Massive Lithium Solar Generators

[Ridge Runner]

I just bought a massive Lithium Solar Generator, The PowerOak / Bluetti EB180 / PS9 Not Cheap but they have a Huge capacity of 1800Wh with a 1000w inverter built in, It got delivered to my Brothers and he checked it out before I picked it up from him and he really wanted one after some quick testing So I bought him one as well So his should arrive there in a day or 2,

I wanted some thing that could power my big fridge in freezer mode for 2 or 3 days without charging and I think these will do the Job. In fridge mode it will run it for about 7 to 8 days and it will run the small fridge for around 12 days, erfect:

https://poweroak.co.uk/en/powerbank...00wh-solar-ac-dc-generator-8719324080576.html

 

[Nightjar]

Holy moly RR- $2600AUD
Can you send me a graft from your money tree? layful:

 

[Ridge Runner]

Holy moly RR- $2600AUD
Can you send me a graft from your money tree? layful:

Yeah no worries mate :Y:

He looked after me when I had the Heart Op and every time I was in hospital and because of the "you know what Situation" over here we have not been able to spend much time camping ect So I thought it was time to stock up on some Toys for us both. layful: layful: layful:

 

[condor22]

Holy moly RR- $2600AUD
Can you send me a graft from your money tree? layful:

Ouch, lol.

 

[condor22]

RR Had a look at the specs - 121.621 mAh/14,8 V if my math is correct is 120AH (roughly) with an 11-12 hour charge time. that's about 0.1C

In the near future, when the new van arrives I'm putting in 2 x 100 AH Pylontech lithium batteries to drive the 2 fridges etc.

Their charge rate = 0.5C, 5 times faster (subjest to charger size).

I am amazed how expensive things are over there as I can get 100 AH of Li oN for around 500 quid. I do realise it has a lot of other stuff hanging off it, well inside lol.

Fortunately the new van's battery management system caters for Lithium, has MPPT inbuilt and allows me to add a further 320 W of solar (above the 120 panel fitted).
So with a little minor rewire of the solar to add a parallel Anderson or 2 for extra panels, I don't need to buy anything else.

Oops, I do, lol, Gonna fit a diesel heater and will need to fit a Shunt to power it. Fortunately the BMS has an option which will also monitor it.

 

[Ridge Runner]

RR Had a look at the specs - 121.621 mAh/14,8 V if my math is correct is 120AH (roughly) with an 11-12 hour charge time. that's about 0.1C

In the near future, when the new van arrives I'm putting in 2 x 100 AH Pylontech lithium batteries to drive the 2 fridges etc.

Their charge rate = 0.5C, 5 times faster (subjest to charger size).

I am amazed how expensive things are over there as I can get 100 AH of Li oN for around 500 quid. I do realise it has a lot of other stuff hanging off it, well inside lol.

Fortunately the new van's battery management system caters for Lithium, has MPPT inbuilt and allows me to add a further 320 W of solar (above the 120 panel fitted).
So with a little minor rewire of the solar to add a parallel Anderson or 2 for extra panels, I don't need to buy anything else.

Oops, I do, lol, Gonna fit a diesel heater and will need to fit a Shunt to power it. Fortunately the BMS has an option which will also monitor it.

At 1800wh / divided by 12.8 = 140.625Ah and at 80% it is 112.5Ah of useable Ah, I could run it down to Zero using the whole 140Ah but then there is the risk of Damage to the Cells, At 80% it has 2500 Cycles,

At 1800wh Capacity it has an input Charge voltage of 16 - 60v @ 10A and It can be charged at 600W but it is Capped at 500w, So I can run at leased 3x 150w panels in Series So the Charge rate is quite High when you compare 500Wh in to 1800Wh, They also make a 500Wh Wall Charger you can buy that will charge it in 3 or 4 hours, I might buy that next But if I never go below 60% SOC I won't need the big Charger. 40% of it's power is 720Wh.

When it arrived it was at 80% Charged and when the SOC has reached 80% the input Watts Charge Rate starts to Drop until it gets down to 1wh and then it turns it's self off, The Wall Charger is meant to put out around 160Wh but as the first picture Shows at the point it drops off it was actually putting out 217/218 Wh,

If you divide the 1800Wh by the regulated Voltage it works out closer to 148Ah But If you divide the 1800Wh by 12.8 give you and average of 140.625Ah.,

They also make a 1200Wh, 1500Wh, This One 1800Wh and a 2400Wh versions, I wanted the 1500Wh model but the deal I got I saved a lot of money buying the bigger one and when I bought the 2nd one I saved even more, From the prices you see I saved about $1160.00 / 585.00, Both of them cost me just under 2000.00.

According to many sites the Batteries are LG Lithium Poly Automotive Grade Cells, I know they are Automotive Grade Cells but I can't find too much info about them, But they should last quite a long time.

