see this post for old details
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/888412
price
$199
also available at bluetti themselves
see this post for old details
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/888412
price
$199
also available at bluetti themselves
Referee receives 5% discount. Referrer earns 1 Bluetti Bucks for every A$1 spend by referee.
Jack lives here
Did you end up getting one of these. I am super close to pulling the trigger on one of those Voltx M2000
Power Srations for $799 currently from outbaxcamping ebay and will then sell my little used Dodgy Beige
Allpowers R600 from that then good Ozbargain ebay deal that had many people ending up with faulty units.
Mine was good in the beginning, but when I returned from a 3 month trip in October it was dead flat and took
a fair amount of goes to get it to re-charge. I have a grey V1 as well, charged both to 100 % before I left,
it was all good at 93 % but the Beige V2 was 00 % and innitially did not want to charge to the point I was
contacting Allpowers for a warranty claim. They asked me to take and send a video of issue, and in that
process heard a click after connecting power, tried a few different random combinations and Bam, it sarted
to finally charge. As I go away often and leave them in storage charged, I have now lost faith in the V2 as I'm
sure this will happen again, so happy to sell for loss as good as new, that will reduce cost of the M2000.
I bought the M3000 for $1699 from the Ebay 20% off sale… Good battery capacity/build quality but heavy. Depending on use case it may/may not suit - It doesn't have real UPS mode (if AC is on the inverter is on and the batteries are constantly charging at 99-100%) which was my primary use case.. The fan runs at 70db when AC is on so it sounds like you're in a server room if within 1-2m distance. It doesn't have any app control so unlike the Bluetti/Ecoflow/Vigorpool and possibly others you can't limit max battery capacity or control power outlets via the app. If just charging it then using it to power devices in a relatively noisy environment it's probably good.
Do you know of any like this that DO have a true UPS mode?
@Commodore64: From my searching the 3 brands I mentioned Bluetti/Ecoflow/Vigorpool do - there may be others.. have an Ecoflow River 2 which I use as a UPS for my modem/router, etc. - only 30w power draw so at around 250wh should be good for a few hours… I believe the Ecoflow Delta2 and Delta3 do have but all of these only have around 20ms switching so whilst they work some equipment might not work with them - I think only the higher models of the Ecoflow Delta 3 have a 10ms switching and USB comms like a real UPS but not completely sure.
I ordered a couple of the Vigorpool Captain 1200's after finding them in the Ebay sale specifically to use as UPS's for my server / work computer also - thinking of returning the VoltX M3000 if I can as it's just way too noisy but will need to test with them 1st..
@Commodore64: The newer Bluetti models do have true UPS mode. Theirs doesn't have the shortest switchover time, check the reviews on youtube where they compare UPS switchover times.
I have been using the Bluetti AC200L for over a year now as a UPS, and also for load transfer where it uses the battery during peak electricity pricing, and then recharges when it is off peak. No issues and during the thunderstorm 2 days ago, it did what it was supposed to do and kept my home office and PC desktop running with no issues.
I like the AC200L because I can set it to charge on AC at 800W, 1200W or 2400W. I can also limit the total input current limit on AC at a single amp level to prevent overheating of any extension cable between the wall and the AC200L if I don't mind limiting the amount of passthrough power it can supply (if you limit it to 2000W, and you have a 2400W appliance running, the battery will make up for the 400W difference).
Also, because the AC200L operates in true passthrough mode when there is grid power, you can charge the batteries independently of supplying power to your devices. Saves a few battery cycles this way.
There are also add-ons in Home Assistant which let you monitor the AC200L with even greater detail than the Bluetti app.
Also, if you do purchase a Bluetti, check their website pricing too because Cashrewards has a 4.90% cashback on the official Bluetti website (www.bluettipower.com.au)
Thanks for some feedback. I have bluetooth on the R600 and on some of my lithium batteries and
not an important feature for me, especially as on the M2000 (and think same for your m3000)
you can not control the 240 V charging current anyway. Personall I want this to power high draw
appliances in future such as coffee machine/electric inverer/air fryer/grill etc so the noise mostly
outdoors whilst camping/travelling won't matter to me. Not much need for UPS (the R600 can do
that if needed anyway, but don't leave computers/routers on 24/7). My biggest neg on these is the
low 200 W/9+ hours slow charging, but will work around that if I can using mostly solar + 12 V.
