I had a lot of questions about charge cycles for the Yeti Lithium batteires and got some good data from the Goal Zero engineers just now that I wish was explained on their site: - Every 500 cycles you will lose about 20% of your total capacity - You won't absolutely need a replacement battery until at least 2000 cycles (their cycle ratings are more conservative than other companies that just state "2,000 cycles" without saying how much battery capacity is lost by the end - it's probably when their battery is also 80% dead so they are the same as Goal Zero's cycle count) - A "cycle" is defined as filling the battery by 100 percentage points so all 4 of these count equally as "1 cycle" in their ratings: Charging ONCE from 0 to 100% Charging TWICE from 50% to 100% Charging FOUR times from 75% to 100% Charging TEN times from 90% to 100% - If you had a full battery and were putting out 300 watts while also charging at 300 watts, that wouldn't count against your cycles at all. They are designed for high power input/output simultaneously but the power always comes from the battery (no passthrough from the input right to the inverter) - They have low battery protection built into the Yetis so you actually can run them clear down to 0% within harmful effects. The Yeti powers down before you drain the battery too far to cause damage. - The only way you can really hurt the battery is to leave it at 0% for a long time or let it sit for longer than 5-6 months without any use. - Their units can handle 300 watts on the MPPT and 300 watts on the standard inputs for a max input of about 600 watts - A Yeti 1000 with 600 watts of input can output 600 watts all day long with no harmful effects Hopefully, this is useful info for folks, maybe I'll make a follow up video explaining this all visually so it's not lost in a comment. I'm going to use my small generator to keep about 600 watts flowing in during a power outage (max generator output is 700-900w) and use the peak power of the Yeti (1500W, 3000W surge) as the "buffer" for when something bigger like a refrigerator or pump kicks on. My generator alone couldn't handle that kind of surge. Working on adding a transfer panel so I'll have a video on that soon.
Small update: When I had this mega charger plugged into my Yeti, I saw up to 290 watts of power going in once it had been running for a while. That was outside on a cold day so maybe this kept the chargers cooler so they were able to output more? See my video on the Ryobi propane generator charging my Yeti for details.
I built a similar fast charger using 4 Lenovo 90w power adapters rated at 19v - they have built in 8mm connections which connect to the Anderson combiner cable. I also used a power bar for powering all 4 adapters. I also plugged in the standard charger cable. Total wattage going in is roughly 330 watts. To keep all the adapters cool, I aim a small Vornado fan at the Goal Zero and power adapters. This keeps the temperate of the adapters at less than 90 degrees F. It works very well. Thanks for the idea! Instead of buying the proprietary Yeti car link, I use an inverter to power this in my vehicle while I drive, charging the Yeti. No need for solar panels!
@@southsurreybc You wouldn't happen to have the model # for those lenovo adapters do you? I'm not up for $40 a pop for Goal Zero's unit, nor am I up for $150 for the fast charger. I've never tossed an ac/dc adapter ever and went through my box of about 150 of them. Not one has the right 8mm male center pole like the Yeti does.
Good video. I did this also, but with a twist. My car has two cigarette lighter outlets. I connected a Bestek inverter to each. The bestek inverters each have two 110 outlets which I connected to 4 goal zero chargers and connected them to the standard input side with a Anderson connector. I then connected 4 100 watt solar panels to an Anderson connecter and plugged them into the mppt side. I now have a portable charging station and can charge a 1400 lithium in 2.5 hrs. and I can do this while the electric is out. I have two 1400 lithiums and by alternating them, I can keep a 10 amp a/c operating during a hurricane. Goal zero says max input is 360 watts but fail to say each side can take up to 360 watts. This saves the expense of buying the Ryobi. The Bestek is pure sine wave rated and safe to use with the lithium battery. I live in a condo and can not use propane.
Wow, Gregory, thank you for this! We're working out our solar and getting lost in a vortex of myths. Your comments are so helpful for us (and I'm sure Todd's happy with them too ;)
i fail to understand the need to use bestek inverters since the cars charging system is already 13.8~14V DC, unless i'm missing something the powerbrick is just converting 110V AC to 12V DC and chargeing BMS is in the Yeti and able to accept anything up to 22V DC so shouldn't a custom cable that convert cigarette lighter outlets to anderson plug do the same?
ThreeDnut Young the issue is lithium batteries have much lower resistance than your car’s lead acid battery so if you hooked the yeti up via the previous 12v cigarette to 8mm adapter, it would pull too much power and could heat up, melt wires, etc. Now GZ has a special cable for lithium yetis that limits the draw to 5 or 10a so that’s the way to go. Using an inverter wastes a lot of energy
The MPPT and PWM charging ports react differently as the power system nears full charge or capacity. The MPPT charger seems to stop charging to keep the system slightly under 100%. This is actually better battery management for the lithium cell.
Thanks for this excellent video. And, your comment listed at the top is very informative, e.g. I always thought it a bad thing that GZ's charge cycle rating was very poor in comparison to their competitors, however, as you noted, their numbers are very conservative. Again, thanks a bunch!
@@todd.parker Yes, it's hard to track down good data is correct. And, it seems that GZ doesn't pad their numbers just for th esake of attracting sales as so many companies do. They seem like a company that I can trust. I just got my GZ Yeti, Boulder Briefcase, fast wall charger, and a few other sundry items delivered to me this past week...YAY!!!
I have found a 18vdc 350 Watt Power Supply. After following the comments on this excellent posting, I did some digging on power supplies and found thousands of 12 vdc (TOO LOW) and 24 vdc (TOO HIGH) units. Finally found that the medical industry has some limited uses for 18 vdc units. Followed a trail of crumbs and finally found an affordable unit that is currently in stock at DigiKey, a major online electronics supplier (Mouser is another leading online electronic distributor). Check this unit out by searching for: DigiKey XP Power SMP350PS18 and it's only $107 I have just ordered a Scout truck camper that includes a single 165W solar panel and a GoalZero 1000 as a simple solution for AC and DC power. I may try this power supply as a quick charger. DigiKey also carries Anderson connectors so I can build an input cable to feed the PWM controller on the GZ1000.
I've had a number of questions about using a standard DC power supply like this switching power supply that puts out 13.8v DC at 30A (probably 25A continuous) for about 350 watts of fan cooled power with Anderson Powerport outputs. This is about the same cost as the 3 additional chargers I bought in this video and summed with the combiner: www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQ2PGYO/?coliid=I3DQCYS6X3Y3NX&colid=3MUDM0E941HD9&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it The tech showed this to their engineers and this is the Goal Zero's reply: "I just got confirmation that we wouldn't recommend that power supply. Our systems want to see a minimum of 14 volts going in. Where this power supply is set at 13.8, we are worried it may not register on the Yeti." So, yes you can use a 3rd party power supply but 14v is the *minimum* voltage to charge a Yeti Lithium. If lower, the risk is that it just wouldn't register the charge input or could damage your charger. He said it was unlikely it would somehow damage the Yeti. He added that this is the same issue that came up with charging these in your car via the cigarette lighter port - the lithium Yetis were trying to pull at 14v+, things got hot, and wires were melting causing a fire hazard. "The reason we advertise not to charge from a 12v source right now is because the previous car charging cable we had for our non lihtium power stations had the potential to melt if it was used with a lithium unit. Once we have the new car charger available for them in Feb, this will not be an issue." So long story short, if you happen to have a 14+ volt 30A power supply lying around and can make up the right cable, go for it. Otherwise, it seems that waiting until March for their 300 watt charger is the way to go. It will cost $90-120, will plug directly into the Anderson inputs, and will be fan cooled. I don't think you'd be able to find a power supply + cable that is any cheaper and I'm guessing GZ will have better build quality and warranty. Oh, and "We are releasing our Lithium 12v car charger on the 1st of February. The car charger will input about 120-150 watts" so that's good news. No word on pricing.
Hi Todd, when using a 14v 30A charger you'll breach the 360W MAX input of the port.. I have made a charger of a power supply that handles 14V and a max of 25A and works well, outputting 360W
Thanks for posting this!! So I just called Goal Zero and they said that the new power supply should be in stock by the end on next week and it's 300 Watts.I asked additional questions about charging and this is what I found out. The PWM port candle take in 360 watts of power. ADDITIONALLY the MPPT port can bring in 325 MORE watts at the same time for a maximum of 685 WATTS of power! This means you can run solar panels and the charger at the same time or 2 chargers at once! I did inquire about the new Yeti Link Expansion Module which allows you to expand the system and add batteries. The downside is that it can only bring in 150 Watts and as I suspected, you have to remove the MPPT port. The uplink 150 watts plus the 360 watts on the PWM port would give you a max of 510 watts. I wanted to know if the wattage for each port can be stacked or what the max input of power was incase I also need to charge this from a gas generator quickly!
GOOD NEWS!I just called goal zero customer service 888-794-6250 option 2, and the NEW 300 watt power supply is in stock! It's not listed on their website and I just ordered 2 of them so I can charge from the PWM and MPPT port at the same time in an emergency! If I am pull in 500 watts between the 2 chargers this should be charged in maybe 2 hours :-) Thanks for all the research and videos you are doing Todd. This is invaluable info
I solved the slow charge by using a Goal Zero Yeti 25A fast charger plugged into the MPPT module in conjunction with the standard wall charger which REALLY cuts down the overall charge times.
