A lot of folks are worried about damaging the alternator by using this DC to DC charger. Those of us in the RV world know that when we hitch up our trailers with 1, 2, 3 or more house batteries, it's our alternator that is charging them as we're driving down the road! You really can't overstress the alternator, it puts out what it's designed to and that's it. The thing is that it puts out a lot more than is needed to run the car and recharge the car's battery. DC to DC chargers have been in use for many years, this one is just designed specifically for power stations and is made to be easy to install. Some folks are suggesting using a 500 watt inverter plugged into the car's accessory outlet, but that's drawing the power through the vehicle's 12guage wires, which can possibly overheat and short out.
Thank you for the reply and I hope you have great luck with this device, but an alternator is designed to maintain a vehicle electrical need's not charge 100 or 200 amp hour battery's while driving. Time will tell and I hope you keep us updated.
@@jtsterry This makes total sense. I am not a car guy or an electrical anything but if the ecu regulator reduces current wouldn't the DC charger start to draw down the car battery and at some point kick on to charge up the car battery? Yes - it is a chunk more load. Maybe carry a spare alternator. Or get a heavy duty alternator and carry the stock one as the spare. I think Ecoflow also has a system that charges off the car battery.
I have heard of people installing larger alternators in their vehicle to charge extra batteries, but this just seems like a good charge controller charger kind of thing with back flow protection etc. Nice, but kinda big and overpriced. Lots of capacitors and a fan? I would like a more technical explanation. That said, I just saw a RUclips video where a gal just blew up some electronics in her new Toyota Landcruiser, because she left herJackery plugged into the SUVs cigarette lighter 12 volt outlet while she also plugged in two fold out solar panels into the Jackery and it fried some important dashboard electronics which needed replacing. This might prevent that.
I could have used this a year ago! But I found my own way to fast-charge my Bluetti AC200P. I bought a 12-48V step up voltage booster for about $50, and connected it direct to my "customer connection port" (which is essentially a direct to battery connection) under the driver seat of my Ford Transit. The simple electrical formula is that I draw about 50 amps at 12 Volts from the vehicle battery (50x12~600watts), then I boost the 12 Volt DC system to 48 volts which then provides 560 watts at 12 amps to the Bluetti via the solar panel input port. I am thinking that this is virtually what the Bluetti Alternator Charger 1 does! I also added a 50amp breaker and used 6 gauge cables to run from the seat back to where my Bluetti was stored in the rear of the van. I also added a small computer fan to cool down the 12-48 volt boost charger since it gets quite hot during an hour or two long full charge cycle. The whole thing cost about $100 - cheaper than the Alternator Charger 1. I've been using this for the past year and it has worked great...I nearly put my 360watt portable solar panels away but found if I boondock for more than 2 days, I might need to use the solar panels. I really don't want to idle my vehicle for an hour or more just to charge the battery. So, I keep the solar panels just in case, but have only needed them for one day over the past year. Fortunately, my Ford Transit also came with the heavy duty 250amp alternator so even while full charging the Bluetti, I probably only use 1/2 of the total capacity. I believe the vehicle needs 70amps and the Bluetti needs 50 amps so 120 amps total maximum is about 1/2 the 250amps from the alternator - so I am not worried about burning out my vehicle alternator.
“Easy to use” is the important factor. Being able to select the Buetti battery that you have means that all of the charging curve and offset parameters are correct. Plus, the wiring is ready to go. For my Victron DC to DC that I installed in my camper, I set each parameter to match the lithium battery I have. This was a process which required some knowledge. And for the wiring, I bought a crimper to set the ferrels on the wires. After the work, I have a crimper and box of ferrels left over. As you showed, Bluetti has made the installation and set up easy! Good explanation of a worthwhile product, Rick.
I ordered this yesterday as they are on sale for half price. I won’t have to pay the power company for charging my BLUETTI anymore! I can take the load off my RV system because of both of those tools, and run my big fridge at home when the power goes out knowing that the charger is being charged every time the car is used. I don’t have solar panels yet, but intend to add them soon, because having all the ways to keep power flowing is importantly to us as disabled seniors. At home, I will offer my fridge for keeping other people’s meds cold for them during a power outage. My over 55 community once lost power for 5 days, and many residents had no way to keep their meds cold and lost them. All you need to do is watch the RUclips videos of the North Carolinians’ struggles to provide necessities and the power required for them to know how important power is for basic communication and food storage. Rechargeable power is necessary to preserve life.
I saw another review and they made an excellent criticism - the fuse should be close to the battery, not the charger. That is a long run of wire from the battery before a fuse.
You can over-stress an alternator. Don't ask how many of us know. Yes, they design in excess for the person who's running everything at once and a few small add-ons. But heat is the enemy. Not the current draw itself. Current draw generates heat. Heat within the alternator itself. Add more ambient heat from the outside or going slow in heat climbing hills with huge current draw and it can tax the alternator limits. You may be risking component failure. This is why people who convert from mechanical radiator fans to electric, generally upgrade alternators. That's a common replacement part. Maybe no one will tax their alternator using these devices. I hope not because it sucks to break down in the middle of nowhere when it's hot. Just want folks to know you can over-stress the alternator.
@@gonagain I didn't say it would or wouldn't. It's the heat that would concern me. From a simple google search; "Yes, an alternator's rectifier can fail due to overheating: "Heat is a major environmental factor that can affect the life of an alternator. Heat increases electrical resistance, which means parts have to work harder to produce the same output." And from me,..the more you demand,..the hotter components get. I've read these devices charge up the batteries fairly quick = a fair amount of current draw. As ham op, I have to be careful of transmitter draw on the electrical system in my rv. Current demand adds up fast and it gets real hot under hood crawling up steep grades in triple digit heat. That's all. Just be aware of how many amps the device draws when under load and the environment it's in. You're tapping into your vehicle's capacity to make current. Your ride back home. Cheers.
I have a Bluetti EB3A. I bought a cheap 12vdc to 24vdc convertor at 8amps on Amazon. Wired it into a cigarette lighter plug and charge the EB3A while driving. I also installed an inline fuse. Same thing, much less cost.
Getting around 100W out of the cigarette lighter plug to charge a 268Wh power station is not a major accomplishment, whether you needed to change the voltage to speed up the charging, or not. You can charge yours from empty to full in under 3 hours that way. But charging a 1000Wh or 1500Wh or 2000Wh using 100W from the socket takes running the engine for 10, 15, or 20 hours respectively. The big deal about any DC-DC charger, or DC-AC inverter hooked straight to the vehicle battery rather than to the 12V socket, is that you're not limited by the 10A fuse on the lighter socket wiring. So the big power stations can be charged in 2, 3, or 4 hours rather than 10, 15, or 20 hours. You're right that you don't need this for a small power station, because the 12V socket power is already a reasonable match for charging it. Not true for larger power stations, which is what this is intended for.
Well, another good review Rick . After reading all the comments, seems like the jury is still out on this one . Maybe you can give us an update months from now to see how it turns out for you. Thanks.👍
You really do a great job with your product videos. I think it is always wise to keep your solar panels handy. A back up for a back up. It’s a pilot thing 😎
GREAT INFO AND REVIEW.....BUT .. I'M OF THE THINKING THAT I'D STILL BRING THE GENERATOR AND SOLAR PANELS... YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH POWER. I'D RATHER HAVE IT AND NOT NEED THAN NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT. THANKS FOR SHARING!!!
