draw from the fridge is only 15W so I'm guessing we're doing something wrong?
Double check to make sure Eco mode is turned off (using app on your phone) then when you have it fully charged again, run it during the daytime and monitor it occasionally throughout the day watching for any issues. Also, do you have a small solar panel charger that you can plug into the AC180 to help keep it topped off during the day - or plug it into your truck battery with the 12v charger adapter that they make for these? It should be able to run that fridge all night, unless it’s suddenly kicking in and pulling more power that you weren’t aware of during the night etc.. best of luck, I hope you find out what’s going on…
If the draw wattage is low in eco, the battery will turn off.
Hey can use this power bank for 2 window AC units? Thank you
One AC180 might be able to power a small AC unit (2000 watts or less) but only for a short period of time. 30 minutes roughly. If you want to run AC you’ll need more solar power and reserve capacity - that means more expense too - for running AC you want to consider a gas generator (3000-3500 watt range) which is more cost effective than solar IMO.
My power station is never hooked anything besides solar therefore it It generates power from solar and it is a solar generator.
@@DaveSquibbSr The best way to have it 😉
New subscriber here. If you hadn’t plugged in plugged in coffee pot, would the EB 70 have charged the AC 180 at around 2-300 watts? Also, is there a way to plug in the EB 70 into the AC 180 without using the ac plug on the EB 70? Thanks.
Yes, it probably would have been fine - I didn’t realize that the AC180 would pull excess power if needed like that, that surprised me - you could use the DC adapter from EB70 to the AC180 instead of the AC plug, that would cap the draw to 200 watts. That seems to work better for me.
Thanks for the quick reply. I had heard that the AC 180 could over draw smaller units causing them to trip. It makes perfect sense. One person on a Bluetti forum thought that putting the AC 180 in eco mode would solve that problem, but I believe you had your AC 180 set on eco mode when you connected it to your EB 70 so that isn’t right.Another person on a Bluetti said the AC 180 could be set to limit the incoming power from the smaller unit but I haven’t been able to find a setting to do that. And thanks for the suggestion about using the DC adapter from the smaller unit to charge the larger unit instead of the AC plug. Thanks, again. I am looking forward to more videos from you.
Good Stuff!! Thank you! >
These are on sale for $579 at the moment. I’ve heard their customer service is non existent but hey, we gotta gamble sometimes no?😂
I heard that they were on sale, wow! I’ve no issues so far with it. Cross my fingers! 😉
You sound like those who broke the world...
800 watts on silent mode?? Was the setup correct?
Yes, I discovered to my surprise that even though the AC180 is set to silent mode and a sudden demand is placed on it where you're pulling a large load, say 800 plus watts or more, then it will begin to pull more power in to compensate. Since I had it plugged into the EB70 via the regular AC cord, it started to pull more power than the EB70 could handle (anything over 800 watts and it shuts off automatically) So, if I want to use the EB70 as back up power supply, I have to use the DC Plug on the EB70 to the solar plug on the AC180 - I the n have all my solar power running into the EB70 (about 300 watts on a good day) This setup, so far - seems to work the best for me. If I plug the AC180 directly into the EB70 via the 110 outlet, it sometimes shuts off on me if I run something big like a microwave or coffee pot etc. I hope that makes sense - maybe I should set them up and make a video on that to show what happens when you do that...
@@HolidayForTwo42 I think I got it, it’s like if you’re demanding decent wattage while charging in silent mode, because of the wattage you’re pulling, then it needs the fan on certain speed and then it wouldn’t be silent anymore.. maybe it changes charging mode by trying to refreshing itself. Thanks for the reply, little by little we’re learning to handle these things.
dont you mean lithium IRON phosphate batteries? (NOT lithium ION) @10:50
That is correct 👍 thanks, i keep getting the lithium-ion and lithium-iron (liFepo4) types mixed up. The iron type are newer/cheaper and supposedly last longer…I hope.
Can you connect two of the AC180 to provide 220 volts...is that even possible?
Great question - I’d recommend asking an electrician first before trying anything like that…my first thought is you’d be creating a potential fire hazard 🔥 yikes!
Thank you, really helped me as I am considering this power station.
13,000 btu ac, oh my, I'm trying to figure out would one of these be enough for a 7000 btu window ac, and would it be able to charge off my solar panels while still running my ac during the day
@@ibfrdb unfortunately it wouldn’t work - well, I should say an AC180 might run your 7,000 btu AC unit - but only for a short time, like 15-20 minutes at best. You would need a larger lithium battery bank (5-10kw) and enough solar panels to generate at least 1400 watts or more to make it practical - it can be done but your looking at $$$ - hope that helps
I've been trying to choose between the Anker c1000 and the ac180...blu tooth control sold me on the ac180.....I have an ecoflow and I find the wi fi control extremely finicky and when the wi fi is connected my phone doesn't have Internet connection
You made the right choose. I too was torn between these two units - but the AC 180 gives you just a bit more power in power lifting mode, and that makes a world of difference if you’re camping or stuck with no power and need to cook something or operate a device that requires just a bit more power that the Anker can’t handle. Mind you the AC 180 can only give you that power for about 7-10 minutes but if you have your solar panels plugged in, you’ll be in a better position to recover the lost charge and maybe even prolong the use at higher watt useage.
How is the AC180 holding up? Any issues? Thank you for the awesome video. It helped me a lot.
Just subscribed as well.
worst company ever tried to return there brutal
@@stevelunday-x2v I’ve heard that from a few people - I’ve never had to deal with them, fortunately.