My solution was to buy two Bluetti AC180 power stations and a Bluetti 420 watt portable folding solar panel. That way I can potentially park my van in the shade and charge the other power station in the sun. I’ll always have juice on my fridge with an extra to use for electric cooking devices. With a 420 watt panel, I could recharge both batteries in one day with full sun.

@WheretoNextOverland

7 ай бұрын

Seems like a pretty solid solution

@silverandblackentertainment

6 ай бұрын

I have a 1800 watt 3600 watt start up dewalt power station. And while I’m using my Bluetti, I’m also using the Bluetti to charge the dewalt power station. 👍🏽 and with the solar panels connected it’s pretty much continuous power 💥

@scottykent6209

Ай бұрын

That is just what I was thinking! I can buy two ac180’s for 1200 compared to 200max for 1800

In order, I've gotten an EB3A from Lowes, 2x AC2A's through the Bluetti app, and an AC180 through the app. Since all 3 of the smaller ones support 200w solar max, and the 180's solar max is 500w, if I wanted to max out my solar input I'd need 1,100w of panels... My plan is to just get 800w of panels on the roof of my 95 Chevy Astro (gutted, now a trailer) + whatever RV I get, and have the EB3A just charge off the 100w car cable that came with the AC180. I've quickly learned with the EB3A's and AC2A's that the DC DC conversion is so much more efficient than the DC AC inverter, where 100w input from AC was 130w output, but 100w input from DC is only 105w output.

I bought the AC180P slightly more powerful with 1,440Wh BLUETTI AC180P Solar Portable Power Station | 1,800W 1,440Wh

The AC180 was just on sale for $650. That's really hard to beat.

@WheretoNextOverland

3 ай бұрын

Agreed. It's a killer deal at that price-point

@kerrydaniels8460

Ай бұрын

Got nine for $600 atm.

@Aperturex1337

28 күн бұрын

snagged one for $429 on ebay refurbished last week!

@shamwow7996

27 күн бұрын

Got mine new for 579

Great video and explanations! Thanks!!!

You worked hard for your unit!

@WheretoNextOverland

6 ай бұрын

Ain't that the truth 🤣

I have both the Bluetti EB3A which is a 600 watt unit and I also have the AC180. I love both of my units as they are amazing for use in different applications. Of course my EB3A cannot run a heat gun as the Jackery could not. But my AC180 can certainly run a heat gun, hair dryer, refrigerator, and more. Your comparison between these two models was not really effective. But love both my Bluetti’s

@WheretoNextOverland

8 ай бұрын

It was an apples to oranges comparison, which I definitely made a point of mentioning in the video. Just illustrating the difference between a smaller powerstation and a bigger one in terms of what they can / can't run.

@dfranleger

8 ай бұрын

@@WheretoNextOverland I use my 600 watt Bluetti EB3A to charge batteries, cell phones, iPads, sometimes small lamps with led bulbs, and even a 200 watt heater for a very short amount of time. My Bluetti AC180 is great for coffee makers, hair dryers, lamps , small hot plate to cook on, refrigerator for short spell if needed and more.

@WheretoNextOverland

8 ай бұрын

@@dfranleger agreed! A 500-600 watt unit is perfect for charging our phones, cameras, laptops, drones ... even a portable fridge for a few days. Something like an AC180 is probably overkill in that application

@normansimonsen1203

8 ай бұрын

I have both also. But, for my camp in the woods, I should have waited and gotten a larger - expandable competitor, with the auto start-stop lpg generator.

Just got my ac180.....649.00.....can't beat the price...i have a 900watt solar system ...will use the ac180 as backup on cloudy days for fridge in my van .....i can charge the ac180 ideling my van if needed if i get 2-3 CLOUDY DAYS

@WheretoNextOverland

6 ай бұрын

Nice! Seems like it'd make for a pretty good backup solution when cloudy days throw a wrench in things haha

@keithsullivan7992

4 ай бұрын

how long does it take to charge just idling or running your van ? thinking about buying one.. thanks

@gt2745

4 ай бұрын

@@keithsullivan7992126 days.

Great vid. Get yourself a 120 or 200W Solar panel suitcase

I have used the charging cord from the ac180 to the 70 during the day when solar has fully charged tge 180 I turn on the ac power and use that to charge tge 70. It is not the most efficient way cuz you are using the inverter but I found that to be better than letting the solar power be wasted. I could charge them both individually. Bit by having the smaller unit plugged into the ac180 I can use the phone app to monitor the charge and then turn on the ac power remotely with the app to begin charging the ac70 when the 180 is at 100%.

@Rock-bf2ee

5 ай бұрын

You need some solar panels

I’ve actually got the AC180P on order. I mainly got it to charge my electric skateboard when away from home. Admittedly I thought it might serve as a plug and play dual battery set up. But I no longer see it that way. It only has one 12v output and that’s a cigarette lighter one. They are notorious for needing a little twist here and there to maintain the connection, which isn’t something I’d like to rely on for a fridge. And it’s only 10 amps, which isn’t suitable for a good air compressor. Secondly the 12v input is restricted to 10 amps, which is too slow. 10amps x 12 volts = 120 watts, so close to 10hrs for a full charge. They should allow direct hook up to the main battery and have 3 Anderson plug 12v outlets with one or more capable of putting out 100 amps.

