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Desperately needed help with lost charger for Bluetti 150

RandyC-30522

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Oct 5, 2020
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I'm completely new to this forum, but a huge Will Prowse fan which is how I ended up here. I desperately need help in contacting MaxOak to purchase a new AC wall charger and solar panel connector for my Bluetti 150. I don't use it often, and unfortunately I believe the parts were thrown away while cleaning the garage. MaxOak uses a strange DC7909 input connection as opposed to an 8mm connector, so I can't find any aftermarket methods or adaptors to charge my Bluetti. The email addresses (both .com and .net are listed) on the Blueetti website seem to go nowhere or I get a reply from an obvious scam artist asking me to deposit money in a PayPal account. There are no phone numbers listed on the Maxoak website. If no one has contact info for maxoak, would anyone know how to find an adapter to go from common Female 8mm to Male DC7909 input so that I could try to find any aftermarket AC charger that would work? I really appreciate any help I can get. Currently I have a $1,400 worthless brick with absolutely no customer support to be found!
 
It's strange, but that web address link you supplied is different than what I've been using. Everyone beware, the address https://maxoak.net/ is apparently a fake scam copy! The .net webste lists two different info@ conact email addresses. The .com goes nowhere and the .net is a scam that tries to get you to deposit money in a PayPal account.
 
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Why don't you just cut off the proprietary plug and replace it with something more common?
 
Why don't you just cut off the proprietary plug and replace it with something more common?
The proprietary part is the female input part on the solar generator. I can't find a DC7909 plug anywhere, everything seems to be 8mm. I do agree with your idea, if I could find a DC7909 Male plug I'd cut off an 8mm and make my own adaptor.
 
It's strange, but that web address link you supplied is different than what I've been using. Everyone beware, the address https://maxoak.net/ is apparently a fake scam copy! The .net webste lists two different info@ conact email addresses. The .com goes nowhere and the .net is a scam that tries to get you to deposit money in a PayPal account.
Maxoak.net is Not a scam.
Maxoak is the parent company.
Best to deal with the Bluetti.com website and they are on holiday right now in China so do not expect an immediate reply.
Join their Facebook group.
They are a responsive company.
Its not their fault you threw away your charger and need a reply on a long Chinese holiday!
 
Thanks Ronbotex. I had no idea that DC7909 was 8 mm! The crazy thing is, I've seen a solar comparison chart on YouTube in which the maker of the chart dinged the Bluetti for using an uncommon and harder to find connection, while touting the other two top brands as being better for using 8 mm. I even tried searching for the specs online and couldn't find anything. Thanks for that bit of knowledge!
 
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I'd like to report that MaxOak reached out to me and has put the items in the mail to me and I haven't paid for anything! How amazing is it for any company to do that. As I said, this was 100% my fault, so they don't owe me anything or any warranty. I'm still trying to get them to let me pay for it. They did explain that MBR was correct, the email wasn't a scam, Jojo does work with them. The email just looked really odd because it was asking me to deposit money into a PayPal account without giving me the account info, telling me not to expect the goods for 3 weeks, and listed a Hotmail email address for contact as opposed to a MaxOak.net email address. It just checked all the boxes of a scam email. My "Spidy Sense" was obviously wrong this time. Kudos to MaxOak Bluetti for reaching out to help!
 
By the way, there is a difference between the 8mm barrel connectors on cables produced by Bluetti and those found on nearly every other 8mm cable or adapter found for other solar generators (at least for the EB240).

Bluetti uses a three-conductor 7.9mm barrel connector and solders the (+) cable to both the center pin and to the inner shell, soldering the (-) cable to the outer shell. This can be easily confirmed by CAREFULLY measuring the voltage coming from a Bluetti charger's 8mm barrel connector, holding your voltmeter's black (-) probe against the outershell of the 8mm connector, while using the red (+) probe to measure first the voltage at the inner shell (42V) and then at the center pin (again, 42V).

Now try that with an 8mm-terminated charging cable made for Jackery or one of the other products that accepts an 8mm plug - the center pin will be dead (0V), with only the inner shell of the barrel connector being hot.

If you look at some of Greely's "8mm" cables on Amazon, for example, they provide a schematic of sorts that reveals the center pin is dead in their products. They don't solder it to either conductor of the cable. They only solder (+) to the inner shell and (-) to the outer shell of the barrel connector.

