Thank you @BLUETTI for the update. I just emailed support referencing this forum discussion (w/ my forum user name) so I don’t have to publicly post my email address on here.
I have approval to RMA my AC300 that failed while I was testing this, however I don’t have the boxes/packaging and support mentioned that the wearhouse also doesn’t have them. They suggested I check a UPS store for a box, buy, and ship and they would reimburse. I have heard folks having issues getting the reimbursement but my larger concern is shipping this large, heavy unit back with enough packaging to keep it from getting further damaged. I’ve been waiting for a few days for alternatives from them with no response.
If you go to a UPS store I’m sure they can handle it… they have some gigantic bubble-wrap that would probably do the trick. You could go in and ask ahead of time. The only alternative I could see is maybe they ship you a new one and put a hold on your credit card until they get the old one back – then you could use the packaging of the new to ship the old.
I was curious about how this situation worked out for you. I was thinking about what was happening, the AC inverter shutting off once grid power is restored to the AC300. Isn’t that suppose to happen?
Don’t you want the AC inverter to shut off if the grid power comes back on? Would you have a problem with the AC300 if it was on grid power and supplying power to your subpanel (which is supplying power to certain circuits in your main panel)?
It looks you have to reset the system after a power failure and power restoration. Certainly, we would expect this to be automatic instead of requiring manual intervention. However, if it’s a safety feature of the UPS programing then it just might be a limitation we have to live with (unless it’s fixed with a software update). Curious to know what Bluetti says.
No, power should always continue. Think of it as Solar+110v plug(used if cloudy)->AC300->sub panel->several circuits powered by it. The AC300 should continue to power devices downstream from it no matter what happens to the 110v plug. Otherwise, I can’t use it as an auto backup, or even solar backup, as advertised. It’s throwing the error and shutting off AC EVEN when power returns and NO power is being pulled via the 110v (i.e. in PV priority mode and I’m above the % I’ve set for recharging from grid). I have to go clear an alert on the AC300 touchscreen, then manually turn the AC output back on. If I’m not home during power returning (or asleep) I’ll return to a fridge full of food I have to throw out.
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So in your scenario, the fridge is being powered by the AC300 and not the grid. If so, I see what you mean. If that’s how the AC300 UPS mode is supposed to work (continuous power despite input) then yes, it’s a defect in the software.
However, what if the fridge is powered by the grid and doesn’t receive power form the AC300 unless the grid goes down? Then when the grid is restored it doesn’t matter that the AC300 is switched off. The fridge never lost power (unless the grid goes down again without the AC300 being “reset”).
I like the UPS feature, but I was planning on using mine as a backup system (meaning I have to “flip the switch” to use AC300 power when the grid goes down). I was also exploring using it as an “off grid” solution meaning I’m not using the grid and only the AC300s supplied by solar. I would love to do this automatically to cover periods of peak rates from the utility company.
Last question, would these problems be solved if you used the Smart Home Panel instead of a “DIY” switch/subpanel system?
DanB, could you share how you wired your setup? I think this is how I’d like to do mine as well.
I have 6x210 solar. These enter my home through a 4 prong entry box. 5 of the panels in series go to the ac200, one goes to the charge enhancer (I plan to add 2 more panels to the enhancer). The sub panel, which is on the exterior of my home, is fed AC power through the wall via a 20 amp ac port mounted to an exterior electrical box. I will try to get a photo of the exterior boxes. The sub panel and transfer switch were installed by the prior owner of our home for use with a gas generator. It has a mechanical switch which I hooe to change to some sort of WiFi switch, but I can’t seem to find a suitable such switch. (Any suggestions?)
I received a replacement AC300 today, and it too is exhibiting the same issue as the first one when I am connected to the transfer switch…
I have found a work-around. It’s imperfect, but also offers an advantage…
Instead of plugging the AC300 into the wall, I hooked it up to a DC charger (e.g. T500) through one of the DC-input ports. Turning the gird power on and off keeps the inverter on at all times when connected to the transfer switch, preventing the error from appearing.
I believe the error pops up when the unit switches from the inverter to the AC bypass, thus you avoid this scenario entirely.
This approach has some disadvantages: since we are not using the bypass, the inverter is on all the time, and the battery is constantly charging/discharging. This is typical for an “online” (vs offline) UPS though (eg the EP500 has this mode). It’s also typical when you have solar panels. Second the charging input is limited to your charger, although I think you can hook-up multiple DC chargers if you wanted.