@ozhunter68
I cant really recommend VoltX units. I remember looking them up sometime back and they are just a second or third tier Chinese generic.
VoltX is just a marketing exercise and they put their brand on any random thing. For example their E600 is exactly the same as the VTOMAN 600X, just different colour scheme. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/314436519094, https://voltx.com.au/products/voltx-e600-power-station
If you need to rely on it I would get a Bluetti or Ecoflow - both use quality components and have real 5-6 year guarantees.
That's my take on it.
I have one and us it as a UPS (however haven't tested to see if it is "true")
FWIW - when I do use it in this mode, my Unifi Router, Switch, NBN Modem have all stayed on during blackouts/outages etc.
I believe it's a true UPS in the Bluetti but not completely sure - ordered one which should arrive today to test - I guess the giveaway is whether the fan for the inverter stays running when fully charged or not… on the Ecoflow it only runs when I disconnect AC power in and the inverter kicks in..
From what I have noticed the fan is only on (audible) when it is charging even on AC mode.
I also do have River 2 which on the "UPS Mode" there, I don't have any issues on the switchover/cutover. Fan noise again is inaudible too.
On what model Ecoflow is that then ?
I suppose there are two concerns:
1. That the cutover has zero loss in voltage/power>
2. That the batteries aren't being constantly charged/drained when plugged in
ecoflow will constantly charge/discharge by 3%
this idk yet
@FoxJump: Some Bluetti's do this as welll. I noticed that the ones that have Customised UPS mode in the app can be set to limit the maximum charge to 90 or 95%, and it seems to stop it from doing this constant charge/discharge behaviour. If the limit is left at 100% which is default, then it does constantly charge/discharge. I believe the unit's controller itself is powered by battery, even when there is grid power, so it tries to top up if you can't set it to do so only when it drops to a certain level. The reason the controller is powered by battery is so that if the grid goes out, it does not affect the controller which needs to be constantly powered so that it can switch over from grid to battery power in a blackout.
@Sleepycat3: the ecoflow does this regardless of the max charge limit.
AC2A has true UPS mode. It will operate in passthrough when there is grid power, so grid power will power your devices. Then when the power goes out, it switches over to the batteries in under 20ms.
20ms is nothing special, so if you have sensitive appliances, it is good to put a cheap pure-sinewave UPS after the AC2A if needed. I bought an old Cyberpower PFC 1500VA to place it between my AC200L and PC.
This Youtube review of the AC2A showed an 11.8ms switchover time for the test they did (so the actual switchover time in real life may well be shorter than the specification guarantee that Bluetti publishes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU-d9NzFSBA
I've had the slightly larger AC50B for a few months running in UPS mode for my NAS and some networking components and it's fan still runs at a low level (it's pretty quiet tho) when the battery is at 100% and is on AC mode only
Also available for the same price ($199) directly from Bluetti (also with free delivery) - as another poster mentioned this is up from $179 just a few days ago when I purchased one from this same "flash sale"
https://www.bluettipower.com.au/products/bluetti-ac2a-portab…
Thanks ordered direct, need a UPS that can be used when I go camping.
yep i bought from bluetti, i just couldnt post with that URL since it's banned for sockpuppteing
fwiw i have 1x ecoflow river2
and a ryobi 36v battery to cig socket to charge the above battery from other batteries.
and now this ac2a coming in.
i ordered it because i was in the midst of a blackout and having two means i can swap them around to consume and charge.
i can charge by running the car a bit.
How long would one of these run a 12v fridge? I guess it depends on draw right, but surely enough for like 8hrs?
depends, is your fridge already at temperature?
is it on a cold night, or a hot day in the sun?
my river2 on avg does 20hrs on a 30L fridge, set at 2 deg
it's job is to get me overnight, and i can solarpanel or car charge during the day
so this one, maybe 16hrs
Sorry, for more context, would just be used in the interim until I get a 2nd battery for my ute. So run overnight to get to temp before going say 4x4 or on the beach for the day and just to help it maintain temp while ute is off, fridge would run via the 12v cig while driving to destination.
i have a lifepo cranking battery for my 4wd and i clamp that to my river2 if it's running low
or if that's running low, i run the engine for a bit.
this should be able to get you overnight, from say, 8pm till 8am
it's cheaper to run your car for an hour or two on idle, than pay for a 2nd battery in the car.
esp if you only use it now and then.