I live in hurricane country so I know for certain that the more ways you have to generate power the easier Iife is! We have a generator, a BLUETTI power station, and will soon get solar panels also. At 82, I want all the power I can get, and gasoline isn’t always available for a while after a bad storm, so driving isn’t always a good choice for charge your charger. That’s when the solar panels will come it. Meantime, I use the power station daily for some things, and having this charger will be less expensive way of charging it!
Great video as always. Using a DC2DC charger is the safest way to go when mixing battery types. Speaking for myself, my diesel truck's emission hardware, (DPF/SCR) doesn't like excessive idling. I carry a small Sportsman 800watt inverter generator to recharge the batteries when days and/or sites aren't conducive for solar. No more idling of the truck.
This $300 device operates just like a battery isolator. Isolators are $32 on Amazon. 13 volts at 60 amps so 780 watts. A battery isolator will not wear out your alternator that is in good condition.
This sounds awesome. Comes at a great time too. I, just this weekend, experienced what you said. It would seriously take 12 hrs of continuous driving to successfully charge an AC180. This is definitely something we’ll be looking into. Thanks for sharing
Wow, lots of conflicting ideas! I don't know enough about alternators to have an opinion, so will wait and see what shakes out. I do like redundancy, so will hang onto my solar panels and Honda for now.....
A power station will run the refrigerator, but you don’t want to leave a door open for the cord to the generator. Our freezer is in the garage, so that’s no problem. But it needs gasoline, which requires trips to the gas station, so you might as well be charging a charger to be available for the power station running the refrigerator, a fan, and maybe you mini 300 watt egg cooker. All the things that give you power make life better!
Excellent review as always. I used this all weekend to power my all electric kitchen gear and it topped everything off every day. Another win for Bluetti.
The circuit breaker should go at the car battery end of the wiring installation. As installed, there is no protection of the positive cable to the charger. If the positive cable were to chafe on something and cause a short circuit, the car frame for example, the car battery will then attempt to put out infinite current and will melt the insulation on the wire and potentially cause a fire.
They are not very smart. "Hay I want my car alternator to fail fail and fail because I think charging the battery pack is more important." Yes it will work but remember your car alternator is not going to last as long as it should.
Great info, I see a purchase in very near future. I'm in West Tennessee luckily,but a lot of people in East Tennessee and western North Carolina could really benefit from this product right now
As always, great info. It's amazing to me how all this works and can make life easier living on the road or camping. I've always had pretty good mechanical aptitude but when it comes to electrical I must admit I'm a dummy. You make it look easy! Thanks Rick!
Im running a 1k watt inverter in my truck and using the ac180 power cord to charge and im getting 800 to 900 watts of charge. I ran audio grade 0 gauge wire to the battery to my inverter.
This is a great option for me since I can hook it up to the alternator on my diesel truck without overtaxing the alternator, which I would be a bit concerned about if I were hooking it up to my VW Jetta. I'll always keep my solar panels handy since the main purpose of buying my "solar generators" is to provide power in case of a power outage or a grid-down scenario. Thanks for the info!!!
Always polite. Referring to your post . I feel a need for all . Better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it. They are all device that have potential to fail. Great video .
Am on a trip from Arizona up the west coast and back. In a little Transit Connect with a Bluetti AC180. Works perfectly. Keeps my phone, iPad, and computer all charged. Run a 120V small heater off it at night, before sleeping. The problem is me, being an 80 year old Irish-American, which is to say, stupid, now and then. Forgot to unplug the Bluetti from the van's cigarette lighter at night... and twice... twice! Woke up to a dead car battery in the morning. Luckily, I have a small MicroStart jumpstarter, so this was an embarrassment rather than a problem. It's a mindset adaptation... in late afternoon, I still keep thinking 'where is a campground with electricity to plug into?' Even though you never need to. Normal driving each day keeps the Bluetti charged, and there are many days when I don't have to charge it at all. Far better than solar, for me anyway! Edit -- will get the DC to DC adapter. Looks like the answer to extended offroad camping trips...
Great idea. Probably not something we would purchase, but really is a great idea. I think the best feature is that you can adjust the voltage it puts out so you can charge any brand/size.
Great to see more of your tips and info on your equipment that you take with you on your travels and everything that you need to know about them especially with the Bluetti Charger1 there and as always another great video thank you Rick and Linda have a wonderful week.☕🍩👋🇺🇲
A DC to DC charger is just a step up/down transformer, depending on application, to provided the correct voltage to the item being supplied. This is just matching the solar input voltage for faster charging. This is a slick set up but are DIY amazon solution: transformer $25 C/B $17 wires $50 approx.
I have a 12 to 24 Buck inverter, but I also own three EB3a's and two Ac180's. The App is slick because you can dial in what your power station model is. and it's got a built in fan. Those buck inverters can get pretty hot. I need to see a price drop before I pull the trigger.
Technically a transformer only works with AC energy sources, whereas automotive electrical systems only provide DC energy (rectified and regulated from the alternator). So it’s not a true transformer but instead a DC-DC converter.
@@matthewprather7386 How does the DC to DC converter raise to DC voltage from 13.5ish VDC from the vehicle alternators to 14.6ish VDC needed to charge Li batteries? The step up in voltage in DC solid state circuits is commonly called a "converter" which is a solid state transformer (in function) verses an AC circuit that uses a transformer containing a ratio of primary & secondary windings to determine the output VAC.
@@mongo1243 the device shown here is generally a boost converter type device Boost converters use simple single winding inductors, and don’t rely on mutual inductance to change voltage for current the way a transformer does. Instead they take DC voltage at the input, run it through an inductor, and then to a switch (transistor) and a diode. Then to a filter network. The switch is controlled by a timing circuit, cycling the switch on and off at a regular time interval. This causes a magnetic field to be formed when the switch is closed and the collapsed when the switch is opened. The latter is the magic part because the collapsing magnetic field causes an increase in the voltage at the switch - the step up. Once the voltage is increased the ripple is filtered out as necessary making a DC voltage. A transformer, even one that’s solid state, has AC on both the input and the output - not useful in this type of system. And under the hood, a transformer takes advantage of mutual inductance between two adjacent coils of wire - even solid state transformers.
@@mongo1243 yes. It has to change the DC to AC then back to DC to boost the voltage with diodes and or mosfets (a type of field-effect transistor). So you loose energy in the conversion.
Thank you so much. I have Bluetti & Ecoflow here in Brazil. Unfortunately, the inverter available was Ecoflow. Now I'm wandering if the same will power even Bluetti. 🤙
This was great information for me as i just ordered a new 1800w solar generator. I haven't yet ordered solar panels and cables and really don't think I'll need to now since we're usually at our off grid camp 2 or 3 days right now. Maybe won't even run the generator down in that time frame anyway....love your videos. ❤ I see the cable for the unit is on back order today.
I use my Bluetti AC70, that I use as a UPS. I also have a 1kw inverter. When I need to top off the AC70, I can hook up my inverter, and charge in turbo mode, which takes less than 2 hours, if the battery is close to flat.
I just ordered the kit. It will make my life a lot easier. I have a 3500-watt generator and I'm tired of moving it in and out of my truck. Thanks for the info.
now you can lug your heavy bluetti back and forth!! I would recommend careful research to understand the benefits and cons of the charger. I think you may find that the charger is good but not that great. Its benefit is that it can be used as another method to charge up your batteries but perhaps not waiting for hours upon hours for a full charge.
What a great product! Thanks for the review. I'm so glad the options for power have changed so much over the last 10 years. It was my biggest anxiety about travel and the functional space in my van - how do I keep the things I like to use charged? It doesn't look like there's any need to create a full electrical system anymore. These power station options - and now this charger - really keep it simple. Thanks so much!
