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Thread: bluetti solar generator

  1. #1
    Boolit Master

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    bluetti solar generator

    any body have one and care to let me pick your brain. looking at using it for a UPS type system for the wifes freezers, yes that plural, she has 5 and i am getting worried about all the unrest in the country and fragility of the grid. i need something that will buy us a good chunk of time so that we can get stuff canned. have a couple gas gennies but the solar gennies are intriguing.
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  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    5 freezers are going to pull a lot of watts. Things in the freezers will go a day or so before things will start to thaw. I looked at the bluetti website and they are solar panels with battery storage for when the sun doesn't shine. Like rainy days and night. Inverter generators are great for intermittent loads like freezers. They shut down to idle when the compressor isn't running.

    The solar generators cost more than a generator for their output, but then there is no fuel needed.
    There are other systems with solar panels that are essentially the same thing so if you are going to go solar, shop around. You may get a tax credit for solar.
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  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Those solar panels look expensive to me. There are several solar generators on the market with good reviews so shop around. A freezer does not have to run more than once or twice a day to stay cold so take that into consideration and make sure you get solar panels that will provide enough power to recharge that generator. One more thing, are you sure you need a pure sine wave generator? You don't need one for a freezer.
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    I was looking into those bluetti . they have excellent reviews by bob at cheaprvliving and many others. they can take something like 1500 recharge cycles. and they seem to take great care in building each and every one. seem to be well thought out. with a couple solar panels you will never again need to lug cans of gas I'm pretty sure you can charge them up with just about any solar panels as well as plugging them into the wall or even from your cigarette lighter in a vehicle. they are not inexpensive but from everything I could find out about them they seem like a solid investment. if you have ever run a 13hp generator day and night you know how much gas they can drink.

  5. #5
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    Its not the best choice for your application to be totally honest with you.
    I am not sure what part of the country you live in but a better choice would be a natural gas/propane powered generator.
    Something with a auto transfer switch.
    Get a big propane tank and use it only for the generator. You could run it for several days on it.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by rancher1913 View Post
    i need something that will buy us a good chunk of time

    Read over your post again. Good chuck of time - buy solar panels and get a battery bank,
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  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Five freezers of food....you think that is enough?

    Do a test. Unplug one and check the temperature every two hours and see how long before it needs to be restarted. Then check how long it takes to get back down in temperature

    That will give you an idea of your power needs.
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  8. #8
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    Whatever you decide on, get a propane run system. Fuel Never goes bad and minimal upkeep.
    There are hole house system's that run on propane/natural gas, with an auto transfer switch, that you can size to your needs.
    I prefer propane with a stand-alone designated tank, as long as you have gas you have power.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by HATCH View Post
    Its not the best choice for your application to be totally honest with you.
    I am not sure what part of the country you live in but a better choice would be a natural gas/propane powered generator.
    Something with a auto transfer switch.
    Get a big propane tank and use it only for the generator. You could run it for several days on it.
    for the cost of a tank and one fill, i can get a unit that lasts a lot longer and is quiet.
    if you are ever being chased by a taxidermist, don't play dead

  10. #10
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by HATCH View Post
    Read over your post again. Good chuck of time - buy solar panels and get a battery bank,
    that is what the solar generator does
    if you are ever being chased by a taxidermist, don't play dead

  11. #11
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    the system im looking at will do all the freezers. the panels bluetti sell are garbage and have horrible reviews but the generator and batteries have the best reviews. i am looking at regular hard solar panels and it will take 12, 200 watt panels to max out the generator at 2400 watts. i have good southern exposure so i should be able to make power all day.

    i have a 60kw genset but i would rather have something a little more renewable, fuel is expensive.
    if you are ever being chased by a taxidermist, don't play dead

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    Boolit Master
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    I’m thinking about your use case.
    Power goes off, you want enough time to pull stuff from the freezers and can it, without power. So gas service for defrosting, packing and canning? I think you’d be better off starting canning now, and besides canned food doesn’t take power. If you need that much food you have an intolerable single point of failure, you need a generator plus solar backup!