So I can see what the Charger puts out I am running the 47L ARB from it set to -12*c and its been on for over 18 hours and it is still reading 100%, I am going to run it down to 60% SOC so I can seeing what the Peak Watts are coming out of the Charger, Like I said it's meant to put out 160Wh but I have already seen it put out 35% higher wattage, erfect:

 

[Nightjar]

Condor,
Am finally in process of installing a diesel heater purchased a few months back.
Interested in some more info about your reference to requiring a shunt to install yours?
The wiring details I have has no mention of it.
Wire directly to battery with isolation switch and fuse.

 

[Jaros]

The KISS method is slowly vanishing. 2 Solar panels connected to a MPPT then to the battery and lights on the load outlet on the MPPT. A cheap multimeter. A few 12v outlets on the load side to Anderson style plugs. I don't need a EMS. More things to go wrong that a lot of members don't understand.

 

[Ridge Runner]

The KISS method is slowly vanishing. 2 Solar panels connected to a MPPT then to the battery and lights on the load outlet on the MPPT. A cheap multimeter. A few 12v outlets on the load side to Anderson style plugs. I don't need a EMS. More things to go wrong that a lot of members don't understand.

Well it has the MPPT and the BMS Built in so it is just a case of plgging in what you want to run and plugging 2 or 3 panels and thats it, Fit and finish this is the best of I have seen, It's not bogged down with stuff you don't need or bells and whistles.,

At just over 140Ah it gives you roughly the same amount of power of running Two 115Ah Batteries without the weight and all the extra wiring and Gizmo's and of coarse you can take it anywhere and from Vehicle to vehicle, I like them because although I have the room in the Van I don't want to wreck the internal finish of the van by cutting holes in things and screws bits on the panels. Adding to that I still have the 2 Dometic PLB40 Ah / 512Wh Lithium Packs so I have about 220 Ah or 2824 Wh of Lithium Power and the best bit is the fast Charging. :Y:

 

[Jaros]

I have a 140AH AGM effen heavy but with a good new crank battery and about 4 solar panels MPPT including one 60W for the car batt on the roof rack -its never failed me in all the checks I've done. Routine batt terminal cleans and electrolyte level checks take no time.

 

[condor22]

RR I used these specs on your link, it states what the battery is, mAh and voltage. 121.621 x 14.8 = 1799.99W

Capacity: 1.800 Wh (3,7 V 486.486 mAh, 121.621 mAh/14,8 V)
Battery: LG Li-ion battery cell, 121.621 mAh/14,8 V
AC/PV Input: 7.9*0.9mm DC, 42V/160W, 16V~60 V /10 A
AC Output: 230 V, Max. 1.000 W
Car Port: DC 12 V/9 A
USB Outputs: 1*PD 45 W USB-C(5-20 V), 4* 5 V, 3 A USB-A
Solar Charge Mode: MPPT MPTT Efficiency: 99.5%
Size & Net Weight: 15,5*6,5*14,4 inch, 42,9 lb. / 39,4*16,5*36,6 cm, 19,5 kg

 

[condor22]

NJ - my reason for a shunt is;

The van Power supply module (BMS) for 12 VDC distribution has 10 x 10A and 4 x 15A power terminals. 13 of the 14 are used and the spare is a 10A. It also connects to the battery and solar panels, along with a built in MPPT solar controller and multistage 240 VAC charger.

As the diesel heater requires a 20A fuse to cater for the glopin, the spare 10A is not enough. The BMS is not rated for an individual supply of 20A so changing the fuse could be problematic.

By adding the shunt, which is rated to 500A (far more than I'll ever need) I can add additional circuits with independent fusing be they loads or charging and with the data connection, still monitor all and not overload the primary power supply. The BMS also monitors water tank levels as well as battery SOC, charge rates and load values.

I have emailed Projecta's technical support to discuss what I want to do, to confirm what I believed. The reply did confirm my own thoughts.

The simple connection to the battery with the correct fuse will work, but not be included in the BMS values re state of charge.

 

[Ridge Runner]

RR I used these specs on your link, it states what the battery is, mAh and voltage. 121.621 x 14.8 = 1799.99W

Capacity: 1.800 Wh (3,7 V 486.486 mAh, 121.621 mAh/14,8 V)
Battery: LG Li-ion battery cell, 121.621 mAh/14,8 V
AC/PV Input: 7.9*0.9mm DC, 42V/160W, 16V~60 V /10 A
AC Output: 230 V, Max. 1.000 W
Car Port: DC 12 V/9 A
USB Outputs: 1*PD 45 W USB-C(5-20 V), 4* 5 V, 3 A USB-A
Solar Charge Mode: MPPT MPTT Efficiency: 99.5%
Size & Net Weight: 15,5*6,5*14,4 inch, 42,9 lb. / 39,4*16,5*36,6 cm, 19,5 kg

Very Cool, Now I understand, Thanks for that erfect:

PowerOak put it like you said and Dometic write it like I did and the Dometic way seems to be like the old Lead Acid way of working things out, It's no wonder this stuff has people in knots. :8 layful: layful: layful:

Glad you sorted that out for me, So with 1800wh and the 2x 512wh I should have enough to last,

I worked out another thing too, :awful: If while traveling I run the fridge from the Dometic PLB there is no risk of it becoming unplugged because it has the 2-Pin Engel/ARB Screw-In Socket and the fridge has the matching lead and it can be Charged from the Vehicles Cigar socket so the PLB will always be Full and when I get to camp I can setup my Panels and run the fridge from the Big PowerOak.