@BottomLineBassin2

6 ай бұрын

It runs my Engle 45 perfectly in 100 deg heat

That's a great price for the 1800w Bluetti considering most of the power stations out there are basically priced at $1 per watt

@WheretoNextOverland

9 ай бұрын

Yeah, Bluetti strikes a pretty good balance between quality / value IMO

This is great tech for off-grid; I'm waiting for twice the capacity, slightly larger inverter, fast charging, big solar input, 30kg-ish.

@beemrdon52

6 ай бұрын

They make a model to do what you need for a lot more money.

is it possible to connect 2 ac180 together???

FYI…Bluettie is on sale right now for 669.00 IMHO….great price! 🤠

@WheretoNextOverland

8 ай бұрын

I saw that. That's a KILLER deal for an AC180!!

@flyfisherman3649

8 ай бұрын

Yeah I just bought it today under the Black Friday special!!

We need to upgrade our Jackery 500 too. More than a day in camp, and it’s game over. The Jackery is an overrated old tech. The appoption is great I can relate to burying our 500 in the back. Now if they put a few outlets to the side just like the ecoflows, then ill be sold, as that is what works with our current setup, but ill add this to my list and keep your discount in mind as this looks like the best bang for your buck kinda deal.

@WheretoNextOverland

11 ай бұрын

Totally agree about the Jackery! There are SO many better options now, which is great because the competition is pushing prices down. Having outputs on the sides would honestly be really helpful for us as well. I never even thought about it until you brought it up!

@beemrdon52

6 ай бұрын

I just bought mine a couple of days ago for $650 on their site

❓How can I change the settings on the unit directly to take it out of eco-mode and put it into either standard or turbo charge. I’m not always around a Wi-Fi to use the app

@kerrydaniels8460

Ай бұрын

It runs on Bluetooth. You would just fire up the app and you can choose standard charging from there.

How long would the battery last powering a medium size rv fridge

@WheretoNextOverland

8 ай бұрын

Not sure about an RV fridge, but it'll keep our 50 liter portable fridge running for 2-3 days depending on how hot it is in the truck and how often we're opening and closing it

Was the cord for the car charger included?

@WheretoNextOverland

5 ай бұрын

It was, though it was pretty short. To short for what I needed, so I ended up using my Jackery one

Is a solar panel necessary?

@WheretoNextOverland

Ай бұрын

I'd say it depends on how long you want to be out and how often you drive. For a 2-3 day trip, powering a fridge and other misc devices .... probably not. We just did a 2 week trip and solar was definitely necessary to keep the battery topped off during long days at camp.

@Revelation_Overland

Ай бұрын

Running a portable 37qt fridge and charging some small batteries at camp, at the most 2 days before the next commute, do I need a solar panel?

@Revelation_Overland

Ай бұрын

@@WheretoNextOverland thanks for your quick reply. Im going to go ahead and pick up the panel. The bluetti ac180 with 200 watt panel for $899. Can’t beat that.

@WheretoNextOverland

Ай бұрын

@@Revelation_Overland yeah that's a pretty great deal. It's nice to see powerstations like this coming down in price!

Ohhhh :( (minute about 10:45) It is always a good idea to read the manual of any tool/equipment you get. You should not think of it as a "chore" you are forced to do....

@ian9toes

7 ай бұрын

Ok Karen 😂

@japanham5973

7 ай бұрын

@@ian9toes Ah, a bit thin skinned are we?

@mrs.bissonnette7498

7 ай бұрын

Bluetti makes great products, but their manuals are lacking.

This is not a true comparison. You are using to totally different size and capacity units. You need to have as close as possible units in ability to do a comparison test. Of course the Jackery is not going to run the higher usage units it is half the size and output capacity. I have both of these exact units and would not think of running the high draw on the Jackery.

@WheretoNextOverland

9 ай бұрын

Apples to oranges for sure. I'm pretty sure I mentioned (more than once?) that it was not a fair fight between the two.

how long will it run a small car fridge/freezer?

@WheretoNextOverland

10 ай бұрын

When I hooked our Iceco JP50 fridge up to it at home, it ran it for just a few hours shy of 4 full days at a pretty consistent ambient temp of 70 degrees. Of course, in real world use, there are a lot of variables (how frequently its opened, temp inside the vehicle, etc) .... but based on my experience with it (and other portable power stations we've used) I'd anticipate getting AT LEAST 60 hours of fridge run-time out of it (with our JP50 anyway). Not bad!

@Seafariireland

9 ай бұрын

What about the problem of it turning itself off while running fridges?

@WheretoNextOverland

9 ай бұрын

I think I addressed that in the video, but that should only happen if you're running it in power saving mode. As long as that is not turned on, I've not had any issues.