so not many 10amp folding panels out there (yes a lot but there pricey)
Will using a panel within the voltage and Watts limit still be ok?
Will the unit limit the amps at the same voltage i.e. a 300W panel at 20A gets halved to 150W by limiting the amps at the panels voltage…?
or will we trip / break the unit?
Use a simple DC/DC inline converter perhaps to turn down the amps, not sure if thats possible, should be
SG
You don’t have to worry about going over the amp limit. Amperage is limited by how much your AC70 draws. Voltage is the metric that one should not succeed. Though the AC70 seems to have some built in protections for over voltage.
@Sustainable_Initiatives
Please refer to @Emax 's reply, do not worry about the overcurrent issue (AC70 will limit it), just need to confirm that there is no overvoltage.
A typical nominal 12V 150W solar panel outputs a Voc of 21 to 22V @ approx 9.2 amps. If you connect 2 in series, the voltage doubles to around 42V and the current remains at 9.2A. Both are within the V & A range of the AC70 & AC180.
You will get the maximum solar available from the panels, and it is below the max input levels.
A 200W panel has a similar voltage, but an amperage of around 11.4. Two panels in series will output around 43-44V and 11.4 amps . The above units will limit the current to 10A and the voltage is still within safe range. You will not get the maximum available solar due to the current limit, but the maximum the unit will accept.
The key point is if you gang 3 panels together in series, you may exceed the max V input of the above power stations which may damage the unit.
Bingo that what i was thinking / expecting, so a lot of people are probably not getting the full capacity of panel(s) because they are not thinking the whole calc through (assuming the panel(s) actually do what they claim)
This makes me wish they had an AC70s (for only slightly more money) that used the solar controller from the AC200L.
I actually wonder what the cost difference is between the two controllers (or other side effects like idle power usage). Unless the AC200L solar controller needs more battery cells (ie. voltage) to work.
Charge rate, regardless of source, is generally rated to battery capacity. Just because LiFePo4 cells may charge at 1C, doesn’t mean they should. The normal charge of my AC180 is approx 480W, Turbo is higher and Silent is around 280W. I prefer to charge on Silent, it’s kinder to the battery life and for my needs, I would rarely want to charge faster.
Re Solar, my limit is 300W in series as I already owned 2 x 150W solar mats (Not Bluetti). I prefer them anyway as they are IP rated for use in rain conditions. :)
Hi all
My query is regards to 4 x 120w solar panels wired parallel. 480w roughly 23 amps in good sun shine.
Will the Bluetti AC70 Be happy with a current ranging upto 23 amps even though it state 10 amps max
Thank in advance
The AC70 is in control of how may amps it pulls and will limited it to 10 amps.
Will it cause the power station mppt controller to run hot though, or am I worrying to much. Never had a solar power station before and therefore do not want to misuse it as equipment that is looked after will last a lot longer.
Thanks for your reply.
I would only run too hot if there was a design flaw, so there’s no need to worry about the amps being drawn from the solar panels. 
I do have to say that it appears that the Isc and the Imp values seem to be reversed on those specs. There’s no way shorting out the panel output will give less current than max power. 
Thanks for that… It has put my mind at ease now reading your answer and also emax comment as well. Many thanks…
Very new at Renogy 220w & my AC70, are you stating that the AC70 will only use 10a max without damaging power bank. My renogy 220w has optimum operating current of 11A. Just received Renogy yesterday.
You’ll need to make sure you do not exceed the max voltage (VOC), however, as far as amps to, yes, the AC70 (or most power stations), will limit how much they pull, so no worries about too many amps.
Late to the post, but may be worth to someone.
Ive seen setups with 4 panels split in 2 sets of 2. Each set wired in series (becoming 48v 6A each) then wiring the 2 sets together in parallel. Thus the 4 becoming 48v 12A (which is then limited to 10A by unit thus out at 48W). Still under the 500W and 58V limit on the AC70.
Does this sound good here? ATB
Looks like I’m “late” too, but yes that panel set up would work fine!
This is the math re the above 4 panel Q. To = the rated W output multiply the Vmp 20.2 x the Isc = 119.988W or the rated 120W. If you use 2 of these panels in parallel, the math is 20.2V x 11.88A = 240W. As the A are already over 10A the actual rated W input would be 10 x 20.2 = 202W.
However as the voltage is lower than 32V the Bluetti will lower that to 8A. Therefore actual max is 20.2 x 8 = 161W of actual max in ideal conditions. More…
To achieve a maximum input from these panels, the ideal configuration is;
Connect 2 panels in parallel and then connect the other 2 panels in parallel. This will give an output of 20.2V x 11.88A - 240W from each of the 2 strings.
Then connect the 2 strings in series which will leave the A output at 11.88 and double the Voc to 49V. This output calc. is then 11.88 x 20.4 = 480W.
The combined Voc of 49V is below the 58V AC70 max input V. The combined W of 480 is below the 500W max of the unit and the 11,88A although higher than the 10 max of the AC70 will be absorbed by the MPPT without a problem.
As the combined voltage is over 32V, the AC70 will take all 10A, not limiting it to 8A.
Connecting 4 panels in parallel is an absolute waste as 2 panels will achieve the same result without the prospect of damaging the MPPT.
Final observation - Rated solar panel output is rarely, if ever, achieved in the real world. Their output is heavily weather dependent i.e. cloud, time of day (sun angle), temperature and system losses, such as cable voltage drop.
Oops, almost forgot, clean panels also make a huge difference, especially in dusty conditions.
I have a 110W on roof (4x4) panel. On a good day I get around 5+A from it. I was monitoring output on one occasion in good sun conditions, noting an output of 2.3A. I climbed up on the rear wheel to see the panel covered in dust. After washing the panel the output went up to 5.1A, more than doubling the output in less than 10 minutes. In hot dry off road conditions and after driving, I now check the panel every time I stop at camp to clean it if needed.
