So glad you posted this video. I too mentioned the high standby power losses in my review but the more I use it, the more it’s clear this is only optimal for a few hours of higher power output. Good for short power outages, not so great for any 24/7 applications because the overhead is larger than the output.
Yea, I bought an EB240 after discovering the AC200P uses such high power when nothing is being used. The EB240 does such a better job. In case of power outages I would treat the EB240 as the long use battery for fridges and such and the AC200P as the reserve battery and for cooking.
Helpful comments gents, thank you. I need a power station and havent been sure which one is best for long term off grid use. The eb240 is starting to seem ideal unless you are willing to shell out for a massive one.
@@gandhilegion the 240 is a great choice if you don’t need a big inverter, car charging, or bells and whistles. It’s simplicity makes it more efficient
@@todd.parker ended up finding a local deal for this Ego 3000 watt power nexus station. It can take 4 batteries and has more plug ins on it. 1499 at Rona. It also has some solar adapters you can buy
Thank you for the honest review. Its hard when trying to pick the right unit you need with so many out there. So having a good idea about this one is really helpful.
I live in South Africa where we have been struggling with power issues for some years. Basically our power grid has gotten older and less reliable and the power consumption needs of our wonderful population have increased significantly. So, we often have ‘planned blackouts’ (2 to 4 hours interspersed throughout the day). I have a Yoobao 500wh power bank (much like the one you reviewed here, just smaller). It is a lifesaver! It runs our internet connection, lights and computers at night, and when I have to teach at the University during the day, it runs a router, laptop and data projector. It is small enough to be carried around with one hand and gives about 15 hours of AC power. Of course it also has 12v power and USB fast charging ports. I love it!
It is the inverter and the regulated DC that is the HUGH power draw, not the BMS. I know you cannot, but I turn the unit off at night and let the solar turn it back on in the morning. When you turn it off, it stays at 100% charged or whatever you left it at. But even if you left the unit on with the AC and DC off, the power draw the BMS uses is negligible, you will not notice it.
@laronis - If I left mine on with both AC & DC off it would discharge at a very slow rate . IF I turned it OFF & back on later, it may go from say a 67% charge to 0% & be non-op until I charged it back above an indicated 5% ! I contacted Bluetti complaining about this & they recommended discharge completely & then recharge to full to 'reset' the bms. I did, (charging with solar) to 100% & it has been behaving itself ever since with only minor deviation. I don't discharge it below 20% normally trying to be 'nice' to the battery. thanks, RH
@@richardhobbs7107 You did a recalibration because your numbers/info were off. You discharge to zero then charge it back up to 100%. It is suppose to recalibrate the reading on the display info. I have never done it on any of my 10 power stations so i cannot comment on how it works, but it seems to have worked for you. For LiFePO4 batteries i just use them as i want, but for basic lithium ion batteries, yes i follow the 20-80% rule.
@@laronis - Yes, the recalibration discharge/recharge seems to have worked for the most part. There is still minor deviations in the off / on cycles but not like before ! Yes, LiFePO4 batteries seem to be much more durable.
Hi nate, thanks for the review.. Be careful with the review though. I have the ac200p and sympathize with standby losses...but it isn't the bms(which simply balances and protects the lifepo cells )that causes the losses. the losses, in this unit, start with the solar charge controller integration which fails to turn off after the sun goes down unlike almost all mppt controller. so there is standby loss there all night even without other use draws. i try to unplug my solar after charging stops for the day(a hassle for sure) if it is late in the day you can plug it right back in and it will stay off till the morning and turn on automatically. then there is the dc voltage regulator which has also some standby and usage loss since it takes the 50+volt battery voltage down to the 13v area. so leaving that on 24/7 is an additional draw... all dc regulators have losses and the only cure is to turn them off when not using. In my experience the inverter standby and inefficiency are the biggest parasitic losses. Leaving that on, even when unused, is huge. If you could see your way to not having to keep both dc and ac accessories on at night and when not using it you would save a significant amount of power for morning use. standby losses in the off mode are negligible . It literally stays charged for months. It is always better to run low voltage devices (cell booster?) off a dedicated battery..ideally a lifpo4 because of the higher voltage which results in lower amp draw ... more efficiency. the refrigerator might just do fine off all night with no door openings and the ambient temp not being excessive. This machine is far from perfect efficiency wise but does have a pretty sturdy construction electronically and physically and the battery chemistry is good. a little extra battery management from the user helps a lot. If there is a problem with your particular unit , which seems likely, I have found bluetti pretty responsive to work with though in this case options may be limited.unlike in the ac200max software updates(read fixes) don't seem to be possible. btw you can add additional batteries to this system . the same ones the ac200max uses, which seems to have corrected many of the complaints we have with this unit. off grid living is very rewarding if one has the self sufficiency spirit to put up with the so called inconveniences of which there are plenty.
I have the same unit and I'm using it in my van. Today, I unplugged it from shore power at 11:00am with nothing running but my deasil heater that was on standby that wasn't registering any voltage draw and by 7:30pm, I was down to 82%. I also don't have any solar panels hooked up to my unit as I charge it with an inverter while I'm driving.
The AC200/AC200P was not initially designed for Lifepo4. And Bluetti knew the firmware wasn't set up for Lifepo4. They have tried to sell off the stock. The EB200/EB200P and AC200MAX were designed as Lifepo4 systems.
Very useful video. The fact that you've survived the 6 months using the Bluetti says it all. You're lucky that you've got good reliable sunshine where you live. Here in the UK, that's a variable feast! Especially in winter.
I appreciate the unbiased review. I was initially skeptical it would be unbiased after your disclosure that Blucetti provided the unit to you for your initial review. After recent purchase, I powered mine with two EchoFlow 220W BiFacial panels on a recent trip to a remote property I purchased. I wanted to power my Starlink and a small portable freezer 24/7 - total power use about 100 watts. After a day, I had to use the Starlink only part of the time since the AC200P charge was depleted when I ran them both. I could run a Keurig to make a 30 oz cup of coffee for about 40 watt hours which I loved. Running a hotplate was great but cooking eggs took 20-25% of the AC200P capacity, which I could not spare. It was surprised at how fast the AC200P battery charge decreased generally. I have since increased the number of EchoFlow 220W panels (IP68 waterproof standard) I have. I have added a B300 backup battery as well. Two B300 batteries can be attached. The AC200P can also be charged from 12V-24V lead acid batteries. Not pleased with Bluetti customer support - in my limited experience, they have been unresponsive and have largely ignored my emails and requests. Just try getting a replacement XT90-aviation cable for instance.
I have been using the AC200P for 4 months now. And I normally only leave the DC switched on 24/7 to run my camper lights and Vent fan. I have left the DC switched on without any loads (Lights or fan) and after 48 hours there is hardly 1% loss.
I had a very similar situation with a battery bank system and discovered that the wires between the bms and the cells were criss-crossed so that 2 of the cells were reading backwards at the bms. The cable had a connector at both ends and the wire for cell #1 at the bms was on cell #2 at the other end, and vice versa on the #2 bms end going to #1 on the other end. And in turn the bms thought one was low and one was high whereby it was constantly trying to charge a cell that was already at it's max. Not only did it draw the cells down but it caused swelling in one of them. The one with low voltage went below the allowed amount and destroyed that cell. The bms kept trying to use that cell to charge the other cell it thought was low (but was really high). Apparently the supplier had inadvertently manufactured the cables incorrectly with enough of them to cause this somewhat sporadic event to occur in more than one unit. If I were you, I'd seriously look at checking this out in your unit. If you see any swelling or if any of the cells are producing an abnormal voltage reading, etc., you might want to take the unit outside the home where you sleep and live. I located this issue with the help of my trusty multimeter which caused me to inspect this cable for continuity between the 2 ends of each wire. That's when I discovered 2 were criss-crossed. I merely did a field repair by cutting the 2 and recoupled them where they belonged. Problem was/is solved and I use the bank every day without the nagging issue you are experiencing. I contacted the seller and they were more than happy to supply me with a new cell to replace the swollen one. Conversely, Bluetti may recall your unit if enough other's complain. Or just replace your's.
Bluetti just replaced my AC200P for a similar issue , it was replaced after about 10 months under guarantee , there was no quibble with replacement , infact I only contacted them for advice , it was them that replied saying sorry that I had an issue and they would arrange a new replacement , they did pay shipping both ways ! new one after a month or so has not suffered the same problem as the older one , different Firmware on the old one I was able to see every cell voltage in settings , this one there is no option to show all cell voltage .