Rick. Just ordered this unit with kit. Because already a part of Bluetti community, it only cost me $249! 😊 Wow what a deal. Will run into my Ford Ranger to power my EcoFlo Delta 2 Max. I'll let you know how it goes when installed. Thanks for this review.
Good tip Rick, I know that this might sound a little peculiar but if anyone asks you to ride with them in a motorcycle side car and film.... Don't do it! Don't ask me why.... Just don't. Safe Travels
There is still a "custom" option in the select your power station screen where you can set your own amp draw from the Charger 1 if 45A @ 12V is too much for your alternator... Charger 1 is 92.6% efficient from converting input to output so you can customise exactly how much you want.
Great tip Rick, I bought a 400W inverter that plugs into the 12v cigarette lighter in my truck. Jo-Ann and I would plug our Inergy Apex into that to charge it on travel days.
The Inergy Apex spec is that 120V charging is at 500W. I fail to see how the usual 12V 10A wiring to a lighter socket supports a 500W load plugged into a 400W inverter plugged into the socket.
@@EfficientRVer I'm not an electrical genius. All I know for sure is that when my wife and I were full time RVers, we would plug the Inergy Apex into our 400W inverter and it would charge our Inergy Apex while we were in transet to our next destination. Whether you fail to see how makes no difference to me, we know what we did, and we know it worked. That's all that matters to my wife and I.
This idea is ideal when you have dual alternators. Relying on your tow vehicles alternator as a generator can leave you stranded if using the main alternator and this overworking kills it. Heavy duty trucks do this type of thing, BUT with dual charging systems.
Well, hot damn, Rick. That's exactly what I've been looking for. I currently use a Victron DC-to-DC converter and I can only get 225 watts out of it. Yet, my Bluetti AC180 can take up to 500 watts. This should fit the ticket. Let us know how hot it gets, would you? Thanks for posting this video. Cheers!
A dedicated charger is cool,but what about just running a 1000watt inverter,then you can just plug the big guy into that, since it runs off of your car battery also, unless there is some benefit like faster charging through this little charger, it's basically doing the same thing as the big charger offering some phone plug ins,but I see no need for it if you already have an inverter, exactly how long it takes to charge this unit by each source may not be that different, but I believe plugging in to the wall is probably the fastest.
Thanks guys, hope yall are well, I have been wanting one of these as soon as I saw it advertised. I depend on my AZ 200 Max and EB 70 as well as a River Pro when boondocking but a lot of the time I use a Predator 3500 generator to charge sometimes, this would be a big help in our adventures.
Maybe for short trips or if you're driving the vehicle frequently. Solar is key for generating power if you're planning on camping for longer periods. I have just 200w of solar on my campers roof with 200ah of LiFePo4 batteries and can camp indefinitely with plenty of energy.
We have solar on the roof of our trailer. With this dc to dc charger, we don't need to bring along the fold up panels to set in the sun when the trailer is in the shade; we can charge the power station when we go to the store or on the road.
Great video. do you just have the power cord running down the side of the inside of your car? do you just on hook everything when you're ready to drive? can you do a video on how everything is hook from the battery? thanks.
The cable runs inside of my car and under the trim or carpet. It stays hooked up and you can turn it on or off using the switch on the circuit breaker that's near the power station.
Breakthrough? DC-DC chargers have been around for a very long time. The only slight difference here, is making it very user friendly for use with power stations that have varying input voltage limits, rather than with just a battery of a fixed voltage.
@EfficientRVer so sorry Mr.know it all,it's breakthrough to me, since I don't know anything about it yet,so,please unload your Holier than thou attitude somewhere else
I'm going to use a $340 (4 stroke) 2,500 wat gas generator, that runs 9 hours off one gallon of gas. And Eco flow river 2 , that charges in 45 minutes for emergencies. 10 gallons in reserve? . I camp with a 50w solar panel, and an Anker solix 522. I also use all USB heated clothing. . I'm liking this bluetti in the video. I was using a heating pad till I found all this USB heated products. Sleeping bag. Socks. Jacket.
@@sluggodna Holy! I'm new to this and getting confused by all the options, can you say what generator you're using that runs that long on one gallon of gas?
@@sluggodna oh no, not you, I'm just getting into the solar generator, panel, batteries thing, this makes sense 😁, thanks for the reply and info I just put a similar one in my cart 👍
"Oh no not a generator that makes too much sense, no no no not a generator. Some one might think I am a climate denier," Ha ha ah. My Honda EU-1000 has saved my butt and many others to whom I loaned it out to over the years. I never go with out a little generator in operational condition.
Hey Rick, Good idea for some but I dont think it is a good idea for you or me. I'm thinking of safety. That Bluetti can take a lot of power real quick to charge up. That is a very big draw on your (and mine) only alternator. You and Linda do a lot of desert camping where it gets insanely hot and cold. You dont want to prematurely wear out your alternator when your vehicle is needed to start and get you home or to turn on the AC on a potentially deadly day. You camp miles from nowhere and may not have cell service. Any potential rescue may not even find you. You certainly may not even be able to use your horn with a dead battery. Bring that generator along just in case and keep using those solar panels. Just like flat tires and car accidents, sooner or later something will happen if you do it long enough. Be safe. BTW, Nothing I have put inside my Transit van runs off the van's battery. Everything is off the house batteries. I have and automatic charger that runs on shore power, generator, and 200 watts of solar does a great job of charging. Just in case I need a quick charge I have a 300 watt invertor behind my seat that can power the charger in a rare pinch. Of course, the solar would be charging at the same time unless it was dark out. You gotta plug the sponsors but be safe about it.
Really slick and I think more efficient. But efficient isn't necessarily cost effective. A 12V/120V inverter installed under the hood of your car and a 50ft 16/3 extension cord. Even with the inefficiencies of stepping up and stepping down 600W inverter would totally make up for that and the car would never know. The energy density of Gasoline, you would never notice 100W more. Plus you could use the 120V straight out of the inverter if you were within extension cord range which could be quite far with a 12/3 wire extension cord before you get voltage sag. Those cable for the Bluetti need to be large and could stand to be larger at 12V. 12V doesn't travel well through small wires. There was a video I saw where a man was trying to charge a battery in his teardrop trailer from a wire on his trailer pigtail and after driving 6-8 hours, the battery hadn't charged. He checked his pigtail voltage and it was 11V at best. Sometimes the inefficient direct approach is the most cost effective even if it isn't the most efficient.
Cool Cool Cool, this unit is a Must Have. Hi Rick and Hello Linda. I love it when science provides us with a new Gizmo to make our lives run smoothly and this little bugger will save us time and reduce the Hassle Factor. Nice. Thanks for the review Rick, you Always Deliver. Hope to see you soon. I will send an email today & fill you in with the latest. God Bless and check your tire pressure. 👍 V here.
Be careful. I like Rick and appreciate his information but I don't think this is completely right on. There's a limit to what an alternator can do and adding a 500 watt draw on a system just seems like too much to me. We'll see, I guess!
The smallest alternator you are likely to find on a car puts out over 1800 watts of power and most pickups and SUVs have larger alternators than that, putting out 2500 to 3500 watts. The alternator is mostly only working for a short time to replace the energy that you used to start the car and after that is just coasting while running the ignition and the vehicles accessories. The charger is not going to affect it at all.
Interesting to run across this just now as I literally bought the kit (although the cable is currently out of stock until mid-October) about 2 hours ago for $250 (Member pricing). I have 800 watts in portable panels but they are a real pain in the neck to reposition every time it's needed.