This is really useful to know. Just went through Texas rolling blackouts and when the power was on we needed to maximize our battery fill. Just ordered a second power supply. I haven’t been able to find the fast charger your referring to but I did see a recall for a 25A fast charger. Perhaps they haven’t reintroduced it into the market. Thanks for this video.
One thing that I wish you would test, if you haven't, is using the battery while charging... even though my phone pulls 9 watts and my unit charges at 55 watts (ninjbatt 270wh) the unit says it will take 99 hours to finish charging instead of the normal 6 hours without charging and since that's about 1/6th the load it should take 1 extra hour or so to charge but it doesn't
I just use the 25A fast charge on the mppt and if I’m feeling frisky I’ll put a second standard charger on the front. Off grid though I use 4 100w Rockpal panels and they are awesome!
I can't find the 25 amp fast charges anywhere online I think those were the ones that were recalled. I need to get something to charge this faster for the summertime. I've had the battery for 3 years but I need to use it more excessively this summer
How long will the unit last? The Kodiac has a life expectancy of 6 years. I've owned a generator for 32 years and it's still in it's original box. I'd hate to buy a solar generator and if I ever do need it, it doesn't work because it's too old.
Any lithium battery will lose capacity over time but it’s not a hard line. After 6 years it may only hold 80% of its original capacity, could be more or less depending on how many discharge cycles and how deep each is. A gas generator doesn’t slowly degrade like that but you have more maintenance and fuel to store/rotate so there are pros and cons.
Good review. I have the 400 watt goal and if I can help it I won't let it get below 50% because it takes took long to charge. Funny you say you talked to the goal zero engineers. I've recently have been considering either the 1400 or the 3000 watt GZ but I can't get ahold of anyone not even returning multiple emails too. I've moved on but considering the pricing is ranging from $1900-$3000 depending on which one you go with. Not a good sign they wont even respond to email.
That’s not good service! I mostly used chat on their website. Their tech support was good in the past and they would go and ask engineers for clarifications. I never had any luck with email either.
Oh and if you can find the 1400 or 300 refurb or on deep sale, go for it but otherwise I’d wait. They are refreshing all their units to the X series and last time I chatted they said the next gen would have built in MPPT and multiple expansion slots...
I have a 1500x with 2 120watt wall chargers, i have the multi 8mm combiner to hpp input. I also have the mppt unit. With 2 120 watt chargers i should get double the charge but with both i still only get 118watts as if its only one. Doesnt matter what combination i try and even according to goal zero this in theory should work. Thoughts?
How do I charge a Yeti from another Yeti? I don't want to use the power cord and come off the inverter due to reduced efficiency. I was hoping there was an adapter cable that would go from the 12V anderson power pole output on the Yeti1000X into the HPP input on the Yeti 3000X. Is this possible? What do you recommend?
@@todd.parker Does it waste more energy than using the AC charger from the inverter of 1 Yeti into the HPP/8mm into the other Yeti? Does powerwerks or someone make an anderson power pole to vertical anderson power pole cable?
@@jgg204 No, staying with DC will be much more efficient than DC > AC > DC but I was just saying in general, transferring power between units is lossy.
Maybe I should have added that we had 4 hours of daylight today at my house and would have been bummed if I didn't have shore power on which to rely. When that option goes away, we would be using a dual fuel generator when the solar panels, stacked in the conex to be put up eventually, cant produce enough. Maybe wind is a better option where we are 💁🏼 I'm quite glad I came across your channel. A bit wiser, as well. Thank you for helping the many I'm certain that you have. 👭 We're all in this together! Love.
Okay, thanks for posting this! I have several GZ batteries, including a Yeti 1000 & it has a fan which I did not know. Now my question is about solar panels. I have eight Boulder 30s, Two 20s. Have these due to constant power outages. So it would appear two Boulder 100s? My 30s just sit in the shed in a box.
Hi, are you asking if you should upgrade to larger panels? Seems you have 320w of panels now, do you use the 8mm to Anderson combiner? Seems having fewer, larger panels will be less work to set up and connect.
Great video Todd. So I tried something similar but unfortunately did not get the desired effect. I tried two 120W power supplies into a 4 x 8 mm to Anderson combiner on a Yeti 1500X but the unit refused to take any more than 120W and the APP input on the 1500X is supposed to be good for 600W. I am guessing there is some 100W per 8mm input limit somewhere.
Huh, interesting. They make 200w Boulder panels that should output close to 180w real world and I assume those use the 8mm plugs. I'd like to think those use heavier wire but I don't know how they could limit the output from summing with the setup you had...strange. Might be worth doing some more tests...
@@todd.parker yeah it's a bit strange. I talked to GZ support today and they were completely lacking in knowledge on this. One of the support reps I talked to told me another rep would get back to me and would likely have to speak to an engineer to get the answers. Hopefully I'll hear back from them tomorrow. The most I was able to get today was 175W using one 120W charger and the 60W USB-C PD input. Another thing that is concerning is that on their website they quote the 1500X as having 600W through the APP port but I got my unit today and under the lid it clearly says 300W max for that port which does not bode well. Actually the Boulder 200W panels use Anderson ports and in theory you use the 4x Anderson (to Anderson) plug to combine multiple. The Boulder 100 panels use 8mm and you use the 4x 8mm (to Anderson) combiner. GZ support at first tried to claim that there was some limit on that 4x 8mm combiner but didn't actually know what it was so nothing is clear right now.
Adrian Cho Photography I don’t see how the combiners themselves can limit anything, I assume it’s just a bunch of wires being connected in parallel. Now you know why I make so many GZ videos - their info is so scattered and unclear so I need to either hound tech support of just test things myself
@@todd.parker so FYI I have been engaging in some back and forth with GZ support and I’ve learned a couple of things. It seems there is logic, in at least the Yeti X models, to limit combining of multiple wall chargers through the 4x combiner cables. Apparently this is for safety reasons to prevent possible combinations of differently rated supplies (e.g. 120W and 230W) that operate at different voltages and could damage each other in parallel combination. Even using power supplies of the same type is apparently not possible now because because differences in manufacturing tolerances could cause one supply to provide more current than another, leading to overheating of the heavier loaded supply. The solar panels are apparently not a problem because they are closely matched in voltage and naturally drop together toward their rating as they are loaded in a way that the wall supplies are not. I am still trying to find out if this limitation also exists with multiple 12V car chargers or whether they work because they are all regulated. So lots of little gotchas. The only good news is that the (very expensive) Yeti Link will apparently charge the 1500X and 3000X at up to 750W, assuming it can be delivered at the alternator. You’ll notice that I’ve used the words “apparently” multiple times because I’m not sure what to believe.
On the website, it says that the power pole anderson conenctors can support up to 460 Watts and the 8mm ports can support up to 120 watts. Do you know if that is for each port or is that for the sum of all ports?
My understanding is the PWM ports can handle 360 watts total and the MPPT port can handle an additional 360 watts. For each, the sum of the ports matters.
You're right that charging very fast can be tough on a battery but a lithium battery can be recharged at a .5C rate (50% per hour) or more without harm so a 1000 could be safely charged at 500w. Obviously charging/discharging slower and not as deeply will prolong life but companies like Ecoflow charge close to 1C and they seem to do well though time will tell.
So I looking to get the goal zero products for the overland RV's we build buy have heard both sides but I do like how everything is in one package just concerned about charging both solar and regular 110
del LM-TV& OFF GRID ADVENTURE Goal Zero products are a bit like Apple’s. You pay a premium for the high quality packaging, clean UI, safety, and support. Yes, you can assemble something a bit cheaper but then it’s hard to package it nicely. I like that you can grab this unit and take it out of the van.
Is the battery replaceable once it's reached its life cycle limit? I understand the cycle, but looking at longterm for the product for battery replacement if it's even an option in say several years after it's been used quite a bit.
Goal Zero has said the battery will be replaceable but doesn’t offer those parts on their site. I have purchased replacement batteries for the lead acid Yeti 100s in the past and it’s an easy swap.
@@todd.parker Thanks Todd and I agree. My concern is that the device has been out for almost 2 years and Goal Zero doesn't offer the battery itself for replacement. I would be curious if anyone has attempted to open it to see how easy a replacement would be and if the battery contained is proprietary or not. What would be an alternative off-the- shelf replacement battery, etc. Those are the only things holding me back from a purchase. The device looks outstanding though per your review!
Can you use 12 chargers? 4 chargers with Anderson adaptor on the left input. 4 chargers with Anderson adaptor on the right input. 8mm in the left input. 2 8mm in the right input and 1 8mm on the top input?
No, the built in PWM inputs max at 360w total across all inputs, the MPPT modules doubles that. Keep in mind that charging the battery too fast will reduce its life so you want to give the electrons some time to find a home.
Great video but can you also charge from multiple inputs at the same time? For example can you buy 8 chargers and chain them in groups of four like you did and have all 8 powering.
Yes, you could if you have the MPPT module I stalled. The built in puts can handle 360w, the module doubles that. They now make a fast charger that is probably a better value than 4 single supplies.
so..... why not just buy a hobby grade AC/DC 24v power supply and connect an anderson power pole connector to it? Whatever the max input wattage/volts is.... they are between $20 - $100 depending on branding and wattage Hell an xbox one power supply is 250w and like $22 Seems like a crazy expensive hack.....
