I have recently bought an AC180. The storage and usage section of the instruction manual states that “if charging via solar energy, ensure your solar system provides an output of more than 100W”.
I have a small solar array charging two large 12V batteries in parallel. I use this to charge the AC180. Depending on the degree of solar input to the batteries it charges the AC180 at around 98W falling to 93W when insufficient solar input. I am happy with this low rate of charge and don’t really expect more from my installation.
My questions are. 1) Will this low rate of charge harm the AC180? 2) When the battery voltage drops through lack of sufficient solar the AC180 clicks on and off. Will this harm the AC180? Thanks
I believe that section of the manual is referring to when the SOC drops to 0% and not a general rule of thumb. The clicking on and off is completely normal. It’s when there is “enough” voltage to wake up the unit but not enough to charge it, so near the bottom end of the 12V spectrum.
Thanks for the reply. I did wonder if it related to the 0% scenario as it was below that warning in the manual but wasn’t sure. Reassured too that the clicking is normal and due to the lower battery voltage. I keep wondering if I should reconfigure my set up so that batteries and the two solar panels are in series to see if I would get a higher charge into the AC180 but its a bit of a hassle to do so.
To answer your other Q. I charge my AC180 from the 12V system of my caravan via the cig plug input and at similar rates as you. No, a slow low charge will not harm the Bluetti. I do this also, during solar charging of the house batteries, where their voltage is typically around 13.6V or more. (this is due to loads, such as the compressor fridge at the same time)
I will note, my house batteries are LFP and hold at least 13.2VDC during this process. If your house batteries are AGM, under load and not fully charged, their output voltage may be in the mid 12V range (12.5V), or lower under load. Therefore the charge rate will be lower and at some point cut out charging.