I have been using a Chinese unit in my minivan camper for about 3 years now. The model is sungzu ska1000. It has a 1kw battery and 1000w inverter. I run an AC refrigerator and other small loads. LED lights, tiny TV, device chargers etc all on AC power. If I only use low draw devices I can get about 2 days without charging. ( 2 days if the weather isn’t super hot making the fridge run more) That being said, I recently got into an accident in the van, which totaled it. I have spent the past 2 months converting another minivan, it’s pretty much finished now. My power needs haven’t really changed, i moved as much as I could, including the battery, and refrigerator, to my new build, thankfully it was a low speed front impact that didn’t do too much damage to my camper build, or my body! Anyway, I have been thinking of a battery upgrade for a while, mostly because the sungzu has an odd voltage input for solar and expensive proprietary panels. I never had solar on my van, instead I have a loud, heavy generator on a hitch carrier. I have thought long and hard about this particular product from bluetti. I have watched many different videos, my particular favorites are from a channel called hobotech. He has reviewed and compared all the bluetti and jackery products, and many Chinese products too. I’ve always liked bluetti and knew that I wanted something from them when I did eventually upgrade. In the process of building my new van I made a space that could accommodate the AC200 but was aware that I might buy one of the EB models depending on how much money I had after my tax return. I do not have the money for an AC200, but even if I did this video would have prevented me from buying it anyway. Instead I will be buying a bluetti eb150 and and making the rest of battery compartment into storage. I will be keeping my generator for now but this will allow me to purchase a residential solar panel at bulk price when my dad installs solar on his home later this year. Thank you for the information on both the bluetti AC200P and the bluetti eb240/150. You have helped influence my decision for my personal system and my recommendation to others for their systems. Good luck on the tiny home, I can’t wait to see how it comes out!
We had similar issues with the phantom usage. We ended up getting a AC300 to run our fridge and stand alone freezer. We still have the AC200p and use it for most of our cooking. I find it functions much better for this vs running something 24/7.
The thing is the massive overhead is due to it being able to handle massive loads. The dc alone can handle 25 amps which is crazy. It’s all about use case. If you want to run large household level appliances short term, that is what it is designed for. If you want to run low draw dc or small ac items long term, the eb240 is much more geared for that. For your cabin I would recommend getting a b230 expansion battery for it with the dc charge enhancer and you will have the best of both worlds as the b230 has its own dc subsystem that is much more efficient.
Its a sloppy design imo. Victron's orion dc to dc converters have a standby power usage measured in milliamps and the newer multi pluses are in the 10 to 15 watt range depending on input voltage and they can us as little as a few watts if you have them in search mode.
_"It’s all about use case. If you want to run large household level appliances short term, that is what it is designed for. If you want to run low draw dc or small ac items long term, the eb240 is much more geared for that."_ Thanks for the insight. Your comment puts the purpose/practicality in the forefront when shopping for a solar generator.
Yup ! ! I Love my AC200P but realize the power draw of the A/C inverter is about 70 watts with it 'on' . SO, since I am constantly bouncing around in my humble abode I simply turn off the A/C inverter after the fridge has finished a cycle and turn it back on later when I notice the fridge temp is back up a few degrees. (Radio-Shack indoor/outdoor thermometer mounted on the refrigerator door with the outdoor sensor clothes-pinned to a middle rack 2" from the side wall.) If I am in & out of the fridge I just leave the AC200P inverter 'on'. Seldom goes below 50% charge by morning with inverter on & then the sun is shining by 10:30am usually even with 'June Gloom'. By noon am ready to add some charge to Nissan Leaf for an hour ! 400 watts average solar input during day.
I picked Bluetti for my off grid van and it arrived with non functioning DC power. The customer service answering and tech mailbox was full so I had to email which took days. Then Max responded and asked for a video of the problem. By that time I decided to get a refund because I cannot survive without power. I sent the video and after a couple weeks I got a refund. I had solar installed with a lithium battery and Victron controller which has worked flawlessly powering 2 20qt refrigerators and use 1 as a freezer plus charge my devices, run the max air fan, Blender, and infrared heating pad on cold morning. I also don’t have to drag the 200 watt panels outside and deal with the wind blowing them over! Get solar, that’s my recommendation!
Not seen any all in one systems I really like. They all seem to have issues and compromises in addition to just costing more. Get a good quality lithium battery from someone like signature solar or sok and ether combine it with a grow watt inverter, charger, solar controller aio box or victron gear. Gives you far more flexibility, costs less and the end product works better.
I have the AC 200 Kickstarter model with 1700 Watt hours. I'll say this. If I leave the DC power on, not the AC, overnight, with absolutely nothing plugged in, I still lose about 8 to 10% of the battery capacity overnight. For no good reason whatsoever. It makes zero sense to me. They do not seem to be very efficient somehow. I got it for a great price so I'm not going to complain too much, but I'll definitely building my own system from scratch when the time comes in my van.
Regarding the Bluetti power problem: It's difficult to make an assessment of the phantom power draw if you are powering several things at once. If you unplug everything external to the supply and turn off the inverter, you can measure only the phantom power draw. If the display shows the power draw in this mode, you will see it. If it doesn't, you can deduce it from the percent of charge used over a known time. Suppose you watch the power draw in this mode for one hour and you see it is at 80% after 1 hour, from a starting point of 100%. So it has used 20% of 2000 watthours, or 400 watthours over a period of 1 hour, so the phantom power draw is 400 watts, which would be very high. These power supplies all have some power draw when they are on, to power everything that is on their circuit boards, display lights, and fans, if they have a cooling fan. Some of these power supplies also have a feature to allow you to assess what happening in the power supply, through your cell phone. This can create a quite high power draw because it requires power to acquire the status of the supply on a continuous basis, and to transmit it to your phone, either through Bluetooth or a built in router. My Yeti has this feature, but I always keep it turned off unless it's an emergency where I'm away from the unit and can't see the display. The Bluetti should have a way to turn it off, if it has this feature. So turn it off, and do this test again, to see how much of the phantom draw is due to the phone feature.
I would definitely look for a firmware update. I have some Bluetti Solar generators, and have had some firmware updates. So that would be the first thing I would try. I don’t have the model you have, but I have two others.
With everything turned off, even the Bluetti itself. It loses power. In fact, I have had it go from 100% to 0%. Just from turning it off, them right back on. Hysolis is a far better product.
Bluetti just replaced my AC200P for the exact reason you made above , it was replaced after about 10 months under guarantee , there was no quibble with replacement , infact I only contacted them for advice , it was them that replied saying sorry that I had an issue and they would arrange a new replacement , they did pay shipping both ways ! new one after a month or so has not suffered the same problem as the older one , different Firmware on the old one I was able to see every cell voltage in settings , this one there is no option to show all cell voltage . good service . p.s I am in the UK
@@offgridgesertdwellers - If I left mine on with both AC & DC off it would discharge at a very slow rate . IF I turned it OFF & back on later, it may go from say a 67% charge to 0% & be non-op until I charged it back above an indicated 5% ! I contacted Bluetti complaining about this & they recommended to discharge completely & then recharge to full to 'reset' the bms. I did, (charging with solar) to 100% & it has been behaving itself ever since with only minor deviation. I don't discharge it below 20% normally trying to be 'nice' to the battery. thanks, RH
Hi. Thank you for providing a very candid view on your experiences after six months for the AC 200.P. I just bought one and I’m doing a test at the moment with my tiny camp fridge that draws 69W. I’m not sure whether you have tried to enable the eco-mode that is in the menu. Apparently this puts the AC inverter into a more power efficient state when low power is being drawn from it. Since my fridge runs only 20% of the time to stay within the temperature range, this function is proving to be a huge help in eliminating phantom power losses. I’m finding that this fridge is only taking 10% of battery every 12 hours. When I compare this with my current AGM battery this is on point without any phantom losses at all. I am yet to try it with the DC inverter in vote and it is possible that this is a greater draw on fantompower.
you can add 2048wh to your ac200p for $1400 to help with the bms phantom power usage: BLUETTI B230 Battery Module, 2048Wh LiFePO4 Power Station Expandable Power for AC200MAX/AC200P/EB240/EB150
7:25...What is a *PHANTOM POWER DRAW* Explained 🤯👍 I was just about to buy this unit...but now..after watching your review...and the Phantom power draw....I will move onto the Jackery Unit instead. Thank you for your Honest review on this unit.
I put stock in lead batteries. Diluting the acid changes even start batteries into deep cycles. Avoid batteries in parallel. Camper sized small pure sine wave inverters are good supliments.
Australian 4x4 Adventures did testing on that one..... Ya may wanna see it.... He said it needs 48v Solar to charge it & most just have 12v so it's kinda impractical for most.... & He said that that it must be turned on to charge but just being on draws more power then a 12v charger adds..... Which leads to dead battery through the night.... But it has its place & is very good when you know more about it....
I bought an AC200P and I was super disappointed in the phantom BMS power draw as well. I thought the unit was defective at first but that’s how they are. The EB240 is a better choice for sure.
I think it's battery deviation. I've had issues charging and discharging with the bms jumping around. I think the bms is not that great. If you totally discharge the unit and recharge it with one ac charger it recalibrates the bms and it fixes it for a while . i think it's the inconsistent charging from solar but who knows.
Read my post on here regarding this issue. Oriental makers of bms cables sometimes accidentally switch leads in the cables causing this issue. It can be very dangerous over time if left without repair. Take the unit out of your home and place it outside until you can get this resolved. It can burn your home down.