You can for sure but you need one that is within the Yeti input voltage. A standard 12v is too low and 24v is too high. If you can find a variable output supply or something 16v or so that’s the sweet spot. I just didn’t see one that was cheaper when you really got into the details tho GZ now sells a.high power charger so that’s an option. Charging Port (input, 8mm): 14-22V, up to 10A (120W max) Power Pole Charging Port (input): 14-22V, up to 30A (360W max)
Way to go GoalZero, you got this customer to spend more money on accessories. Marking strategy, to make more money. YAYY! Thank you for sharing, great video.
Depend on how many panels you have and the weather. To get 300w of I put, you’d need 4x 100w solar panels and a sunny day (given efficiency losses). I have 2 panels and plan to use a generator to power these wall chargers if the sun isn’t out/shining
These Goal Zero things are such a rip off, Their specs seem to be all over the place and as you have pointed out 18/25 hours to charge it back up again is a joke, The whole idea of using Lithium batteries is because of the amount of power you can use from them But even more important is the speed you can Charge them back up again, I think you have done GZ a service by making this Video so well done to you Sir, That's impressive stuff and exactly how it should of came from the factory.
They finally got smart and started selling a fast charger but it’s extra. I will say that the yeti 1000, especially refurbished is a very good value. It’s the same price as the lithium battery alone.
If you have the optional MMPT charger, you can plug 360w into that, 360w into the built-in ports, for a total of 720w. Hope that answers your question!
@xeckplay Do you mean 8 wall chargers? If so, my understanding is as long as you don't exceed the max power for the inputs you can sum as many chargers and panels as you want. In the case on the built-in PWM charge controller, the Power Pole Charging port can handle up to 30A (360W max) and the MPPT port can also handle a similar amount. So yes, you could sum 4 chargers into one Power Pole port and 4 into the other which would be roughly to 500 watts. And here I thought my setup was overkill! My plan is use my two 100 watt Boulder solar panels and these four wall chargers to charge this up extra fast when the sun is shining to save even more fuel in emergency situations.
And the lithium 1000. I called support today and was informed that the MPPT port can handle 325 watts and the PWM port can take in another 360 watts at the same time!
Neal Wachter - Good point, that would work too. If you have a link to a suitable charger, that would be super helpful. I mostly did this because I knew it would work but I’m sure there are better alternatives.
Looking in Amazon maybe something like this would be good. It has power pole outputs and is 30A at 12.8V so about 380 watts. That’s more than this setup for $20 cheaper. I honestly didn’t know these existed, nice tip! TekPower Analog Display TP30SWI 30 Amp DC 13.8V Switching Power Supply with Noise Offset www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQ2PGYO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_zTyhCbMV9PZ1H
I think I'm going to buy one of those Todd for my yeti 1000 lithium thanks for posting that link unlike the previous commenter. also going to put 2 solar panels on my rv. that way I can fast charge with my inverter connected to my engine connected to that tekpower power supply to power my yeti 1000 35% per hour through the Anderson input. and then trickle charger to maintain it with a couple solar panels. that way on cloudy days I have a fast charging option with a hybrid solar trickle charge capability. 3 hour to full charge, or trickle charge. the combination of the two should solve my needs.
Robert Pacheco I’m doing the same with my GZ 3000, but didnt know about this cable so i was doing 2x true mppt and 2x the other charger. I like that cable and will get it asap. With that DC power supply (or a better one) you could use both output from it and max out both solar charger.
Quick update: I showed a similar power supply to Goal Zero tech support and they said it would NOT work. Long story short, the Yeti Lithiums require a minimum of 14v of input power to charge and most of these DC power supplies put out 12-13 watts so you'd need to get a charger that outputs 14-20 volts. I cover this and more here: th-cam.com/video/_jVTftlIpyI/w-d-xo.html
"This new faster product is coming next year" should be goal zeros mission statement. I'm still waiting for the car charger I was promised more than a year ago.
Ha! I know. Seems they’ve had some engineering hiccups and the high speed charger is still a few months out at best. If you want the car charger, you’re in luck. It just came out yesterday and I ordered one to review it. Shipping was expensive! www.goalzero.com/shop/yeti-accessories/yeti-lithium-12v-car-charging-cable/yeti-lithium-12v-car-charging-cable/
Todd.... I got news..... you can call your order in right now to get the lithium car charger... depending on your cars cigarette lighter amps... it produces 120-180 watts. You can buy them each for 39.99. if you have two ports you can buy 2... and get 240-360 watts via the 8mm end it has. If you for some reason had 4 ports you could buy 4 and anderson 2 and plug in 2..... man... they've got it... they said it will go live tonight on the website or call in now if you want it sooner lol. Just wanted to let you know. I might go the car charger route.
I might alligator clamp some female cig ports to my car battery. Buy 2 chargers. And 1 anderson combiner. And pull 360 watts into this thing. Can you imagine? Lol. Seems worth 100 bucks to me if my solar isn't working right while on the road in my rv.
@@robertp9370 Heh, you could for sure. You can buy some nice fused female ports with ring connectors to connect to your battery for quick disconnects, I have this and it's great: www.amazon.com/NOCO-GC018-Adapter-Socket-Terminal/dp/B00G8WLW2Y/ref=asc_df_B00G8WLW2Y One thing to keep in mind is if this is a standard lead acid deep cycle battery, if you pull a lot of amps out of it quickly, it will reduce the output. For example, I have a 66ah deep cycle AGM battery so 50% of the capacity is gone right off the top because you don't want to discharge more than 50% to keep the battery healthy. Will Proust has a great video showing how that remaining 50% can be further reduced if you suck too much power, too fast which was new to me: th-cam.com/video/kMlhxr9gPOs/w-d-xo.html
bigman55434 Good point. The bricks get pretty hot in general so I added 1/2” spacers and lay them vertically so there are “chimneys” to hopefully let enough heat out. I show this in more detail on my generator video. Thanks!
Anthony - You're right, it's definitely too much money to just just charge you Yeti super fast. Usually you can just wait and slow charge it. However, I'm using these to quick charge my Yeti via a propane generator in emergencies so for me it makes a lot of sense to be able to run the generator for 1/4 the amount of time to save fuel. I have a video on that setup if interested: th-cam.com/video/W6frqPTM65Q/w-d-xo.html
@@todd.parker does your generator output 12 volts, which you can then keep everything DC? I know the newer Honda generators have a 12 volt charging option. Not sure how fast it would charge the Yeti 3000 however.
Please read my entire comment by pressing read more. I saw that the guy you chatted with's name is brogan. Cool guy but let me tell you, I talked to him in November and he said this new charger would be out in january. He did say he couldn't gaurantee that though. but if I could wait it might be worth it. So I don't believe it will be out this month AT ALL because they recently told me the new updated propose launch date was set for may 1st but COULDN'T SAY FOR SURE. ............ I can't take it anymore. It's been since November and they can't even get on the same page about when they will ever be able to solve their, in my opinion, not thinking-with-the-customer's needs in mind design. Goal zero is NOTORIOUS for saying something will be in Stock and they fall short. Just look at their website, they haven't had car chargers available for most IF NOT ALL of the last year. You can see tons of comments of people asking and them saying it would be available soon. Yet they are still out of stock to this day. Why? My opinion is they want to sell as many of those 40$ 60 watt average input chargers and they won't EVER promise an exact date this new charger will be available. Brogan says February, I say don't hold your breath. May is my best guess but they won't gaurantee me over the phone. So that means, it may take until next year considering how slow they are restocking their own products. I like the product, I hate their vague answers and lack of care in providing what the customer needs in the first place. 60 watts for a 1000$ machine? If that wasn't engineered to waste people's time and money then I don't know what to tell you. I've burnt through soooooo much extra fuel to charge my yeti. So in the end it's the customer that's had to pay for their inconsiderate design. Steve Jobs would be pissed at that recharge rate. Because he would know better than to make a crap recharge rate for a 1 thousands dollar plus BATTERY. So the very reason customers are buying this thing they fail to be able to recharge at any respectable pace without ripping you off to buy overly priced inferior 60 watt average input chargers. I'm sure they've been getting calls about this since forever and what do they do... so far... and as far as we know because they've given me NO solid launch date for this new charger over the phone with me. It is such a.... ugh I just don't like it when companies keep you in the dark. Making you never able to actually get what you need. Ridiculous. And their proprietary anderson powerpole don't even get me started...... they purposely positioned the powerpole so you CANT easily use chargers already on the market with anderson connectors. They turned the powerpoles to be positioned one above another instead of the standard side by side. REALLY? I swear the next better product that comes out.... I will ditch goal zero in a heartbeat because they have a track record of being too concerned with making things harder than they need to be so they can devise a way to profit off their customers. Sigh. Sorry had to get that off my chest. I've since gone solar and am not going to buy their stupid 300 watt charger anymore. Their not making another penny off me or anyone I know. I just can't support this company in the future. If I could speak my mind to goal zero I would tell them. Your customers know you don't have their needs in mind and their products designed obscelecense is OBVIOUS in their products. Good luck getting repeat customers. I predict if they don't get their act together, a new company will immerge that will wipe them out. they have potentially but their greed and crappy transparency makes me unable to spread the word about their otherwise currently decent product.
