This battery tickles a few fancys!

[Rednecktek]

I saw this video this morning and it caught my attention. For a $400 LFP battery with extra farkles and a nifty doodad to charge it with, I thought Will might want to take a look. The charger module that connects right to the battery is a pretty cool feature. Hey @Will Prowse , what are your thoughts?

 

[Will Prowse]

Oh man my Dr prepare was awful. Surprised this one is good.

 

[Wjm1964]

Another battery pretending its not only a battery. I'd probably lose or break the gimmick extra. Why can they not just put the extra R&D money into producing a good battery at a good price instead of trying to sell gimmicks?

 

[Alkaline]

I know I'm not the only one thinking wtf is Dr Pepper doing in the battery biz?

 

[solartomboy]

I just bought this battery. It's made by Renogy. The original Dr. Prepare (the one that Will had a bad experience with) probably wasn't.

Heck on the financial transaction is by "Renogy International", not "Dr. Prepare".

My guess Dr. Prepare just sources products for their brand. After the disaster with their battery, they probably tried to find something more reputable to brand as Dr. Prepare. So far no complaints with the battery + hub! A really innovative feature in my opinion. Being able to tap into DC is really cool. It's like a power station with no inverter.

 

[Alkaline]

Dr. Thunder, now that would be a good name instead of Dr. Pepper.

 

[JoeHam]

FWIW,

It looks like it’s made of A123 cells, not the normal prismatics we usually see.

 

[solartomboy]

FWIW,

It looks like it’s made of A123 cells, not the normal prismatics we usually see.

Is that a good or bad thing in the context of this battery?

 

[Will Prowse]

Wow, that is pretty neat. Interesting.

 

[Sverige]

?Dr Prepare… so misunderstood…?

 

[solartomboy]

So after unboxing this battery and using it for a few days - it seems to be really great!

I dig the DC hub, it's very useful for what I need it for. There's no fan so the output is silent, though it would be nice if it was a bit more beefy in the output. You can only output 6A continuous, 10A max for only one hour.

The build quality is fantastic.

You can also plug in a 100W solar panel directly via Anderson Power Pole. The built in MPPT seems to work just fine.

I would definitely recommend this battery and it was a huge bargain at $369. Dr. Prepare also threw in a free fan. Sweet deal.

 

[Delmar]

Should be Dr. Prepper

 

[JoeHam]

I dig the DC hub, it's very useful for what I need it for. There's no fan so the output is silent, though it would be nice if it was a bit more beefy in the output. You can only output 6A continuous, 10A max for only one hour.

So if you disconnect the hub and instead use the connector it plugs into, shouldn’t you be able to pull the maximum current from that powerpole on the battery ?

That maximum should be 45 Amps.

The hub is only helpful in having the MPPT input and USB outputs I believe. That functionality comes at the expense of a limited output if I understand it correctly.

 

[solartomboy]

So if you disconnect the hub and instead use the connector it plugs into, shouldn’t you be able to pull the maximum current from that powerpole on the battery ?

That maximum should be 45 Amps.

The hub is only helpful in having the MPPT input and USB outputs I believe. That functionality comes at the expense of a limited output if I understand it correctly.

I don't think so, the wires behind the power pole adapter are only 16Ga.

For pulling max amps, using terminals as a normal LifePO4.

I just like how the Cigarette socket is nicely integrated, so for 12V fridge it's a really clean plug and play solution. Can also charge with a 100W panel easily by directly plugging into the hub+battery.

 

[Rednecktek]

You can also plug in a 100W solar panel directly via Anderson Power Pole. The built in MPPT seems to work just fine.

Morbid curiosity, and I don't know if you can test this or not, but if you were to plug in 200 or 300w of panels, would it cap at 100w like a Jackery or take the extra wattage?

 

[Rednecktek]

So if you disconnect the hub and instead use the connector it plugs into, shouldn’t you be able to pull the maximum current from that powerpole on the battery ?

I don't think so, the wires behind the power pole adapter are only 16Ga.

IIRC the case is screwed together, could one upgrade those wires?

Another thing that concerns me is physics. The claim is that the little plastic module has a cigarette lighter, a USB distribution, an Anderson plug, and still has room for a real MPPT controller in there?

If @Will Prowse ever gets bored enough to take another look at the new version, I'm sure he can figure out if there is actually an MPPT controller in there or if it's just a cheap PWM.

 

[JoeHam]

I don't think so, the wires behind the power pole adapter are only 16Ga.

I couldn’t find a spec for what size wire they used inside the battery to that powerpole.

Have you found one or seen a teardown ?

 

[solartomboy]

I couldn’t find a spec for what size wire they used inside the battery to that powerpole.

Have you found one or seen a teardown ?

Watch Jasonoid’s review on YouTube. He does an opening and inspection.

 

[solartomboy]

Morbid curiosity, and I don't know if you can test this or not, but if you were to plug in 200 or 300w of panels, would it cap at 100w like a Jackery or take the extra wattage?

You would blow it up. Max 100w. Check spec sheet

 

[Solarmadness]

Im not kidding,Just got rid of a DR Prepper boot and shoe dryer because the timer would never shut off.My boots started to smoke after 2hrs run time.Be careful..