19.5kgs might seem a bit high but when think of all the electronic gear it has inside and the useable WH of power it is equal to running 2x 112.5Ah Lead Acid batteries or 225Ah @ 50% which would weigh about 56 to 60kgs.

I just ran the ARB47L for 30 Hours set at -12*c before it dropped below 20% or 80% SOC, With no In coming power to the PowerOak, That's impressive, They claim the Wall charger is 160w but it is charging at 214 to 219w which is about 35.3 to 37% higher than claimed. So thats a huge Win based on an average of 216.5w erfect:

 

[user 22230]

Most OME cigar sockets are not designed for high load application. On another note tried BMS units, several in fact and they all went back. Inconsistent in operation, constant connection with app failure but a few of the many issues I had. Found the kiss principle of using a simple volt meter to monitor batt state of charge far more reliable and certainly far less complicated and costly Not always does he who spends the most win

 

[Ridge Runner]

Most OME cigar sockets are not designed for high load application. On another note tried BMS units, several in fact and they all went back. Inconsistent in operation, constant connection with app failure but a few of the many issues I had. Found the kiss principle of using a simple volt meter to monitor batt state of charge far more reliable and certainly far less complicated and costly Not always does he who spends the most win

The ones in my Vehicle are 10A/15A and even if I don't use them the ones in my Dometic PLB's are Factory rated at 15A,

Some Vehicles with a Cigar Lighter fitted are rated at over 20A, these are much higher than 12v accessory Sockets.

 

[user 22230]

Ratings are great :Y: Incidentally even though they may look the same an accessory socket and a cigar lighter socket are two different things entirely ? Usually most obvious difference apart from load ability is cigar sockets are only live whilst ignition on where as accessory sockets are live constant Cigar lighter sockets offer a very poor means of connection (High resistance) usually resulting in voltage drop. But hey go with what ever floats your boat, myself personally would not even bother to run anything thru a lighter socket, not even a dash cam. Chain is strong as weakest link, to spend 2.5K on a battery / power pack but then use a shitty lighter socket connection questionable ?

 

[Ridge Runner]

Ratings are great :Y: Incidentally even though they may look the same an accessory socket and a cigar lighter socket are two different things entirely ? Usually most obvious difference apart from load ability is cigar sockets are only live whilst ignition on where as accessory sockets are live constant Cigar lighter sockets offer a very poor means of connection (High resistance) usually resulting in voltage drop. But hey go with what ever floats your boat, myself personally would not even bother to run anything thru a lighter socket, not even a dash cam. Chain is strong as weakest link, to spend 2.5K on a battery / power pack but then use a shitty lighter socket connection questionable ?

I get what your saying but I don't have any high resistance loads, and 5A is not a high load

Thats why my Fridges plugs and Sockets are the Engel/ARB Screw in 2-Pin Sockets, Although I have 50 and 175A Anderson Plugs and Sockets there is just no need to run such monsters to power a 5A Fridge,

The Dometic PLB 40 Lithium Packs come fitted with a standard Cigar Socket and the Engel/ARB 2-pin Screw In Sockets so there is no need for any other type of Connector, I can run 2 fridges at once from the PLB or the Vehicles 12v sockets and the Satnav/Tablet all at the same time, It is what it is and it just works so there is no point in messing with what ain't broke, baring in mind I also have 3 or 4 Lithium packs to run my gear from,

 

[Nightjar]

NJ - my reason for a shunt is;
The simple connection to the battery with the correct fuse will work, but not be included in the BMS values re state of charge.

Condor, Thanks for the explanation, I'll proceed with the "kiss" installation, have no need to have any monitor for power use.
Heading off to google what the hell is BMS? layful:

 

[Jaros]

Probably a Battery Management System.

 

[condor22]

Probably a Battery Management System.

Yup, but can have multiple definitions, lol.

1. In a LiFePo4 deep cycle, it is an internal bunch of electronics that manage charge and discharge rates to protect the battery and generally without any user visual monitoring.

2. It can be as simple as ammeter/voltmeter in a battery circuit to allow a user to see what is happening with a bit of math, lol.

3. In the instance above, it is a more complex device where it is a multi function "one stop box". Containing a 240 VAC multi stage charger, MPPT solar controller, DC-DC charger from vehicle battery, battery disconnect switch, fuses for input and output, 12 VDC power distribution hub (all caravan 12V power), water level indicator. Also connected via a data cable to a visual display, which will show loads, charge from all sources, battery state of charge etc. Some have additional functionality of adding a shunt for higher loads or bluetooth remote monitoring and including that in the display outputs.

The use of the term BMS needs to be read in conjunction with the subject discussed, lol. I regularly and repeatedly explain abbreviations and acronyms, apologies if I sometimes miss one, but as NJ points out Google is your friend when I don't.