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Jackery Explorer 5000 Plus questions & answers

Been reading through this thread. I use the UPS mode on my gear because I want the benefit (knowing the power cost).

The whole battery-full-not-passing-solar thing is really puzzling. My Bluetti stuff prioritizes solar for loads, and draws from battery, and below a set threshold, pulls from the grid.
  • If Load + Battery charging < Solar, solar is throttled (since I'm not grid interconnected).
  • If Load > Solar, battery doesn't get charged.
We're having a weird day today (overcast morning), but the delta between the yellow and the blue is going into charging the battery. The orange is the grid input into the inverter (AC500).
View attachment 304340View attachment 304381
Edit: My solar went to 0 after all my batteries fully charged. Now I'll get 99-100% cycling from battery-solar since my transfer switch is pulling from the inverter (powered by the batteries).
Yes I definitely get this cycling effect and watching the solar go unused has me contemplating either an additional battery or increasing my load. I have 8 x 420w panels.on the roof. My day load is around 800w and I use daily around 10kWh.
 
Yes I definitely get this cycling effect and watching the solar go unused has me contemplating either an additional battery or increasing my load. I have 8 x 420w panels.on the roof. My day load is around 800w and I use daily around 10kWh.
I have 8 400w panels (+ 2 200w panels) and a base of about 500w continuous. My entire house uses about 20 kWh/day spiking to 26 or more if I’m doing laundry or running the window AC a lot.

Is the 10 kWh your total or just what you’re supplementing through solar?
 
Is the 10 kWh your total or just what you’re supplementing through solar?
No just the solar supplement. I'm running all my lighting and convenience receptacles in the house including 4 computers, 2 refrigerators and the internet. It's scheduled to discharge from 5am to 8pm and so far it's holding the load with runtime to spare. No other major appliances or HVAC.

I have some automation controlling supplemental window AC and dehumidifier but it's solely based on UV feedback from the home weather station to gauge wether they can run, figuring the Jackery can keep up. Really would like an API or some type of smart home integration.
 
No just the solar supplement. I'm running all my lighting and convenience receptacles in the house including 4 computers, 2 refrigerators and the internet. It's scheduled to discharge from 5am to 8pm and so far it's holding the load with runtime to spare. No other major appliances or HVAC.

I have some automation controlling supplemental window AC and dehumidifier but it's solely based on UV feedback from the home weather station to gauge wether they can run, figuring the Jackery can keep up. Really would like an API or some type of smart home integration.
Sounds like you're doing what I did - supplement the house, but don't have the complication of grid-tie. I essentially have a 20 kWh solar-backed UPS for my Fridge, Freezer, kitchen, room AC, laundry, furnace, computers/TV/Internet. Basically everything except bathrooms, Stove and Dryer.

I did a quick dive, and doesn't look like anyone has hacked into Jackery to get access, and Jackery doesn't seem eager to expose it. 😭 Bummer! I hope someone figures it out, because it looks like a cool toy.

 
has anyone figured out how to use a Honda 2000 to charge the jackery 5000 explorer plus through the solar port? I want to leave a Honda 2000 running during a hurricane and keep the 20Kw system topped off. with the STS we all know we can't use the AC port. There must be a ac to dc converter somewhere! thoughts?

Anyone consider using a Bench power supply to put out 60v 12.5 amps?
 
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One option that should work is the Chargeverter, but it's not inexpensive. You'd get the ability to charge at a rate of 1200 watts, for $636. I think that'd be a silly choice though, considering you can get an entire 240V generator for ~$1000. I just got the Champion 201176 for that price from Lowes, they charge $1207 but if you can get one of the 15% off coupons it'll bring it down to $1000. I think it's the ideal companion to the 5000+ & STS: it's an inverter, it's tri-fuel, and it outputs more than enough power to recharge the 5000+ at full speed, even when running on natural gas. The way I use it is through a generator inlet/interlock when the grid power is out. That means you don't have to keep it running. Plug it in and start it and it provides the whole house with electricity, including the STS, so you only have to use it occasionally when the 5000+ battery is getting low; it'll recharge it at the 4,000 watt rate. And because it's tri-fuel (and my house has natural gas), I don't have to go wait in the three-hour gas lines or face empty cages of propane tanks when there's a long outage. For me it's the perfect pairing, 5000+/STS/201176.

Now, getting back to your q:
That DROK seems like quite a deal if it works. You only get 480 watts from it, but then again it's only $70 at Amazon. You could get two of them, one for each input, and charge at almost 1,000 watts, for only $140, if it works.

I plugged an old laptop power supply (rated for 135 watts) into one of the LPV inputs and the 5000+ did some MPPT magic and reported that it was receiving 158 watts.

