After using my B230 thru a few cycles paired with my OG AC200, I thought it would be fun to see how the idle discharge compares with my indiegogo AC200 beast.
Ran the test in my office (66*F) by simply powering ON the 100% charged (via wall charger) B230 and turning ON the DC side with no loads connected. (Unit was NOT connected to the AC200 during this test)
B230 took 383.42 hours to completely “discharge” to the point where it would power up, but the DC side wouldn’t turn on.
So out of the 2048 rated watt hour capacity of the B230, this test showed a 5.34 watt per hour idle consumption with DC ON & no loads attached.
Notes: I wanted to be around when unit dropped in percentage, so as you can see after the first few days, I started shutting the unit off daily when I left the office, rather then letting it run overnight… After about 94 hours the unit had dropped from the initial 100% to 20%… I powered off the unit (pressing and holding for 10 seconds) and when I came back in the morning & powered back up the unit, it showed 100% again?!? Not really sure why this happened, but I continued the test, checking in on the unit regularly and noting the percentage drops.
With a Poniie PN2000 “killawatt” meter I recharged the B230 afterwards & the meter showed a steady 420w draw taking 5 Hours 30 Minutes or 2.31kWh to completely charge back up the B230.
@tonino I don’t have the AC200Max unit, but from what I’ve heard, it’s very similar to the AC200/P units. Here’s a couple diagrams showing those figures… so the b230 is substantially better as it doesn’t have the AC inverter or other added features.
@Scott-Benson very true in regards to the SOC numbers. And not just specifically with this unit but in general with all these so-gens. Wouldn’t it be amazing if all Bluetti’s products had a victron bmv-712 directly connected to the main negative?!?
I’d imagine the B230 would be more accurate then most, since it’s pretty much just a battery with DC outputs… but it was really odd how it jumped back up to the 100% number after the initial 90 hours. Weird.
And see I keep the office at 66*F because when you work in the kitchen where it’s 90-100+ for 10+ hours a day, it’s like heaven to cool off! Haha & I leave the cooler & freezer available for my staff to go and cry in.
I agree that the B230 battery has a life of it own. I have an AC200Max with two B230 batteries, during the day it draws 370 watts and at night the system draws 75 watts load. Each morning, I check the AC200Max and the batteries are at 24% on all three batteries. The Ac200Max and batteries used only 4000 watts over night. I have given up on getting the batteries to meet any good standard of keeping the batteries charged, so now "I turn off one the B230 and will use it on cloudy days. The overhead kills this batteries. Remember, each unit has its own drain on the whole system. Bluetti needs to build a battery without the huge over drain of the battery!
The thing is, it looks like DC output from the B230/B300 is limited to devices of no more than about 100 watts through the “cigarette lighter” port… If you need less than that, it would seem clearly more efficient to use the battery directly than the AC200P/AC200Max/AC300. More than that? I don’t know.
It would be even more stark for an AC300 with the 3000 watt inverter. For loads of about 100-1000 watts, would it be better to use a B300 to charge an EB150/240 and use that (up to 1000 watts) rather than discharge it through the AC300’s 3000 watt inverter? (Even if not, it would certainly be more portable.) That may be a test for another time…
@ziggy29 for sure! The main idea behind the B230/B300 was to be a battery expansion module for other units, and the DC ports, to me, are just an added bonus!! Haha
It’s definitely best to size your battery source/so-gen to what loads/draw you are looking to pull. Meaning you’re going to have a lot better efficiency with say using an EB55 to power a 12v electric blanket, then using it thru a AC200Max.
Thank you very much for posting your measurements! After receiving my AC200 Max and B230 I tested them too. While the AC200 Max works perfectly (charges 2369 Wh) the B230 only charges 1700 Wh (0-100%) even aver 10 Discharge / Charge Cycles.
With these facts I’ll now try to exchange the B230 with a properly working one.
