AC200p car charging help

Yes, you will get around 200 watts with 24 volts. I actually use an Ecoflow EF1500 24 volt battery that I connect to extend run times. At 208 watts input it is not a high flow rate, but much better than nothing.

Thanks for the replies about 24V charging! That gives me the confidence to look at 24V charging options for times when I can’t use solar or the wall charger.

I understand one of the charging features of the AC200P is via a battery. Can we use an auto battery charger as the charging device to charge the AC200P?

I suppose so assuming it is capable of supplying voltage and amperage within the incoming limits of the AC200

Hello! New to the forum. I have the AC200 and am looking to install a Victron 30 amp dc-to-dc charger to power up my unit while van camping. I have solar panels but if it’s cloudy… Utilizing the vehicles alternator seems more efficient than the cig port although you need to spend some more money. Will Prowse has a video on this. Hobotech has some other ideas too. Northern Arizona Wind and Sun recommends Victron for the Goal Zeros they sell also. I contacted Bluetti support and the person did not seem to be familiar with dc to dc charging. Anybody have any experience doing this?

Is there anything different that you need to do to use 24v input? The manual implies you set the source to “Car” and plug the 24v into the PV/Car input port? I’m thinking of building an 8s LiFePO4 aux pack.

Nothing different than using car mode. AC200 senses the higher voltage range and charges at about 200 watts

I was hoping to speed up Bluetti recharge time from my vehicle in case there is minimal or no solar and the Bluetti is getting low. If my ProMaster has an 180A alternator (supposedly vehicle uses about 80A), would you recommend buying a 40-60A inverter, or a 12VDC to 24VDC converter, which should cut the charge time in half, and be less expensive than the inverter? The inverter should be able to charge much quicker with plenty of alternator capacity, but will be more expensive, and have some losses. I haven’t heard of people installing 12VDC to 24VDC converters, but don’t see why it wouldn’t work if the Bluetti can take 8.2A at 24 V.

This one will work and provide 200 watts of DC charging power

I bought the 10 amp model and it worked as well, but if I had to do it again, I would get the 20 amp model just to get the post instead of the blade lugs.

Thanks Scott, seems reasonable.

Scott, how have your 160W Aiper panels been performing these days? I finally got mine outside on a sunny day with no clouds /haze. Looks like my AC200 is getting 270-280 watts from both my panels wired in series. Not too bad. What kind of output are you seeing with your Aiper panels? I see Bluetti came out with 200W panels. They appear to have better build quality (ie waterproof, etc) but at $500/panel on sale versus Aiper at $199 on sale it is hard to justify more than double the cost. Thoughts?

Anyone else have the Bluetti 200W panels? What output are you seeing?

I like my aiper panels but have not actually used them for a couple of months. I think they were a good value at $199 for 160 watts if you are able to make your own xt60 to MC4 cable. I wish the VOC was 25 VDC to use on Ecoflow products but would most likely affect their performance. I did find work around by shading panels at start up snd then removing shade after charging begins

Bluetti just recently put their 200w panels on sale. I’m not sure that anyone has received them yet.

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Thanks Mark having waited 4+ months for my AC200 I should not have assumed that just because Bluetti was selling the 200W panels did not mean customers received them yet. My Bad. :wink:

I presently have an off-grid 24v 2kw system at my cabin. Could I just run a car accessory outlet to my battery 24v pack and plug in my little Bluetti pack?

I don’t need a DC to DC converter correct?

Does the Bluetti have a low voltage cut off so as to not drain my cabin battery pack down too far?

Hey Scott, I am resurrecting this old post for some much needed guidance. You seem to be the guy to ask. I tried direct support and they seem to be hit or miss with the validity of their answers. Hopefully you don’t mind a barrage of questions.

I have an AC200P and I have 200 watts of solar wired in series, mounted in/on a Toyota Sienna.