@@Filmedbyak - If I left mine on with both AC & DC off it would discharge at a very slow rate . IF I turned it OFF & back on later, it may go from say a 67% charge to 0% & be non-op until I charged it back above an indicated 5% ! I contacted Bluetti complaining about this & they recommended what you said, discharge completely & then recharge to full to 'reset' the bms. I did, (charging with solar) to 100% & it has been behaving itself ever since with only minor deviation. I don't discharge it below 20% normally trying to be 'nice' to the battery. thanks, RH
I hope you'll do a review of the new Bluetti EB200P, to see if it has addressed some of the shortfalls that you mentioned with the AC200p. There are no current online reviews comparing/contrasting the EB200P with the AC200P. Thanks for your consideration. Keep up the good work.
While the EB240 had regulated 12v outputs, they were at a lower voltage and more efficient than what is in the newer systems that are regulated to over 13v. That is the biggest difference and why you have the power drain on just DC. That is also why I have the EB150... I use DC regularly but only use AC on occasion. Sorry that it is not working as well as we all would have hoped. Y'all keep it up and hang in there. I love this new adventure you are on!
I've asked this question a lot (multiple platforms, and no one has even responded) So since you seem very knowledgeable, maybe you might know...Is there a unit on the market, that you can recharge at any local Electric Vehicle Charging Station?
Love the idea of tiny house Tuesday idea. Thanks for the honest opinion. I bought a used class b, but when I was looking to built a van out I was leaning toward the 2400 or 1200 bluetti. It just looked easier to move around. Like the
Add a 100amp Lithium battery with a small breaker to feed the Bluettii. Would get you thru the night and in the day charge the 100 amp battery off the 110v Bluetti while it is getting max solar time.
This was a great review I had been thinking about getting one but think I've changed my mind I have Bluetti 150 thinking about getting another or the 240 since the price has dropped
I’m relatively certain that I just got ripped off. A company called BLUETTI Portable Power Station Club or Bluetti Global charged me for one power station. Then I canceled the order and ordered a different power station. They never refunded the first one. And now I cannot reach them. All of the numbers go to either a fast busy signal or a voicemail that is full. So far I’m out about $2700. They won’t respond to telephone calls or emails. Very serious scam alert
we have the EB150 and it works well, except as in the EB240, there is ONLY a 1000W inverter. I really need at least a 1500 W interpreter and was hoping this unit would work, but after watching this video and reading all of the reviews on Amazon about their horrible customer service, I guess I will wait for a better option. Really wanted to buy this one...
Nate, again thanks for taking time to do this video. Excellent information you provided. But when you said "In no way am I sponsored by Bluetti"....well that isn't correct. There are 3 distinct types of UA-cam Sponsorships: 1. Affiliate - when there is a product link with special discount code in the video description. A commission is received. 2. Product - receive a free product in exchange for a promotion in the form of a review and/or tutorials. No money for the review. Often times not needing to be pre-reviewed. 3. Paid - money in exchange for reviews often times needing pre-reviewed/approved. Often there are other stipulations. So the best I can tell, this video is an example of a UA-cam "Product Sponsorship". So again when you said "In no way am I sponsored by Bluetti"...well yes you are. It's not a bad thing by any means. What is important is complete and accurate disclosure. Here you promoted the product in the form of a review. Saying this would have been more accurate: "In the spirit of full disclosure, this is a Product Sponsorship. I received this product free and don't need to return it. In exchange I committed to doing a review without me getting paid any money . I am not required to get pre-approval and all the opinions are mine and mine alone".
These deep cycle batteries are a blessing From 300-400 cycles now 2000-4000 cycles is a 10 years or more of once a day charging I’ll invest a grand in that Not the thing with than a 1000 cycles
Should have watched this before I bought mine last week. Got the AC200 Max with the extra 2048wh battery. Hoping to use off grid for my camper long term.
I guess you are in the territory of the BLUETTI AC300 with a couple expansion batteries with treble the power and treble the solar input capacity, would like to see BLUETTI put their AC300 & AC500 units into a static off-grid setup and really demonstrate they are up to the task they advertise them to be for. The marketing expectations of solar generators from all companies need to be dialled down so they are realistic.
The struggle is real. This unit is better suited to run high wattage appliances. It’s not a good performer for small loads over time. That said I just try to do all my charging and use at once and turn it off when I’m done. I have a smaller more efficient solar charger for smaller devices such as phones. Just remember anytime you convert ac to dc(charging) or dc to ac(loads) you will always have loss typically 10 to 20 %
I have the AC200 max. I ran it for 24 hours without any charging. I ran a 12 volt Dometic fridge, a 40 watt CPAP (for the duration of my sleep), cooked breakfast with an induction cook top and boiled water with an electric kettle. After 24 hours, I only used 43%. You can also use the DC to DC enhancer to connect to more batteries on other models like the one you have. You should also be careful with specifying the amp hours. It doesn't really mean anything. Example: the AC200 max has a 40 amp hour battery, but a voltage of 51.2. That's a massive difference. The only value that matters is the usable power output (Watts). Power = Amps X Voltage. The standard lithium battery that most people use in the systems that they build, are 12 volt. So, for the AC200 max (51.2 X 40 = 2048 Watts). A 100 amp hour 12 volt battery (100 X 12 = 1200 Watts). Then you apply the inverter efficiency, if in use. Actual power output is the only relevant value. And with the AC200 max, Bluetti claims that you get an actual 2048 watt output. I have not tested this to confirm, but I've had it up to ~1800 Watts. So Watt Hours is the value that should be considered. I should point out that 'inversion' is also meaningless. What that actually is, is rectification. That is creating a sine wave from a flat line. Rectifying 12 DC to 12 AC, there would be no energy loss. The energy loss (inefficiency) comes from the transformation of 12 volts to 110 volts. To do this, the energy has to pass through many windings. The more windings, the more heat is made. That heat is the energy loss. When transforming 51.2 volts to 110 volts, the energy passes through many less windings. Less heat is made, resulting in less energy loss. 51.2 volts is almost half of 110 volts, so that transformation is very efficient. This is also a consideration for solar panels. The higher the open circuit voltage, the more efficient they will be.
@@jasonr6674 no. I can fully charge it, turn it off for a month, turn it back on, and it's still at 100%. I've actually done that. And right now, it's on 24/7 with DC output on, and the draw is as it should be.
I own a Bluetti AC200P, and have had simular issues. In the end I had to research, and finally purchase a better bigger more cost efficient solar generator. The Hysolis MPS3K is a great unit, and has been powering my entire compound for a year now. No issues, does everything I ask of it. Two houses, which includes two refrigerators, two freezers, all our pumps, all our electronics, and all lights. Plus, I run a lot of power tools. I highly recommend the MPS3K by Hysolis.
Your massive standby discharge is probably caused by lithium batteries in parallel, which is a longstanding industry standard. Also, don't underestimate inverter draw. If your cell connector can run on 12 volts, bypass the power supply. An AC fridge is also quite a boat anchor.
Thank you for your honest review. In my opinion, the phantom draw disqualifies this unit from my consideration. It is worse than the drawback of the EcoFlow power stations, which is their battery chemistry's lower lifecycles.
The choice seems to come down to less efficient energy use but much faster recharge ability (AC200 series) or more efficient power use and much slower recharge ability (EB240 series). A combination of both would be great, but it looks like bluetti do not have such a unit at the moment?
Did you get the phantom power draw resolved from Bluetti? Did they replace the unit? We are considering one for our short bus conversion, and this is the first we have heard about a poet draw.
People need to understand you don’t build your needs around a power station but just the opposite. You figure out how many watt hours you use and develop a purchasing plan around that. It may look a lot different than what people think. The EB line up had a very low stand by inverter consumption. If you want both, low stand by consumption and high output, a Zero Energy Titan is probably what you want. It can be expanded and the newer version does 240. The solar input is massive. It’s price point is higher but not as excessive as some of the ultra units like the Hysolis Apollo. But back to the Bluetti. You can actually add additional batteries like the newer Max to the Ac 200p. You can even use all kinds of batteries. I use scooter batteries and even some smaller pack batteries that were repurposed. I will say this. The 200p is older and limited but Bluetti backward engineered several accessories so you have options to almost double the power input of solar ect.. I encourage people to research the accessories for the 200p. It’s a lot more capable than it appears. I kept mine even when I upgraded a couple of times. For what it is and considering how long ago it hit the market, I will say it has aged gracefully.
I'm glad I saw this now was about to purchase. Other than spending $1500 on a 200 app hour battery. A mppt Solar charge controller, 1500 W Pure sine inverter and more that I can't think of top of my head. Which I will be into the system 2500 plus. This way would have been more simpler. It's too bad hope they figured out.
Excited for the new bi weekly Tuesday content! Have you reached out to the company about the phantom power draw? Also if you build your own new power system I’d love a really in depth video on the various parts, how you’re wiring things up, and why you’re using the parts you’re using. Love the channel!
Interesting- my little 500w bluetti doesn’t seem to have that problem. Thanks for the review. Also if you get a chance to watch the solar set up from Tiny Shiny Homestead they are in AZ and did a fabulous solar build.
