If this can be done with a V2 firmware upgrade that’s even better of course. Otherwise it would be great for v3.
When I ordered my e100v2 I also considered the e200v2 but decided that if I needed more than the e100v2’s capacity, then for around the same total cost as an e200v2, I could get a second e100v2 and have it both ways.
But of course, besides capacity, the 100v2 is also more limited in output power. I know that some gasoline generators allow doubling the output power by using a special cable to connect two generators in parallel.
It would be great if two 100v2 or 200v2 could be combined like that, giving 3000w or 4000w output and 2kwh or 4kwh capacity. The 100v2’s portability is great, 200v2 probably manageable, but the Apex 300 and the coming 400v2 are likely too big for me to carry. Two smaller units would have many benefits.
Getting 240v split phase that way would also be nice sometimes!
@paulr A petrol generator has a connection port to do this, i.e. Honda. It is not software or firmware controlled as power station outputs are.
Current power station output power wattage, at this size, cannot be increased or doubled. The only way to connect 2 power stations together, is to plug the ACcharging cable from one into the second’s output, then use its 1,800W to power your devices. This effectively almost doubles the battery capacity Wh, but not output Watts.
Bluetti do not recommend this, but their reasons are not a safety issue, in my opinion. It is purely efficiency, which obviously takes a small hit. I do do this for home backup, with 2 x AC180s, this gives me a nominal 2,300Wh of battery, but at a max load of 1,800W. (Likely Wh are probably between 80-85% of 2,300). I just make sure I don’t exceed 1,800W in a grid outage, but I do have an AC200P that I could use independently for a device up to 2,000W. In my setup, and, with other power stations I have, I can then remove the first PS and replace it for charging, maintaining continuous power for as long as charging capability lasts.
Addendum - I don’t use Air Cons, electric stoves or other heavy loads during a grid outage. Running all wall power outlets only uses a max of 500W for me and often much less. But, the fridge, TV, lights, laptops, phones etc all work.
Mandp, thanks, I see having two power stations in series as an awfully expensive way to add an expansion battery to the first power station ;). The attraction of parallel connection for me is first of all higher output power (large power tools and the like). Secondly, if possible, connecting the charging systems together to use both MPPT’s at the same time, and/or to charge both stations (at 50% rate) from a single AC source. Parallel would work like with a gas generator. Basically the outputs of the two inverters would be phase synchronized and then they could connect to a shared outlet box.
For simple expansion of battery capacity one can just connect an external battery to the solar input, and I might do that at some point. I don’t need it for now though.
I agree that this probably can’t be done by pure firmware changes, but I didn’t want to rule out the possibility of Bluetti’s design team figuring out a clever way to do it.
At least for me, extended runtime by having inverters in series isn’t that important since it’s not critical for me to run something nonstop. Like if I have two charged 100v2’s, I can plug my appliance into one of them, use it til the battery is empty, then plug into the other one without too much hassle from the temporary interruption. Or to be fancier I could use a transfer switch. So parallel is really only interesting if it actually is parallel.
I do think the 200v2 is not that great a value proposition compared to the 100v2. It has 2x the battery capacity, but only 1.44x the output power and 1x the MPPT power, while still having 2x the cost and much less portability. I’d rather spend the same amount on two 100v2’s and have 2x everything plus the ability to use them in separate places and so forth. The only thing missing is the output power boost.