Holdontight
New Member
I have a Bluetti AC2A and have been using it for just over three weeks. I use the AC2A as a backup device for small power tools and I’ve tested as a UPS for my home office.
For yard use I have 2 100w Thunderbolt solar panels wired in parallel on a movable cart. I can’t run these in series due to the 28V input limit of this device. The cheap wiring and connections seems to limit charging to not much more than 160W of solar input in my case. This covers most of my outdoor small loads and so it’s ok.
Solar panels in parallel.
Each panel has an open circuit of 20V and so I have 2 in parallel in an attempt to get nearer to the 8A limit in perfect conditions. It looks like I’m seeing an upper limit of around 6A. I’ll try and improve the wiring and connectors when I can.
What I like so far about the AC2A
Dirt cheap. $179 as tested. Many UPS’s are more than that
I love the ability to run 110/120V appliances up to 300W. I’ve been able to run a small space heater, TV, electric blanket, lighting and My home office. The power consumption of my office is less than 100W and I can work all day provided I can feed this thing with plenty of solar power.
204wh storage in a box of its size makes it useful and is light weight. Use wisely and the battery can last
The LCD display is bright and easy to read. Timeout for the LCD is configurable. I’ve set mine to 5 minutes and so that’s more useful than I’ve seen before. You can set it to stay on permanently.
Internal charger with a standard IEC desktop computer cable. These cables are easy to find if you leave yours at home.
Fast charging if you need it. I can charge this thing to 100W in about an hour
What’s to improve on the AC2A?
The internal electronics appear to run on battery even if grid and solar is available. This will eventually drop the battery percentage from 100% to 99%, and a recharge follows.
Solar input is disconnected when the battery is full. You can have ample solar power and the AC2A won’t benefit from solar unless the battery is less than 100%
The UPS feature works well. I wish the internal electronics were supplied by grid power and not battery power. This would stop the occasional cycling of the battery between 99 and 100%
I’m not sure if the constant cycling of the battery between 99 and 100% is good for LiPo4 batteries. Time will tell.
Anyone with the Bluetooth app and in Bluetooth range of my units can mess with my loads. I hope Bluetti will improve the security of this in future releases.
600w inverter would support more 110V devices.
I’m not sure about the XT60 connector. I know this was meant to be an improvement over the 9mm barrel connector. I’m not sure the XT60 can carry more load.
I wish the MPPT controller could handle up to 60V
Questions for the Forum
Do any of you have any problems running the input of the AC2A at its maximum input wattage for long periods?
Can you achieve 200W of charging using your solar panel/s?
How hot are XT60 connectors when they are run continuously at 8A?
https://bit.ly/33Onq63
For yard use I have 2 100w Thunderbolt solar panels wired in parallel on a movable cart. I can’t run these in series due to the 28V input limit of this device. The cheap wiring and connections seems to limit charging to not much more than 160W of solar input in my case. This covers most of my outdoor small loads and so it’s ok.
Solar panels in parallel.
Each panel has an open circuit of 20V and so I have 2 in parallel in an attempt to get nearer to the 8A limit in perfect conditions. It looks like I’m seeing an upper limit of around 6A. I’ll try and improve the wiring and connectors when I can.
What I like so far about the AC2A
Dirt cheap. $179 as tested. Many UPS’s are more than that
I love the ability to run 110/120V appliances up to 300W. I’ve been able to run a small space heater, TV, electric blanket, lighting and My home office. The power consumption of my office is less than 100W and I can work all day provided I can feed this thing with plenty of solar power.
204wh storage in a box of its size makes it useful and is light weight. Use wisely and the battery can last
The LCD display is bright and easy to read. Timeout for the LCD is configurable. I’ve set mine to 5 minutes and so that’s more useful than I’ve seen before. You can set it to stay on permanently.
Internal charger with a standard IEC desktop computer cable. These cables are easy to find if you leave yours at home.
Fast charging if you need it. I can charge this thing to 100W in about an hour
What’s to improve on the AC2A?
The internal electronics appear to run on battery even if grid and solar is available. This will eventually drop the battery percentage from 100% to 99%, and a recharge follows.
Solar input is disconnected when the battery is full. You can have ample solar power and the AC2A won’t benefit from solar unless the battery is less than 100%
The UPS feature works well. I wish the internal electronics were supplied by grid power and not battery power. This would stop the occasional cycling of the battery between 99 and 100%
I’m not sure if the constant cycling of the battery between 99 and 100% is good for LiPo4 batteries. Time will tell.
Anyone with the Bluetooth app and in Bluetooth range of my units can mess with my loads. I hope Bluetti will improve the security of this in future releases.
600w inverter would support more 110V devices.
I’m not sure about the XT60 connector. I know this was meant to be an improvement over the 9mm barrel connector. I’m not sure the XT60 can carry more load.
I wish the MPPT controller could handle up to 60V
Questions for the Forum
Do any of you have any problems running the input of the AC2A at its maximum input wattage for long periods?
Can you achieve 200W of charging using your solar panel/s?
How hot are XT60 connectors when they are run continuously at 8A?
https://bit.ly/33Onq63