  13. #13
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    Natural gas is immediately shut off with any seismic activity so my natural gas supplier tells me
    It will take a huge propane tank to run a 10KW generator because natural and propane gas have far less energy than gasoline has
    There still is NO CAN to put electricity into that you created yesterday ..we still do not have the technology
    Elon Musk has told the US Gov't they are idiots in that there is not the technology YET to store electric energy
    Get a gas fired electric start inverter generator and run it 2 hours a day twice a day and your freezers are good to go
    I say inverter type because most modern alliances have circuit boards and processors in them as well as large household stuff as simple as modern furnaces and refrigerators have processors and circuit boards
    There is not a storage battery on the planet that is not dying the day it is built and does not accelerate that death every time you charge it period ..
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  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by rancher1913 View Post
    the system im looking at will do all the freezers. the panels bluetti sell are garbage and have horrible reviews but the generator and batteries have the best reviews. i am looking at regular hard solar panels and it will take 12, 200 watt panels to max out the generator at 2400 watts. i have good southern exposure so i should be able to make power all day.

    i have a 60kw genset but i would rather have something a little more renewable, fuel is expensive.
    ^60KW should be enough to run three large homes or one home and a good sized welding or a 4-5 man machine shop. For one large all electric home with 5 freezers. 20KW should be enough capacity with little effort to regulate usage. A 5kw generator would handle the five freezers and leave power left over for lighting, computers and phones just by alternating the start time of the freezers. Sell the 60KW generator and get a reasonable setup that will not require near so much fuel.
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    Musk is the master flim flam man...........he sells costly ,flammable batteries that self destruct sooner or later,when for the same money you can buy old ,old fashioned tech Edison cells .........if weight is no factor ,then Edison cells are a long way ahead of any high tech stuff,and they dont need a massive computer to controll the charging and discharging......... they are not flammable ,even a massive short will only do electrical damage ,and not cause a massive fire of the batteries.

  16. #16
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    You might want to check and see if the system is compatible with a wind charger as well. A hybrid solar/wind generator system always made sense to me. The wind blows at night and on cloudy days. Just a thought.
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  17. #17
    Boolit Master

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    while i appreciate the replies, most have missed the point. i have a way to power stuff now but fuel is very finite. the solar generator would be used right now to power the freezers, thus cutting out the power company, and then if we lost power they would just keep on keeping on. i figure there will be a learning curve and i would rather get it out of the way before it matters thats why i was looking for advice from current owners of similar systems. yes batteries are the weak link but i figure that if i was careful in a grid down situation, i could get stuff cold during the day and let it ride at night.
    if you are ever being chased by a taxidermist, don't play dead

  18. #18
    Boolit Grand Master bedbugbilly's Avatar
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    The only experience I have had is with propane run generators . . . . so I ask this question out of pure curiosity.

    Someone mentioned that the solar.battery system lasts for 1500 recharge cycles . . . and I assume at or around that point the batteries need to be replaced but the solar panels would still keep going. So in a realistic scenario . . . if it was strictly a stand-by system, how often would the batteries actually last before needing replacement - and with the current crazies - are batteries going to be available? And . . . if the system is pressed into continuous use due to whatever, how long will they last before needing replacement?

    Not an easy choice I'm sure as there seems to be plusses and minuses to whatever system you would go with.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master Handloader109's Avatar
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    How are you going to 'cut off the power company now' ? Are the freezers in an out building you can separately power?

    It doesn't make sense if they are like mine, in the garage, and in the dog run and in basement. No easy way to separate the power. I've looked at my house for solar and I use 20 kWh when the heat or air is not on in a 24hour day, so roughly 1kW per hour as a baseline usage, up to 100kwh per 24 hours at peak 100F day or 0F day in the summer or winter, which would be 4kWh per hour. A 4kW generator would pretty much run most of my house except for the main heating.

    And next issue is that their largest battery is a 5kw battery. If your freezers use just say 500w each, that would MAYBE give you 10 hours.... even double would be 20 hours and the solar panels are NOT a dependable charger. if cloudy, you may be looking at 5 to 25% charge. If really bad, maybe almost zero.
    You would be better off just getting several deep charge golf cart batteries.
    Message MaryB, she runs her home off solar...

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by rancher1913 View Post
    any body have one and care to let me pick your brain. looking at using it for a UPS type system for the wifes freezers, yes that plural, she has 5 and i am getting worried about all the unrest in the country and fragility of the grid. i need something that will buy us a good chunk of time so that we can get stuff canned. have a couple gas gennies but the solar gennies are intriguing.
    Those all in one systems are way over priced... go to a solar dealer, give him your requirements. Average freezer needs around 1kwh a day in power for a chest freezer. Upright are power hogs and use 3-4 times that(all your cold pours out on the floor when the door is opened, that warm air has to be cooled back down). May as well add some overhead for solar lighting in key rooms, and to power a laptop or small TV or some radios(my ham radios are solar powered). Go with an AGM style battery, they do well as a standby battery and are maintenance free. Regular lead acid require periodic watering to keep the levels up and they off gas a LOT of fumes.

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