Strange solar charging problem

[Mossman]

Hi everybody. I've been having a confounding problem with charging portable power stations and I'm about at my wit's end.

First, I bought an Oukitel P2000 power station, and there were no major problems with that unit whatsoever, but I didn't like it (for a number of reasons), so I sent it back and bought a Bluetti AC2000P. That worked fine for the first three weeks, but then one day it stopped taking input from the solar panels. If you plugged in the solar panels while the power station was on, nothing would happen. If you plugged them in while the station was turned off, and then turned it on, it would give an over-volt alert, which is nonsense. I'm using two 200W panels wired in series. The maximum voltage they produce is about 39V, which isn't nearly enough to over-volt the power station. The general conclusion was that the unit was defective, so I sent it back for a refund and bought another one... Well, THIS time, it wouldn't take solar power right out of the box! After reading a number of reviews that complained of the same problem that I was having (and I suspect that both of the units they sent me were "previously owned"), I decided not to take another chance on Bluetti and bought a Pecron E2000 LFP instead. Guess what? This power station won't take power from the solar panels either!

I find it highly unlikely that I've purchased three power stations from two different brands that ALL have the same problem. But I've checked everything numerous times, and everything checks out. Absolutely nothing has changed about my set-up. The panels are wired correctly, all connections are good, and I'm getting 39V at the connector at peak sun, but when you plug it into the power station, nothing happens.

I feel like I've taken crazy pills! I've tried everything I can think of, and I'm getting tired of buying and returning power stations!

If anyone can shed further light on this situation I would greatly appreciate it.


Thanks,

Moss

 

[Chorlton]

The BLUETTI needs a minimum of 35v for the Solar input to become active. This Causes a problem if only just over the limit as the voltage can easily drop just below stopping Solar input. The newer version the Ac200max needs a minimum of 10v removing this issue. This may not be your issue but many people have experienced this.

 

[nc73]

Obviously since you tried different batteries and it did not make a difference the likely conclusion is your panels, RTFM.

 

[Mossman]

The BLUETTI needs a minimum of 35v for the Solar input to become active. This Causes a problem if only just over the limit as the voltage can easily drop just below stopping Solar input. The newer version the Ac200max needs a minimum of 10v removing this issue. This may not be your issue but many people have experienced this.

Well, I had an ongoing conversation with Bluetti throughout, where we eliminated all possible factors. They were aware of the voltage I was pulling, and that was never mentioned as a possible cause of the problem. I live in southern California, where sunlight is constant almost 100% of the time. I've also monitored the output of the solar panels quite a lot, and I've never seen output drop below 35V during peak sun hours over the last few months. This issue has also been reported by owners of both the AC200P and the MAX, so while I'm very hesitant to believe that I got two Bluetti power stations that both have the same problem, the possibility is not zero.

[edit]

Also, don't forget that the first Bluetti I got worked flawlessly for the first three weeks before it suddenly stopped accepting solar power.

 

[Mossman]

Obviously since you tried different batteries and it did not make a difference the likely conclusion is your panels, RTFM.

Mmmmm... Fresh snark. Always very helpful.

You are correct, that IS a likely conclusion, but there's nothing wrong with the solar panels. They're delivering exactly the output they should.

Can you see why I'm perplexed?