SomeSparrowSings
New Member
Hi. I’ve used this site for help over the years but my first post was earlier this week, in urgent haste, but I’ve since bought a bit more time to make a decision regards what I’ll describe below, some which is a repeat and/or re-edit.
I have two 100 W flexible panels atop my van, and have just replaced my Jackery 500 (530 Wh) with a Bluetti AC180 (1152 Wh). Meanwhile I also now have a Renogy 100w portable panel, and an 8 mm parallel splitter (see pic) and decided to chance it and plug both the Renogy and the two parallel'd panels into it and feed that into the Bluetti. The result is that I basically doubled my input, which was awesome. Seems to work just fine (I get 140w average - 75w with angled Renogy and 80w combined via the two cheaper-quality 100w flat roof panels - 15w is lost using the Y splitter cable).
My issue is that I’m not satisfied w/ the Bluetti - it weighs a whopping 39 pounds, is HUGE, the display doesn’t stay lit, but the main complaint is that its internal/idle consumption is 15w, which does not suit my small-loads lifestyle. I’m thinking of returning it and getting the Grecell T-1000, which is half the weight, much smaller, 25% cheaper, and the display is always on. BUT, based on the stats of these individual products (which I‘ll post below), the big question is: would the Grecell be able to handle this same triple panel input configuration (100w+100w paralleled flat panels splittered/shared/parallel’d w/ the portable Renogy 100w) without messing up its charge controller? And, am I presently compromising the Bluetti in the same way, even though everything seems to work fine so far in this configuration? Basically I haven’t quite got a handle on the concept/reality of amps, of adding amperage, and need another set of eyes on the specs.
Lastly, if my present combo’s setup is unhealthy for either power station, would it be more acceptable if I rewired the two 100w rooftop panels in series, and then fed them into the parallel Y splitter that way? I’d much prefer not to do this, but just wondering if it’d remedy my concerns.
SPECS
Topsolar panels
100W 24V/12V Monocrystalline Bendable, 100 watt / 12 volt = 8.33 Amp output. Voc of the TopSolar panel is a bit over 22 volts.
Renogy 100W PORTABLE SOLAR PANELS
Max Power at STC: 100 W
Open Circuit Voltage: 23.40V
Short Circuit Current: 5.26A
Optimum Operating Voltage: 20.16V
Optimum Operating Current: 4.96A
Cell Efficiency: >23.5%
Bluetti 180 power station
12V-60V, Input current 10A 500w max
Grecell T1000 power station
Voltage of solar panels allowed is 12-26V, 8A 155W (Max).
Aforementioned 8mm parallel splitter
I have two 100 W flexible panels atop my van, and have just replaced my Jackery 500 (530 Wh) with a Bluetti AC180 (1152 Wh). Meanwhile I also now have a Renogy 100w portable panel, and an 8 mm parallel splitter (see pic) and decided to chance it and plug both the Renogy and the two parallel'd panels into it and feed that into the Bluetti. The result is that I basically doubled my input, which was awesome. Seems to work just fine (I get 140w average - 75w with angled Renogy and 80w combined via the two cheaper-quality 100w flat roof panels - 15w is lost using the Y splitter cable).
My issue is that I’m not satisfied w/ the Bluetti - it weighs a whopping 39 pounds, is HUGE, the display doesn’t stay lit, but the main complaint is that its internal/idle consumption is 15w, which does not suit my small-loads lifestyle. I’m thinking of returning it and getting the Grecell T-1000, which is half the weight, much smaller, 25% cheaper, and the display is always on. BUT, based on the stats of these individual products (which I‘ll post below), the big question is: would the Grecell be able to handle this same triple panel input configuration (100w+100w paralleled flat panels splittered/shared/parallel’d w/ the portable Renogy 100w) without messing up its charge controller? And, am I presently compromising the Bluetti in the same way, even though everything seems to work fine so far in this configuration? Basically I haven’t quite got a handle on the concept/reality of amps, of adding amperage, and need another set of eyes on the specs.
Lastly, if my present combo’s setup is unhealthy for either power station, would it be more acceptable if I rewired the two 100w rooftop panels in series, and then fed them into the parallel Y splitter that way? I’d much prefer not to do this, but just wondering if it’d remedy my concerns.
SPECS
Topsolar panels
100W 24V/12V Monocrystalline Bendable, 100 watt / 12 volt = 8.33 Amp output. Voc of the TopSolar panel is a bit over 22 volts.
Renogy 100W PORTABLE SOLAR PANELS
Max Power at STC: 100 W
Open Circuit Voltage: 23.40V
Short Circuit Current: 5.26A
Optimum Operating Voltage: 20.16V
Optimum Operating Current: 4.96A
Cell Efficiency: >23.5%
Bluetti 180 power station
12V-60V, Input current 10A 500w max
Grecell T1000 power station
Voltage of solar panels allowed is 12-26V, 8A 155W (Max).
Aforementioned 8mm parallel splitter
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