I get the frustration, it’s good to vent! I agree that they should have shipped these with a higher wattage wall adapter (or at least two like the 3000) because the charge times are ridiculous. I have Ego power tools and their fast charger can put out over 400 watts so I can charge their biggest battery in less than an hour. I just chatted with them today re: car charger (out today?) and they said they are still ironing out some issues with the 300 watt wall charger so it won’t be out for a few more months (March?). Honestly this 4x charger setup probably works as well and cost me less than the forthcoming charger. I wish I had better news!
@@todd.parker you made the right choice Todd trust me. I was so close to doing what you did after realizing they didn't have a true standard anderson powerpole design so I could charge it via different methods that we spoke of before. But even though I have the money....... I just can't let it out of my hands to them when in my heart they don't deserve it. They've lost my support and I so badly wanted to spread the word of mouth to anyone else about them. I don't trust their proposed launch dates.... it's smoke and mirrors song and dance... iron out what? It should've been ironed out a longgggggggg time ago. Don't their customers deserve better? Yes... and I'm sure they will eventually.... what they actually mean by things need to be ironed out is... we are selling so many extra 60 watt average input chargers..... we have little motivation to tell you if or when we will ever actually have the carrot they dangle in front of their customers.... this comes from the guy who's been waiting and waiting and waiting and they keep backing up their launch date and giving different answers to different people... dude come on... you did the right thing todd.... you solved your issue wayyyyyy sooner then in my opinion anyone else will be able to. And I solved mine by going solar. I suggest people do not do what I did and wait on their vague no gaurantee... keep pushing the dates back and not restocking basic car chargers... just... save yourself the trouble. They aren't trustworthy to me. They say one thing and do another... Do what Todd did... or use the charger money for more solar. There's no for sure answer on when it will be out... for all we know next they will say their iron broke so they can't iron it out until 2020. I wouldnt be surprised because i dont even know how they can keep telling their customers with a straight face theyll have something stocked or restocked "Soon!" yet..... they DON'T. Sigh.... I'm not buying their Public Relations, hold them off, be as vague as possible, don't tell them what's actually going on, don't COMMIT an actual gauranteed launch date to any customer, tactics. In my opinion, they have integrity and commitment issues when it comes to this topic. I can smell it before I even pick up the phone to get an update. We aren't stupid but it feels like they think we will buy their empty claims. Clearly.... they are not motivated.... it's soooooo obvious. Their reps answers sound nice but it's all just glitter no actual gold.
Robert Pacheco I was miffed at that too but I think they went with a vertical arrangement to be dummy-proof and prevent people from plugging inputs into outputs. They seem to have gone with the standard horizontal arrangement for the outputs (say if connecting to a ham radio) and the vertical for inputs (solar/wall charging). Apparently Powerpole connector are free-form and can be assembled in any way you want but the ham radio folks have been promoting a standard setup for interoperability. I bought Anderson Power Pole connectors to make up my own power cable recently and they have tongue and grooves to let you lock them in any way you want. I was making an input cable for my Yeti so I slid them together in the Goal Zero style vertical orientation and it all worked but I agree that it makes it harder to find pre-made cables. After making my own, I do appreciate the quality of the GZ cables - theirs have a tighter connection, better water resistance, and stronger strain resistance than what I cooked up DIY but I’m not that great at making cables!
@@todd.parker I did consider that but I don't know man I just feel they've got to right this wrong and do it asap. People spent millions on their products I'm sure by now. This isn't indie gogo or... some new company.... they've been around since lead acid. If they designed a charger before hand that fit into the standard side by side practical anderson setup.... they wouldn't of had to put them in such a restrictive and limiting way which defeats the purpose of the otherwise versatile and customizable capability that the anderson powerpole connector is known for. And I'm sure there was other ways they could have safeguarded the whole polarity thing. But.... I do agree with you. I'm just frustrated lol. And good on you for figuring the anderson cable customizing stuff.. I wanted to figure that out too but just haven't had the time. I just ran out of gas on the issue. Going to just let go of it and watch them continue to not be able to commit to their customers the products they say will be in stock that..... let's just say doesn't seem to be their concern if you looked at what actually ends up happening.
Robert Pacheco Just saw the bottom half of your comment. My guess is they have been struggling with heat dissipation vs. size/cost. A 300 watt (15A) DC power supply is pretty expensive if you look on Amazon and theirs needs to output 16v which is bit less standard. Anyway, even though theirs is fan cooled I can see things either being more expensive than hoped, or heating up dangerously and needing redesigns. All just a guess but I agree it’s frustrating, especially if you’ve been waiting and they keep pushing dates. For me, the more I’ve dug into the DIY vs. GZ cost breakdown, I’ve come around to thinking their stuff is a good value overall esp. when you factor in build quality/support but we’ll see how my stuff holds up...
the slower a battery is charged the longer it will last. you can buy a second charger and charge the unit twice as fast but battery longevity will be affected.
@@LxTxSURGE the faster you charge and discharge a battery the faster it degrades as it causes them to heat up, lithium batteries especially don't like heat or cold. just google more info on it. goal zero should really be telling their customers about this.
Yep, you’re right. That charging or discharging too fast is bad for any battery. Unfortunately, GZ doesn’t specify how quickly you can charge the batteries without stressing them but I think 300w is probably not too fast. We’ll see...
@@todd.parker I have been talking with goal zero and the MPPT port can take 370w at 22v max. it is a bit disappointing as I have a 300w panel but it runs up to 37v. I wish I could feed more solar in as I want to use the unit to power my electric solar charged boat. also the 12v out is only 120w.
Ha, I know. That was my very first video and I hadn’t figured out how to do voiceovers. Halfway through, it gets better but I’ve improved since then, I promise!
I had a lot of questions about charge cycles for the Yeti Lithium batteires and got some good data from the Goal Zero engineers just now that I wish was explained on their site:
- Every 500 cycles you will lose about 20% of your total capacity
- You won't absolutely need a replacement battery until at least 2000 cycles (their cycle ratings are more conservative than other companies that just state "2,000 cycles" without saying how much battery capacity is lost by the end - it's probably when their battery is also 80% dead so they are the same as Goal Zero's cycle count)
- A "cycle" is defined as filling the battery by 100 percentage points so all 4 of these count equally as "1 cycle" in their ratings:
Charging ONCE from 0 to 100%
Charging TWICE from 50% to 100%
Charging FOUR times from 75% to 100%
Charging TEN times from 90% to 100%
- If you had a full battery and were putting out 300 watts while also charging at 300 watts, that wouldn't count against your cycles at all. They are designed for high power input/output simultaneously but the power always comes from the battery (no passthrough from the input right to the inverter)
- They have low battery protection built into the Yetis so you actually can run them clear down to 0% within harmful effects. The Yeti powers down before you drain the battery too far to cause damage.
- The only way you can really hurt the battery is to leave it at 0% for a long time or let it sit for longer than 5-6 months without any use.
- Their units can handle 300 watts on the MPPT and 300 watts on the standard inputs for a max input of about 600 watts
- A Yeti 1000 with 600 watts of input can output 600 watts all day long with no harmful effects
Hopefully, this is useful info for folks, maybe I'll make a follow up video explaining this all visually so it's not lost in a comment. I'm going to use my small generator to keep about 600 watts flowing in during a power outage (max generator output is 700-900w) and use the peak power of the Yeti (1500W, 3000W surge) as the "buffer" for when something bigger like a refrigerator or pump kicks on. My generator alone couldn't handle that kind of surge. Working on adding a transfer panel so I'll have a video on that soon.
great information. could the 1400 handle being charged by two 300w solar panels?
Just out of curiosity, as I'm not sure myself, but wouldn't it be Four times from 75% to 100% and Ten times from 90% to 100%?
superfragilisticatexpialidoshmur Errr. Yes, absolutely. My brain wasn’t working when I wrote that, sorry. I fixed my comment above.
@@todd.parker Not a problem! I just wanted to make sure I understood as well!
Small update: When I had this mega charger plugged into my Yeti, I saw up to 290 watts of power going in once it had been running for a while. That was outside on a cold day so maybe this kept the chargers cooler so they were able to output more? See my video on the Ryobi propane generator charging my Yeti for details.
Todd Parker the charger has to put out more watts the fuller the battery becomes.thats why 250 at 15% but more like 290 at 90%.
Can you rerecord audio?
I built a similar fast charger using 4 Lenovo 90w power adapters rated at 19v - they have built in 8mm connections which connect to the Anderson combiner cable. I also used a power bar for powering all 4 adapters. I also plugged in the standard charger cable. Total wattage going in is roughly 330 watts. To keep all the adapters cool, I aim a small Vornado fan at the Goal Zero and power adapters. This keeps the temperate of the adapters at less than 90 degrees F. It works very well. Thanks for the idea!
Instead of buying the proprietary Yeti car link, I use an inverter to power this in my vehicle while I drive, charging the Yeti. No need for solar panels!
Hey that all sounds like a nice setup, thanks for sharing
@@southsurreybc You wouldn't happen to have the model # for those lenovo adapters do you? I'm not up for $40 a pop for Goal Zero's unit, nor am I up for $150 for the fast charger. I've never tossed an ac/dc adapter ever and went through my box of about 150 of them. Not one has the right 8mm male center pole like the Yeti does.