Hey how about a tour of Garnet, Montana? Looks like an interesting place and allegedly haunted ghost town. Just a thought. Have a good day. Best regards, Eugene Cole
You are the first one on RUclips that I have seen show what comes in the kit. Good job. Rick, reckon this would work helping charge my batteries on my travel trailer? I have a 12v 200 amp hour batteries. I'm a travel nurse, so I stay in Walmart parking lots as I travel from point A to B, the overnight stays don't pull the batteries down too much most of time, but string two or three stops together, and the battery can get down fairly low. I have portable solar (not enough)but nothing on the roof, but where the solar connects is an mc4 connection next to the tongue jack. If I had this charger, I was thinking I could connect it there. Seems doable, what do you think?
That is great info Rick. I have an Li-BIM to charge my house battery in the van. Hmmm.... I'm wondering if you could stick this in too just for the power station. As you know I have that Bibene 500w 614wh power station. It is still such a part of my power equipment. (I guess they are Oukitel these days) I guess it is research time. LOL Thanks again for all the information your videos provide. Excellent stuff!
Before there were alternators on vehicles, there were generators with voltage regulators. DC to DC charger is a generator/battery charger. You're still using fuel. Does solar really work. Nope. If it did. Anything with fuel would not be needed to charge the batteries. I am not saying don't buy one. Buy an extra. Yet. Keep all options open. As in all three. I did this. With one set of batteries. Hook up three separate solar systems to them. Worked. Everything I own runs on gas, 110v, battery, and propane. I have converters and a power station. Why I am watching this. I don't own one yet.
I have a suggestion..... Can you install this device your TW200? Of course the motorcycle at idle alternator output will be small, and idling at camp is not good for an air cooled motorcycle engine. However, would be interesting to track how much it could be recharge while strapped on the rear rack while on a grocery run. Second, has this device used on a larger motorcycle with liquid cooled radiator that can be idled at camp? A small power station on a touring/ adventure motorcycle might be an interesting option.
van conversions have been using this form of charging for years and one of the things that have come to light is this form of charging is it is hard on factory alternators so the vans will install a heavy duty or even a second alternator.Alternators are designed to increase output as engine speed increases, i would be testing how this affects my battery while it is actually charging the power station at idle and find out what my alternators max output is......this is a good option but i am not sure it is a magic bullet. i also question the value of running a car engine instead of a small gen to charge a power station, is convenience that important?
It's going to so most of the work while you are driving the car for normal errands, but on a rainy day you could idle the car for while to keep the refrigerator going if you wanted to. The refrigerator is only drawing about 45 watts while it's running so there is plenty left over to recharge your power station.
Depends on use case. If your use case is camping in one spot for many cloudy days with lots of electrical loads then a separate generator makes sense. But if you don’t stay in one spot too long and your loads are modest this kind of charger could be really nice.
My Honda generator works great for all my uses out in the wilds ! I don’t use power banks or solar panels , don’t need them ! Could very well be the wave for future portable electric power , but I just don’t have a need for it !
I haven't had to do that yet but it's a possibility if you need it. We mainly use it while driving so that the power station is fully charged when we reach camp. At idle it still puts out the 500 watts.
So first you discharge the house battery, then you discharge the car battery then you walk home. When I had a boat the house battery was fair game but the engine start battery was NOT for anything unless the generator was running. How long will it take your solar panel to recharge the car battery to start the engine so that you can go home
Your vehicle already is a generator. Worst case, you have to run your car engine more than you wanted, but it is not going to be an emergency. Check that it works before taking your trip, and ditch the generator.
I just checked it out and Bluetti is sold out of the Charger 1 Kit. You can buy a Buck inverter, which I have but those features in the App make it so I want one.
That would be nice for emergencies but when I go out I want to not have to start my car for a week or more at a time therefore I use solar panels, that device just makes a high priced gas powered generated out of your car, I don't want to smell exhaust fumes when I go camping.
: ) THANKS MUCH for sharing a better way to charge power stations... just a little too expensive for me :( May another type of DC to DC charger would be more affordable for us part timers : ) ALL the BEST and ENJOY! Cheers ! ! : )
Wait a minute, a prepper has to prepare for the time when there is no gasoline. Afterall, when the power is down, gas stations can't pump. I lived through that when the east coast grid went down. So how long would your car battery last if you car won't run?
What kind of termals are those on the end? I have 6AWG wire coming off my batter for the Pecron Alt charger. It has a XT90 connector. I would like to make a XT90 extention to the Bluetti connector. Do you think that is possible? Thanks.
I charge my Bluetti AC200 max using the power brick that came with it plugged into an inverter connected to my vans alternator. Gives me 490 watts of charging. I never have to use my portable solar panels.
A lot of folks are worried about damaging the alternator by using this DC to DC charger. Those of us in the RV world know that when we hitch up our trailers with 1, 2, 3 or more house batteries, it's our alternator that is charging them as we're driving down the road! You really can't overstress the alternator, it puts out what it's designed to and that's it. The thing is that it puts out a lot more than is needed to run the car and recharge the car's battery. DC to DC chargers have been in use for many years, this one is just designed specifically for power stations and is made to be easy to install. Some folks are suggesting using a 500 watt inverter plugged into the car's accessory outlet, but that's drawing the power through the vehicle's 12guage wires, which can possibly overheat and short out.
Thank you for the reply and I hope you have great luck with this device, but an alternator is designed to maintain a vehicle electrical need's not charge 100 or 200 amp hour battery's while driving. Time will tell and I hope you keep us updated.
@@jtsterry Well said.
@@jtsterry This makes total sense. I am not a car guy or an electrical anything but if the ecu regulator reduces current wouldn't the DC charger start to draw down the car battery and at some point kick on to charge up the car battery? Yes - it is a chunk more load. Maybe carry a spare alternator. Or get a heavy duty alternator and carry the stock one as the spare. I think Ecoflow also has a system that charges off the car battery.
I have heard of people installing larger alternators in their vehicle to charge extra batteries, but this just seems like a good charge controller charger kind of thing with back flow protection etc. Nice, but kinda big and overpriced. Lots of capacitors and a fan? I would like a more technical explanation. That said, I just saw a RUclips video where a gal just blew up some electronics in her new Toyota Landcruiser, because she left herJackery plugged into the SUVs cigarette lighter 12 volt outlet while she also plugged in two fold out solar panels into the Jackery and it fried some important dashboard electronics which needed replacing. This might prevent that.
@wrxs1781 it's already been proven these chargers work as advertised. This is definitely not the first or most in depth video.
I could have used this a year ago! But I found my own way to fast-charge my Bluetti AC200P. I bought a 12-48V step up voltage booster for about $50, and connected it direct to my "customer connection port" (which is essentially a direct to battery connection) under the driver seat of my Ford Transit. The simple electrical formula is that I draw about 50 amps at 12 Volts from the vehicle battery (50x12~600watts), then I boost the 12 Volt DC system to 48 volts which then provides 560 watts at 12 amps to the Bluetti via the solar panel input port. I am thinking that this is virtually what the Bluetti Alternator Charger 1 does! I also added a 50amp breaker and used 6 gauge cables to run from the seat back to where my Bluetti was stored in the rear of the van. I also added a small computer fan to cool down the 12-48 volt boost charger since it gets quite hot during an hour or two long full charge cycle. The whole thing cost about $100 - cheaper than the Alternator Charger 1. I've been using this for the past year and it has worked great...I nearly put my 360watt portable solar panels away but found if I boondock for more than 2 days, I might need to use the solar panels. I really don't want to idle my vehicle for an hour or more just to charge the battery. So, I keep the solar panels just in case, but have only needed them for one day over the past year. Fortunately, my Ford Transit also came with the heavy duty 250amp alternator so even while full charging the Bluetti, I probably only use 1/2 of the total capacity. I believe the vehicle needs 70amps and the Bluetti needs 50 amps so 120 amps total maximum is about 1/2 the 250amps from the alternator - so I am not worried about burning out my vehicle alternator.