Definitely contact Jackery tech support about your proposed usage. There are restrictions on what you can connect to the LPV inputs, especially if you're using both of them. For example: if you're using 3 of their own SolarSaga 200W solar panels, you can only do it by connecting all of them to one port using a 3-way splitter. You cannot connect one to one LPV and two to the other, that's a forbidden combination. And you can't use five at all, that's also a forbidden combination. You can only do 1, 2, or 3 on one port, or if using both ports you're limited to 2, 4, or 6.

I also asked them about using a large battery (like a 16kWh Ruixu) through the LPVs and they were wary. They didn't recommend plugging the battery in directly, they said "if you're gonna try it, use a regulated power supply".

Okay, back to the DROK - Amazon shows a few varieties. I would probably vote for the 48V/10A version over the 60V/8A version. Both will deliver 480 watts, but that 60A is right at the very upper limit of what the LPV can support, so if the voltage from that converter is even just barely above 60 it might blow the port and associated electronics. The 48V version gives you a lot more headroom.
 
So Jackery got back to me. They said a bench power supply will work, but charge slowly. Thank you for your response. I guess. the bottom line is watts, which will be determined by volts once you max out the current (input seems limited to 10.5 max)

I will check out the champion as well. I'm trying to stay simple but the rabbit hole keeps twisting my ankle. I think that's what these forums are for.
 
Is this normal? I have 3,360 watts of solar on the roof and the best the jackery has seen is about 2,200 Watts that's full on sun no shading. It's connected via 47 ft of 8 gauge wire all panels are connected in series. I'm using brand new name brand rec pure2 420w panels. This is only about 65% efficient. What are other people seeing?
 
Is this normal? I have 3,360 watts of solar on the roof and the best the jackery has seen is about 2,200 Watts that's full on sun no shading. It's connected via 47 ft of 8 gauge wire all panels are connected in series. I'm using brand new name brand rec pure2 420w panels. This is only about 65% efficient. What are other people seeing?
Hello - We live in central Florida and have 3600 watts of solar in our yard (8-450w Canadian Solar panels) and we have seen over 3800w at times. Our panels face south, but are not at the correct angle. When it's sunny out we ususally stay consistently above 3100w - 3200w. We are connected in series and have a 100ft 10 gauge extension cable. It does seem that your solar output is a little low, but I'm not sure what the weather is like where you are. We are obviously in a high sun/high heat area.
 
Is this normal? I have 3,360 watts of solar on the roof and the best the jackery has seen is about 2,200 Watts that's full on sun no shading.
Have you run PVWatts with your array to see what it should be delivering at your location, latitude, direction and angle? You can get the PVWatts results for hourly, and see what it projects for July based on all the other parameters.
 
Updated to add information on the actual UL standards that the 5000 Plus has been tested and certified to meet.
 
Updated to add info on the UL standards the STS meets, and also on the maximum solar input you can add to a 5000+. Also slightly updated the section on 3rd party batteries.
 
Checked my app tonight and found out my 5000 plus had an update available to 1.4 . Google AI says right away there is no info on the web about it but check Jackery’s support page and gave a link. Then it goes on to guess what it could be. Jackery’s support page returns a character shrugging. Anyone have a link to what it entailed?
 
Maybe I'm missing it, but where do I find the UL standards for the STS?
Meaning, where do you find which standards it complies to? Inside the cover, near the bottom of the sticker.

Or are you asking what the UL standards say? That's a bit harder but it takes registering at the UL ProductIQ database for a free account, and then you can look up the UL standards and use the Digital View to read them, but they don't make it easy, there's no searching or hyperlinks and every page is watermarked with your name on it, so they'd really rather that you paid the $800-ish for each standard you want to research.

Or, are you asking where I posted info on which standards it meets? That's in the first post, the long list of Q & As, near the bottom. There's a posting for the 5000+, and for the STS.
 
so I have a complaint about STS. I have a central air hooked up to the STS which part of the nice to have circuits- I have it set to 40% battery. power went out for 10 hours yesterday. when power was restored, the "nice to have" circuits did not automatically turn back on (at around midnight).
I've put in an inquiry to Jackery. this should have turned back on when grid power resumed. anyone with a similar problem?
 
I haven't categorized my circuits as necessary or nice to have, so no, I haven't experienced that.

I do have an inkling that that was explained somewhere in the manual or the app or somewhere. I'd have to look, but I think it's functioning as designed. Once the STS turns a circuit off, I think it stays off until you turn it back on yourself.