The phantom draw isn't the bms, it's the inverter. The inverter, even under no load, draws 2.5% of the battery, or 50wh, which is 1200w every day. My ac200p is my only 24/7 power source, and I keep the inverter turned off when I don't need it. I have a 12v dc fridge and freezer, and I never run low on power.
Thanks for the power info & concerns.... There's also a lot of good info in these messages.... I like your cabin & would chose that as my home & rent out the Tiny Home....
I have the original ac200 from the first IDIGOGO and I have the same issue with phantom power draw. From the time I loose sun charging in the evening to when I get sun charge in the morning I use between 35 to 45% and that is with no ac usage and my 12v refrigerator unplugged. The only usage I have is led lights, cell phone, diesel heater and sometimes maxair fan. To me that is way too much drop from such small amount of draw.
Charging it with the smallest of gas inverter generators on ECO mode should fix that problem. I use a small 20 lbs Sportsman 1000 watt inverter generator. It should run for about 6-8 hours with about 1/2 a gallon of gas. 😁
BMS , that means ? Anyway i suspect this guy let the induction charger system switched on which could explain an additional power draw. It its located on top of the barrery
Have the max 200 plus battery, and yes it waste too much standby power. Very disappointing. What is necessary is to have the four 200 watt panels to counter the standby waste. My eb 2400 bluetti is better unfortunately, it only has 1000 inverter.
I have the original AC200 purchased via Indiegogo. I power a 12V ICECO 63l fridge, charge up my battery devices, overnight use of a 110V electric blanket in cold weather, and charge up with a 310W solar panel on the roof of my van. I haven't noticed problems like what you are experiencing. Everytime I check the capacity, its usually in the 80-90% range. My inverter is smaller than yours, 1700W, and possibly a more efficient design??
I cannot recommend buying from Bluetti. I live in Fort Myers suffered hurricane devastating damage almost 2 weeks now I sent five emails to Bluetti asking for assistance and for instant messages and there is no one working no one is answering phones the voicemail boxes are all full so you cannot leave a message at either customer service or tech service. Something terrible has happened to this very good company. I have purchased four generators and three sets of solar panels invested thousands of dollars. Cannot get anyone to respond back to my issues with my AC 200 P joining with my B2 30. This old model is compatible with the B2 30 but is not working with either of my B2 30s. What good is purchasing if there’s no support. I would consider Ecoflo Delta or Jacari for better customer support
I have had the same issues with my ac200p. I only run (2) small dc fridges and eventually had to add 480 watts of solar and a 25 amp DC to DC charger off my alternator. I knew something seemed off on the phantom draw
Fingers crossed that you never have any problems with the unit, mine stopped charging to 100% after about 8 months and I've barely ever used the thing, only in power outages a few times a year, and Bluetti support is worthless. They won't let me exchange the unit because apparently they don't sell the AC200p anymore, even though it's listed on the website, they wont ship me the AC200max because apparently they don't sell that in Canada anymore, even though again it's on their website, and instead of actually helping me out they've offered me a whopping $200 to keep the unit and shut up, the unit that was $2,000. What an insult, considering the unit is still under warranty for like, 3 more years. Mine also has that phantom power draw unfortunately, the thing is nearly useless at this point and I'm trying to get the issue resolved through Bluetti under warranty.
You can charge it with a small inverter propane generator and then you will get insane runtimes rain, shine or at night. And you will get super high surge wattage out of the power station without the need for a huge heavy generator. ☺
There's no way I'd get an AC200P, or anything else that burns 30+ watts just sitting around, with as many good competitors on the market. Oupes has a 1488Wh LiFePO4 model for $1200. BTW it's the LiFePO4 cells that make it so heavy, and I think they're worth the weight.
That's a shame that it would draw that much power on standby. You might be able to do some additional troubleshooting to see exactly what's causing the draw though. To be clear though, a BMS isn''t going to be capable of creating this kind of loss. BMS are only active when power is coming into the system through the solar or external charger, and usually use efficient mosfets for current balancing. Something else must be causing the draw. Normally I'd say it's the active electronics like the control panel, but considering you've calculated 30 watts of draw, that's way more than the control panel will pull The inverter could certainly be drawing this much in standby, depending on its design. You said you're running the inverter 24/7 so that would be the first thing I would look at. The other possibility is DC conversion. The electronics to convert down to 5v for USB technically COULD be the problem, but it's unlikely they're capable of that amount of loss, due to the usual low output limits of USB. I assume the battery is not 12v, it's probably 24v or higher, and converting THAT down to 12v could also be responsible for the losses. Given the needs for high current 12v, the converter there could be responsible for the loss you're seeing. I would suggest testing both the inverter and (if possible) the 12v converter by disabling them and monitoring losses. The USB is usually switchable, but the 12v may or may not be, depending on your unit. Of course the 120v inverter is switchable. It would be better to monitor actual battery draw instead of looking at capacity overnight, but due to the "all-in-one" design of your unit that may not be possible, or just plain may not be easy. Thank you for the informative video! I personally go with discrete units here. Makes them easier to troubleshoot and to monitor, and also if one part breaks it doesn't kill everything. I've seen several reports of users that had their units just die completely because the control panel went outl Also unrelated, are you sure those are 200 watt panels? There's been an enormous amount of "over-rated" panels being sold, sometimes at comically large values. Your panels look like they're between 100 and 125 watts, just based on their size. I've got ten 100w panels here that are about the same size. Mine aren't high-end, but the efficiency differences aren't very large with solar, unless you're crossing tech like polycrystaline vs mono, and mine are the good mono. A typical efficiency comparison might be between 18% and 22% for cheap vs good panels. (and 24-26% if you're NASA and spending hundreds of thousands per panel to eek out every last watt for a rover or satellite) It's not like you're going to see double as a consumer by "getting the good stuff". The technology just doesn't work like that with solar. Also, they are "rated" using "lab conditions" of 1000w/sq m of light so you never get what they are rated (not even at noon at the equator), that's normal. The only reason they rate like that is so that everyone is testing with the SAME rating, making comparison possible. (it's like MPG, nobody EVER gets those numbers, but you can COMPARE them between cars sine they're all tested the same way) Being out in the desert with lots of sun, and at a lower latitude will really help. Google "solar hours" for charts. They'll basically tell you how much solar you can collect on an average day, based on that rating. The numbers might LOOK small, but they're actually accurate. In Iowa I believe we average 5 hours/day. Of course we get more light than that, but that is considering the night, the lower number of day hours, the overcasts, AND the actual panel efficiency. Here, I get a very consistent 74 watts per panel at high noon in the summer. Basically that 5 hours means I can expect 5 x 100 watt-hours (500wh) per day per panel, on the average. Which is about what I see. (this is power from the panels, using MPPT, not accounting for any losses anywhere)
I got the jackery 300 only because the smallest anker didn't have a way to plug in 8mm for solar and got the newest jackery because the 60 watt usbc port but apparently it does no where close to it so was pointless 🤣🤷 but nice for emergency if needed
So glad you posted this video. I too mentioned the high standby power losses in my review but the more I use it, the more it’s clear this is only optimal for a few hours of higher power output. Good for short power outages, not so great for any 24/7 applications because the overhead is larger than the output.
Yea, I bought an EB240 after discovering the AC200P uses such high power when nothing is being used. The EB240 does such a better job. In case of power outages I would treat the EB240 as the long use battery for fridges and such and the AC200P as the reserve battery and for cooking.
Helpful comments gents, thank you. I need a power station and havent been sure which one is best for long term off grid use. The eb240 is starting to seem ideal unless you are willing to shell out for a massive one.
@@gandhilegion the 240 is a great choice if you don’t need a big inverter, car charging, or bells and whistles. It’s simplicity makes it more efficient
@@todd.parker ended up finding a local deal for this Ego 3000 watt power nexus station. It can take 4 batteries and has more plug ins on it. 1499 at Rona. It also has some solar adapters you can buy
What is a good alternative
Thank you for the honest review. Its hard when trying to pick the right unit you need with so many out there. So having a good idea about this one is really helpful.
I live in South Africa where we have been struggling with power issues for some years. Basically our power grid has gotten older and less reliable and the power consumption needs of our wonderful population have increased significantly. So, we often have ‘planned blackouts’ (2 to 4 hours interspersed throughout the day). I have a Yoobao 500wh power bank (much like the one you reviewed here, just smaller). It is a lifesaver! It runs our internet connection, lights and computers at night, and when I have to teach at the University during the day, it runs a router, laptop and data projector. It is small enough to be carried around with one hand and gives about 15 hours of AC power. Of course it also has 12v power and USB fast charging ports. I love it!
It is the inverter and the regulated DC that is the HUGH power draw, not the BMS. I know you cannot, but I turn the unit off at night and let the solar turn it back on in the morning. When you turn it off, it stays at 100% charged or whatever you left it at. But even if you left the unit on with the AC and DC off, the power draw the BMS uses is negligible, you will not notice it.
@laronis - If I left mine on with both AC & DC off it would discharge at a very slow rate . IF I turned it OFF & back on later, it may go from say a 67% charge to 0% & be non-op until I charged it back above an indicated 5% ! I contacted Bluetti complaining about this & they recommended discharge completely & then recharge to full to 'reset' the bms. I did, (charging with solar) to 100% & it has been behaving itself ever since with only minor deviation.