There is an advantage though: you can get the full 30-AMP, up-to 6000 watt output from the battery, that you can’t get in bypass mode (where you are limited to whatever the socket providing power to the AC300 is limited to, typically 15 amps, ~1800 watts).
I still hope Bluetti can fix the original problem (and maybe this provides a clue), but this provides a “back-door” online UPS solution.
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I don’t have the T500 so am trying to understand. By “DC Input ports” do you mean using one of the two DC/PV MC4’s, or are you going Wall AC->DC T500->AC input of AC300? Curious because I have both DC inputs running from my roof solar and that doesn’t solve it despite power coming in on the DC side.
I’m actually waiting to receive the T500 I ordered, so in the meantime, I hooked-up this 120V to 12V charger from Amazon, and used the car-charger plug that came with the AC300 to plug it into one of the MC4 ports.
Kind of surprised the solar panels don’t do it for you though. Is the inverter on? Have you unplugged the AC300 from the wall?
DanB, thank you for sharing. I think this is how I’m going to hook my system up initially (Solar input, transfer switch output).
I know you can get an automatic transfer switch but I haven’t found one that has wireless control for turning on and off.
You got me thinking here since you’re basically bypassing the AC (grid) input on the unit. Anyone here know if this idea would be safe…
- Use a Y mc4 splitter cable off one of the two dc inputs on the AC300.
- Run one side of the split to solar panels in series (all under 150 volts), and the other split run to the AC300 car charger cable to a 120V to 12V charger like @recycle used above.
- Use an Alexa plug on the 120V to 12V charger to turn on the 120V to 12V charger from sunset to sunrise… therefore the panels wouldn’t be generating electricity, but the charger would kick on trickle charge during the night and stay under the 150v on the DC input.
- Unplug the AC grid input cable from the wall… so essentially run entirely through the DC inputs of the AC300… and no longer worry about grid power going off or on since, to the unit, it will just look like DC coming from panels.
Any safety issues with this? The solar panels are in series… so would a set of panels in series on one side of the mc4 split, w/ the 120V to 12V converter from AC grid on other side of the mc4 split, into one of the AC300 DC inputs, be safe?
I see no problem with that setup – even the AC300 user-manual says you can hook up a charger and PV into the DC inputs simultaneously. (Note that the “split” cable is really feeding the two independent DC inputs separately – it is a little odd they use that cable instead of having two ports.)
You could even use both inputs of the split cable for PV and plug the charger directly into the B300 battery for more flexibility.
I’ve been using this “online” UPS hack for about a week now and am very satisfied with it. I found another advantage: when using the standard AC input, when the AC300 switches the bypass on-and-off, there is a 20ms loss of power to your devices. I find that’s too long for some devices (e.g. my router, desktop computer, Apple TV), and causes them to power-cycle. Using this approach, they stay live so no reboots or loss of data.
I think even if Bluetti finds a fix for the bypass problem, I will probably stick to this approach.
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“You could even use both inputs of the split cable for PV and plug the charger directly into the B300 battery for more flexibility.”
Does the AC300 “see” the input coming from the T500 on the B300? This might actually be the best option if that would work… since I’d get 500W grid input (that I could turn off/on w/ alexa plug), or during outage run from my EV’s inverter, AND I’d have PV as well. I guess the only thing that wouldn’t work is the UPS modes on the AC300 since I’d have to manually turn of/on the T500 as needed?
An Update on the issue of the AC300 ac inverter turning off when power is lost and returns from the ac power of the unit.
I sent videos and explained the situation to service but they have not been able to determine the cause. They asked that an RMA be issued and for me to send back the ac300 for them to look at it. I just dropped the unit off to UPS ground. I also made a new video for them to closely review. Here is the link if you are interested in seeing the results of my tests.
I was asked to return mine as well. I’m trying to avoid that and purchased the T500 (arrives next week) to see if that at least gives me a workaround. I’m not convinced a new unit will fix this issue. Are you getting another AC300 that you’ll be able to attempt with?
They will send me another ac300. I don’t expect any difference. I am using the Ac300s as back up and not planning as ups live. Even if the ac inverter shuts down, can turn it back on using the app. No big deal for me. I just wanted to see the product work correctly in case of future needs.
I returned my original AC300 and got a replacement that behaved exactly as the first.
Note you can’t turn the AC output back on from the app (I had the same idea) because you have to clear the alert first which can’t be done from the app.