External vs Internal Power supply

Hi,

I’ve had a 200P for some time. A friend of mine now has a 200L.

One of the most obvious differences is the power supply. On mine being a separate unit, with the 200L, it is internal so my friend states.

Internal is more convenient however, external would allow for easy replacement if it breaks.

My external also gets quite warm, internally, this will just add more heat.

I wonder which is best over all.

Thanks.

Jo

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Internal or external, chargers get hot, especially when up to 500W. The external power supply (PS) has an inbuilt fan. The internal uses the power stations inbuilt fans for cooling. In my opinion the internal PS is far more convenient.
I have the 200P, 3 x AC180s & an AC70, however, the ones with internal chargers have 3 charge settings so they are adjustable to the charge source. I have a 375W vehicle mounted inverter, that when the 70 or 180s need a charge they can be set to “Silent” mode at around 290-300W. I can’t charge the 200P in this way as the 500W exceeds the inverter rating. The only option here is to charge a 180, then use it to charge the 200P.
The other benefit over the 200P is that the other units and later 2kW PBs have Bluetooth connectivity.
Bottom line, “A charger is a charger!”

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Should note - I’m rarely in need of fast charging, so the 4 internal charger units get charged on silent mode. (All around 300W).
My knowledge of LiFePo4 is such that; I believe a gentler charge is better for the battery in the long run, so Turbo charging should be used sparingly and only when there is no other option.
I run 2 x 100Ah Li batteries in parallel for my RV and charge at 30Amps from AC. That’s around 2,500Wh charged at around 380W.

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Despite the convenience of the internal power supply, I’m happy with external myself for the reasons given.

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I feel the same way;
Would I like an internal power supply on the AC200P - Yes.
Would I like that my AC70 & first AC180 have password protection like the 2 latest AC180s I bought have - Yes

We have what we have. I spent AUD$2,000 on the 200P, AUD$1,299 on the 180 and AUD$799 on the 70. It’s not worth spending more than this to get the features the later released models have now. They all work doing what they are specified to do, lol. :slight_smile:

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I don’t have the 200P, but I do have a AC200MAX, which also has an external power supply. I also have a AC200L, which is internal. To me, the biggest difference is the internal AC200L can be used in UPS mode.
My main purpose for having the power stations is in case power goes out, however, since I have them, I might as well use them. The AC200L allows you to set a SOC value that if it drops below it, it will switch to UPS mode, keeping the SOC high enough to leave some juice in case power goes out.

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