Good video. I did this also, but with a twist. My car has two cigarette lighter outlets. I connected a Bestek inverter to each. The bestek inverters each have two 110 outlets which I connected to 4 goal zero chargers and connected them to the standard input side with a Anderson connector. I then connected 4 100 watt solar panels to an Anderson connecter and plugged them into the mppt side. I now have a portable charging station and can charge a 1400 lithium in 2.5 hrs. and I can do this while the electric is out. I have two 1400 lithiums and by alternating them, I can keep a 10 amp a/c operating during a hurricane. Goal zero says max input is 360 watts but fail to say each side can take up to 360 watts. This saves the expense of buying the Ryobi. The Bestek is pure sine wave rated and safe to use with the lithium battery. I live in a condo and can not use propane.
That’s a nice setup! Good call on using inverters to charge via your car since Goal Zero doesn’t have a 12v charger yet.
Wow, Gregory, thank you for this! We're working out our solar and getting lost in a vortex of myths. Your comments are so helpful for us (and I'm sure Todd's happy with them too ;)
i fail to understand the need to use bestek inverters since the cars charging system is already 13.8~14V DC, unless i'm missing something the powerbrick is just converting 110V AC to 12V DC and chargeing BMS is in the Yeti and able to accept anything up to 22V DC so shouldn't a custom cable that convert cigarette lighter outlets to anderson plug do the same?
ThreeDnut Young the issue is lithium batteries have much lower resistance than your car’s lead acid battery so if you hooked the yeti up via the previous 12v cigarette to 8mm adapter, it would pull too much power and could heat up, melt wires, etc. Now GZ has a special cable for lithium yetis that limits the draw to 5 or 10a so that’s the way to go. Using an inverter wastes a lot of energy
The MPPT and PWM charging ports react differently as the power system nears full charge or capacity. The MPPT charger seems to stop charging to keep the system slightly under 100%. This is actually better battery management for the lithium cell.
Interesting! Thanks for the info
Thanks for this excellent video. And, your comment listed at the top is very informative, e.g. I always thought it a bad thing that GZ's charge cycle rating was very poor in comparison to their competitors, however, as you noted, their numbers are very conservative. Again, thanks a bunch!
Glad that was helpful, it's hard to track down good data
@@todd.parker Yes, it's hard to track down good data is correct. And, it seems that GZ doesn't pad their numbers just for th esake of attracting sales as so many companies do. They seem like a company that I can trust.
I just got my GZ Yeti, Boulder Briefcase, fast wall charger, and a few other sundry items delivered to me this past week...YAY!!!
Peter Chung Enjoy! Yeah, I think they are pretty conservative on ratings and build quality is pretty solid
VERY VERY informative! They should've made this information much more visible. Great work!
I have found a 18vdc 350 Watt Power Supply. After following the comments on this excellent posting, I did some digging on power supplies and found thousands of 12 vdc (TOO LOW) and 24 vdc (TOO HIGH) units. Finally found that the medical industry has some limited uses for 18 vdc units. Followed a trail of crumbs and finally found an affordable unit that is currently in stock at DigiKey, a major online electronics supplier (Mouser is another leading online electronic distributor). Check this unit out by searching for:
DigiKey XP Power SMP350PS18 and it's only $107
I have just ordered a Scout truck camper that includes a single 165W solar panel and a GoalZero 1000 as a simple solution for AC and DC power. I may try this power supply as a quick charger. DigiKey also carries Anderson connectors so I can build an input cable to feed the PWM controller on the GZ1000.
I've had a number of questions about using a standard DC power supply like this switching power supply that puts out 13.8v DC at 30A (probably 25A continuous) for about 350 watts of fan cooled power with Anderson Powerport outputs. This is about the same cost as the 3 additional chargers I bought in this video and summed with the combiner: www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQ2PGYO/?coliid=I3DQCYS6X3Y3NX&colid=3MUDM0E941HD9&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
The tech showed this to their engineers and this is the Goal Zero's reply:
"I just got confirmation that we wouldn't recommend that power supply. Our systems want to see a minimum of 14 volts going in. Where this power supply is set at 13.8, we are worried it may not register on the Yeti."
So, yes you can use a 3rd party power supply but 14v is the *minimum* voltage to charge a Yeti Lithium. If lower, the risk is that it just wouldn't register the charge input or could damage your charger. He said it was unlikely it would somehow damage the Yeti. He added that this is the same issue that came up with charging these in your car via the cigarette lighter port - the lithium Yetis were trying to pull at 14v+, things got hot, and wires were melting causing a fire hazard.
"The reason we advertise not to charge from a 12v source right now is because the previous car charging cable we had for our non lihtium power stations had the potential to melt if it was used with a lithium unit. Once we have the new car charger available for them in Feb, this will not be an issue."
So long story short, if you happen to have a 14+ volt 30A power supply lying around and can make up the right cable, go for it. Otherwise, it seems that waiting until March for their 300 watt charger is the way to go. It will cost $90-120, will plug directly into the Anderson inputs, and will be fan cooled. I don't think you'd be able to find a power supply + cable that is any cheaper and I'm guessing GZ will have better build quality and warranty.
Oh, and "We are releasing our Lithium 12v car charger on the 1st of February. The car charger will input about 120-150 watts" so that's good news. No word on pricing.
Hi Todd, when using a 14v 30A charger you'll breach the 360W MAX input of the port.. I have made a charger of a power supply that handles 14V and a max of 25A and works well, outputting 360W
Thanks for posting this!! So I just called Goal Zero and they said that the new power supply should be in stock by the end on next week and it's 300 Watts.I asked additional questions about charging and this is what I found out. The PWM port candle take in 360 watts of power. ADDITIONALLY the MPPT port can bring in 325 MORE watts at the same time for a maximum of 685 WATTS of power! This means you can run solar panels and the charger at the same time or 2 chargers at once! I did inquire about the new Yeti Link Expansion Module which allows you to expand the system and add batteries. The downside is that it can only bring in 150 Watts and as I suspected, you have to remove the MPPT port. The uplink 150 watts plus the 360 watts on the PWM port would give you a max of 510 watts. I wanted to know if the wattage for each port can be stacked or what the max input of power was incase I also need to charge this from a gas generator quickly!
GOOD NEWS!I just called goal zero customer service 888-794-6250 option 2, and the NEW 300 watt power supply is in stock! It's not listed on their website and I just ordered 2 of them so I can charge from the PWM and MPPT port at the same time in an emergency! If I am pull in 500 watts between the 2 chargers this should be charged in maybe 2 hours :-) Thanks for all the research and videos you are doing Todd. This is invaluable info
I solved the slow charge by using a Goal Zero Yeti 25A fast charger plugged into the MPPT module in conjunction with the standard wall charger which REALLY cuts down the overall charge times.
This is really useful to know. Just went through Texas rolling blackouts and when the power was on we needed to maximize our battery fill. Just ordered a second power supply. I haven’t been able to find the fast charger your referring to but I did see a recall for a 25A fast charger. Perhaps they haven’t reintroduced it into the market. Thanks for this video.
Oh dang, I hadn't heard about a recall. You're right! www.goalzero.com/product-features/fast-charger-recall/
One thing that I wish you would test, if you haven't, is using the battery while charging... even though my phone pulls 9 watts and my unit charges at 55 watts (ninjbatt 270wh) the unit says it will take 99 hours to finish charging instead of the normal 6 hours without charging and since that's about 1/6th the load it should take 1 extra hour or so to charge but it doesn't
Yeah that math seems wrong
Dude, you are AWESOME!! Thanks for all this priceless info!💪🏾💪🏾👊🏾👍🏾👍🏾
Thank you for sharing charging options.
Sure thing, glad it was helpful
Can the batteries withstand being charged with so many watts, I mean over time, Is it healthy.!
They now sell a charger with the same output so yes it’s safe
I just use the 25A fast charge on the mppt and if I’m feeling frisky I’ll put a second standard charger on the front. Off grid though I use 4 100w Rockpal panels and they are awesome!
I can't find the 25 amp fast charges anywhere online I think those were the ones that were recalled. I need to get something to charge this faster for the summertime. I've had the battery for 3 years but I need to use it more excessively this summer
Great information here. Thanks for making and sharing this video.
This was really helpful -- thanks, Todd!
Glad to hear it!
How long will the unit last? The Kodiac has a life expectancy of 6 years. I've owned a generator for 32 years and it's still in it's original box. I'd hate to buy a solar generator and if I ever do need it, it doesn't work because it's too old.
Any lithium battery will lose capacity over time but it’s not a hard line. After 6 years it may only hold 80% of its original capacity, could be more or less depending on how many discharge cycles and how deep each is. A gas generator doesn’t slowly degrade like that but you have more maintenance and fuel to store/rotate so there are pros and cons.
Good review. I have the 400 watt goal and if I can help it I won't let it get below 50% because it takes took long to charge. Funny you say you talked to the goal zero engineers. I've recently have been considering either the 1400 or the 3000 watt GZ but I can't get ahold of anyone not even returning multiple emails too. I've moved on but considering the pricing is ranging from $1900-$3000 depending on which one you go with. Not a good sign they wont even respond to email.
That’s not good service! I mostly used chat on their website. Their tech support was good in the past and they would go and ask engineers for clarifications. I never had any luck with email either.