“Easy to use” is the important factor.
Being able to select the Buetti battery that you have means that all of the charging curve and offset parameters are correct.
Plus, the wiring is ready to go.
For my Victron DC to DC that I installed in my camper, I set each parameter to match the lithium battery I have. This was a process which required some knowledge.
And for the wiring, I bought a crimper to set the ferrels on the wires. After the work, I have a crimper and box of ferrels left over.
As you showed, Bluetti has made the installation and set up easy!
Good explanation of a worthwhile product, Rick.
I ordered this yesterday as they are on sale for half price. I won’t have to pay the power company for charging my BLUETTI anymore! I can take the load off my RV system because of both of those tools, and run my big fridge at home when the power goes out knowing that the charger is being charged every time the car is used. I don’t have solar panels yet, but intend to add them soon, because having all the ways to keep power flowing is importantly to us as disabled seniors. At home, I will offer my fridge for keeping other people’s meds cold for them during a power outage. My over 55 community once lost power for 5 days, and many residents had no way to keep their meds cold and lost them. All you need to do is watch the RUclips videos of the North Carolinians’ struggles to provide necessities and the power required for them to know how important power is for basic communication and food storage. Rechargeable power is necessary to preserve life.
I saw another review and they made an excellent criticism - the fuse should be close to the battery, not the charger. That is a long run of wire from the battery before a fuse.
Usually within 18" of the battery.
I'm wondering about this too. I need to put a circuit breaker off my battery for my winch, and worried about anything with with a fuse.
I love solar panels, been using them on vehicles to charge my battery's for about 15 years.
You can over-stress an alternator. Don't ask how many of us know. Yes, they design in excess for the person who's running everything at once and a few small add-ons. But heat is the enemy. Not the current draw itself. Current draw generates heat. Heat within the alternator itself. Add more ambient heat from the outside or going slow in heat climbing hills with huge current draw and it can tax the alternator limits. You may be risking component failure. This is why people who convert from mechanical radiator fans to electric, generally upgrade alternators. That's a common replacement part. Maybe no one will tax their alternator using these devices. I hope not because it sucks to break down in the middle of nowhere when it's hot. Just want folks to know you can over-stress the alternator.
You can, but this isn't going to do it.
@@gonagain I didn't say it would or wouldn't. It's the heat that would concern me. From a simple google search; "Yes, an alternator's rectifier can fail due to overheating:
"Heat is a major environmental factor that can affect the life of an alternator. Heat increases electrical resistance, which means parts have to work harder to produce the same output."
And from me,..the more you demand,..the hotter components get. I've read these devices charge up the batteries fairly quick = a fair amount of current draw.
As ham op, I have to be careful of transmitter draw on the electrical system in my rv. Current demand adds up fast and it gets real hot under hood crawling up steep grades in triple digit heat. That's all. Just be aware of how many amps the device draws when under load and the environment it's in. You're tapping into your vehicle's capacity to make current. Your ride back home. Cheers.
Time posted by Rick Oct 5, 8:21pm.
The back peddling begins !
@@gonagain For one thing you do not know that and I highly suggest you pay close attention to what @jimp.7286 has said and what I have posted.
@@jtsterry I don't think he's back peddling, just putting it out there.
I have a Bluetti EB3A. I bought a cheap 12vdc to 24vdc convertor at 8amps on Amazon. Wired it into a cigarette lighter plug and charge the EB3A while driving. I also installed an inline fuse. Same thing, much less cost.
Getting around 100W out of the cigarette lighter plug to charge a 268Wh power station is not a major accomplishment, whether you needed to change the voltage to speed up the charging, or not. You can charge yours from empty to full in under 3 hours that way. But charging a 1000Wh or 1500Wh or 2000Wh using 100W from the socket takes running the engine for 10, 15, or 20 hours respectively.
The big deal about any DC-DC charger, or DC-AC inverter hooked straight to the vehicle battery rather than to the 12V socket, is that you're not limited by the 10A fuse on the lighter socket wiring. So the big power stations can be charged in 2, 3, or 4 hours rather than 10, 15, or 20 hours.
You're right that you don't need this for a small power station, because the 12V socket power is already a reasonable match for charging it. Not true for larger power stations, which is what this is intended for.
@@EfficientRVer you are correct but I don't need a large unit. I just use it to run my frig.
Well, another good review Rick . After reading all the comments, seems like the jury is still out on this one . Maybe you can give us an update months from now to see how it turns out for you. Thanks.👍
You really do a great job with your product videos. I think it is always wise to keep your solar panels handy. A back up for a back up. It’s a pilot thing 😎
@@tangobravo8889 Two is one and one is none.
Great point!
GREAT INFO AND REVIEW.....BUT .. I'M OF THE THINKING THAT I'D STILL BRING THE GENERATOR AND SOLAR PANELS... YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH POWER. I'D RATHER HAVE IT AND NOT NEED THAN NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT. THANKS FOR SHARING!!!
I live in hurricane country so I know for certain that the more ways you have to generate power the easier Iife is! We have a generator, a BLUETTI power station, and will soon get solar panels also. At 82, I want all the power I can get, and gasoline isn’t always available for a while after a bad storm, so driving isn’t always a good choice for charge your charger. That’s when the solar panels will come it. Meantime, I use the power station daily for some things, and having this charger will be less expensive way of charging it!
Great video as always. Using a DC2DC charger is the safest way to go when mixing battery types. Speaking for myself, my diesel truck's emission hardware, (DPF/SCR) doesn't like excessive idling. I carry a small Sportsman 800watt inverter generator to recharge the batteries when days and/or sites aren't conducive for solar. No more idling of the truck.
This $300 device operates just like a battery isolator. Isolators are $32 on Amazon.
13 volts at 60 amps so 780 watts.
A battery isolator will not wear out your alternator that is in good condition.
This sounds awesome. Comes at a great time too. I, just this weekend, experienced what you said. It would seriously take 12 hrs of continuous driving to successfully charge an AC180. This is definitely something we’ll be looking into. Thanks for sharing
Wow, lots of conflicting ideas! I don't know enough about alternators to have an opinion, so will wait and see what shakes out. I do like redundancy, so will hang onto my solar panels and Honda for now.....
A power station will run the refrigerator, but you don’t want to leave a door open for the cord to the generator. Our freezer is in the garage, so that’s no problem. But it needs gasoline, which requires trips to the gas station, so you might as well be charging a charger to be available for the power station running the refrigerator, a fan, and maybe you mini 300 watt egg cooker. All the things that give you power make life better!
Excellent review as always. I used this all weekend to power my all electric kitchen gear and it topped everything off every day. Another win for Bluetti.
The circuit breaker should go at the car battery end of the wiring installation. As installed, there is no protection of the positive cable to the charger. If the positive cable were to chafe on something and cause a short circuit, the car frame for example, the car battery will then attempt to put out infinite current and will melt the insulation on the wire and potentially cause a fire.
Ya it's eventualLy Going to be a ProbLem, ... if Everything was Grommet'd from Ship to😅Stern it WouLd be a 😊Perfect WorLd, bye
They are not very smart. "Hay I want my car alternator to fail fail and fail because I think charging the battery pack is more important." Yes it will work but remember your car alternator is not going to last as long as it should.