I recently installed an 1100 watt inverter (modified sine, but reputable brand (I know not ideal)) with proper pure copper welding wire in an appropriate gauge. It charges the unit just fine, but with efficiency losses etc. the inverter states I am pulling just over 600 watts when charging. This was to supplement low solar input caused by shadowing issues from the rack they are mounted in and the tire they are alongside (actively working on fixing these issues, too).

Although the amperage seems to be manageable by my stock inverter, the dip in idle RPM and my battery already hovering around 12.3-12.4 volts when sitting cold make me doubt this approach long term. I haven’t been able to get solid info on the stock Sienna alternator power curve and, although I have been able to test my alternator voltage to confirm it’s fully functioning, I have not been able to wrap my head around testing amperage and how/if I am drawing too much when charging. I just know the battery shows at a steady 14+ voltage reading when idling, regardless of me charging or not.

From what I understand, even a brand new battery at a high CCA will be steadily depleted if the alternator can’t keep up. Getting a new, and higher CCA, battery only lengthens the time it takes for this to happen - it doesn’t fundamentally change the charging needs.

I think this is all enough context to ask the following:

  • I saw you mention the DC-DC charger, if I were to use this then it would remove by ability to use solar at the same time - right? The including wires don’t allow for this connection to the AC200P, right?
  • Support told me there is no lower wattage charger and there is no way to use a lower power charger. Posts I find, and some videos, seem to suggest the exact opposite. I found this charger on Amazon and similar at 4 amps (mostly off brand e-bike chargers), with it matching the voltage on the stock charger, do these work? I am trying to solve the alternator draw issue with a lower amperage pull from the charger, at least until I can afford to properly install a high amperage alternator and wiring to support it.

Overall, I am looking for ideas and suggestions so I don’t aimlessly throw money at this. Hopefully this wasn’t unnecessarily verbose. Thanks for any help/guidance in advance!

Your battery at 12.3-12.4 volts is quite low and I suspect your battery is old and tired. A good battery will measure in the 12.6 to 12.8 range after sitting for several hours with everything off.

I don’t have a DC to DC charger but a 12 to 48 volt converter that I can connect directly to the AC200 “solar” input which does not allow solar and the 48 volts at the same time. If you want solar and additional vehicle charging at the same time, I think your inverter set up would be the way to go. you could also use a 12 to 24/36 or 48 volt converter and then connect its output to the DO50S charging enhancer which would then connect to the AC charging input port on the AC200. This would allow solar and vehicle high speed charging.

Overall, just watch the voltage when the vehicle is idling with your current setup. If your alternator is not keeping up, you will see a slow drop in voltage. If the voltage does not keep dropping over time you should be fine. But…at this point, I suspect your weak battery is taking away a portion or the alternator output that would not be used with a fresh battery. You are probably pulling around 60 amps running your inverter at a 600 watt output presently.

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Thanks, Scott!

Ah, I saw conflicting charts on battery voltage, but you confirmed my suspicions.

It sounds like either converter would be almost, if not exactly, the same load on the alternator. Do you believe I would have issues with the charger I linked?

Are you suggesting a new battery may resolve the alternator load issue? I’ve gathered that alternators output based on load demand, so you’re saying a weak battery may be demanding more than a new battery (and subsequently taking some of my available alternator headroom) - right?

Thanks for the tip regarding voltage, I have seen it slowly drop when idling. I assumed this would be present with a new or old battery. I initially thought the charging need/consumption by the battery would be the same regardless of age. Still wrapping my head around vehicle electrical.

If you are borderline, a new battery “may” resolve your issue if the current battery is constantly trying to be charged due to it being a “bad” battery. In any case, if your battery is old and not performing well, you will need a new one soon anyway.

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A new battery wouldn’t need constant charging like an old one, most likely. Got it, thanks. Definitely going to get one soon regardless.

Do you know of an AC charger that is lower power for the AC200P? If I swap for a new battery and the issue isn’t resolved, I won’t be swapping the alternator for some time and drawing less amperage would be ideal. I linked an e-bike charger, but that’s a shot mostly in the dark.