I suspect that Bluetti's charge controllers expect that center pin to be hot, in addition to the inner shell (both +).

Please don't take my word for any of this. It comes from tests done with the EB240, not the EB150 or any other Bluetti product. Please do your own investigation if trying create a cable for Bluetti's 8mm input jack. Just keep in mind that those barrel plugs are actually 3-conductor.

 
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By the way, there is a difference between the 8mm barrel connectors on cables produced by Bluetti and those found on nearly every other 8mm cable or adapter found for other solar generators (at least for the EB240).

Bluetti uses a three-conductor 7.9mm barrel connector and solders the (+) cable to both the center pin and to the inner shell, soldering the (-) cable to the outer shell. This can be easily confirmed by CAREFULLY measuring the voltage coming from a Bluetti charger's 8mm barrel connector, holding your voltmeter's black (-) probe against the outershell of the 8mm connector, while using the red (+) probe to measure first the voltage at the inner shell (42V) and then at the center pin (again, 42V).

Now try that with an 8mm-terminated charging cable made for Jackery or one of the other products that accepts an 8mm plug - the center pin will be dead (0V), with only the inner shell of the barrel connector being hot.

If you look at some of Greely's "8mm" cables on Amazon, for example, they provide a schematic of sorts that reveals the center pin is dead in their products. They don't solder it to either conductor of the cable. They only solder (+) to the inner shell and (-) to the outer shell of the barrel connector.

I suspect that Bluetti's charge controllers expect that center pin to be hot, in addition to the inner shell (both +).

Please don't take my word for any of this. It comes from tests done with the EB240, not the EB150 or any other Bluetti product. Please do your own investigation if trying create a cable for Bluetti's 8mm input jack. Just keep in mind that those barrel plugs are actually 3-conductor.

If that's true I've got some portable panels with 8mm adapters that I thought would work on my AC100 and AC50S(whenever it shows up) What you are saying is the 8mm plug will fit but Bluetti wires it different than Jackery. That truly sucks. I have a regular rigid panel with MC4 connectors where I can use the included adapter. Maybe I can find a female 8mm to MC4 adapter that might then work with Bluetti's included adapter cable? Thanks very much for that info. I wonder if ALL the Bluetti's are wired that way?

Edit: Unfortunately it is getting dark but my AC100 seemed to take a charge from my Paxcess 60 watt folding panel with the 8mm plug. Will retest tomorrow in good sunlight. I bought the Paxcess because the price was right and they use SunPower cells.
 
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I would encourage you to remain optimistic until you've measured the voltages and polarities at all three conductors of the 8mm plug in question, when it is energized - as I described above - referencing the measurements taken at the 8mm plug of the energized charger that's made for your Bluetti.

If you have a simple voltmeter, you don't have to guess or take the risk if testing without measuring first.

Beyond a confirmation of the plug dimensions and having a good understanding of the voltage and amperage requirements of your charge controller, if you want to know whether a given 8mm plug equipped cable and power source can be used to supply voltage to ANY solar generator that accepts the 3-conductor 8mm plug... whether it's a Jackery, Bluetti, Goal Zero, whatever...

1) Measure the voltage and polarity at the center pin, the inner shell and the outer shell, with the original AC charger, when energized.

2) Then do the same with your alternate charging cable, when energized.

And even then, if a particular brand and model of solar generator ignores the centerpin, it wouldn't matter if it's energized or not, as long as the inner and outer shell of the barrel connector are energized at the right voltage and parity.

?
 
By the way, there is a difference between the 8mm barrel connectors on cables produced by Bluetti and those found on nearly every other 8mm cable or adapter found for other solar generators (at least for the EB240).

Bluetti uses a three-conductor 7.9mm barrel connector and solders the (+) cable to both the center pin and to the inner shell, soldering the (-) cable to the outer shell. This can be easily confirmed by CAREFULLY measuring the voltage coming from a Bluetti charger's 8mm barrel connector, holding your voltmeter's black (-) probe against the outershell of the 8mm connector, while using the red (+) probe to measure first the voltage at the inner shell (42V) and then at the center pin (again, 42V).

Now try that with an 8mm-terminated charging cable made for Jackery or one of the other products that accepts an 8mm plug - the center pin will be dead (0V), with only the inner shell of the barrel connector being hot.