Great info, I see a purchase in very near future.
I'm in West Tennessee luckily,but a lot of people in East Tennessee and western North Carolina could really benefit from this product right now
As always, great info. It's amazing to me how all this works and can make life easier living on the road or camping. I've always had pretty good mechanical aptitude but when it comes to electrical I must admit I'm a dummy. You make it look easy! Thanks Rick!
Im running a 1k watt inverter in my truck and using the ac180 power cord to charge and im getting 800 to 900 watts of charge. I ran audio grade 0 gauge wire to the battery to my inverter.
This is a great option for me since I can hook it up to the alternator on my diesel truck without overtaxing the alternator, which I would be a bit concerned about if I were hooking it up to my VW Jetta.
I'll always keep my solar panels handy since the main purpose of buying my "solar generators" is to provide power in case of a power outage or a grid-down scenario.
Thanks for the info!!!
Always polite. Referring to your post . I feel a need for all . Better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it. They are all device that have potential to fail. Great video .
Am on a trip from Arizona up the west coast and back. In a little Transit Connect with a Bluetti AC180. Works perfectly. Keeps my phone, iPad, and computer all charged. Run a 120V small heater off it at night, before sleeping.
The problem is me, being an 80 year old Irish-American, which is to say, stupid, now and then. Forgot to unplug the Bluetti from the van's cigarette lighter at night... and twice... twice! Woke up to a dead car battery in the morning. Luckily, I have a small MicroStart jumpstarter, so this was an embarrassment rather than a problem.
It's a mindset adaptation... in late afternoon, I still keep thinking 'where is a campground with electricity to plug into?' Even though you never need to. Normal driving each day keeps the Bluetti charged, and there are many days when I don't have to charge it at all. Far better than solar, for me anyway!
Edit -- will get the DC to DC adapter. Looks like the answer to extended offroad camping trips...
Exactly what I was looking for! Thank u 4 Posting this Video!!
The problem with running the lead-acid battery down is you can only do it six or so times before you have to get a new battery.
Great idea. Probably not something we would purchase, but really is a great idea. I think the best feature is that you can adjust the voltage it puts out so you can charge any brand/size.
Great to see more of your tips and info on your equipment that
you take with you on your travels and everything that you need
to know about them especially with the Bluetti Charger1 there
and as always another great video thank you Rick and Linda
have a wonderful week.☕🍩👋🇺🇲
Keep the reviews coming, and the comments are always helpful too.
We recently started using our Renogy DC-DC charger to replenish our campe'rs LiFePO4 battery, it's a game changer
A DC to DC charger is just a step up/down transformer, depending on application, to provided the correct voltage to the item being supplied. This is just matching the solar input voltage for faster charging. This is a slick set up but are DIY amazon solution: transformer $25 C/B $17 wires $50 approx.
I have a 12 to 24 Buck inverter, but I also own three EB3a's and two Ac180's. The App is slick because you can dial in what your power station model is. and it's got a built in fan. Those buck inverters can get pretty hot. I need to see a price drop before I pull the trigger.
Technically a transformer only works with AC energy sources, whereas automotive electrical systems only provide DC energy (rectified and regulated from the alternator). So it’s not a true transformer but instead a DC-DC converter.
@@matthewprather7386 How does the DC to DC converter raise to DC voltage from 13.5ish VDC from the vehicle alternators to 14.6ish VDC needed to charge Li batteries?
The step up in voltage in DC solid state circuits is commonly called a "converter" which is a solid state transformer (in function) verses an AC circuit that uses a transformer containing a ratio of primary & secondary windings to determine the output VAC.
@@mongo1243 the device shown here is generally a boost converter type device Boost converters use simple single winding inductors, and don’t rely on mutual inductance to change voltage for current the way a transformer does. Instead they take DC voltage at the input, run it through an inductor, and then to a switch (transistor) and a diode. Then to a filter network. The switch is controlled by a timing circuit, cycling the switch on and off at a regular time interval. This causes a magnetic field to be formed when the switch is closed and the collapsed when the switch is opened. The latter is the magic part because the collapsing magnetic field causes an increase in the voltage at the switch - the step up. Once the voltage is increased the ripple is filtered out as necessary making a DC voltage.
A transformer, even one that’s solid state, has AC on both the input and the output - not useful in this type of system. And under the hood, a transformer takes advantage of mutual inductance between two adjacent coils of wire - even solid state transformers.
@@mongo1243 yes. It has to change the DC to AC then back to DC to boost the voltage with diodes and or mosfets (a type of field-effect transistor). So you loose energy in the conversion.
Absolutely outstanding! Thank you for sharing this information!
Very informative, and I’m sold!
Thank you again ‼️
Thank you so much. I have Bluetti & Ecoflow here in Brazil. Unfortunately, the inverter available was Ecoflow. Now I'm wandering if the same will power even Bluetti. 🤙
This was great information for me as i just ordered a new 1800w solar generator. I haven't yet ordered solar panels and cables and really don't think I'll need to now since we're usually at our off grid camp 2 or 3 days right now. Maybe won't even run the generator down in that time frame anyway....love your videos. ❤ I see the cable for the unit is on back order today.
My husband and I were just talking about this the other day! Many thanks for this review!
I use my Bluetti AC70, that I use as a UPS.
I also have a 1kw inverter.
When I need to top off the AC70, I can hook up my inverter, and charge in turbo mode, which takes less than 2 hours, if the battery is close to flat.
I just ordered the kit. It will make my life a lot easier. I have a 3500-watt generator and I'm tired of moving it in and out of my truck. Thanks for the info.
now you can lug your heavy bluetti back and forth!!
I would recommend careful research to understand the benefits and cons of the charger. I think you may find that the charger is good but not that great. Its benefit is that it can be used as another method to charge up your batteries but perhaps not waiting for hours upon hours for a full charge.
@@mrrey8937 The bluetti is a lot lighter than the generator. And why do you care. You're not the one doing it. Noisy!!
@@dukesworld3020 sorry, take care.
What a great product! Thanks for the review. I'm so glad the options for power have changed so much over the last 10 years. It was my biggest anxiety about travel and the functional space in my van - how do I keep the things I like to use charged? It doesn't look like there's any need to create a full electrical system anymore. These power station options - and now this charger - really keep it simple. Thanks so much!
Exactly, and this is a good tool to have in the kit.
Rick. Just ordered this unit with kit. Because already a part of Bluetti community, it only cost me $249! 😊 Wow what a deal. Will run into my Ford Ranger to power my EcoFlo Delta 2 Max. I'll let you know how it goes when installed. Thanks for this review.
a very good and informative video for any new or existing traveler with motor home or camping !
Thanks! I'm a Bluetti guy myself. I look forward to checking out that cool new product!
Good tip Rick, I know that this might sound a little peculiar but if anyone asks you to ride with them in a motorcycle side car and film.... Don't do it! Don't ask me why.... Just don't. Safe Travels
Ok, I'm going to avoid doing that!
There is still a "custom" option in the select your power station screen where you can set your own amp draw from the Charger 1 if 45A @ 12V is too much for your alternator... Charger 1 is 92.6% efficient from converting input to output so you can customise exactly how much you want.
I love my Bluetti. I'll definitely get this charger. Personally, I'd always bring a gas generator along. Because you never know. 😅
lol “listen to the noise and smell the fumes”. Fantastic video.
Thanks! 😃
Great tip Rick,
I bought a 400W inverter that plugs into the 12v cigarette lighter in my truck. Jo-Ann and I would plug our Inergy Apex into that to charge it on travel days.