EDIT: found it, it's in the FAQ section of the STS on Jackery's website.
STS-FAQ.jpg
 
One option that should work is the Chargeverter, but it's not inexpensive. You'd get the ability to charge at a rate of 1200 watts, for $636. I think that'd be a silly choice though, considering you can get an entire 240V generator for ~$1000. I just got the Champion 201176 for that price from Lowes, they charge $1207 but if you can get one of the 15% off coupons it'll bring it down to $1000. I think it's the ideal companion to the 5000+ & STS: it's an inverter, it's tri-fuel, and it outputs more than enough power to recharge the 5000+ at full speed, even when running on natural gas. The way I use it is through a generator inlet/interlock when the grid power is out. That means you don't have to keep it running. Plug it in and start it and it provides the whole house with electricity, including the STS, so you only have to use it occasionally when the 5000+ battery is getting low; it'll recharge it at the 4,000 watt rate. And because it's tri-fuel (and my house has natural gas), I don't have to go wait in the three-hour gas lines or face empty cages of propane tanks when there's a long outage. For me it's the perfect pairing, 5000+/STS/201176.

Now, getting back to your q:
That DROK seems like quite a deal if it works. You only get 480 watts from it, but then again it's only $70 at Amazon. You could get two of them, one for each input, and charge at almost 1,000 watts, for only $140, if it works.

I plugged an old laptop power supply (rated for 135 watts) into one of the LPV inputs and the 5000+ did some MPPT magic and reported that it was receiving 158 watts.

Definitely contact Jackery tech support about your proposed usage. There are restrictions on what you can connect to the LPV inputs, especially if you're using both of them. For example: if you're using 3 of their own SolarSaga 200W solar panels, you can only do it by connecting all of them to one port using a 3-way splitter. You cannot connect one to one LPV and two to the other, that's a forbidden combination. And you can't use five at all, that's also a forbidden combination. You can only do 1, 2, or 3 on one port, or if using both ports you're limited to 2, 4, or 6.

I also asked them about using a large battery (like a 16kWh Ruixu) through the LPVs and they were wary. They didn't recommend plugging the battery in directly, they said "if you're gonna try it, use a regulated power supply".

Okay, back to the DROK - Amazon shows a few varieties. I would probably vote for the 48V/10A version over the 60V/8A version. Both will deliver 480 watts, but that 60A is right at the very upper limit of what the LPV can support, so if the voltage from that converter is even just barely above 60 it might blow the port and associated electronics. The 48V version gives you a lot more headroom.
I would like to supply my two 5000+ power at night from a big battery I have. What would be a "regulated Power supply". would it get plugged into one or both of the 8020"s? best set up thoughts?
 
One other question I have is only having one high PV supply for one of the two 5000's. I am running 370v with a max of 4k watts. I am wondering if using a Y branch in the opposite direction it is normally used. splitting the incoming PV into each of the 5000 . Would it knock the volts in half delivering 185v to each branch? or maybe this is not the right thread to ask.
 
Total Newbie here. Just one question. I have a 5000 plus solar generator and am considering getting a STS to hook it up to my 200 amp electric service. Just had a electric heat pump and heat pump hot water heater installed. The electrician said the electric panel has 25 amps remaining. Would I be able to get the STS hooked up without upping my service? Thanks much.
 
Short answer: you're probably fine to install it, especially if you only use one 5000+ connected to the STS.

Long answer: It all depends on what the electrician meant by "25 amps remaining".

The STS uses a 100 amp breaker. But, if you only have one 5000+ unit and only ever use one 5000+ unit, it will only draw a max of 47 amps. And the STS will only supply 30 amps. Still put in the 100-amp breaker of course, but just understand that one 5000+ won't ever be drawing 100 amps.

The thing is, electrical panels usually have extremely more breakers than they could ever possibly supply. As an example, my panel has a 150-amp main breaker; there's no way it can draw more than 150 amps because the breaker will trip. But in the panel, I've got a 40-amp, three 30-amp, about ten 20-amp, and about eight 15-amp breakers. So theoretically I should be able to connect appliances, lights, and tools that draw a total of about 450 amps -- yet that could never happen, because as soon as I draw 151 amps the main breaker will trip right away.

So the wiring in your house is way overkill. For example, I have a 15-amp circuit dedicated to the lights in the 2nd bathroom. Those lights draw about 0.01 amps total. Yet there's a whole 15-amp circuit dedicated to them. I will never, ever, ever reach that capacity. And that's more or less the case with pretty much every circuit; there's usually way more capacity than there ever will be usage. The exceptions would be huge power draws like the electric heat pump, water heater, and dryer; those are much more likely to use up most of their breaker capacity.

So what does the elec mean by "25 amps remaining"?

