APEX 300 Feedback

Product Discussion BLUETTI Apex & AC Series
1

New to BLUETTI: 2 x APEX 300 + B300k, HUB A1 for stacking, Charger 2

Selected APEX 300 for charging from EV V2L at 120V/1.6A while generating split-phase output for portable partial home backup. Option: BLUETTI supported 24V battery + 48V LiFePO4 battery interface via Charger 2.
IONIQ 5 + EV9, same EV platform, same V2L adapter, 178 kWh total energy, and close to 120kWh of useable energy for backup at 90% max SOC and 20% min/ cut-off SOC. Plenty of mobile and fast re-chargeable battery backup energy.

Tests:

  • a single APEX 300 works fine with 120V V2L as the only AC source.
  • a dual stacked A1 HUB 2 x APEX 300 works fine too, but app display and APEX display for power do not match. Noticeable time delay for refreshing, used manual refresh as a work-around.
  • no difference in Turbo mode versus Automatic mode for power drawn from EV, had to modify/increase power limits on EV import.
  • you don’t need a large APEX battery! V2L can provide dependable energy as needed to keep a small APEX battery system charged. V2L at 1.6A can deliver 1920 W per hour and 46 kWh per day. By monitoring your max kWh energy needs over time, you can select the right sized APEX battery capacity.

AC Coupling with existing PV, Microinverters

  • despite earlier forum comments, AC coupling is not supported by BLUETTI as per direct feedback from BLUETTI support
  • APEX 300 was designed as an off-grid portable backup inverter without AC coupling frequency-watt power curtailment (unlike Anker F3800+ and ES 10, but Anker has other shortcomings)
  • AC coupling does work if solar PV is manually switched on/off, tested with 3kW + 4kW Enphase solar PV sub-arrays
  • if SOC is close to 97%, APEX 300 may fault because App feedback on battery SOC is lagging.
  • when solar PV up to 8 kW is switched on below 90% and switched off above 95%, dual APEX 300’s will work fine, each APEX 300 charging it’s batteries, B300k’s included

PRO’s:

  • APEX 300 works fine with EV V2L at 120V while generating spilt-phase output.
  • Clean AC 120V on L1 will be clean, while L2 will be always clean.
  • Weight: the APEX 300 and the B300k are not too heavy to be moved around and physically stacked.

CON’s

  • “Dirty” 120V generator on L1 will produce “dirty” AC output on L1, but clean L2 output
  • V2L charging not perfect and not as good as some other completely separate battery charging subsystem with a V2L AC to DC rectifier. Eg4 Chargeverter is a great option for charging 48V batteries directly.
  • The app display for A1 Hub and the displays on each APEX 300 are not in sync and power/energy do not add up.
  • AC coupling with external solar PV is not reported accurately, it is reported as an additional consumption, but battery charging from the additional PV AC input is displayed correctly

Missing + Suggestions for Improvements with new BLUETTI Add-ons:

  • A Generator start on/off switch/contact would be great, it could be used not only for generator start/stop but also for solar PV hard switch on/off.

  • A DC charging HUB for plugging in DC cables from stacked APEX 300’s would be great and could support concurrent DC charging from external AC sources like V2L or “dirty” generators while inverting clean power on both L1 and L2.

  • An AC coupling external module for existing PV solar with a PV on/off relay driven by SOC would allow existing AC solar to be connected to the APEX 300. The APEX 300 could be upgraded with frequency watt shifting to dynamically control solar PV input in off-grid mode, full PV coupling at 60 Hz and PV AC coupling automatically switched off at 62 Hz. This not to be confused with grid-tied AC coupling which is much more complicated and would require IEEE/UL certification. Off-grid AC coupling does not require certification, but may require a RSD rapid shut down switch and possibly a solar PV and/or DER mechanical or breaker disconnect.

OTHER

  • APEX DC Hub? Buy 120V USB 65W charger blocks for about $18 (2 units on Amazon) and plug them into the 120V outlets.

SUMMARY:

  • If you look for an EV V2L 120V to 120/240V split phase inverter at a reasonable price, the APEX 300 is a great choice.
  • With additional add-on modules, the APEX 300 product line could be even more competitive in reference to the latest EcoFlow or Anker new backup systems.