The Inergy Apex spec is that 120V charging is at 500W. I fail to see how the usual 12V 10A wiring to a lighter socket supports a 500W load plugged into a 400W inverter plugged into the socket.
@@EfficientRVer Study this for your answer.
V=IR
@@EfficientRVerThey’ll be charging their generator at 120W (12V x 10 amps)… no mystery there.
@@EfficientRVer
I'm not an electrical genius. All I know for sure is that when my wife and I were full time RVers, we would plug the Inergy Apex into our 400W inverter and it would charge our Inergy Apex while we were in transet to our next destination. Whether you fail to see how makes no difference to me, we know what we did, and we know it worked. That's all that matters to my wife and I.
@@EfficientRVer yes you are correct 10a x 12v is 120watts
Good info here, thank you. What is the specific name of the small round connector that plugs into the “input” of the power station?
It's listed in the manual as DC7909.
This idea is ideal when you have dual alternators. Relying on your tow vehicles alternator as a generator can leave you stranded if using the main alternator and this overworking kills it. Heavy duty trucks do this type of thing, BUT with dual charging systems.
Well, hot damn, Rick. That's exactly what I've been looking for. I currently use a Victron DC-to-DC converter and I can only get 225 watts out of it. Yet, my Bluetti AC180 can take up to 500 watts. This should fit the ticket. Let us know how hot it gets, would you? Thanks for posting this video. Cheers!
It runs cool and also has a cooling fan that you can hear, but it's not loud.
A dedicated charger is cool,but what about just running a 1000watt inverter,then you can just plug the big guy into that, since it runs off of your car battery also, unless there is some benefit like faster charging through this little charger, it's basically doing the same thing as the big charger offering some phone plug ins,but I see no need for it if you already have an inverter, exactly how long it takes to charge this unit by each source may not be that different, but I believe plugging in to the wall is probably the fastest.
Thanks guys, hope yall are well, I have been wanting one of these as soon as I saw it advertised. I depend on my AZ 200 Max and EB 70 as well as a River Pro when boondocking but a lot of the time I use a Predator 3500 generator to charge sometimes, this would be a big help in our adventures.
Maybe for short trips or if you're driving the vehicle frequently. Solar is key for generating power if you're planning on camping for longer periods. I have just 200w of solar on my campers roof with 200ah of LiFePo4 batteries and can camp indefinitely with plenty of energy.
We have solar on the roof of our trailer. With this dc to dc charger, we don't need to bring along the fold up panels to set in the sun when the trailer is in the shade; we can charge the power station when we go to the store or on the road.
Great video. do you just have the power cord running down the side of the inside of your car? do you just on hook everything when you're ready to drive? can you do a video on how everything is hook from the battery? thanks.
The cable runs inside of my car and under the trim or carpet. It stays hooked up and you can turn it on or off using the switch on the circuit breaker that's near the power station.
@@gonagain How do you route it through the firewall? Or do you run it outside and back through a window?
Please make an installation video.
Gamechanger Rick! Thanks for keeping us up to date on these things! Stay Safe!
Tyvm Rick for the information on this amazing product. What a great breakthrough Bluetti has came up with here.
Breakthrough? DC-DC chargers have been around for a very long time. The only slight difference here, is making it very user friendly for use with power stations that have varying input voltage limits, rather than with just a battery of a fixed voltage.
@EfficientRVer so sorry Mr.know it all,it's breakthrough to me, since I don't know anything about it yet,so,please unload your Holier than thou attitude somewhere else
Thanks, Rick, just what I need for my camping set up. Sweet kit. 😊
Nice review nice bit of kit.keep up the good work.Martin Thailand 😎
Thank you, Martin.
As usual a very good and educational video. Thank you!
I'm going to use a $340 (4 stroke) 2,500 wat gas generator, that runs 9 hours off one gallon of gas. And Eco flow river 2 , that charges in 45 minutes for emergencies. 10 gallons in reserve?
.
I camp with a 50w solar panel, and an Anker solix 522. I also use all USB heated clothing.
.
I'm liking this bluetti in the video.
I was using a heating pad till I found all this USB heated products. Sleeping bag. Socks. Jacket.
@@sluggodna Holy! I'm new to this and getting confused by all the options, can you say what generator you're using that runs that long on one gallon of gas?
@@compeller1000 sorry I confused you, I drink a lot of instant coffee.
The generator Is a (Westinghouse 1,500w $348.30 from home Depot)
@@sluggodna oh no, not you, I'm just getting into the solar generator, panel, batteries thing, this makes sense 😁, thanks for the reply and info I just put a similar one in my cart 👍
@@compeller1000 Thank you for your kind words. The generator I'm looking at says, it only runs 9 hours on a half load. So even I'm a little confused 🤔
"Oh no not a generator that makes too much sense, no no no not a generator. Some one might think I am a climate denier," Ha ha ah. My Honda EU-1000 has saved my butt and many others to whom I loaned it out to over the years. I never go with out a little generator in operational condition.
Thanks for info 👍🚙🏜️🗻 Enjoy the road! 🌞
Hey Rick, Good idea for some but I dont think it is a good idea for you or me. I'm thinking of safety. That Bluetti can take a lot of power real quick to charge up. That is a very big draw on your (and mine) only alternator. You and Linda do a lot of desert camping where it gets insanely hot and cold. You dont want to prematurely wear out your alternator when your vehicle is needed to start and get you home or to turn on the AC on a potentially deadly day. You camp miles from nowhere and may not have cell service. Any potential rescue may not even find you. You certainly may not even be able to use your horn with a dead battery. Bring that generator along just in case and keep using those solar panels. Just like flat tires and car accidents, sooner or later something will happen if you do it long enough. Be safe. BTW, Nothing I have put inside my Transit van runs off the van's battery. Everything is off the house batteries. I have and automatic charger that runs on shore power, generator, and 200 watts of solar does a great job of charging. Just in case I need a quick charge I have a 300 watt invertor behind my seat that can power the charger in a rare pinch. Of course, the solar would be charging at the same time unless it was dark out. You gotta plug the sponsors but be safe about it.
Really slick and I think more efficient. But efficient isn't necessarily cost effective. A 12V/120V inverter installed under the hood of your car and a 50ft 16/3 extension cord. Even with the inefficiencies of stepping up and stepping down 600W inverter would totally make up for that and the car would never know. The energy density of Gasoline, you would never notice 100W more. Plus you could use the 120V straight out of the inverter if you were within extension cord range which could be quite far with a 12/3 wire extension cord before you get voltage sag. Those cable for the Bluetti need to be large and could stand to be larger at 12V. 12V doesn't travel well through small wires. There was a video I saw where a man was trying to charge a battery in his teardrop trailer from a wire on his trailer pigtail and after driving 6-8 hours, the battery hadn't charged. He checked his pigtail voltage and it was 11V at best. Sometimes the inefficient direct approach is the most cost effective even if it isn't the most efficient.
Thanks for the information!
Have you tried it I on of a motorcycle. I tour on a motorcycle and would love to fast charge while on the road.
Cool Cool Cool, this unit is a Must Have. Hi Rick and Hello Linda. I love it when science provides us with a new Gizmo to make our lives run smoothly and this little bugger will save us time and reduce the Hassle Factor. Nice. Thanks for the review Rick, you Always Deliver. Hope to see you soon. I will send an email today & fill you in with the latest. God Bless and check your tire pressure. 👍 V here.
Glad you're up and mobile again! Hope to see you somewhere. Sometime.
I just ordered one for my AC200 MAX but I also have 400w of solar.
