I’m brand new here today and trying to make up my mind on which portable unit to buy. I believe the search is narrowed to the AC200L as it seems to check my boxes. I will probably buy it w/o the extra battery. I mainly plan on using it in my van build. Possibly as a portable unit on other outings.
At this point I have two questions…
Once fully charged, How long will this charge last assuming it’s stored with nothing pluggerd in… I.E. are there parasitic drains even when shut down?
Is there a way to have a direct connection to the van starting system such that I can avoid using the cig lighter plug which seems to be limited to <10a… IF I understand correctly?
The AC200L has a 48 volt high wattage DC output that is supposed to connect to an optional “D40” step down unit which is to what I understand allow the use of the 200L to be able to output high wattage 12 volt (among other voltages) directly to a van such as your use case. Unfortunately Bluetti has not made available the D40 or any of the other optional accessories that are listed in the owners manual. The last estimate I heard was May for the D40 step down unit. For some unknown reason that is beyond my comprehension, Bluetti is not releasing any information or explanation on why the accessories are not available or when (if) they will be available. This seems to be the norm for offering new products for sale, showing options available and not having them or replacement accessories for sale. Perhaps if a sufficient amounts of complaints were received they would at least respond with a reasonable answer on why this is the system and specifically why no info on the D40 in spite of many requests for information.
Thank you Scott. I’m as familiar with the D40/48watt as anyone is at this point… grin…
Do you have any thoughts on my two other questions??
IE… self discharge with everything turned off… DC/AC/USB… nothing plugged in???
Also, I’ve looked at a competitor, Goal Zero… They have an accessory that allows their unit to be directly connected to the vehicle battery allowing high charge directly from the alternator… I was also wondering if the 200L has that capability.
If you have the AC 200 L completely turned off then there is nothing to draw current except the normal parasitic battery drain that you would get overtime with any battery. I would expect you could turn the unit off at 100% state of charge turn it back on in six months and have lost very little of the charge. I am also not aware of any option you can do to connect directly to your coach battery that will allow Hi wattage charging. Low voltage and high Wattage don’t ride in the same boat together
For this simple reason I purchased an AC200MAX. Out of the box I can connect it to my trailer’s 12v and I can run a diesel heater, all off the 12v 30amp outlet.
Well, out of the box…with the RV connection option…
I’m sure a moderator will respond… In my case I simply searched to see if there were answers to my question. None, so I wrote a post. It took a day for it to be approved as I was a newbie and at the lowest level of trust. Gotta be patient… grin