I don't discharge it below 20% normally trying to be 'nice' to the battery.
thanks, RH
@@richardhobbs7107 You did a recalibration because your numbers/info were off. You discharge to zero then charge it back up to 100%. It is suppose to recalibrate the reading on the display info. I have never done it on any of my 10 power stations so i cannot comment on how it works, but it seems to have worked for you.
For LiFePO4 batteries i just use them as i want, but for basic lithium ion batteries, yes i follow the 20-80% rule.
@@laronis - Yes, the recalibration discharge/recharge seems to have worked for the most part. There is still minor deviations in the off / on cycles but not like before ! Yes, LiFePO4 batteries seem to be much more durable.
Hi nate, thanks for the review.. Be careful with the review though. I have the ac200p and sympathize with standby losses...but it isn't the bms(which simply balances and protects the lifepo cells )that causes the losses. the losses, in this unit, start with the solar charge controller integration which fails to turn off after the sun goes down unlike almost all mppt controller. so there is standby loss there all night even without other use draws. i try to unplug my solar after charging stops for the day(a hassle for sure) if it is late in the day you can plug it right back in and it will stay off till the morning and turn on automatically. then there is the dc voltage regulator which has also some standby and usage loss since it takes the 50+volt battery voltage down to the 13v area. so leaving that on 24/7 is an additional draw... all dc regulators have losses and the only cure is to turn them off when not using. In my experience the inverter standby and inefficiency are the biggest parasitic losses. Leaving that on, even when unused, is huge. If you could see your way to not having to keep both dc and ac accessories on at night and when not using it you would save a significant amount of power for morning use. standby losses in the off mode are negligible . It literally stays charged for months. It is always better to run low voltage devices (cell booster?) off a dedicated battery..ideally a lifpo4 because of the higher voltage which results in lower amp draw ... more efficiency. the refrigerator might just do fine off all night with no door openings and the ambient temp not being excessive. This machine is far from perfect efficiency wise but does have a pretty sturdy construction electronically and physically and the battery chemistry is good. a little extra battery management from the user helps a lot. If there is a problem with your particular unit , which seems likely, I have found bluetti pretty responsive to work with though in this case options may be limited.unlike in the ac200max software updates(read fixes) don't seem to be possible. btw you can add additional batteries to this system . the same ones the ac200max uses, which seems to have corrected many of the complaints we have with this unit. off grid living is very rewarding if one has the self sufficiency spirit to put up with the so called inconveniences of which there are plenty.
I have the same unit and I'm using it in my van. Today, I unplugged it from shore power at 11:00am with nothing running but my deasil heater that was on standby that wasn't registering any voltage draw and by 7:30pm, I was down to 82%. I also don't have any solar panels hooked up to my unit as I charge it with an inverter while I'm driving.
Have they fixed this problem in the AC200Max did you say?? This This seems like a great unit ruined by this high power drain
I was going to comment that I thought I remembered that you CAN add additional batteries to this Bluetti.
Glad you mentioned that.
Sounds like you should be doing the review.
@@sallytucker2354 kinda what i was thinking.
The AC200/AC200P was not initially designed for Lifepo4. And Bluetti knew the firmware wasn't set up for Lifepo4. They have tried to sell off the stock. The EB200/EB200P and AC200MAX were designed as Lifepo4 systems.
Very useful video. The fact that you've survived the 6 months using the Bluetti says it all.
You're lucky that you've got good reliable sunshine where you live. Here in the UK, that's a variable feast! Especially in winter.
I appreciate the unbiased review. I was initially skeptical it would be unbiased after your disclosure that Blucetti provided the unit to you for your initial review. After recent purchase, I powered mine with two EchoFlow 220W BiFacial panels on a recent trip to a remote property I purchased. I wanted to power my Starlink and a small portable freezer 24/7 - total power use about 100 watts. After a day, I had to use the Starlink only part of the time since the AC200P charge was depleted when I ran them both. I could run a Keurig to make a 30 oz cup of coffee for about 40 watt hours which I loved. Running a hotplate was great but cooking eggs took 20-25% of the AC200P capacity, which I could not spare. It was surprised at how fast the AC200P battery charge decreased generally. I have since increased the number of EchoFlow 220W panels (IP68 waterproof standard) I have. I have added a B300 backup battery as well. Two B300 batteries can be attached. The AC200P can also be charged from 12V-24V lead acid batteries. Not pleased with Bluetti customer support - in my limited experience, they have been unresponsive and have largely ignored my emails and requests. Just try getting a replacement XT90-aviation cable for instance.
I have been using the AC200P for 4 months now. And I normally only leave the DC switched on 24/7 to run my camper lights and Vent fan. I have left the DC switched on without any loads (Lights or fan) and after 48 hours there is hardly 1% loss.
I had a very similar situation with a battery bank system and discovered that the wires between the bms and the cells were criss-crossed so that 2 of the cells were reading backwards at the bms. The cable had a connector at both ends and the wire for cell #1 at the bms was on cell #2 at the other end, and vice versa on the #2 bms end going to #1 on the other end. And in turn the bms thought one was low and one was high whereby it was constantly trying to charge a cell that was already at it's max. Not only did it draw the cells down but it caused swelling in one of them. The one with low voltage went below the allowed amount and destroyed that cell. The bms kept trying to use that cell to charge the other cell it thought was low (but was really high). Apparently the supplier had inadvertently manufactured the cables incorrectly with enough of them to cause this somewhat sporadic event to occur in more than one unit. If I were you, I'd seriously look at checking this out in your unit. If you see any swelling or if any of the cells are producing an abnormal voltage reading, etc., you might want to take the unit outside the home where you sleep and live. I located this issue with the help of my trusty multimeter which caused me to inspect this cable for continuity between the 2 ends of each wire. That's when I discovered 2 were criss-crossed. I merely did a field repair by cutting the 2 and recoupled them where they belonged. Problem was/is solved and I use the bank every day without the nagging issue you are experiencing. I contacted the seller and they were more than happy to supply me with a new cell to replace the swollen one.
Conversely, Bluetti may recall your unit if enough other's complain. Or just replace your's.
The pros & cons. Good info for people making choices.
Good feedback for people that I concur with as an AC200max owner. This is not a good option for always on small loads.
Bluetti just replaced my AC200P for a similar issue , it was replaced after about 10 months under guarantee , there was no quibble with replacement , infact I only contacted them for advice , it was them that replied saying sorry that I had an issue and they would arrange a new replacement , they did pay shipping both ways ! new one after a month or so has not suffered the same problem as the older one , different Firmware on the old one I was able to see every cell voltage in settings , this one there is no option to show all cell voltage .
I have been using a Chinese unit in my minivan camper for about 3 years now. The model is sungzu ska1000. It has a 1kw battery and 1000w inverter. I run an AC refrigerator and other small loads. LED lights, tiny TV, device chargers etc all on AC power. If I only use low draw devices I can get about 2 days without charging. ( 2 days if the weather isn’t super hot making the fridge run more) That being said, I recently got into an accident in the van, which totaled it. I have spent the past 2 months converting another minivan, it’s pretty much finished now. My power needs haven’t really changed, i moved as much as I could, including the battery, and refrigerator, to my new build, thankfully it was a low speed front impact that didn’t do too much damage to my camper build, or my body! Anyway, I have been thinking of a battery upgrade for a while, mostly because the sungzu has an odd voltage input for solar and expensive proprietary panels. I never had solar on my van, instead I have a loud, heavy generator on a hitch carrier. I have thought long and hard about this particular product from bluetti. I have watched many different videos, my particular favorites are from a channel called hobotech. He has reviewed and compared all the bluetti and jackery products, and many Chinese products too. I’ve always liked bluetti and knew that I wanted something from them when I did eventually upgrade. In the process of building my new van I made a space that could accommodate the AC200 but was aware that I might buy one of the EB models depending on how much money I had after my tax return. I do not have the money for an AC200, but even if I did this video would have prevented me from buying it anyway. Instead I will be buying a bluetti eb150 and and making the rest of battery compartment into storage. I will be keeping my generator for now but this will allow me to purchase a residential solar panel at bulk price when my dad installs solar on his home later this year. Thank you for the information on both the bluetti AC200P and the bluetti eb240/150. You have helped influence my decision for my personal system and my recommendation to others for their systems. Good luck on the tiny home, I can’t wait to see how it comes out!
We had similar issues with the phantom usage. We ended up getting a AC300 to run our fridge and stand alone freezer. We still have the AC200p and use it for most of our cooking. I find it functions much better for this vs running something 24/7.
Good review, transparent and honest. These type issues is why I'll be building my own system. Thanks.
The thing is the massive overhead is due to it being able to handle massive loads. The dc alone can handle 25 amps which is crazy. It’s all about use case. If you want to run large household level appliances short term, that is what it is designed for. If you want to run low draw dc or small ac items long term, the eb240 is much more geared for that. For your cabin I would recommend getting a b230 expansion battery for it with the dc charge enhancer and you will have the best of both worlds as the b230 has its own dc subsystem that is much more efficient.