If you look at some of Greely's "8mm" cables on Amazon, for example, they provide a schematic of sorts that reveals the center pin is dead in their products. They don't solder it to either conductor of the cable. They only solder (+) to the inner shell and (-) to the outer shell of the barrel connector.

I suspect that Bluetti's charge controllers expect that center pin to be hot, in addition to the inner shell (both +).

Please don't take my word for any of this. It comes from tests done with the EB240, not the EB150 or any other Bluetti product. Please do your own investigation if trying create a cable for Bluetti's 8mm input jack. Just keep in mind that those barrel plugs are actually 3-conductor.

Thanks very much for that valuable advice! It's crazy to me that you can't pull up specific specs on these connectors to compare one to another. I work in the industrial pump world where "ANSI FLANGED" means the exact same thing regardless of manufacturer or country of origin. Thankfully I did receive the new AC charger from Max Oak and they said they'd send the solar adaptor cable from a different location. I was able to get it worked out to pay them for it as well. I felt bad that they were correcting an issue that was totally my own fault.
 
I'd like to report that MaxOak reached out to me and has put the items in the mail to me and I haven't paid for anything! How amazing is it for any company to do that. As I said, this was 100% my fault, so they don't owe me anything or any warranty. I'm still trying to get them to let me pay for it. They did explain that MBR was correct, the email wasn't a scam, Jojo does work with them. The email just looked really odd because it was asking me to deposit money into a PayPal account without giving me the account info, telling me not to expect the goods for 3 weeks, and listed a Hotmail email address for contact as opposed to a MaxOak.net email address. It just checked all the boxes of a scam email. My "Spidy Sense" was obviously wrong this time. Kudos to MaxOak Bluetti for reaching out to help!
Have you received your replacement yet?
 
I did receive the AC wall charger which helped tremendously, but I haven't received the cable to use with a solar panel. They said it would ship from a different source, but it has been quite a while.
 
As a side note, the AC charger came just in time. We were caught in the aftermath of that recent hurricane and lost power, phones, and pressurized water for 3 Days in North GA. Even cell service was very spotty. The Bluetti earned its keep and thankfully was fully charged when we lost power.
 
FYI, I pulled my EB150 out for hurricane Eta and discovered my AC charger was missing. I contacted Bluetti and they wanted $35.00 for a new one. I asked Bluetti if the AC200 charger (400w) will work on the EB150 and they said it will. I'm waiting for an email back with the price and ordering info. I'll post an update when I get more info.
 
If that's true I've got some portable panels with 8mm adapters that I thought would work on my AC100 and AC50S(whenever it shows up) What you are saying is the 8mm plug will fit but Bluetti wires it different than Jackery. That truly sucks. I have a regular rigid panel with MC4 connectors where I can use the included adapter. Maybe I can find a female 8mm to MC4 adapter that might then work with Bluetti's included adapter cable? Thanks very much for that info. I wonder if ALL the Bluetti's are wired that way?

Edit: Unfortunately it is getting dark but my AC100 seemed to take a charge from my Paxcess 60 watt folding panel with the 8mm plug. Will retest tomorrow in good sunlight. I bought the Paxcess because the price was right and they use SunPower cells.
Ronbotex

Got my November shipment in December a few weeks ago, the AC50s. Trying to figure out the cables. I have a collection of MC4, 8mm, 6mm and APP combinations used with my GZ Extreme, accessories and custom 12vdc WAECO plug cables and APP fitted watt meters that I'm looking to see if they can be integrated into my 8mm input on my new AC50s. Mixed results.

My 8mm connectors don’t power the center pin which when I tested on the Bluetti. So with my half dozen 8mm plugs (which all fabbed work on my GZ Extreme), i may need to find a 8mm plug that lets me ‘shunt’ the inner shell to the center pin when I solder.
I did ask Greely about one of their 8mm / 5.5mm APP cables, and have yet to hear back since they claim in the info that it works with Bluetti when my other iGreely 8mm to APP does not (so far)…

UPDATE: latest test running my 12vdc cig port in the 4runner connected via APP to an 8mm adapter, seems to work my AC50s goes down and up (11-83v) and seems to turn the fan on and off..... I'm thinking that the 8mm adapters with no center pin aren't as reliable as the bluetti built ones..... whereas the Bestek 300v inverter with the OEM brick stays at a steady 83v.