Oh and if you can find the 1400 or 300 refurb or on deep sale, go for it but otherwise I’d wait. They are refreshing all their units to the X series and last time I chatted they said the next gen would have built in MPPT and multiple expansion slots...
@@todd.parker good to know thanks for the insight!
Todd, have you tested the new 600w Yeti X charger on the Yeti 1000? It's a 40v 15A charger so it should work in the MPPT module. Let me know!
I don't have the newer charger unfortunately
I have a 1500x with 2 120watt wall chargers, i have the multi 8mm combiner to hpp input. I also have the mppt unit. With 2 120 watt chargers i should get double the charge but with both i still only get 118watts as if its only one. Doesnt matter what combination i try and even according to goal zero this in theory should work. Thoughts?
How do I charge a Yeti from another Yeti? I don't want to use the power cord and come off the inverter due to reduced efficiency. I was hoping there was an adapter cable that would go from the 12V anderson power pole output on the Yeti1000X into the HPP input on the Yeti 3000X. Is this possible? What do you recommend?
You can charge one from the other using the car adapter but it’s slow and wastes energy.
@@todd.parker Does it waste more energy than using the AC charger from the inverter of 1 Yeti into the HPP/8mm into the other Yeti? Does powerwerks or someone make an anderson power pole to vertical anderson power pole cable?
@@jgg204 No, staying with DC will be much more efficient than DC > AC > DC but I was just saying in general, transferring power between units is lossy.
I have a 500x with an 8mm(?) input to charge on the front and back and no anderson, I can do 2 wall chargers versus the 4 shown, can't I?
Love.
You can plug a charger into each input for 120w total
Where would a beefy usb-c cord and 100 watt adapter added on top of the 2 ac chargers take us?
Maybe I should have added that we had 4 hours of daylight today at my house and would have been bummed if I didn't have shore power on which to rely. When that option goes away, we would be using a dual fuel generator when the solar panels, stacked in the conex to be put up eventually, cant produce enough. Maybe wind is a better option where we are 💁🏼
I'm quite glad I came across your channel. A bit wiser, as well. Thank you for helping the many I'm certain that you have. 👭 We're all in this together!
Love.
@@kpowers74 that should work too, give it a try
Okay, thanks for posting this! I have several GZ batteries, including a Yeti 1000 & it has a fan which I did not know. Now my question is about solar panels. I have eight Boulder 30s, Two 20s. Have these due to constant power outages. So it would appear two Boulder 100s? My 30s just sit in the shed in a box.
Hi, are you asking if you should upgrade to larger panels? Seems you have 320w of panels now, do you use the 8mm to Anderson combiner? Seems having fewer, larger panels will be less work to set up and connect.
@@todd.parker Thanks for responding...but I understand your question for my question I have know idea what I was getting at or wanting. LOL
Great video Todd. So I tried something similar but unfortunately did not get the desired effect. I tried two 120W power supplies into a 4 x 8 mm to Anderson combiner on a Yeti 1500X but the unit refused to take any more than 120W and the APP input on the 1500X is supposed to be good for 600W. I am guessing there is some 100W per 8mm input limit somewhere.
Huh, interesting. They make 200w Boulder panels that should output close to 180w real world and I assume those use the 8mm plugs. I'd like to think those use heavier wire but I don't know how they could limit the output from summing with the setup you had...strange. Might be worth doing some more tests...
@@todd.parker yeah it's a bit strange. I talked to GZ support today and they were completely lacking in knowledge on this. One of the support reps I talked to told me another rep would get back to me and would likely have to speak to an engineer to get the answers. Hopefully I'll hear back from them tomorrow. The most I was able to get today was 175W using one 120W charger and the 60W USB-C PD input. Another thing that is concerning is that on their website they quote the 1500X as having 600W through the APP port but I got my unit today and under the lid it clearly says 300W max for that port which does not bode well.
Actually the Boulder 200W panels use Anderson ports and in theory you use the 4x Anderson (to Anderson) plug to combine multiple. The Boulder 100 panels use 8mm and you use the 4x 8mm (to Anderson) combiner. GZ support at first tried to claim that there was some limit on that 4x 8mm combiner but didn't actually know what it was so nothing is clear right now.
Adrian Cho Photography I don’t see how the combiners themselves can limit anything, I assume it’s just a bunch of wires being connected in parallel. Now you know why I make so many GZ videos - their info is so scattered and unclear so I need to either hound tech support of just test things myself
@@todd.parker yep totally agree it must be just a bunch of wires connecting in parallel. For sure their info is a total mess.
@@todd.parker so FYI I have been engaging in some back and forth with GZ support and I’ve learned a couple of things. It seems there is logic, in at least the Yeti X models, to limit combining of multiple wall chargers through the 4x combiner cables. Apparently this is for safety reasons to prevent possible combinations of differently rated supplies (e.g. 120W and 230W) that operate at different voltages and could damage each other in parallel combination. Even using power supplies of the same type is apparently not possible now because because differences in manufacturing tolerances could cause one supply to provide more current than another, leading to overheating of the heavier loaded supply. The solar panels are apparently not a problem because they are closely matched in voltage and naturally drop together toward their rating as they are loaded in a way that the wall supplies are not. I am still trying to find out if this limitation also exists with multiple 12V car chargers or whether they work because they are all regulated. So lots of little gotchas. The only good news is that the (very expensive) Yeti Link will apparently charge the 1500X and 3000X at up to 750W, assuming it can be delivered at the alternator. You’ll notice that I’ve used the words “apparently” multiple times because I’m not sure what to believe.
On the website, it says that the power pole anderson conenctors can support up to 460 Watts and the 8mm ports can support up to 120 watts. Do you know if that is for each port or is that for the sum of all ports?
This is for the yeti 3000
My understanding is the PWM ports can handle 360 watts total and the MPPT port can handle an additional 360 watts. For each, the sum of the ports matters.
With so much energy being pumped into the Yeti and the amount of heat being generated, is this doing any damage to the battery?
You're right that charging very fast can be tough on a battery but a lithium battery can be recharged at a .5C rate (50% per hour) or more without harm so a 1000 could be safely charged at 500w. Obviously charging/discharging slower and not as deeply will prolong life but companies like Ecoflow charge close to 1C and they seem to do well though time will tell.
@@todd.parker So basically, some very minor impacts to longevity, but nothing to get too paranoid about. Got it. Thanks!
Hi Todd, where can I get the 4 to one anderson connector wires you used in the video? Thank you!
Goal Zero sells them on their site. Amazon has them too
Thank you very much for your speedy reply, and for your informational videos; much appreciated.
So I looking to get the goal zero products for the overland RV's we build buy have heard both sides but I do like how everything is in one package just concerned about charging both solar and regular 110
del LM-TV& OFF GRID ADVENTURE Goal Zero products are a bit like Apple’s. You pay a premium for the high quality packaging, clean UI, safety, and support. Yes, you can assemble something a bit cheaper but then it’s hard to package it nicely. I like that you can grab this unit and take it out of the van.
My ninjbatt 270wh charges at 55 watts and it takes 6 hours to charge fully, so it must be 3 times bigger I guess, is this 810wh in size?
Oh so it is 1000wh I assume by the name yetti-1000
Yep
Is the battery replaceable once it's reached its life cycle limit? I understand the cycle, but looking at longterm for the product for battery replacement if it's even an option in say several years after it's been used quite a bit.
Goal Zero has said the battery will be replaceable but doesn’t offer those parts on their site. I have purchased replacement batteries for the lead acid Yeti 100s in the past and it’s an easy swap.
@@todd.parker Thanks Todd and I agree. My concern is that the device has been out for almost 2 years and Goal Zero doesn't offer the battery itself for replacement. I would be curious if anyone has attempted to open it to see how easy a replacement would be and if the battery contained is proprietary or not. What would be an alternative off-the- shelf replacement battery, etc. Those are the only things holding me back from a purchase. The device looks outstanding though per your review!
Do you think I could do something similar by running two 12v car chargers in parallel?
Yes. I just bought a second one and it works great but you should use a lithium battery, not lead acid.
Can you use 12 chargers? 4 chargers with Anderson adaptor on the left input. 4 chargers with Anderson adaptor on the right input. 8mm in the left input. 2 8mm in the right input and 1 8mm on the top input?
No, the built in PWM inputs max at 360w total across all inputs, the MPPT modules doubles that. Keep in mind that charging the battery too fast will reduce its life so you want to give the electrons some time to find a home.
Great video!!!! Thanks for the information!!!!
Great video but can you also charge from multiple inputs at the same time? For example can you buy 8 chargers and chain them in groups of four like you did and have all 8 powering.
Yes, you could if you have the MPPT module I stalled. The built in puts can handle 360w, the module doubles that. They now make a fast charger that is probably a better value than 4 single supplies.
You did 4 chargers... but what about 8 (4x2)?
You could do that if you had the MPPT module, sure.
so..... why not just buy a hobby grade AC/DC 24v power supply and connect an anderson power pole connector to it?
Whatever the max input wattage/volts is.... they are between $20 - $100 depending on branding and wattage
Hell an xbox one power supply is 250w and like $22
Seems like a crazy expensive hack.....