Scenario 1: something like "your main panel breaker is 200 amps, and all the breakers in your panel add up to 175 amps, so you have 25 amps remaining". In this case, you're almost certainly fine to add an STS, because you're extremely unlikely to be using all that capacity.

Scenario 2: something like "the electric heat pump and water heater are going to take up 175 amps, so you only have 25 amps remaining for everything in your house." I guess that's technically possible, but seems highly unlikely. A 2-ton heat pump generally uses about 37 amps, and electric water heaters generally use around 20 amps, so ... that math isn't mathing. Maybe you have a 30-amp electric oven/range, and other electric appliances, that bring you close to 175 amps of actual usage? Even then, that still seems unlikely, for reasons below.

So let me give you my scenario and you can see how it works:
I have a gas water heater, furnace, and stove. So those don't count. I have an electric dryer, and the 4-ton air conditioner is electric. On my STS, I put basically every circuit in the house other than the A/C and dryer on the STS. When the power goes out for an hour, I barely notice. We had a 5-hour outage here recently, and it did start getting warm (100 degree south Texas summer day, with no A/C). Wasn't bad, the ceiling fan helped a lot, but it was getting warm. Practically everything in the house worked just fine, the 5000+ and STS handled the TV, internet, refrigerator, lights, fans, computers, everything. And for all those appliances added together, it used an average of about 1000 watts total electricity. That's about 8 amps. We didn't do anything crazy, I didn't run my table saw and heat gun during that power outage for example, but we didn't huddle together around a candle either -- we just lived normally, modified only slightly by the grid being down. No laundry, for example.

All that was handled by the 5000+, easily. I didn't have solar at that time, so I did run my generator once to recharge the 5000+ when its battery charge got down to around 30%, since we had no idea how long the outage would last.

So here's the thing: the 5000+ supplied around 8 amps of power, sometimes more, sometimes less, mainly dependent on whether the refrigerator compressor was running or not. But those 8 amps don't count against you, because your house already supplies those 8 amps, whether you put them on an STS or not. The STS doesn't draw more amps to supply the house load than your house power already supplies. The STS only draws additional power to recharge the 5000+ battery. It can draw a max of 16.7 amps when recharging the 5000+.

That's why I say "you're probably fine to add an STS". At worst, it would draw 16.7 amps to recharge the 5000+, and the electrician already said you had 25 amps remaining (whatever was meant by that). But if you were to add a second 5000+ to your STS, then you *might* run into a potential issue because it could draw as much as 33.4 amps, which is above the 25-amp-remaining statement, depending on if that statement is to be read as "your house can only draw 25 more amps before the breaker trips". So the simple solution to that would be to use only one 5000+ until you get clarification from the electrician as to whether that meant "on a daily basis your appliances will always draw 175 amps, so don't add any more than 25 amps" or "the maximum possible if you used everything in your house all at once would draw 175 amps". Because we never do that, right? You don't run the dishwasher and the garbage disposal and the dryer 24 hours a day! And even then, even if you did run everything at once, the worst that will happen is the main breaker will trip. So shut some of those non-mandatory appliances off, and go reset the breaker -- it's a minor inconvenience.

Keep this in mind though: the 5000+ can only supply up to 30 amps on a continuous basis. And if it does supply that full 30 amps on a continuous basis, the battery would be completely drained in only about 40 minutes. So you wouldn't be putting the heat pump and the water heater and the electric oven and the electric dryer on the STS! Those are all huge draws that will drain it extremely quickly. The STS can handle 12 circuits. Put your emergency loads on the STS, things like the refrigerator and a CPAP machine and maybe your internet and computer (especially if you work from home) and some lights and outlets for any other emergency medical equipment, etc. If you have circuit space left over in the STS, add some convenience circuits, like more lights, the microwave and hair dryer. I doubt it gets very hot there, so the air conditioner probably wouldn't be a major factor, but a heater might. Any way to get heat that doesn't mean electricity would be preferable since electric heaters use enormous amounts of electricity. A propane heater would be efficient and wouldn't draw electricity, or if your house has natural gas service a gas heater would be a great backup heating source for long power outages.

Also, if you're expecting outages that may last longer than about 4 hours, you'll need a way to recharge the 5000+. Either solar, or through a generator. I bought a tri-fuel generator since my house has natural gas service, so I can run that thing all day every day for months on end and never have to refill it. Gasoline is okay but if you've got a multi-day outage gasoline might be hard to come by and cost quite a bit and there might be long lines, and at least down here all the blue rhino propane tanks are scarfed up almost immediately. If relying on solar, you'll have to cut loads at night down to the bare minimum so the 5000+ will last through the night, and hope that the day isn't cloudy. A generator is a very very good thing to have, just make sure you have fuel available for it.
 

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