Anker 767 vs DIY

[mccollums]

Anker offers a 5 year warranty, I think an 18month "hassle free" warranty. 2400W inverter and 2Kwh of battery storage.
It also has UPS functionality. It's also expandable another 2K, for 999$.

My goal is to keep a small chest freezer running during a grid outage. With the Anker 767 I should be able to keep it going without recharging the battery for almost 3 days. 500W day for the freezer, plus the inverter power used...

It sounds like the Anker is high quality and the warranty (without reading all the fine print) seems to be pretty good.

However, it's going to be 1923$ after taxes and using the current 200$ off promo code. (would buy the expandable battery later)

I know a DIY system can probably be built cheaper.. does anyone want to take a crack at helping me price out a DIY system that would be of similar (or better) quality?

Inverter: ~300ish? (will cheaper inverter be less efficient?) example, Renogy 2000
Charger controller: ~150ish
Bus bars: ~75
fuse: ~50
cables: ~200
fuses and fuse holder: ~90
shunt: ~80
BT monitors: ~80
Battery: ~ 750-1100


Learning how to do this is priceless - i understand that, and one day I need to bite the bullet and build a DIY system.. but curious how it compares to something as plug and play as the Anker.

Thoughts? What inverter/battery plus charge controller/monitor combo would you choose to compete with the Anker?

 

[Rednecktek]

Inverter: ~300ish? (will cheaper inverter be less efficient?) example, Renogy 2000

Should be fine, but make sure it's rated for the startup surge, might want to kick that up a bit. If this is going to be AC only (no 12v) you should consider going with a higher voltage system.

Charger controller: ~150ish

Stay away from Victron and you can get that down well below $100. Look at EPEver, HQST, and the like. Mostly going to be based on how much solar power you want to be able to use. Really all you need it to do is turn solar DC into battery DC.

Bus bars: ~75
fuse: ~50
cables: ~200

Sounds really high for cables for such a small system. You're only going to need 5 cables between things. Crimp your own and save a fortune.

fuses and fuse holder: ~90

If you can get them. Decent DC breakers are also an option and provide easy disconnects.

shunt: ~80
BT monitors: ~80

Isn't the BT monitor also a shunt?

Battery: ~ 750-1100

So you can buy a decent size battery for that or if you're willing to build your own you can get about 4Kwh worth of cells and BMS. My entire Nephew Project is only about $1000 so far.

Another option that can save money would be building an AIO based unit. Maybe look at a Growatt 3Kw/24v unit and a PowerQueen/Chins 24v battery as the base. Just as a thought.

 

[Rider]

I've built a couple of DIY solar generators, and it was a very good teaching tool for understanding how the whole thing works.
But the pre-configured packages like Anker all have advantages over the DIY, like integration of the individual components with software/firmware that control every aspect of the box. Unless you're real handy with custom circuit boards and programming, you'll never get that level of integration. When you DIY, each piece has it's own warranty. A ready-to-go system has one warranty, one contact point for any problems or failures. No finger pointing between vendors when something fails.

If all you are looking for is a basic 'solar in 120vac out' and can deal with spec-ing out yourself, go for DIY. if nothing else, you'll gain knowledge.

In my case, I did the DIY and it worked out real well, but now needed a larger wattage system. By the time I pay for a decent pure sign wave inverter of the watts I need, I'm better off investing a little more and get a ready-to-go system. The Anker 767 is on my short list. Already bought a couple of their 200 watt solar panels because they are so convenient, so small when collapsed they can go anywhere. I actually bought them to keep in my Aptera to add 400 watts to their existing ~700 watt solar roof.

 

[mccollums]

Should be fine, but make sure it's rated for the startup surge, might want to kick that up a bit. If this is going to be AC only (no 12v) you should consider going with a higher voltage system.

Stay away from Victron and you can get that down well below $100. Look at EPEver, HQST, and the like. Mostly going to be based on how much solar power you want to be able to use. Really all you need it to do is turn solar DC into battery DC.

Sounds really high for cables for such a small system. You're only going to need 5 cables between things. Crimp your own and save a fortune.

If you can get them. Decent DC breakers are also an option and provide easy disconnects.

Isn't the BT monitor also a shunt?

So you can buy a decent size battery for that or if you're willing to build your own you can get about 4Kwh worth of cells and BMS. My entire Nephew Project is only about $1000 so far.

Another option that can save money would be building an AIO based unit. Maybe look at a Growatt 3Kw/24v unit and a PowerQueen/Chins 24v battery as the base. Just as a thought.

I got sidetracked with some other transient obsessions, and now back on this one. Thanks for the advice and I have learned a little more since my post on each component/wire and have a better idea of the actual costs.

Victron Phoenix 24/1200. (Phoenix Inverter 24/1200 120V VE.Direct NEMA 5-15R)
BlueSolar MPPT 75/15 Retail.
RoyPow 24v 105ah battery. 750$
18650batterystore Link

Anyone see an issue with starting off with these as the main components? I have 2 - BougeRV solar panels 180w - (21.6v, 10.5 Isc, 10.5a short circuit, 15a fuse rating) Seems like the 75/15 will work and keep costs down.

Also, thinking I could expand this in the future with another battery, 2 more BougeRV panels, and another 75/15. Doubt if I would spend the money, but this is possible right?

Going 24v to save on wiring costs a bit. If I upgraded to the 48v phoenix inverter, that would be an additional 100$ plus I would have to find a new battery setup. The battery store link above has a 500$ option on a RoyPow 24v/80a battery. I could buy 2, but total cost would increase outside of my budget.

Goal of this is to run my 3.8 cubic foot chest freezer in a down grid scenario. solar panels to recharge and I have a Honda eu2200 and a Duromax XP2300iH (dual fuel)... I have 40 gallons of ethanol free gas, and I have 3 - 20lb propane tanks (currently empty) as backup charging. ( these are also for running a small portable AC to keep one room air conditioned if anything happens in summer time)

 

[LiveWork]

Anker offers a 5 year warranty, I think an 18month "hassle free" warranty. 2400W inverter and 2Kwh of battery storage.
It also has UPS functionality. It's also expandable another 2K, for 999$.

My goal is to keep a small chest freezer running during a grid outage. With the Anker 767 I should be able to keep it going without recharging the battery for almost 3 days. 500W day for the freezer, plus the inverter power used...

It sounds like the Anker is high quality and the warranty (without reading all the fine print) seems to be pretty good.

However, it's going to be 1923$ after taxes and using the current 200$ off promo code. (would buy the expandable battery later)

I know a DIY system can probably be built cheaper.. does anyone want to take a crack at helping me price out a DIY system that would be of similar (or better) quality?

Inverter: ~300ish? (will cheaper inverter be less efficient?) example, Renogy 2000
Charger controller: ~150ish
Bus bars: ~75
fuse: ~50
cables: ~200
fuses and fuse holder: ~90
shunt: ~80
BT monitors: ~80
Battery: ~ 750-1100


Learning how to do this is priceless - i understand that, and one day I need to bite the bullet and build a DIY system.. but curious how it compares to something as plug and play as the Anker.

Thoughts? What inverter/battery plus charge controller/monitor combo would you choose to compete with the Anker?

Solar input using batteries in series will work.