Totally agree with you. The AC200P is not for small appliances, but EB240 is.
Its a sloppy design imo. Victron's orion dc to dc converters have a standby power usage measured in milliamps and the newer multi pluses are in the 10 to 15 watt range depending on input voltage and they can us as little as a few watts if you have them in search mode.
My dirt cheap no name 540 wh power station runs my AC dorm fridge 8+ hours longer than my Bluetti EB70. The EB70 claims 716 wh. Avoid this brand.
_"It’s all about use case. If you want to run large household level appliances short term, that is what it is designed for. If you want to run low draw dc or small ac items long term, the eb240 is much more geared for that."_
Thanks for the insight. Your comment puts the purpose/practicality in the forefront when shopping for a solar generator.
Yup ! ! I Love my AC200P but realize the power draw of the A/C inverter is about 70 watts with it 'on' . SO, since I am constantly bouncing around in my humble abode I simply turn off the A/C inverter after the fridge has finished a cycle and turn it back on later when I notice the fridge temp is back up a few degrees. (Radio-Shack indoor/outdoor thermometer mounted on the refrigerator door with the outdoor sensor clothes-pinned to a middle rack 2" from the side wall.)
If I am in & out of the fridge I just leave the AC200P inverter 'on'. Seldom goes below 50% charge by morning with inverter on & then the sun is shining by 10:30am usually even with 'June Gloom'. By noon am ready to add some charge to Nissan Leaf for an hour !
400 watts average solar input during day.
I appreciate the honesty because I haven't heard anything about the phantom power draw. Great work my friend.
Just purchased let’s see if anything has changed, I’ll keep you UPDATED!
Thanks for the rare honest Bluetti review.
I picked Bluetti for my off grid van and it arrived with non functioning DC power. The customer service answering and tech mailbox was full so I had to email which took days. Then Max responded and asked for a video of the problem. By that time I decided to get a refund because I cannot survive without power. I sent the video and after a couple weeks I got a refund. I had solar installed with a lithium battery and Victron controller which has worked flawlessly powering 2 20qt refrigerators and use 1 as a freezer plus charge my devices, run the max air fan, Blender, and infrared heating pad on cold morning. I also don’t have to drag the 200 watt panels outside and deal with the wind blowing them over! Get solar, that’s my recommendation!
Not seen any all in one systems I really like. They all seem to have issues and compromises in addition to just costing more. Get a good quality lithium battery from someone like signature solar or sok and ether combine it with a grow watt inverter, charger, solar controller aio box or victron gear. Gives you far more flexibility, costs less and the end product works better.
I have the AC 200 Kickstarter model with 1700 Watt hours. I'll say this. If I leave the DC power on, not the AC, overnight, with absolutely nothing plugged in, I still lose about 8 to 10% of the battery capacity overnight. For no good reason whatsoever. It makes zero sense to me. They do not seem to be very efficient somehow. I got it for a great price so I'm not going to complain too much, but I'll definitely building my own system from scratch when the time comes in my van.
Thanks for the honest review. Just an FYI, your BLUETTI is compatible with the new expansion battery packs that the BLUETTI max uses.
Regarding the Bluetti power problem: It's difficult to make an assessment of the phantom power draw if you are powering several things at once. If you unplug everything external to the supply and turn off the inverter, you can measure only the phantom power draw. If the display shows the power draw in this mode, you will see it. If it doesn't, you can deduce it from the percent of charge used over a known time. Suppose you watch the power draw in this mode for one hour and you see it is at 80% after 1 hour, from a starting point of 100%. So it has used 20% of 2000 watthours, or 400 watthours over a period of 1 hour, so the phantom power draw is 400 watts, which would be very high. These power supplies all have some power draw when they are on, to power everything that is on their circuit boards, display lights, and fans, if they have a cooling fan. Some of these power supplies also have a feature to allow you to assess what happening in the power supply, through your cell phone. This can create a quite high power draw because it requires power to acquire the status of the supply on a continuous basis, and to transmit it to your phone, either through Bluetooth or a built in router. My Yeti has this feature, but I always keep it turned off unless it's an emergency where I'm away from the unit and can't see the display. The Bluetti should have a way to turn it off, if it has this feature. So turn it off, and do this test again, to see how much of the phantom draw is due to the phone feature.
I would definitely look for a firmware update. I have some Bluetti Solar generators, and have had some firmware updates. So that would be the first thing I would try. I don’t have the model you have, but I have two others.
With everything turned off, even the Bluetti itself. It loses power. In fact, I have had it go from 100% to 0%. Just from turning it off, them right back on.
Hysolis is a far better product.
Bluetti just replaced my AC200P for the exact reason you made above , it was replaced after about 10 months under guarantee , there was no quibble with replacement , infact I only contacted them for advice , it was them that replied saying sorry that I had an issue and they would arrange a new replacement , they did pay shipping both ways ! new one after a month or so has not suffered the same problem as the older one , different Firmware on the old one I was able to see every cell voltage in settings , this one there is no option to show all cell voltage . good service . p.s I am in the UK
@@uptowndisco2 Where in the UK did you purchase yours?
@@offgridgesertdwellers - If I left mine on with both AC & DC off it would discharge at a very slow rate . IF I turned it OFF & back on later, it may go from say a 67% charge to 0% & be non-op until I charged it back above an indicated 5% ! I contacted Bluetti complaining about this & they recommended to discharge completely & then recharge to full to 'reset' the bms. I did, (charging with solar) to 100% & it has been behaving itself ever since with only minor deviation.
I don't discharge it below 20% normally trying to be 'nice' to the battery.
thanks, RH
Hi. Thank you for providing a very candid view on your experiences after six months for the AC 200.P. I just bought one and I’m doing a test at the moment with my tiny camp fridge that draws 69W. I’m not sure whether you have tried to enable the eco-mode that is in the menu. Apparently this puts the AC inverter into a more power efficient state when low power is being drawn from it. Since my fridge runs only 20% of the time to stay within the temperature range, this function is proving to be a huge help in eliminating phantom power losses. I’m finding that this fridge is only taking 10% of battery every 12 hours. When I compare this with my current AGM battery this is on point without any phantom losses at all. I am yet to try it with the DC inverter in vote and it is possible that this is a greater draw on fantompower.
Your review is awesome. You have the best long term reviews...which are the best for us. Good luck buddy.
you can add 2048wh to your ac200p for $1400 to help with the bms phantom power usage:
BLUETTI B230 Battery Module, 2048Wh LiFePO4 Power Station Expandable Power for AC200MAX/AC200P/EB240/EB150
What is the point adding more battery just to waste it in standby ?
7:25...What is a *PHANTOM POWER DRAW* Explained 🤯👍
I was just about to buy this unit...but now..after watching your review...and the Phantom power draw....I will move onto the Jackery Unit instead.
Thank you for your Honest review on this unit.
yes build your own system. look forward to the build and the work.
I put stock in lead batteries. Diluting the acid changes even start batteries into deep cycles. Avoid batteries in parallel. Camper sized small pure sine wave inverters are good supliments.
Australian 4x4 Adventures did testing on that one.....
Ya may wanna see it.... He said it needs 48v Solar to charge it & most just have 12v so it's kinda impractical for most.... & He said that that it must be turned on to charge but just being on draws more power then a 12v charger adds..... Which leads to dead battery through the night.... But it has its place & is very good when you know more about it....
I bought an AC200P and I was super disappointed in the phantom BMS power draw as well. I thought the unit was defective at first but that’s how they are. The EB240 is a better choice for sure.
I think it's battery deviation. I've had issues charging and discharging with the bms jumping around. I think the bms is not that great. If you totally discharge the unit and recharge it with one ac charger it recalibrates the bms and it fixes it for a while . i think it's the inconsistent charging from solar but who knows.
Read my post on here regarding this issue. Oriental makers of bms cables sometimes accidentally switch leads in the cables causing this issue. It can be very dangerous over time if left without repair. Take the unit out of your home and place it outside until you can get this resolved. It can burn your home down.
@@Filmedbyak - If I left mine on with both AC & DC off it would discharge at a very slow rate . IF I turned it OFF & back on later, it may go from say a 67% charge to 0% & be non-op until I charged it back above an indicated 5% ! I contacted Bluetti complaining about this & they recommended what you said, discharge completely & then recharge to full to 'reset' the bms. I did, (charging with solar) to 100% & it has been behaving itself ever since with only minor deviation.
I don't discharge it below 20% normally trying to be 'nice' to the battery.
thanks, RH
Thanks for the honest look at this unit
I hope you'll do a review of the new Bluetti EB200P, to see if it has addressed some of the shortfalls that you mentioned with the AC200p. There are no current online reviews comparing/contrasting the EB200P with the AC200P. Thanks for your consideration. Keep up the good work.
You can add Bluetti batteries to the AC200P. They are the B230 OR (not and) the B300.
Was your Bluetti in ECO MODE? Enable energy-saving, and Super ECO mode to save more than 50% of useless energy loss.
