Adding batteries to Bluetti

[MarleyDog]

Is it possible to add a non-Bluetti Lifepo4 battery to the Bluetti AC200max? If so how would I go about doing it? The battery expansions made by Bluetti are a little bit pricey compared to just buying a standalone battery.

 

[kundip]

I will be trying something similar in the next couple of months.
No one has tried it out.
I think my risk will be minimal because I am using all, cheap second hand equipment.
So if it blows up my losses will be about USD $250.
If you are looking at something far more expensive - maybe keep an eye out for someone who tries it first.

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

These pre-packaged solar generator lines from Bluetti, Ecoflow, Anker, etc., have nice packaging and convenience wrapped around some (usually small) amount of LFP battery capacity. It was always this low battery capacity compared to most any DIY scheme, and the high cost of "expansion packs", that kept me from going down this convenience path and led me to build a simple DIY solar generator.

My guess is that all of these expansion packs utilize proprietary connections, such that only the vendor's battery pack will work with the vendor's base unit. Otherwise known as "vendor lock-in", and we see it everywhere; it's one of the things you have to consider in the purchasing phase. For Bluetti and similar, this seems reasonable, as their schemes would also cover the engineering/recharging of the external battery packs, something not easy to replicate in DIY fashion.

Unfortunately, the total costs spiral upwards quickly, but that's OK if you really like the convenience and packaging of base + expansion units, and are willing to pay for those things.

The only thing I could find, without going down a rabbit hole of reverse-engineering the proprietary connections, is the various youtube videos showing how to build a battery pack to feed into one of the "shore power" ports (car 12v cigarette adapter, etc.) ... these are limited to low-wattage, slow recharge rates for the base unit, but they do allow it to be recharged from a DIY external battery pack.

Whereas, if one builds a DIY solar generator, it would be easy to swap in larger battery-banks (reconfigure and add batteries). It's probably low down on your list, but an option is to sell the base unit (before you buy into their expansion pack scheme) and apply the money to a DIY solar generator. I'm not sure what the resell value is for Bluetti's and such ...

Hope this helps ...

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

The AC200 version seems to be the model that is limited to 500w recharge through shore power port. If upgraded to the AC300 model, that one seems to allow up to 3000w recharge (if I'm reading things correctly).

The newer model would be a better fit for quick recharge from a DIY battery, or any other scheme to recharge the base vs buying expensive B300 battery packs.

 

[DarrylG]

Is it possible to add a non-Bluetti Lifepo4 battery to the Bluetti AC200max?

Yes. absolutely as 50ShadesOfDirt was mentioning, you can connect in DC input to the DC input of the Bluetti as long as it stays within the limits of the unit which I believe is 900W Max., VOC 10-145VDC, 15A. So you could easily add a 12-136v lipo battery bank connected to the solar input or a 12/24v battery to the car charging port. The unit will not care the power is coming from a battery and not solar/car.

 

[Sirtate]

I suppose the first question to ask is;
Have you delicately disassembled one to see if 50Shades premonition about proprietary plugs and all that are true, and if there is a work-around?

If you can splice into the batts, minding that you must have identical voltage, you should be able to just increase the Ah visible to the inverter section of the box...

 

[ejfluhr]

Aren't there 2 major, and significantly different, connection types?

1. Expansion battery only charges Bluetti, needs some user-defined, external charging mechanism.

2. Expansion battery is tied to the main battery such that it provides capacity to the Bluetti AND is charged by the Bluetti.

The first is much easier than the 2nd. The OP seems to want the 2nd, but may be satisfied enough with the 1st.

 

[scootscoot1]

Could you charge bluetti via dc to dc 48 volt rack battery and charge rack battery with 48 volt solar charge controller. My thinking is one pv input to bluetti by using a pv splitter run additional pv line to solar controller. Then run rack battery to second pv input on bluetti.

 

[Rabbit]

The cheapest way that I know of to do this is to buy a 12-volt battery or batteries of whatever size and type you prefer, properly (including fuse) wire a 12-volt cig-lighter type socket to it/them, and then connect your Bluetti to recharge from it via its own cig-lighter charger plug. You can then use any method you choose to recharge the 12-volt battery as needed. The primary drawbacks to this setup compared to a Bluetti external battery are a) that it's not as pretty, b) that the charge rate into the Bluetti is relatively low (but good enough for an awful lot of applications since it can be sustained easily, even say overnight while you're sleeping), c) that you can't monitor the state of charge of the external battery without additional investment, and d) that you'll require some kind of independent recharging system for the 12-volt battery (but these can be had fairly cheap if you shop around, depending on your needs). This is functionally identical to vehicle-charging a Bluetti, and uses the same circuitry. The chief advantage, of course, is that you can add decent batteries of excellent capacity like Power Queens and Li Times at a fraction of the price of a Bluetti external battery. The only major lookout I can think of is that if you were to use a lead-acid battery you might have trouble when the voltage drops below a certain point and not be able to utilize the charging battery's full capacity. You might also lose a little capacity off the bottom of a LiFePO4 too, but probably not enough to matter compared to the massive cost savings.