You can for sure but you need one that is within the Yeti input voltage. A standard 12v is too low and 24v is too high. If you can find a variable output supply or something 16v or so that’s the sweet spot. I just didn’t see one that was cheaper when you really got into the details tho GZ now sells a.high power charger so that’s an option.
Charging Port (input, 8mm): 14-22V, up to 10A (120W max)
Power Pole Charging Port (input): 14-22V, up to 30A (360W max)
How does one get ahold of you I am looking at the goal zero stuff for my RV's
del LM-TV& OFF GRID ADVENTURE Feel free to ask Q’s here in the comments
Lowes sell Goal zero stuff and u can use credit. Yippee Skippee
It is hard to hear you over the battery's fan, wow that is loud
Ha, yeah. That was my first video ever and I didn’t know how to do a voiceover.
Way to go GoalZero, you got this customer to spend more money on accessories. Marking strategy, to make more money. YAYY! Thank you for sharing, great video.
Possible to charge these from a 100w 12v solar and cars alternator?
You an charge from solar and the alternator at the same time, yes.
Awesome and very helpful video, thanks!
So you get a higher input from solar than you do from the grid?
Depend on how many panels you have and the weather. To get 300w of I put, you’d need 4x 100w solar panels and a sunny day (given efficiency losses). I have 2 panels and plan to use a generator to power these wall chargers if the sun isn’t out/shining
These Goal Zero things are such a rip off, Their specs seem to be all over the place and as you have pointed out 18/25 hours to charge it back up again is a joke, The whole idea of using Lithium batteries is because of the amount of power you can use from them But even more important is the speed you can Charge them back up again, I think you have done GZ a service by making this Video so well done to you Sir, That's impressive stuff and exactly how it should of came from the factory.
They finally got smart and started selling a fast charger but it’s extra. I will say that the yeti 1000, especially refurbished is a very good value. It’s the same price as the lithium battery alone.
Is it made up of 18650's or does it have a proper battery inside it ??
G 55 I’m not sure sure but most or all lithium batteries like Battleborn are still made of smaller batteries like that arranged into packs
Oh right, I thought they would of been like a Lithium version of a standard 12v Lead Acid battery Not 18650's made in to a pack >>
G 55 Yeah, me too but even Teslas are packed full of small batteries (2170s) in packs.
Can you do both at once?
If you have the optional MMPT charger, you can plug 360w into that, 360w into the built-in ports, for a total of 720w. Hope that answers your question!
Really informative. Fyi the volume before you muted, because of the fan, is super low. I can barely hear your voice.
I know, sorry! That was my first video and hadn’t figured out my audio situation
Add four more to the free ports :)
I purchased the 600 watt power cord. It will charge a 3000x in about 6 hours.
It’s good Goal Zero has these options now but they are miles behind EcoFlow and Bluetti with their integrated chargers and 1 hour charge times.
would this work with 8+ ?
@xeckplay Do you mean 8 wall chargers? If so, my understanding is as long as you don't exceed the max power for the inputs you can sum as many chargers and panels as you want. In the case on the built-in PWM charge controller, the Power Pole Charging port can handle up to 30A (360W max) and the MPPT port can also handle a similar amount. So yes, you could sum 4 chargers into one Power Pole port and 4 into the other which would be roughly to 500 watts. And here I thought my setup was overkill! My plan is use my two 100 watt Boulder solar panels and these four wall chargers to charge this up extra fast when the sun is shining to save even more fuel in emergency situations.
Yes but you must use the Anderson connectors and plug 4 in on each side. It will work with both the 1400 or the 3000 Lithium Goal Zeros.
And the lithium 1000. I called support today and was informed that the MPPT port can handle 325 watts and the PWM port can take in another 360 watts at the same time!
A simple variable DC power supply would work as well for $35 on Amazon.
Wow that's a loud fan for input
Why did you 4 chargers and plug them in together. You should have just bought a single 300 watt charger with an Anderson adaptor.
Neal Wachter - Good point, that would work too. If you have a link to a suitable charger, that would be super helpful. I mostly did this because I knew it would work but I’m sure there are better alternatives.
Looking in Amazon maybe something like this would be good. It has power pole outputs and is 30A at 12.8V so about 380 watts. That’s more than this setup for $20 cheaper. I honestly didn’t know these existed, nice tip! TekPower Analog Display TP30SWI 30 Amp DC 13.8V Switching Power Supply with Noise Offset www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQ2PGYO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_zTyhCbMV9PZ1H
I think I'm going to buy one of those Todd for my yeti 1000 lithium thanks for posting that link unlike the previous commenter. also going to put 2 solar panels on my rv. that way I can fast charge with my inverter connected to my engine connected to that tekpower power supply to power my yeti 1000 35% per hour through the Anderson input. and then trickle charger to maintain it with a couple solar panels. that way on cloudy days I have a fast charging option with a hybrid solar trickle charge capability. 3 hour to full charge, or trickle charge. the combination of the two should solve my needs.
Robert Pacheco I’m doing the same with my GZ 3000, but didnt know about this cable so i was doing 2x true mppt and 2x the other charger.
I like that cable and will get it asap.
With that DC power supply (or a better one) you could use both output from it and max out both solar charger.
Quick update: I showed a similar power supply to Goal Zero tech support and they said it would NOT work. Long story short, the Yeti Lithiums require a minimum of 14v of input power to charge and most of these DC power supplies put out 12-13 watts so you'd need to get a charger that outputs 14-20 volts. I cover this and more here: th-cam.com/video/_jVTftlIpyI/w-d-xo.html
Try 2 Anderson chords
"This new faster product is coming next year" should be goal zeros mission statement. I'm still waiting for the car charger I was promised more than a year ago.
Ha! I know. Seems they’ve had some engineering hiccups and the high speed charger is still a few months out at best. If you want the car charger, you’re in luck. It just came out yesterday and I ordered one to review it. Shipping was expensive! www.goalzero.com/shop/yeti-accessories/yeti-lithium-12v-car-charging-cable/yeti-lithium-12v-car-charging-cable/
@@todd.parker 404
UH OH. PAGE NOT FOUND.
first last www.goalzero.com/shop/cords-adapters/yeti-12v-car-charging-cable/
@@todd.parker Great channel. do you know if the yeti will run an ac unit and fridge at the same time?
Todd.... I got news..... you can call your order in right now to get the lithium car charger... depending on your cars cigarette lighter amps... it produces 120-180 watts. You can buy them each for 39.99. if you have two ports you can buy 2... and get 240-360 watts via the 8mm end it has. If you for some reason had 4 ports you could buy 4 and anderson 2 and plug in 2..... man... they've got it... they said it will go live tonight on the website or call in now if you want it sooner lol. Just wanted to let you know. I might go the car charger route.
I might alligator clamp some female cig ports to my car battery. Buy 2 chargers. And 1 anderson combiner. And pull 360 watts into this thing. Can you imagine? Lol. Seems worth 100 bucks to me if my solar isn't working right while on the road in my rv.
Live on the site: www.goalzero.com/shop/yeti-accessories/yeti-lithium-12v-car-charging-cable/yeti-lithium-12v-car-charging-cable/
@@robertp9370 Heh, you could for sure. You can buy some nice fused female ports with ring connectors to connect to your battery for quick disconnects, I have this and it's great: www.amazon.com/NOCO-GC018-Adapter-Socket-Terminal/dp/B00G8WLW2Y/ref=asc_df_B00G8WLW2Y
One thing to keep in mind is if this is a standard lead acid deep cycle battery, if you pull a lot of amps out of it quickly, it will reduce the output. For example, I have a 66ah deep cycle AGM battery so 50% of the capacity is gone right off the top because you don't want to discharge more than 50% to keep the battery healthy. Will Proust has a great video showing how that remaining 50% can be further reduced if you suck too much power, too fast which was new to me: th-cam.com/video/kMlhxr9gPOs/w-d-xo.html
@@todd.parker 404
UH OH. PAGE NOT FOUND.
Thank you
I hope you have spacers in between those charging bricks, or they are going to overheat and be short-lived.
bigman55434 Good point. The bricks get pretty hot in general so I added 1/2” spacers and lay them vertically so there are “chimneys” to hopefully let enough heat out. I show this in more detail on my generator video. Thanks!
I improved the spacers I used to keep this cool. New video here on it: th-cam.com/video/_jVTftlIpyI/w-d-xo.html
This is a great video
Clever! I like it!
I understand the usefulness but this is just too much money
Anthony - You're right, it's definitely too much money to just just charge you Yeti super fast. Usually you can just wait and slow charge it. However, I'm using these to quick charge my Yeti via a propane generator in emergencies so for me it makes a lot of sense to be able to run the generator for 1/4 the amount of time to save fuel. I have a video on that setup if interested: th-cam.com/video/W6frqPTM65Q/w-d-xo.html
Totally worth it in outage, if you have panels
@@todd.parker does your generator output 12 volts, which you can then keep everything DC? I know the newer Honda generators have a 12 volt charging option. Not sure how fast it would charge the Yeti 3000 however.
Sam Beyers Unfortunately the Ryobi only had an AC output but if your generator offers a DC output that might be a good option!
For many people time is more value than the money saved from not buying. Especially people that live in a conversion van
Please read my entire comment by pressing read more.