@FoxJump: Yeah cool, thanks for the info. I've been half tempted to just run a bigger one of these rather than mucking around with a dedicated 12v system. I like that I can take it in or out as I please and doubles as a decent backup incase of a black out.
@camerongb: yep.
i had a blackout last night
i powered on camping fridge with my river2, with ryobi 36v batt topping it up; and then realised .. oh, my home security has no battery - and its ups was gonna run out in 60minutes; so i bought this to supplement its ups
@camerongb: keep in mind the AC inverter - at least in river2 is inefficient
hopefully this ac2a is more efficient
@camerongb: also this one seems to not come with a car charger cable.
it looks like you need an xt60 > cig plug
would just be used in the interim until I get a 2nd battery for my ute.
Would it be worth waiting for another one of these 12V 100AH deals? You'd need to get a box and charger as well but it'd last quite a bit longer for not that much more.
@eug: sure but then bluetti/ecoflow are all in one devices
ac inverter
bunch of usbs
solar panel usage
fast charging
@FoxJump: Yes but OP was saying he's planning on getting a second battery, so he could just do that instead.
That $181 battery I linked to is 1,280 Wh so would last much longer than this if he wants to run it overnight - but this is more convenient if he just wants to power a fridge at the beach for a few hours.
Alternatively he could just put that 1,280 Wh battery in a box and have longer runtime for a bit more money.
@eug: yes thats true.
I recently got ~500Wh one for that reason and very happy with it so far. For me it was cheaper, easier and more versatile than adding 2nd battery.
~200Wh would be fine maintaining temp overnight, shortish stops during the day etc. but I'd go bigger so you can comfortably get through at least 1 full day without needing to charge.
@watts: true last camping trip i found myself moving solar panels all day long :D
@FoxJump: Same, but I reckon that's one of the joys of off grid camping. Gives me something to do between drinks and and first aid for the kids latest injuries.
I really bought it for the weekend 4WD trips when I don't have our camper (with 100Ah battery), but it was a great addition to the full camping setup too. Having USB, 12V and AC power without being tethered to the camper turned out to be really handy.
Also, when the sun position was no good for charging the camper battery I could move the panel wherever sun was still shining and use it the charge up the power station instead.
@watts: yes a perk of my now-two-batteries is i can leave one in the tent charging while i'm away with the panels on the roof of the tent.
@watts: Name checks out.
FWIW - with my setup if I use it in the car I get approx 4 hours maximum as normally the car is hot, my fridge is a pretty average/crap Rovin Fridge 35L. The fridge draws 50w on start up and fluctuates lower from there.
I wonder how long this could power a starlink mini?
Mini pulls 20w to 40w an hour. So, probably 5 to 8 hours.
I average 24w over a long period. It does boost to 40w on startup and other periods.
Which is best case 8.5 hours (close to your estimate)
what devices can it run. A kettle or microwave etc?
neither.
max 300w or 600w on boost,
i can run a 6x egg boiler on 600w boost (on my river2, i havent tried this ac2a yet as it hasnt arrived)
otherwise
fan, 12v fridge, charge usb devices, etc.
thanks for that. Can i run a phillips avent bottle warmer?
https://www.philips.com.au/c-m-mo/baby-bottle-warmers/advanc…
under that power specifications it says: "275"
i assume that means 275w
and that is less than 300w
so yes.
it'll probably fun it for maybe … 35minutes
275w theatrically yes, but not sure about peak initial draw etc
@DannyBoy: thats true
my egg boiler says 250w i think and it peaks at 400w so i gotta use my ecoflow xboost mode so it can get over the initial hump.
maybe the bottle warmer and bluetti's equivalent boost will work
Can this run a garage door?
is it < 300w ?
Also, DC motors have a high current requirement initially
Looks like official site out of stock?
I might've grabbed the last one, sorry.
all good, got one via bunnings :)
How do these compare to a traditional UPS? Do they last longer for something of similar pricing?
traditional ups has USB port to tell your device that it's on battery
this does not
traditional ups may switch over to battery faster
this is probably slower
traditional ups is SLA batteries, this lifepo.
traditional ups has some kind of protection for surges etc, i dont know if this does.