No such setting donut!
I just did this today :-)))
Their is a eco mode. Not aware of a super eco mode?
At the exact moment you said “rice cooker” I was putting my rice cooker away!
While the EB240 had regulated 12v outputs, they were at a lower voltage and more efficient than what is in the newer systems that are regulated to over 13v. That is the biggest difference and why you have the power drain on just DC. That is also why I have the EB150... I use DC regularly but only use AC on occasion.
Sorry that it is not working as well as we all would have hoped. Y'all keep it up and hang in there. I love this new adventure you are on!
I've asked this question a lot (multiple platforms, and no one has even responded) So since you seem very knowledgeable, maybe you might know...Is there a unit on the market, that you can recharge at any local Electric Vehicle Charging Station?
@@bbk2325 It's a bigger unit, but the ecoflow delta pro can do it.
@@bbk2325 the Ecoflow Delta Pro has that capability. It is their largest and most expensive unit but it does what you are asking.
@@rizipt Thank you! 👏👏👏👏
@@revfatman Thank you so very much for responding!🙌🙌
Love the idea of tiny house Tuesday idea. Thanks for the honest opinion. I bought a used class b, but when I was looking to built a van out I was leaning toward the 2400 or 1200 bluetti. It just looked easier to move around. Like the
Add a 100amp Lithium battery with a small breaker to feed the Bluettii. Would get you thru the night and in the day charge the 100 amp battery off the 110v Bluetti while it is getting max solar time.
This was a great review I had been thinking about getting one but think I've changed my mind I have Bluetti 150 thinking about getting another or the 240 since the price has dropped
Thanks for your info on the Bluetti. It was really helpful. Looking forward to your build series!
Damn. I’m glad I saw this video. It’s on sale 50% off on Amazon on my account.
I’m relatively certain that I just got ripped off. A company called BLUETTI Portable Power Station Club or Bluetti Global charged me for one power station. Then I canceled the order and ordered a different power station. They never refunded the first one. And now I cannot reach them. All of the numbers go to either a fast busy signal or a voicemail that is full. So far I’m out about $2700. They won’t respond to telephone calls or emails. Very serious scam alert
Dispute on your CC... Come on man !!!
we have the EB150 and it works well, except as in the EB240, there is ONLY a 1000W inverter. I really need at least a 1500 W interpreter and was hoping this unit would work, but after watching this video and reading all of the reviews on Amazon about their horrible customer service, I guess I will wait for a better option. Really wanted to buy this one...
Nate, again thanks for taking time to do this video. Excellent information you provided.
But when you said "In no way am I sponsored by Bluetti"....well that isn't correct. There are 3 distinct types of UA-cam Sponsorships: 1. Affiliate - when there is a product link with special discount code in the video description. A commission is received. 2. Product - receive a free product in exchange for a promotion in the form of a review and/or tutorials. No money for the review. Often times not needing to be pre-reviewed. 3. Paid - money in exchange for reviews often times needing pre-reviewed/approved. Often there are other stipulations.
So the best I can tell, this video is an example of a UA-cam "Product Sponsorship". So again when you said "In no way am I sponsored by Bluetti"...well yes you are. It's not a bad thing by any means. What is important is complete and accurate disclosure. Here you promoted the product in the form of a review.
Saying this would have been more accurate: "In the spirit of full disclosure, this is a Product Sponsorship. I received this product free and don't need to return it. In exchange I committed to doing a review without me getting paid any money . I am not required to get pre-approval and all the opinions are mine and mine alone".
These deep cycle batteries are a blessing
From 300-400 cycles now 2000-4000 cycles is a 10 years or more of once a day charging
I’ll invest a grand in that
Not the thing with than a 1000 cycles
Thanks for the knowledge. I was considering your AC 200 versus the EB 240. I feel better equipped to make that decision. Much appreciated.
How’s it working for u ?
Should have watched this before I bought mine last week. Got the AC200 Max with the extra 2048wh battery. Hoping to use off grid for my camper long term.
Can you tell me little more about your AC200Max does it has similar issue?
Thank you for posting.
Thanks for review! happy trails on your tiny house journey 🥳
Maybe you have lemon?
I run a bunch without issues. CPAP 9%-11% running 8 hours. Unit has be awesome. Good luck to you.
Thank you for the update and transparency
Nate thank you so much as get so much information needed. Looking forward to Friday. Hug to both and stay safe.
I was considering getting this but the negatives you gave were too wild to discard. Thx for your review…..
I love more videos from you! This is great news.
Thanks for your review...I have been considering buying one...I'll keep looking.
I guess you are in the territory of the BLUETTI AC300 with a couple expansion batteries with treble the power and treble the solar input capacity, would like to see BLUETTI put their AC300 & AC500 units into a static off-grid setup and really demonstrate they are up to the task they advertise them to be for.
The marketing expectations of solar generators from all companies need to be dialled down so they are realistic.
The struggle is real. This unit is better suited to run high wattage appliances. It’s not a good performer for small loads over time. That said I just try to do all my charging and use at once and turn it off when I’m done. I have a smaller more efficient solar charger for smaller devices such as phones. Just remember anytime you convert ac to dc(charging) or dc to ac(loads) you will always have loss typically 10 to 20 %
I have the AC200 max. I ran it for 24 hours without any charging. I ran a 12 volt Dometic fridge, a 40 watt CPAP (for the duration of my sleep), cooked breakfast with an induction cook top and boiled water with an electric kettle. After 24 hours, I only used 43%.
You can also use the DC to DC enhancer to connect to more batteries on other models like the one you have.
You should also be careful with specifying the amp hours. It doesn't really mean anything. Example: the AC200 max has a 40 amp hour battery, but a voltage of 51.2. That's a massive difference. The only value that matters is the usable power output (Watts). Power = Amps X Voltage. The standard lithium battery that most people use in the systems that they build, are 12 volt. So, for the AC200 max (51.2 X 40 = 2048 Watts). A 100 amp hour 12 volt battery (100 X 12 = 1200 Watts). Then you apply the inverter efficiency, if in use. Actual power output is the only relevant value. And with the AC200 max, Bluetti claims that you get an actual 2048 watt output. I have not tested this to confirm, but I've had it up to ~1800 Watts. So Watt Hours is the value that should be considered.
I should point out that 'inversion' is also meaningless. What that actually is, is rectification. That is creating a sine wave from a flat line. Rectifying 12 DC to 12 AC, there would be no energy loss. The energy loss (inefficiency) comes from the transformation of 12 volts to 110 volts. To do this, the energy has to pass through many windings. The more windings, the more heat is made. That heat is the energy loss. When transforming 51.2 volts to 110 volts, the energy passes through many less windings. Less heat is made, resulting in less energy loss. 51.2 volts is almost half of 110 volts, so that transformation is very efficient.
This is also a consideration for solar panels. The higher the open circuit voltage, the more efficient they will be.
Very helpful information. Thanks for this explanation.
@@annetorswick9641I'm happy to help
Have you noticed any phantom draw with the AC200max?
@@jasonr6674 no. I can fully charge it, turn it off for a month, turn it back on, and it's still at 100%. I've actually done that. And right now, it's on 24/7 with DC output on, and the draw is as it should be.
@@jasonr6674 My AC200P has been off for 2 months and is still at 100%, I don’t understand why everyone is having this supposedly phantom draw.
I own a Bluetti AC200P, and have had simular issues. In the end I had to research, and finally purchase a better bigger more cost efficient solar generator. The Hysolis MPS3K is a great unit, and has been powering my entire compound for a year now. No issues, does everything I ask of it. Two houses, which includes two refrigerators, two freezers, all our pumps, all our electronics, and all lights. Plus, I run a lot of power tools. I highly recommend the MPS3K by Hysolis.
Spam
Wow, glad I watched this. I am looking to buy a solar generator in this class. I will keep my distance from this unit. Thanks for sharing!
Your massive standby discharge is probably caused by lithium batteries in parallel, which is a longstanding industry standard. Also, don't underestimate inverter draw. If your cell connector can run on 12 volts, bypass the power supply. An AC fridge is also quite a boat anchor.
Thank you for your review
Thank you for your honest review. In my opinion, the phantom draw disqualifies this unit from my consideration. It is worse than the drawback of the EcoFlow power stations, which is their battery chemistry's lower lifecycles.
Thank you for your thoughts on it
2 videos a week, good news👍
You should buy a few anker 20k power banks so not relying on that draining so much 👍
The choice seems to come down to less efficient energy use but much faster recharge ability (AC200 series) or more efficient power use and much slower recharge ability (EB240 series). A combination of both would be great, but it looks like bluetti do not have such a unit at the moment?
Did you get the phantom power draw resolved from Bluetti? Did they replace the unit? We are considering one for our short bus conversion, and this is the first we have heard about a poet draw.
My EB70 uses 15W of power when Inverter is on but no AC load connected, which is pretty high power consumption for 700W inverter.