Excellent info Rick! Thanks 😊
Be careful. I like Rick and appreciate his information but I don't think this is completely right on. There's a limit to what an alternator can do and adding a 500 watt draw on a system just seems like too much to me. We'll see, I guess!
The smallest alternator you are likely to find on a car puts out over 1800 watts of power and most pickups and SUVs have larger alternators than that, putting out 2500 to 3500 watts. The alternator is mostly only working for a short time to replace the energy that you used to start the car and after that is just coasting while running the ignition and the vehicles accessories. The charger is not going to affect it at all.
Great product just ordered mine thanks again
Oh this is great! Thank you! 🙏🏻 ❤
Very nice.. Thanks Rick.
Interesting to run across this just now as I literally bought the kit (although the cable is currently out of stock until mid-October) about 2 hours ago for $250 (Member pricing). I have 800 watts in portable panels but they are a real pain in the neck to reposition every time it's needed.
Thanks 😊
Hey how about a tour of Garnet, Montana? Looks like an interesting place and allegedly haunted ghost town. Just a thought.
Have a good day.
Best regards,
Eugene Cole
You are the first one on RUclips that I have seen show what comes in the kit. Good job. Rick, reckon this would work helping charge my batteries on my travel trailer? I have a 12v 200 amp hour batteries. I'm a travel nurse, so I stay in Walmart parking lots as I travel from point A to B, the overnight stays don't pull the batteries down too much most of time, but string two or three stops together, and the battery can get down fairly low. I have portable solar (not enough)but nothing on the roof, but where the solar connects is an mc4 connection next to the tongue jack. If I had this charger, I was thinking I could connect it there. Seems doable, what do you think?
That is great info Rick. I have an Li-BIM to charge my house battery in the van. Hmmm.... I'm wondering if you could stick this in too just for the power station. As you know I have that Bibene 500w 614wh power station. It is still such a part of my power equipment. (I guess they are Oukitel these days) I guess it is research time. LOL
Thanks again for all the information your videos provide. Excellent stuff!
Before there were alternators on vehicles, there were generators with voltage regulators. DC to DC charger is a generator/battery charger. You're still using fuel. Does solar really work. Nope. If it did. Anything with fuel would not be needed to charge the batteries. I am not saying don't buy one. Buy an extra. Yet. Keep all options open. As in all three. I did this. With one set of batteries. Hook up three separate solar systems to them. Worked. Everything I own runs on gas, 110v, battery, and propane. I have converters and a power station. Why I am watching this. I don't own one yet.
Will the Charger 1 increase the wattage the same way if you plugged solar panels into it?
Good question but I don't think so.
I have a suggestion.....
Can you install this device your TW200?
Of course the motorcycle at idle alternator output will be small, and idling at camp is not good for an air cooled motorcycle engine.
However, would be interesting to track how much it could be recharge while strapped on the rear rack while on a grocery run.
Second, has this device used on a larger motorcycle with liquid cooled radiator that can be idled at camp?
A small power station on a touring/ adventure motorcycle might be an interesting option.
Thank you for the video. Blessings to you..
I'm curious if the DC/DC charger is suitable for mounting under the hood, in the engine bay?
It's not water resistant enough and should be protected from the elements.
van conversions have been using this form of charging for years and one of the things that have come to light is this form of charging is it is hard on factory alternators so the vans will install a heavy duty or even a second alternator.Alternators are designed to increase output as engine speed increases, i would be testing how this affects my battery while it is actually charging the power station at idle and find out what my alternators max output is......this is a good option but i am not sure it is a magic bullet. i also question the value of running a car engine instead of a small gen to charge a power station, is convenience that important?
It's going to so most of the work while you are driving the car for normal errands, but on a rainy day you could idle the car for while to keep the refrigerator going if you wanted to. The refrigerator is only drawing about 45 watts while it's running so there is plenty left over to recharge your power station.
@@gonagainrun the engine ? Cos a 5L generator is really fuel efficient 😂😂
Depends on use case. If your use case is camping in one spot for many cloudy days with lots of electrical loads then a separate generator makes sense. But if you don’t stay in one spot too long and your loads are modest this kind of charger could be really nice.
My Honda generator works great for all my uses out in the wilds !
I don’t use power banks or solar panels , don’t need them !
Could very well be the wave for future portable electric power , but I just don’t have a need for it !
Aren't we living in a wondrous age ? Hey,great job!
Thank you!
Hi, do you ever idle your engine to run the charger? For how long and at what time of year (cold or warm outside)? thx
I haven't had to do that yet but it's a possibility if you need it. We mainly use it while driving so that the power station is fully charged when we reach camp. At idle it still puts out the 500 watts.
So first you discharge the house battery, then you discharge the car battery then you walk home. When I had a boat the house battery was fair game but the engine start battery was NOT for anything unless the generator was running. How long will it take your solar panel to recharge the car battery to start the engine so that you can go home
Great review, thanks Rick ✌️
I would bring my generator on the first test run if it was me 🤔
. . . . and my solar panels. (which he has on the roof, so he's covered I guess.)
Your vehicle already is a generator. Worst case, you have to run your car engine more than you wanted, but it is not going to be an emergency. Check that it works before taking your trip, and ditch the generator.
And a new battery and alternator ..
Wow 🎉 that's awesome 👍 thanks
I wish you would show how to get the cable from the battery into the vehicle.
I just checked it out and Bluetti is sold out of the Charger 1 Kit. You can buy a Buck inverter, which I have but those features in the App make it so I want one.
Why is Bluetti Charger 1 not available on Amazon? If it’s not available on Amazon I don’t know how to buy anything.😢
Love your channel boss❤👍🏼
It is available on the Bluetti website. At least in Europe, there is a shortage and it states they are only shipping them in December.
Great review thanks
That would be nice for emergencies but when I go out I want to not have to start my car for a week or more at a time therefore I use solar panels, that device just makes a high priced gas powered generated out of your car, I don't want to smell exhaust fumes when I go camping.
In a grid-down scenario, this could be a “last resort” charging option….
: ) THANKS MUCH for sharing a better way to charge power stations... just a little too expensive for me :( May another type of DC to DC charger would be more affordable for us part timers : ) ALL the BEST and ENJOY! Cheers ! ! : )
Wait a minute, a prepper has to prepare for the time when there is no gasoline. Afterall, when the power is down, gas stations can't pump. I lived through that when the east coast grid went down. So how long would your car battery last if you car won't run?
I love the Bluetti hoodie😂😂😂😂😂
Well said thanks easy easy finally just money 😅
Is there a manual way to adjust this unit, or is it only by application through phone? Cool idea.
It comes with a manual.
@@gonagain "Is there a manual way to adjust this unit, . . . "? Without the phone application? Thanks.
Yes
What kind of termals are those on the end? I have 6AWG wire coming off my batter for the Pecron Alt charger. It has a XT90 connector. I would like to make a XT90 extention to the Bluetti connector. Do you think that is possible? Thanks.
If the 6AWG wire fits the XT90 connector then it should work.
So, you remove one small generator and add in the V8 generator? Doesn't make sense, you still need some way to generate power.
Awesome Information 😁👍
I'm gonna tell everyone in my "Ham Radio" club about this next week at our "Field Meeting".
Your Tee-Dub looks new. Mine is a 2024. You upgraded the pegs I see.... puny pegs from yamaha.
It's a 2024 and yes, puny tiny pegs.
I charge my Bluetti AC200 max using the power brick that came with it plugged into an inverter connected to my vans alternator. Gives me 490 watts of charging. I never have to use my portable solar panels.
How big is the inverter?
@@ricklavis5292 what size inverter Sir?