 

[ejfluhr]

>Could you charge bluetti via dc to dc
>48 volt rack battery and charge rack
>battery with 48 volt solar charge
>controller.

If you have a Bluetti with DC input up to 60v or higher, then my understanding is yes. I don't quite understand the splitter idea. If you connect the battery to the power station (via the solar/DC input) and the charge controller to the battery terminals, the charge controller is then linked to the power station.

There may be some quirks in the charging and discharging process, e.g. the battery could charge to full before the power station, and the battery will drain while keeping the power station full-ish (dependent on load vs. charge rate).

But it's a pretty valuable propostion, IMO, for those of us that want a portable home backup solution that can also be taken mobile.

 

[scootscoot1]

The splitter is so that one set of pv wires into the home. Could run two sets of wires and build two series solar arrays.

 

[scootscoot1]

The reason I posted the question is that I have the bluetti but eventually want to go to 8 kw inverter. Could then use the 48 volt battery with that system instead of buying another b200 for 3k bluetti which is limited to 120 volts.

 

[notilas]

Is there any update? I like to do the same thing.
Recently Lifepo4 battery prices significantly dropped as the Chinese battery companies are dumping their battery to the market.
I am thinking about "Solar - BMS - Lifepo4 - Bluetti".
But if Bluetti can charge LifePo4 through their proprietary external battery port, then I can try this "Solar - Bluetti - Lifepo4"

 

[dkistner1111]

Is there any update? I like to do the same thing.
Recently Lifepo4 battery prices significantly dropped as the Chinese battery companies are dumping their battery to the market.
I am thinking about "Solar - BMS - Lifepo4 - Bluetti".
But if Bluetti can charge LifePo4 through their proprietary external battery port, then I can try this "Solar - Bluetti - Lifepo4"

I'm new to all this and have trouble wrapping my mind around it, but I wonder if I can hook 400 watts of solar (two 200-watt bifacials in serial...or parallel better?) to a solar charge controller feeding into a LiFePO4 battery to charge the battery, and at the same time hook the battery into the Bluetti (AC180) through the DC in port. I will use my Bluetti as an emergency backup for our freezer if the grid goes down, but while the grid is up, I'm plugging small appliances (air fryer, toaster, rice cooker, induction burner, dehydrator, etc.) as I use them (up to 1800 watts, of course) to try to cut down on our electricity use. The Bluetti now is hooked to my solar panels through one set of cables running through an RV-style gland into the house. I'd like, instead, to hook my Li Time 12.8V 100Ah (and more of them as I can get them) to the solar panels via that cable set, then simultaneously send the battery's collected power into the Bluetti for use with the appliances as the Bluetti runs down. I also have a Li Time AC battery charger that I tried plugging into the Bluetti AC output port to charge the battery, and that worked, so if that piece of equipment could be used in a setup to accomplish what I want, how would I do it? Mainly, I just need to know if it's in any way dangerous to do the solar to battery to Bluetti thing...

 

[Andrewr05]

Mainly, I just need to know if it's in any way dangerous to do the solar to battery to Bluetti thing...

No, as long as the DC voltage that you are inputting into the PV port does not exceed the maximum specification then you can plug anything you want into it, regardless of where it's coming from.

 

[dkistner1111]

No, as long as the DC voltage that you are inputting into the PV port does not exceed the maximum specification then you can plug anything you want into it, regardless of where it's coming from.

Thank you so much.

 

[Robert Builder]

I'm new to all this and have trouble wrapping my mind around it, but I wonder if I can hook 400 watts of solar (two 200-watt bifacials in serial...or parallel better?) to a solar charge controller feeding into a LiFePO4 battery to charge the battery, and at the same time hook the battery into the Bluetti (AC180) through the DC in port. I will use my Bluetti as an emergency backup for our freezer if the grid goes down, but while the grid is up, I'm plugging small appliances (air fryer, toaster, rice cooker, induction burner, dehydrator, etc.) as I use them (up to 1800 watts, of course) to try to cut down on our electricity use. The Bluetti now is hooked to my solar panels through one set of cables running through an RV-style gland into the house. I'd like, instead, to hook my Li Time 12.8V 100Ah (and more of them as I can get them) to the solar panels via that cable set, then simultaneously send the battery's collected power into the Bluetti for use with the appliances as the Bluetti runs down. I also have a Li Time AC battery charger that I tried plugging into the Bluetti AC output port to charge the battery, and that worked, so if that piece of equipment could be used in a setup to accomplish what I want, how would I do it? Mainly, I just need to know if it's in any way dangerous to do the solar to battery to Bluetti thing...