People need to understand you don’t build your needs around a power station but just the opposite. You figure out how many watt hours you use and develop a purchasing plan around that. It may look a lot different than what people think. The EB line up had a very low stand by inverter consumption. If you want both, low stand by consumption and high output, a Zero Energy Titan is probably what you want. It can be expanded and the newer version does 240. The solar input is massive. It’s price point is higher but not as excessive as some of the ultra units like the Hysolis Apollo. But back to the Bluetti. You can actually add additional batteries like the newer Max to the Ac 200p. You can even use all kinds of batteries. I use scooter batteries and even some smaller pack batteries that were repurposed. I will say this. The 200p is older and limited but Bluetti backward engineered several accessories so you have options to almost double the power input of solar ect.. I encourage people to research the accessories for the 200p. It’s a lot more capable than it appears. I kept mine even when I upgraded a couple of times. For what it is and considering how long ago it hit the market, I will say it has aged gracefully.
I'm glad I saw this now was about to purchase. Other than spending $1500 on a 200 app hour battery. A mppt Solar charge controller, 1500 W Pure sine inverter and more that I can't think of top of my head. Which I will be into the system 2500 plus. This way would have been more simpler. It's too bad hope they figured out.
Excited for the new bi weekly Tuesday content! Have you reached out to the company about the phantom power draw?
Also if you build your own new power system I’d love a really in depth video on the various parts, how you’re wiring things up, and why you’re using the parts you’re using.
Love the channel!
Interesting- my little 500w bluetti doesn’t seem to have that problem. Thanks for the review. Also if you get a chance to watch the solar set up from Tiny Shiny Homestead they are in AZ and did a fabulous solar build.
The phantom draw isn't the bms, it's the inverter. The inverter, even under no load, draws 2.5% of the battery, or 50wh, which is 1200w every day. My ac200p is my only 24/7 power source, and I keep the inverter turned off when I don't need it. I have a 12v dc fridge and freezer, and I never run low on power.
Thanks for the power info & concerns....
There's also a lot of good info in these messages....
I like your cabin & would chose that as my home & rent out the Tiny Home....
Good review....I'm trying to narrow my search down for my build. See you Friday
I have the original ac200 from the first IDIGOGO and I have the same issue with phantom power draw. From the time I loose sun charging in the evening to when I get sun charge in the morning I use between 35 to 45% and that is with no ac usage and my 12v refrigerator unplugged. The only usage I have is led lights, cell phone, diesel heater and sometimes maxair fan. To me that is way too much drop from such small amount of draw.
Charging it with the smallest of gas inverter generators on ECO mode should fix that problem. I use a small 20 lbs Sportsman 1000 watt inverter generator. It should run for about 6-8 hours with about 1/2 a gallon of gas. 😁
BMS , that means ?
Anyway i suspect this guy let the induction charger system switched on which could explain an additional power draw. It its located on top of the barrery
Have the max 200 plus battery, and yes it waste too much standby power. Very disappointing. What is necessary is to have the four 200 watt panels to counter the standby waste. My eb 2400 bluetti is better unfortunately, it only has 1000 inverter.
Nate, I suspect you have a faulty unit. I have the same unit, and am not experiencing any of the issues that you are.
I have the original AC200 purchased via Indiegogo. I power a 12V ICECO 63l fridge, charge up my battery devices, overnight use of a 110V electric blanket in cold weather, and charge up with a 310W solar panel on the roof of my van. I haven't noticed problems like what you are experiencing. Everytime I check the capacity, its usually in the 80-90% range. My inverter is smaller than yours, 1700W, and possibly a more efficient design??
I cannot recommend buying from Bluetti. I live in Fort Myers suffered hurricane devastating damage almost 2 weeks now I sent five emails to Bluetti asking for assistance and for instant messages and there is no one working no one is answering phones the voicemail boxes are all full so you cannot leave a message at either customer service or tech service. Something terrible has happened to this very good company. I have purchased four generators and three sets of solar panels invested thousands of dollars. Cannot get anyone to respond back to my issues with my AC 200 P joining with my B2 30. This old model is compatible with the B2 30 but is not working with either of my B2 30s. What good is purchasing if there’s no support. I would consider Ecoflo Delta or Jacari for better customer support
Im curious as to how and why you guy’s chose New Mexico to live?
I have had the same issues with my ac200p. I only run (2) small dc fridges and eventually had to add 480 watts of solar and a 25 amp DC to DC charger off my alternator. I knew something seemed off on the phantom draw
Go browns. Im a fan of your videos because you got the hat. Your a real one dude. Keep it up
Does the new ac200max have the phantom drain?
That's why I'm looking to find out too
Should have kept the eb240 and charged the ac 200 off that lol. Biggest problem I find with bluetti is the charge rates on most of their units.
Fingers crossed that you never have any problems with the unit, mine stopped charging to 100% after about 8 months and I've barely ever used the thing, only in power outages a few times a year, and Bluetti support is worthless. They won't let me exchange the unit because apparently they don't sell the AC200p anymore, even though it's listed on the website, they wont ship me the AC200max because apparently they don't sell that in Canada anymore, even though again it's on their website, and instead of actually helping me out they've offered me a whopping $200 to keep the unit and shut up, the unit that was $2,000. What an insult, considering the unit is still under warranty for like, 3 more years.
Mine also has that phantom power draw unfortunately, the thing is nearly useless at this point and I'm trying to get the issue resolved through Bluetti under warranty.
This review is very beneficial - thumbs up and subscribed.
You can charge it with a small inverter propane generator and then you will get insane runtimes rain, shine or at night. And you will get super high surge wattage out of the power station without the need for a huge heavy generator. ☺
thx for the honest review
There's no way I'd get an AC200P, or anything else that burns 30+ watts just sitting around, with as many good competitors on the market. Oupes has a 1488Wh LiFePO4 model for $1200. BTW it's the LiFePO4 cells that make it so heavy, and I think they're worth the weight.
That's a shame that it would draw that much power on standby. You might be able to do some additional troubleshooting to see exactly what's causing the draw though. To be clear though, a BMS isn''t going to be capable of creating this kind of loss. BMS are only active when power is coming into the system through the solar or external charger, and usually use efficient mosfets for current balancing. Something else must be causing the draw. Normally I'd say it's the active electronics like the control panel, but considering you've calculated 30 watts of draw, that's way more than the control panel will pull
The inverter could certainly be drawing this much in standby, depending on its design. You said you're running the inverter 24/7 so that would be the first thing I would look at. The other possibility is DC conversion. The electronics to convert down to 5v for USB technically COULD be the problem, but it's unlikely they're capable of that amount of loss, due to the usual low output limits of USB. I assume the battery is not 12v, it's probably 24v or higher, and converting THAT down to 12v could also be responsible for the losses. Given the needs for high current 12v, the converter there could be responsible for the loss you're seeing.
I would suggest testing both the inverter and (if possible) the 12v converter by disabling them and monitoring losses. The USB is usually switchable, but the 12v may or may not be, depending on your unit. Of course the 120v inverter is switchable.
It would be better to monitor actual battery draw instead of looking at capacity overnight, but due to the "all-in-one" design of your unit that may not be possible, or just plain may not be easy.
Thank you for the informative video! I personally go with discrete units here. Makes them easier to troubleshoot and to monitor, and also if one part breaks it doesn't kill everything. I've seen several reports of users that had their units just die completely because the control panel went outl
Also unrelated, are you sure those are 200 watt panels? There's been an enormous amount of "over-rated" panels being sold, sometimes at comically large values. Your panels look like they're between 100 and 125 watts, just based on their size. I've got ten 100w panels here that are about the same size. Mine aren't high-end, but the efficiency differences aren't very large with solar, unless you're crossing tech like polycrystaline vs mono, and mine are the good mono. A typical efficiency comparison might be between 18% and 22% for cheap vs good panels. (and 24-26% if you're NASA and spending hundreds of thousands per panel to eek out every last watt for a rover or satellite) It's not like you're going to see double as a consumer by "getting the good stuff". The technology just doesn't work like that with solar. Also, they are "rated" using "lab conditions" of 1000w/sq m of light so you never get what they are rated (not even at noon at the equator), that's normal. The only reason they rate like that is so that everyone is testing with the SAME rating, making comparison possible. (it's like MPG, nobody EVER gets those numbers, but you can COMPARE them between cars sine they're all tested the same way) Being out in the desert with lots of sun, and at a lower latitude will really help. Google "solar hours" for charts. They'll basically tell you how much solar you can collect on an average day, based on that rating. The numbers might LOOK small, but they're actually accurate. In Iowa I believe we average 5 hours/day. Of course we get more light than that, but that is considering the night, the lower number of day hours, the overcasts, AND the actual panel efficiency. Here, I get a very consistent 74 watts per panel at high noon in the summer. Basically that 5 hours means I can expect 5 x 100 watt-hours (500wh) per day per panel, on the average. Which is about what I see. (this is power from the panels, using MPPT, not accounting for any losses anywhere)
Like 👍 252.
Great review my friend. Look forward to Tuesday videos 📹 😀.
I got the jackery 300 only because the smallest anker didn't have a way to plug in 8mm for solar and got the newest jackery because the 60 watt usbc port but apparently it does no where close to it so was pointless 🤣🤷 but nice for emergency if needed