These types of inverters have been around for years (5 watt idle draw) but they are very expensive! It's great that Bluetti managed to squeeze one into this power station along with the prismatic automotive style battery pack at a killer price! There is a chart out there somewhere that compares the idle draw of the 200 V2 with the AC180 and the EcoFlow Delta 2 Max and also some Jackery models. It smashes all of them by a factor of 3 to 5 times. Great review! It may be time for the old AC200MAX to move aside!
I’ve been kicking myself for not buying a Bluetti for the house earlier in the year. Maybe it’s just as well that I waited. I do agree with you that dealing with the solar panel connection is a nuisance; I’d have to consider whether the irritation would add up over time or just not matter. Thanks for the thorough review, and the useful spreadsheet too.
Thanks for the great review. I don't mind 50/50 USB-C, USB-A... there's so many legacy USBs out there. The 1000w solar is good. great 98% capacity! The No load draw is "amazing". I really like 20A receptacles... very nice. (I hope they are GFCI). The audio test almost seemed cleaner in the first couple of secs... heheh (and then your text popped up). I thought it would self-wake, but not being able to do that, is very disappointing. When you went thru the config, thought it would have an option to fix. I do not see any UL Listing on unit, on website or in manual, and the TÜV doesn't specify compliance with any specific UL standard on the back of the unit. Would really like to see that the TÜV is compliant with UL standards for this portable power station, but, there doesn't appear to me any certification numbers to confirm this. I can't consider this unit at this time, until the solar input issue and the UL certs are updated.
That looks like one of the best power stations we've seen, if larger AC loads are your primary use case. It wouldn't be ideal for powering a number of DC loads, like those camping or boondocking. It would be pretty good for emergency power outages.
I am curious to know if during the solar charging test it might have "woken itself up" if it hadn't been run down to 0%. Very good test video. I have been trying to learn about this unit. Your video is very comprehensive. What about a real world demonstration of how many rips with a sharp blade in a portable table saw on a standard KD spruce 8' 2"x4"?
Very helpful review. I need this for my shed/barn and hobby woodworking shop which currently have no power. Besides woodworking I need to run night lights with security camera. I will have 500W solar to keep it charged up. No wake on Solar is a deal breaker? How about keep my inverter running 24/7 so system will never gonon sleep.
excellent review, but I can't understand how it is possible that the efficiency of the DC is lower than that measured in AC mode (also considering the DC/AC self-consumption values detected). I missed some notes or info from the video since it's not my native language… besides not being an expert. Tnx
Regarding charging that the station did not wake up in the morning, the NEW EcoFlow DELTA 3 PLUS did the same in your video. When the station didn't shut down and it was 47%, then it charged normally in the morning. Does the same apply here? i.e. if the station is not closed and it is at 20% or 40% then should it charge normally every morning?
Overlanders will use the car charging cable, sometimes you just need a little power and you can top off or just add a few percentage to it while driving is great….or in the case of oh shit its dead and i need some power let me start the truck and charge it for a little while I’m setting up camp or tearing down camp….ive used the car charger multiple times and usually use it all the time while I’m moving from place to place on my trips…
I have both the ac200 and ac180 and they both are awesome. Depends what you need to power for your next purchase. I power my fridge on solar with the ac200, so 2 smaller units wouldn't work for that. I use the ac180 on trips because you can charge solar and AC at the same time. It's an impressive unit! The ac180 also has solar auto awake, which is a must I think. It's unfortunate that the Elite200 doesn't have that.
@davidframe1613 you could use a parallel branch connector and for safety, put a couple MC4 diode connectors on the incoming positive leads to prevent back-feading the panels and charger
Fantastic inverter on this unit. Imagine having to connect your 12V fridge to the A/C because it is more efficient. Funny thing is I'm in the process of buying the Victron Phoenix 48V/1200 inverter to connect to my server rack battery because the 3K inverter uses 2700 watts and the fridge only 2400 watts running my fridge for 37 hours only. For my uses and how I use solar panels. I don't see any faults with this unit. Thank you for the video. Will you be doing any videos for Black Friday deals?
There are some BF pricing deals in the Top Power Station Picks video I just released this morning. Also, I'll probably do a couple of community posts leading up to BF if I see some compelling sales going on. :)
One question, when will these power stations incorporate silicon carbon anodes to increase capacity by 20-30% Chinese smartphones are getting it what about these bigger stations
What is the brand and model of the watt meter you're using? I like how it retains its memory even after un-plugging it. The Kill-A-Watt doesn't do this.
Did you experience any issues using, or connecting to, the app? Also, I would like to see you demo some power tools that one would typically use around the house, or on the job. Thanks.
You did a similar test with AC180 with the unit not starting to charge in the morning but then it did start charging the next morning after turning off ECO mode. Is.this the case with the Eliite 200 V2 also as long as its not fully drained?
Yes I think it is. And really because the no load draw is so low, you'd only lose about 2-3% charge overnight, so as long as you don't drain it to 0, should be an easy workaround
How about keep your AC inverter running 24/7 so system will never go on sleep. Something plugged in all the time like dewalt cordless tool charger so it will continuously draw few watts and in the morning solar panels start feeding energy to your generator.