I saw that the guy you chatted with's name is brogan. Cool guy but let me tell you, I talked to him in November and he said this new charger would be out in january. He did say he couldn't gaurantee that though. but if I could wait it might be worth it. So I don't believe it will be out this month AT ALL because they recently told me the new updated propose launch date was set for may 1st but COULDN'T SAY FOR SURE. ............ I can't take it anymore. It's been since November and they can't even get on the same page about when they will ever be able to solve their, in my opinion, not thinking-with-the-customer's needs in mind design. Goal zero is NOTORIOUS for saying something will be in Stock and they fall short. Just look at their website, they haven't had car chargers available for most IF NOT ALL of the last year. You can see tons of comments of people asking and them saying it would be available soon. Yet they are still out of stock to this day. Why? My opinion is they want to sell as many of those 40$ 60 watt average input chargers and they won't EVER promise an exact date this new charger will be available. Brogan says February, I say don't hold your breath. May is my best guess but they won't gaurantee me over the phone. So that means, it may take until next year considering how slow they are restocking their own products. I like the product, I hate their vague answers and lack of care in providing what the customer needs in the first place. 60 watts for a 1000$ machine? If that wasn't engineered to waste people's time and money then I don't know what to tell you. I've burnt through soooooo much extra fuel to charge my yeti. So in the end it's the customer that's had to pay for their inconsiderate design. Steve Jobs would be pissed at that recharge rate. Because he would know better than to make a crap recharge rate for a 1 thousands dollar plus BATTERY. So the very reason customers are buying this thing they fail to be able to recharge at any respectable pace without ripping you off to buy overly priced inferior 60 watt average input chargers. I'm sure they've been getting calls about this since forever and what do they do... so far... and as far as we know because they've given me NO solid launch date for this new charger over the phone with me. It is such a.... ugh I just don't like it when companies keep you in the dark. Making you never able to actually get what you need. Ridiculous. And their proprietary anderson powerpole don't even get me started...... they purposely positioned the powerpole so you CANT easily use chargers already on the market with anderson connectors. They turned the powerpoles to be positioned one above another instead of the standard side by side. REALLY? I swear the next better product that comes out.... I will ditch goal zero in a heartbeat because they have a track record of being too concerned with making things harder than they need to be so they can devise a way to profit off their customers. Sigh. Sorry had to get that off my chest. I've since gone solar and am not going to buy their stupid 300 watt charger anymore. Their not making another penny off me or anyone I know. I just can't support this company in the future.
If I could speak my mind to goal zero I would tell them. Your customers know you don't have their needs in mind and their products designed obscelecense is OBVIOUS in their products. Good luck getting repeat customers. I predict if they don't get their act together, a new company will immerge that will wipe them out. they have potentially but their greed and crappy transparency makes me unable to spread the word about their otherwise currently decent product.
I get the frustration, it’s good to vent! I agree that they should have shipped these with a higher wattage wall adapter (or at least two like the 3000) because the charge times are ridiculous. I have Ego power tools and their fast charger can put out over 400 watts so I can charge their biggest battery in less than an hour. I just chatted with them today re: car charger (out today?) and they said they are still ironing out some issues with the 300 watt wall charger so it won’t be out for a few more months (March?). Honestly this 4x charger setup probably works as well and cost me less than the forthcoming charger. I wish I had better news!
@@todd.parker you made the right choice Todd trust me. I was so close to doing what you did after realizing they didn't have a true standard anderson powerpole design so I could charge it via different methods that we spoke of before. But even though I have the money....... I just can't let it out of my hands to them when in my heart they don't deserve it. They've lost my support and I so badly wanted to spread the word of mouth to anyone else about them. I don't trust their proposed launch dates.... it's smoke and mirrors song and dance... iron out what? It should've been ironed out a longgggggggg time ago. Don't their customers deserve better? Yes... and I'm sure they will eventually.... what they actually mean by things need to be ironed out is... we are selling so many extra 60 watt average input chargers..... we have little motivation to tell you if or when we will ever actually have the carrot they dangle in front of their customers.... this comes from the guy who's been waiting and waiting and waiting and they keep backing up their launch date and giving different answers to different people... dude come on... you did the right thing todd.... you solved your issue wayyyyyy sooner then in my opinion anyone else will be able to. And I solved mine by going solar. I suggest people do not do what I did and wait on their vague no gaurantee... keep pushing the dates back and not restocking basic car chargers... just... save yourself the trouble. They aren't trustworthy to me. They say one thing and do another...
Do what Todd did... or use the charger money for more solar. There's no for sure answer on when it will be out... for all we know next they will say their iron broke so they can't iron it out until 2020.
I wouldnt be surprised because i dont even know how they can keep telling their customers with a straight face theyll have something stocked or restocked "Soon!" yet..... they DON'T. Sigh.... I'm not buying their Public Relations, hold them off, be as vague as possible, don't tell them what's actually going on, don't COMMIT an actual gauranteed launch date to any customer, tactics. In my opinion, they have integrity and commitment issues when it comes to this topic. I can smell it before I even pick up the phone to get an update. We aren't stupid but it feels like they think we will buy their empty claims. Clearly.... they are not motivated.... it's soooooo obvious. Their reps answers sound nice but it's all just glitter no actual gold.
Robert Pacheco I was miffed at that too but I think they went with a vertical arrangement to be dummy-proof and prevent people from plugging inputs into outputs. They seem to have gone with the standard horizontal arrangement for the outputs (say if connecting to a ham radio) and the vertical for inputs (solar/wall charging). Apparently Powerpole connector are free-form and can be assembled in any way you want but the ham radio folks have been promoting a standard setup for interoperability. I bought Anderson Power Pole connectors to make up my own power cable recently and they have tongue and grooves to let you lock them in any way you want. I was making an input cable for my Yeti so I slid them together in the Goal Zero style vertical orientation and it all worked but I agree that it makes it harder to find pre-made cables. After making my own, I do appreciate the quality of the GZ cables - theirs have a tighter connection, better water resistance, and stronger strain resistance than what I cooked up DIY but I’m not that great at making cables!
@@todd.parker I did consider that but I don't know man I just feel they've got to right this wrong and do it asap. People spent millions on their products I'm sure by now. This isn't indie gogo or... some new company.... they've been around since lead acid. If they designed a charger before hand that fit into the standard side by side practical anderson setup.... they wouldn't of had to put them in such a restrictive and limiting way which defeats the purpose of the otherwise versatile and customizable capability that the anderson powerpole connector is known for. And I'm sure there was other ways they could have safeguarded the whole polarity thing. But.... I do agree with you. I'm just frustrated lol.
And good on you for figuring the anderson cable customizing stuff.. I wanted to figure that out too but just haven't had the time. I just ran out of gas on the issue. Going to just let go of it and watch them continue to not be able to commit to their customers the products they say will be in stock that..... let's just say doesn't seem to be their concern if you looked at what actually ends up happening.
Robert Pacheco Just saw the bottom half of your comment. My guess is they have been struggling with heat dissipation vs. size/cost. A 300 watt (15A) DC power supply is pretty expensive if you look on Amazon and theirs needs to output 16v which is bit less standard. Anyway, even though theirs is fan cooled I can see things either being more expensive than hoped, or heating up dangerously and needing redesigns. All just a guess but I agree it’s frustrating, especially if you’ve been waiting and they keep pushing dates. For me, the more I’ve dug into the DIY vs. GZ cost breakdown, I’ve come around to thinking their stuff is a good value overall esp. when you factor in build quality/support but we’ll see how my stuff holds up...
I like you!!.... U smart, Mine not work like dis
🤣🤣🤣😂😂
Yeah he needs to work on their charging system
Just like with fast charging an electric car, you will have to replace the battery much sooner than someone who charges it normally.
Agreed, faster charging and discharging will stress batteries. That said, a 60w charger for a 1kw+ battery is suuuuper slow
But the goal is to use solar panels to charge kinda Defeats the purpose
Sun isn’t always shining and I did this so I could quick charge with a generator to minimize run time
the slower a battery is charged the longer it will last. you can buy a second charger and charge the unit twice as fast but battery longevity will be affected.
Is this true? I know you are saying this but is there any facts?just asking because I just bought one
@@LxTxSURGE the faster you charge and discharge a battery the faster it degrades as it causes them to heat up, lithium batteries especially don't like heat or cold. just google more info on it. goal zero should really be telling their customers about this.
Yep, you’re right. That charging or discharging too fast is bad for any battery. Unfortunately, GZ doesn’t specify how quickly you can charge the batteries without stressing them but I think 300w is probably not too fast. We’ll see...
@@todd.parker I have been talking with goal zero and the MPPT port can take 370w at 22v max. it is a bit disappointing as I have a 300w panel but it runs up to 37v. I wish I could feed more solar in as I want to use the unit to power my electric solar charged boat. also the 12v out is only 120w.
mike allen this video might be interesting to you: th-cam.com/video/rqXscD69RvM/w-d-xo.html
Yeti Need to work on their charging system
They now offer a proper fast charger but they are way behind Ecoflow
600 watts. Now goal zero
can barely hear u.
i need to do this at starbucks haha
I dare you
you need to speak up dude. hard to hear this video
Ha, I know. That was my very first video and I hadn’t figured out how to do voiceovers. Halfway through, it gets better but I’ve improved since then, I promise!
What I could hear, it sounded interesting, but the voice was so low- even after he began the voice over- I just couldn't keep watching!