Solar User
New Member
Hello all,
I am a relative beginner to the solar world but am enjoying the learning process a great deal. I have a question about having several lithium iron phosphate batteries on hand to serve strictly as capacity for recharging some solar power stations (specifically batteries similar to the 12 V Power Queen series to charge Bluetti series power stations). I have used many of the Bluetti Power stations (all sizes) in the past so I am fairly familiar with them. My questions revolve around the idea that I would like to be able to charge the power stations at a relatively decent rate of charge directly from the 12V batteries (DC to DC for best efficiency). I have seen videos where this was done using a boost converter (12V up to 36V) and the charge rate on the bigger Bluetti stations was pretty good (exceeding 400 watts). In an attempt to do this sort of thing, I have several questions:
1) Does anyone make a quality boost converter that would step up 12V to 24V (or better yet 36V) that is plug and play for Bluetti stations? (I guess this would ideally have pre-made leads to go to the battery and then leads that go to MC4 connectors to use for the stations since there are different plug types for different size stations)
2) Is a fuse needed with the boost converter?
3) This may sound silly but how do I charge the batteries? Do I need specific equipment (charger) to plug into an AC wall outlet to charge the batteries? Is there a plug and play setup that would allow me to charge the batteries with solar panels (specifically two or three of the Bluetti PV420 (420 watt) panels in series)? I have done some research and think I would at least need a solar charge controller but not sure about what size I would need or if there are units that have cables already made where I could plug in MC4 connectors directly to the controller.
4) Is there a plug and play device that I could use to monitor the State of Charge of the battery while it is being charged?
5) I have also looked at inverters in case I wanted to run AC directly off the battery and I was not sure if you could/should hook an inverter directly to the battery (is a fuse or other equipment needed to be inline with the inverter)? This is not quite as important as I plan on mainly using the power station inverters for AC applications and mainly want the batteries for less expensive storage capacity but it might be nice to have the option.
The basic idea here would be to solar charge the batteries so that they could be used to charge the power stations (batteries are far less expensive than the add-on Bluetti expansion packs). Thanks in advance for any assistance as I know others may have already done this and probably have answers to some or all of the questions above.
I am a relative beginner to the solar world but am enjoying the learning process a great deal. I have a question about having several lithium iron phosphate batteries on hand to serve strictly as capacity for recharging some solar power stations (specifically batteries similar to the 12 V Power Queen series to charge Bluetti series power stations). I have used many of the Bluetti Power stations (all sizes) in the past so I am fairly familiar with them. My questions revolve around the idea that I would like to be able to charge the power stations at a relatively decent rate of charge directly from the 12V batteries (DC to DC for best efficiency). I have seen videos where this was done using a boost converter (12V up to 36V) and the charge rate on the bigger Bluetti stations was pretty good (exceeding 400 watts). In an attempt to do this sort of thing, I have several questions:
1) Does anyone make a quality boost converter that would step up 12V to 24V (or better yet 36V) that is plug and play for Bluetti stations? (I guess this would ideally have pre-made leads to go to the battery and then leads that go to MC4 connectors to use for the stations since there are different plug types for different size stations)
2) Is a fuse needed with the boost converter?
3) This may sound silly but how do I charge the batteries? Do I need specific equipment (charger) to plug into an AC wall outlet to charge the batteries? Is there a plug and play setup that would allow me to charge the batteries with solar panels (specifically two or three of the Bluetti PV420 (420 watt) panels in series)? I have done some research and think I would at least need a solar charge controller but not sure about what size I would need or if there are units that have cables already made where I could plug in MC4 connectors directly to the controller.
4) Is there a plug and play device that I could use to monitor the State of Charge of the battery while it is being charged?
5) I have also looked at inverters in case I wanted to run AC directly off the battery and I was not sure if you could/should hook an inverter directly to the battery (is a fuse or other equipment needed to be inline with the inverter)? This is not quite as important as I plan on mainly using the power station inverters for AC applications and mainly want the batteries for less expensive storage capacity but it might be nice to have the option.
The basic idea here would be to solar charge the batteries so that they could be used to charge the power stations (batteries are far less expensive than the add-on Bluetti expansion packs). Thanks in advance for any assistance as I know others may have already done this and probably have answers to some or all of the questions above.