Ok, just complete a 4 hour DC no-load draw and it (again) only lost 1% of charge over 4 hours...so, basically the same as the crazy low AC Inverter no load draw.
The thing with no load inverter parasitic draw tests is, they can be easily spoofed by the firmware. 5 W to drive a 2000+ W inverter is just not believable. The firmware could easily detect no load and put the inverter into a low power state where has just enough brains to determine whether there’s any load. When it sees a load it turns back on. I’m not saying they’re doing that, but they could. A better test would be to run a known 100 W load for a few hours and then back out the inverter parasitic load from the result. I know this sounds a bit paranoid, but with so many reviewers reporting inverter parasitics it would not surprise me if they pulled something like this.
Fair point, but even if they WERE doing this, that's still a plus in that it keeps you from wasting power if you forget to turn off the inverter, which is a key benefit, IMO. And clearly, based on the usable capacity number, it's easily one of the most efficient inverters I've tested, so whether or not that ~5W number is completely accurate, it's still a stand-out performer in this class of power station. But you're right, I'll make an effort to do a more controlled test going forward to try and get a bit more precise result.
It might also be worthwhile to measure the amount of power needed to recharge the unit after a no-load / parasitic draw test. That can provide another measure of the power consumed.
These types of inverters have been around for years (5 watt idle draw) but they are very expensive! It's great that Bluetti managed to squeeze one into this power station along with the prismatic automotive style battery pack at a killer price! There is a chart out there somewhere that compares the idle draw of the 200 V2 with the AC180 and the EcoFlow Delta 2 Max and also some Jackery models. It smashes all of them by a factor of 3 to 5 times. Great review! It may be time for the old AC200MAX to move aside!
I wish they would have included a 30amp 12 volt XT60 connection. Impressive battery life and good numbers.
Yeah, that would have been nice.
I’ve been kicking myself for not buying a Bluetti for the house earlier in the year. Maybe it’s just as well that I waited. I do agree with you that dealing with the solar panel connection is a nuisance; I’d have to consider whether the irritation would add up over time or just not matter. Thanks for the thorough review, and the useful spreadsheet too.
Thanks for the great review. I don't mind 50/50 USB-C, USB-A... there's so many legacy USBs out there. The 1000w solar is good. great 98% capacity! The No load draw is "amazing".
I really like 20A receptacles... very nice. (I hope they are GFCI). The audio test almost seemed cleaner in the first couple of secs... heheh (and then your text popped up).
I thought it would self-wake, but not being able to do that, is very disappointing. When you went thru the config, thought it would have an option to fix. I do not see any UL Listing on unit, on website or in manual, and the TÜV doesn't specify compliance with any specific UL standard on the back of the unit. Would really like to see that the TÜV is compliant with UL standards for this portable power station, but, there doesn't appear to me any certification numbers to confirm this.
I can't consider this unit at this time, until the solar input issue and the UL certs are updated.
That looks like one of the best power stations we've seen, if larger AC loads are your primary use case. It wouldn't be ideal for powering a number of DC loads, like those camping or boondocking. It would be pretty good for emergency power outages.
Impressive numbers! Now, if I hadn't just recently added a 2000v2 to my Jackery family , this would be a serious contender!
Thanks for the review! 👍
I am curious to know if during the solar charging test it might have "woken itself up" if it hadn't been run down to 0%. Very good test video. I have been trying to learn about this unit. Your video is very comprehensive. What about a real world demonstration of how many rips with a sharp blade in a portable table saw on a standard KD spruce 8' 2"x4"?
Very helpful review. I need this for my shed/barn and hobby woodworking shop which currently have no power. Besides woodworking I need to run night lights with security camera. I will have 500W solar to keep it charged up. No wake on Solar is a deal breaker? How about keep my inverter running 24/7 so system will never gonon sleep.
These things really have came a long way in the last 3 years.
Thank you. Next on my list!
excellent review, but I can't understand how it is possible that the efficiency of the DC is lower than that measured in AC mode (also considering the DC/AC self-consumption values detected). I missed some notes or info from the video since it's not my native language… besides not being an expert. Tnx
Regarding charging that the station did not wake up in the morning, the NEW EcoFlow DELTA 3 PLUS did the same in your video.
When the station didn't shut down and it was 47%, then it charged normally in the morning.
Does the same apply here? i.e. if the station is not closed and it is at 20% or 40% then should it charge normally every morning?
Overlanders will use the car charging cable, sometimes you just need a little power and you can top off or just add a few percentage to it while driving is great….or in the case of oh shit its dead and i need some power let me start the truck and charge it for a little while I’m setting up camp or tearing down camp….ive used the car charger multiple times and usually use it all the time while I’m moving from place to place on my trips…
Thank you for the review.
Not expandable from the factory, but that XT60 will take power from a 48v EGL just fine, right?
@bigtom4709 yes indeed!