A bit late to this party but it is the Season. I was able to get a Renogy 60a MPPT Charge Controller 150v for around £100+ pounds, (normally £279 on their website). through black Friday deal. It takes a higher charge rate than my Bluetti AC200Max. I can charge my 2 12v 200ah LiFePo’s at around 800+w, then through the 20a load I can connect to my Bluetti PV. Only having 24v system I can get 245w in. If I had 48v system I can get over 600+w. Over the course of a day, I use on average between 100-150w per hour. Less stuff running at night, more during the day. I can run a full height A+++ fridge freezer, kettle, toaster, lights, fans, pumps, air conditioner, TV, laptop, iron, hairdryer and chargers for my tools. During the winter we can survive at least 2 days without solar (highly unlikely we would get no input however small and reducing some things i.e not needing fans or air con).

Solar powers the batteries, batteries power the Bluetti. Bluetti is my 2200w inverter.

If batteries running low and no sun, you can plug the Bluetti charger (create your own set of wires) into the solar port on the solar charger and depending on what charger you have i.e noisy 450w or silent 400w you can charge your batteries that way (via ac if at home or gas generator if off grid). Or you can connect one though the solar port on the charge controller and the other (if you have 2) directly to the batteries. Charge in half the time.

May not be the best or safest way to do it, but I don’t see how it’s any different than using a standalone charger and has served me well so far.

I have a P090d to XT90 which I picked up cheaply. Connected it to my Bluetti 200Max and then to the batteries. It disables my Bluetti and the screen goes to 0 but external batteries pulling in 1750w before I have to shut it off. Wires get toasty. Need thicker wires and a fuse. Any ideas appreciated.

Later hopefully adding more solar panels and maybe additional 24v battery to bump up production.

Does anyone know if you can add 2 12v 200ah batteries in series to 1 24v 100ah to make 48v?

 

[Robert Builder]

Actually, just waiting on some XT90’s. I will make a 3 way adapter 2male 1female or 1m 2f, doesn’t matter which. 2 different connections from same battery 24v will give you 48v. I’ve had 2 connections coming from same battery – one to PV, the other to the AC input giving me nearly 480+w. That’s 48v with 2 12v batteries.

So in theory if my wires are thick enough which they should be 4awg (15a max on Bluetti 200max) and I put a 15a fuse just after the connection, no reason it shouldn’t work. I will let you know after Christmas. If you don’t hear back from me, assume I failed .

 

[knaumov]

Reading through the AC300 thread for extending with DYI battery pack, it seems like we can also expand AC200MAX or AC200L with cheap LIFePO4 batteries:

I

Thread 'Adding DIY battery to Bluetti AC300'

Sep 27, 2022

Hey guys I have been looking into adding an additional pack to a Bluetti but they make it hard and seem to want you to buy theirs for some reason haha.

I don't own it but my grandfather in California bought one for all the brown out and grid outages they've have in recent years. I live across the country so I've been researching it on my own and can't seem to find much on anyone adding their own batteries to them. Which makes sense, if you could build the battery you could build the all in one equivalent.

My main hang up is the connectors. The AC300 is 48V so I figure I can tie the...

• ice69man2005
• Replies: 98
• Forum: All-in-One Systems

• 

It appars that if we attach an OEM battery through the extension port, it will work bi-directional. The Head Unit can both charge & discharge the auxilary battery seemlessly, as if it's an original extension battery. The OEM pack has to be configured at 48V/51.2V, which is what the original extension batteries appear to be. In case of AC300, people nee to have at least one original connected, as the BMS is in the extension, nbot the head unit. The OEM package is then daisy chained. In case of AC200MAX, there is a BMS inside, so I imaging that we can just plug the OEM directly.

An extension cable is needed:

BLUETTI P090D External Battery Connection Cable for B230/B300

P090D To DC7909Applicable Models: EB120/EB150/EB180/EB240P090D To XT90Applicable Models: AC200/AC200PP090D To MC4Applicable Models: EP500 ProP090D To P150DApplicable Models: AC500Application: By using this cable, you can connect the B230/B300 external battery packs to your current Bluetti power...

www.bluettipower.eu

The connector on the unit side is P090D. There are options with P090D on one end and a variety of other connectors on the oposite end. XT90 rated at 40Amps seem to be a good. Some people advice on getting a P090D to P150D and cutting the 150D, and replacing with another high-amp connector.

Has someone tried this? I'm looking to get a 2KW unit and exnted it on budget. An AC200MAX or 200L unit would be a very attractive option, if it can be extended with OEM LIFePO4 batteries.

 

[AustinBlazer]

Yeah would like to try this. Those P090 cables are about $100 which is a lot just to experiment with a hack.