Cool thanks. I have a normal UPS but don't use the USB monitoring. I generally know my power is out when the lights go off. My UPS doesn't seem to last long running a laptop, Unifi router and NAS.
I've got one for the UPS feature to try out and atm use UPS it like you (only to run the mesh routers, ASUS router and the NBN blackbox). Got one to try out and see if how different it would operate compared to my old APC UPS..
@yotis: In one of my old (lead acid style) Cyberpower UPS's the battery was going so I got the Bluetti AC50B a few months ago to replace it - however I actually run it in series with the old UPS - so Wall Socket -> old UPS -> AC50B -> loads (including a NAS and some Unifi networking gear)
This way the old UPS still signals to the NAS (via USB) that the power is out and the NAS can go into protection mode or shutdown. The old UPS dies after a few minutes but the AC50B then runs for many hours afterwards - worked as desired during the multi hour blackout we had in Sydney a few days ago
I ordered the AC2A on the $179 special a few days ago (it arrived this morning) to do the same thing with my other old UPS (which just powers my NBN modem and UDM in another location in the house)
@Remorhaz: this is good tip. i'll do this in my new house in the appliance cupboard.
@FoxJump: Actually another upside to this arrangement is that the old UPS's surge protection and so on presumably protects both the Bluetti and the downstream equipment as it did before
@Remorhaz: yes indeed.
Dankpods says this thing smells, does it smell?
Mine was delivered yesterday and is charging. I can confirm mine does not smell.
Mine smells no worse than the interior of a new gwm/byd. So yes, it stinks of horrible plastic offgassing. I hope it doesn’t last too long. Atleast it’s not in a glass fishbowl the the aforementioned cars.
How long will this last on a 35Watts load please?
i'm going to assume 4hours and 39 minutes on AC
It's 204wh, you are suggesting a 35w load (35wh) so 204wh/35wh = 5.82 hours.
AC inverter loss can be 20% on ecoflow, so i'm assuming same for this one
DC load is more efficient
need to count overheads and efficiency so Foxjump is probably on the money, given over AC it would be closer to 77% efficient.
personally, using a separate inverter off-the-dc port on my ecoflow results in higher efficiency
Can't wait for 3000Wh units to come down in price. Sub $1000 will be great.
I received mine yesterday and unboxed it today (was considering selling it because I bought now, thought later). Charged to 100% and did a short test on my CPAP (BMC G3).
With the Humidifier and heated tubing turned to Auto, the machine was pulling around 80, dropping down to 70ish. I turned off both humidifier and heated tubing and usage dropped to 20 then down to 15. This indicated I had roughly 8 hours of battery left. The running time was about 5 mins so I would expect these to stabilise once it came up to temperature.
Although it was a simple test, I am extremely happy. My use case when I impulse bought was that it would be great for an overnight fishing trip. Currently I don't take my CPAP and subsequently wake up pretty dusty.
If I can get a day or two solely for CPAP purposes (charging during the day with solar or the car), $179 was a bloody good outlay IMHO.
Ah, just saw your comment thanks for the insights on the CPAP use case.
you can always DIY a ryobi 18 or 36v adapter to cig socket to give you extra juice
Thanks heaps, ill look that up!
I went from "I didnt think that through" to "Ill fight to the death if my wife arks up that I spent $179" in an instant lol.
I am surprised at how well made it is too. Im stoked.
well i have the ecoflowriver2 that i bought for $349 at one point
and that has come in very handy when camping, power failures etc.
and last night i used the lawnmower batteries to top em up.
the adv of mower batts is that their idle draw is almost 0 as they have zero smarts
the diadv is theyre not lifepo and i'm eating into my mowing batt life.
my point of having two nice batteries (eco+blu) is that i can put one to charge with the solar panels while i discharge the other, and swap them around. This can give more flexibiliyt to solar panel placement.
Anyone use one of these as a backup for their CPAP machine? What sort of run time do you get? I use an Airsense 10.
I know 50watts is the theoretical max, but I take it I could just turn off the humidifier as a work around.
Gone now
nice.
i cause bluetti to sell them out
just like i caused laserco to sell out of their smartplugs.
Damnit. I missed out.
Strangely increasing from $179 during their sale