Question for you:
1. have you found any non bluetti cables 8mm to app or bare that work reliably ? Does the bluetti absolutely need the center pin for power?
My plan calls for fabbing a 8mm to Anderson PP and a 8mm to MC4 for backup wire harnesses for travel.
2. Any heavier duty or higher voltage ac/dc brick for use with the AC50s?



thanks
 
Ronbotex

Got my November shipment in December a few weeks ago, the AC50s. Trying to figure out the cables. I have a collection of MC4, 8mm, 6mm and APP combinations used with my GZ Extreme, accessories and custom 12vdc WAECO plug cables and APP fitted watt meters that I'm looking to see if they can be integrated into my 8mm input on my new AC50s. Mixed results.

My 8mm connectors don’t power the center pin which when I tested on the Bluetti. So with my half dozen 8mm plugs (which all fabbed work on my GZ Extreme), i may need to find a 8mm plug that lets me ‘shunt’ the inner shell to the center pin when I solder.
I did ask Greely about one of their 8mm / 5.5mm APP cables, and have yet to hear back since they claim in the info that it works with Bluetti when my other iGreely 8mm to APP does not (so far)…

UPDATE: latest test running my 12vdc cig port in the 4runner connected via APP to an 8mm adapter, seems to work my AC50s goes down and up (11-83v) and seems to turn the fan on and off..... I'm thinking that the 8mm adapters with no center pin aren't as reliable as the bluetti built ones..... whereas the Bestek 300v inverter with the OEM brick stays at a steady 83v.

Question for you:
1. have you found any non bluetti cables 8mm to app or bare that work reliably ? Does the bluetti absolutely need the center pin for power?
My plan calls for fabbing a 8mm to Anderson PP and a 8mm to MC4 for backup wire harnesses for travel.
2. Any heavier duty or higher voltage ac/dc brick for use with the AC50s?



thanks

I haven't found any cables that shunt the center pin to the inner shell of the 8mm plug, as required by Bluetti.

Quoting a link from my post #10, above, you could build your omn cables using this solderable plug:


Another possibility is to just use the Bluetti-made 8mm to MC4 cable, as is, in combination with whatever cable you need, that has its own MC4 connectors at one end.


That's what I ended up doing to build this 12V to 24V 10A step-up convertor that can deliver 222W to the Bluetti EB240 from the vehicle's battery (while the motor is running).


Note: This pulls 20A from the 12V battery, so it must be directly connected, using 12 AWG cables.

I replaced a 12AWG cable with cigarette lighter male plug that had a 20A Buss fuse (glass cylinder), because even though the fuse wasn't blowing, the plug was getting crazy hot after just a few minutes use. I attribute this to the copper spring that holds the fuse in place not having sufficient guage, itself.

The new cable has a blade style 20A fuse in its cigarrette lighter plug that stays a lot cooler.
 

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Zilch

Much thanks for the reply. I was afraid that my only option was to obtain a handful of proprietary cables and the solderable 8mm plug to chop shop and fab what I needed. It may be possible that the 11-83v swing on the non center pin powered non-Bluetti cable is the flakiness of it. Points to a must have cable with a powered center pin

My AC50s is backup to powering our Dometic and maybe I’ll find other uses for my ebike battery charging (I’ve also got a Mppt boost for that). All my gear swaps out MC4 or 30-45amp powerpole. Some of my thicker guage jumper type silicone cable is on SB-50 (between the renogy Mppt controller and the AGM battery) on our trailer.

I like idea of the 12-24v step up converted and it looks like a new iteration(#2) of your earlier project build that you? mentioned was a bust. Looks like you fixed the cabling issue also with better parts.

Post in thread 'Charging a Power station with an Existing Battery Bank via DC?'
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/c...xisting-battery-bank-via-dc.10616/post-165031

My only worry is that at a 10amp 222W—- this beast may be too much for my ac50s.? Maybe a smaller 5 amp converter might be better than the OEM ac dc charger at 3.25a. I sure do like the project build. It’s perfect for onboard power charging.

I was thinking of an alternate ac dc charger much like the Lenovo laptop 8mm chargers that Jackery users take advantage of but without the rebuilt 8mm this may not be an option. Hard to say, but this all could show promise.

again thanks
 
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