That's what I was thinking, why buy a $1000 branded battery extension, when you can connect a $500 26v 100ah through the 1000watt DC/PV port?
@@ReeWrayOutdoors could you explain more? Battery input instead of solar?
My original ac200 from kickstarter is still working nicely. They make nice products. Would you rather have this elite 200v2 or two ac180.
I have both the ac200 and ac180 and they both are awesome. Depends what you need to power for your next purchase. I power my fridge on solar with the ac200, so 2 smaller units wouldn't work for that. I use the ac180 on trips because you can charge solar and AC at the same time. It's an impressive unit! The ac180 also has solar auto awake, which is a must I think. It's unfortunate that the Elite200 doesn't have that.
Good review
Good review! I look forward to your review of their charger--pecron or bluetti ?
Great stuff!
It's a shame you can't expand the battery also how would you connect DC to DC battery charger and solar panel at the same time???
@davidframe1613 you could use a parallel branch connector and for safety, put a couple MC4 diode connectors on the incoming positive leads to prevent back-feading the panels and charger
@ReeWrayOutdoors ok thanks
Fantastic inverter on this unit. Imagine having to connect your 12V fridge to the A/C because it is more efficient. Funny thing is I'm in the process of buying the Victron Phoenix 48V/1200 inverter to connect to my server rack battery because the 3K inverter uses 2700 watts and the fridge only 2400 watts running my fridge for 37 hours only. For my uses and how I use solar panels. I don't see any faults with this unit. Thank you for the video. Will you be doing any videos for Black Friday deals?
There are some BF pricing deals in the Top Power Station Picks video I just released this morning. Also, I'll probably do a couple of community posts leading up to BF if I see some compelling sales going on. :)
One question, when will these power stations incorporate silicon carbon anodes to increase capacity by 20-30% Chinese smartphones are getting it what about these bigger stations
What is the brand and model of the watt meter you're using? I like how it retains its memory even after un-plugging it. The Kill-A-Watt doesn't do this.
@@samuelonthewall amzn.to/3Z4fOGP
Did you experience any issues using, or connecting to, the app? Also, I would like to see you demo some power tools that one would typically use around the house, or on the job. Thanks.
No issues connecting it with the app. And I actually have used it (though not on camera) with a large Hercules compound mitre saw and it worked great.
Is the promo code working on the website the one on Amazon does but not the other one
You did a similar test with AC180 with the unit not starting to charge in the morning but then it did start charging the next morning after turning off ECO mode. Is.this the case with the Eliite 200 V2 also as long as its not fully drained?
Yes I think it is. And really because the no load draw is so low, you'd only lose about 2-3% charge overnight, so as long as you don't drain it to 0, should be an easy workaround
@ReeWrayOutdoors what dc plug are using in this test? Looks chunky!
Is that an XT 60 or XT 60i ? What is the discount code? Thanks!
@ReeWrayOutdoors what dc plug/cable are you using in this test? Looks chunky!
Not sure, exactly. It's just one that I picked up somewhere along the way. :P
dang!!! no wake up charging......instant deal breaker. i'm very disappointed
Facts! No wake on solar and 60v is a hard sell for this many cool features.
How about keep your AC inverter running 24/7 so system will never go on sleep. Something plugged in all the time like dewalt cordless tool charger so it will continuously draw few watts and in the morning solar panels start feeding energy to your generator.
Why don’t you do a parasitic draw test for the DC side?
yeah, that was a miss on my part. I'm actually doing one right now. I'll report back.
Thanks!
Ok, just complete a 4 hour DC no-load draw and it (again) only lost 1% of charge over 4 hours...so, basically the same as the crazy low AC Inverter no load draw.
Where is the Elite 200 V1? LOL... I had to ask that question sorry, haha (Bluetti naming schemes are just so bizarre but I'll take it)
@i_LOVE_solar haha yeah I had the same thought! I think they're considering the AC200P as V1...but who knows!?!
No expansion battery is a NO go for me.
The thing with no load inverter parasitic draw tests is, they can be easily spoofed by the firmware. 5 W to drive a 2000+ W inverter is just not believable. The firmware could easily detect no load and put the inverter into a low power state where has just enough brains to determine whether there’s any load. When it sees a load it turns back on. I’m not saying they’re doing that, but they could. A better test would be to run a known 100 W load for a few hours and then back out the inverter parasitic load from the result. I know this sounds a bit paranoid, but with so many reviewers reporting inverter parasitics it would not surprise me if they pulled something like this.
Fair point, but even if they WERE doing this, that's still a plus in that it keeps you from wasting power if you forget to turn off the inverter, which is a key benefit, IMO. And clearly, based on the usable capacity number, it's easily one of the most efficient inverters I've tested, so whether or not that ~5W number is completely accurate, it's still a stand-out performer in this class of power station. But you're right, I'll make an effort to do a more controlled test going forward to try and get a bit more precise result.
It might also be worthwhile to measure the amount of power needed to recharge the unit after a no-load / parasitic draw test. That can provide another measure of the power consumed.
@@EBuff75this! Either run it the rest of the way down or all the way back up and measure the delta between the two.