Just after installing the most recent firmware update … did this change the internal temp monitoring?
Recently I took my EB3A outside into the garden and used it to power a 12VDC input for a Surveillance camera, that draws about 2 watts … I turned off ECO Mode so it wouldn’t shutdown, it was sitting on a bench in moderate (for Canada) sun … the EB3A panel showed 0 watts, but after about 2 hours of normal operation I noticed that the display & app both showed an overheat charging alert, even though it was only discharging 12VDC at the time … the fan did not come on. It has never done this before … mostly used with larger loads before though.
I had to find a place in the shade to let the EB3A cool down and was not able to leave in the sunlight for a hour without the overheat alert being triggered … but the fan never came on.
Is this normal now after the most recent firmware update? … or did I just not notice it before? It seems that I will not be able to use the EB3A outside in bright sunlight anymore … maybe I need to put it under an umbrella now … this is not what I expected.
@BPR@Swelbie I checked with the tech and the new firmware has not changed the internal temperature monitoring. We suspect that the internal temperature is too high. Could you please provide me with the SN and the firmware version and we can chcek?
IF you ever touched a car parked in the summer heat you can realize how much heat the sun can generate on a surface. It would not surprise me when a power station left in the sun would warm up too much and trigger a overheat warning.
However, I would expect the internal fan to turn on to transport some of the heat out of the unit. But it’s preferred to shield the unit from direct sun, especially in summer.
However I have several other battery operated devices that do operate properly in the same conditions without any indication of a problem, including overheating in the same conditions … including two USB Power Supply batteries, one is a Bluetti AC10, the other is an Anker device.
I think the fan should have come on before the overheating alarm.
@BPR Thanks for your information. But the SN"EBA3A224000322650” you have provided is wrong. I assume that it is EB3A2224000322650. We have sent a software update for you, please check.
Firmware installed successfully. Have not taken the EB3A outside since then only tested it with a 12VDC load for a few minutes. It will take a few days or possibly weeks until I get the chance to see if it fixed the problem with the fan not starting before the overheat alarm.
Well, after about 90 minutes in moderate Sunshine:
Display and app both indicate 0 watts, but there is actually about 1.9 watts being drawn from one of the 5521 12V jacks.
Top of case (Gray Plastic) = 66 ~ 68 Degrees C
Front of (Black / metal or smooth plastic) = 48 ~ 49 C
Inside of Cigarette lighter socket = 50 ~ 51 C
Inside of case through grid on side opposite from fan = 36 ~ 38 C (looks like batteries)
All temp measurements taken with an infra red no touch thermometer.
Fan not running, no overheat alarm. I will keep checking for another hour or so.
Case seems quite warm to the touch, especially the top. But what appears to be batteries visible on the side opposite the fan seems to be cool enough to not be a problem. I would be happier if the fan was running though, the 50+ temperature inside the unused cigarette lighter socket which is not directly exposed to the sunlight seems to indicate that something might be getting too warm … maybe an inverter component.