I have an off grid caravan. When I start a weekend I am fully charged but after a weekend I can be quite low. I am looking to leave my AC200max plus the two B300 batteries attached to the solar panels whilst I am away for a week or two and come back to a fully charged system. I would switch off the AC and DC power outlets so although it was on it would only be in to charge.
When I bought it I was advised to not even leave the solar panels attached overnight. I am not sure why or if this was a mistake.
Does anyone know if leaving them to charge whilst I am away is safe? I guess the main thing is they don’t somehow discharge at night or over charge during the week but I would imagine the MPPT would be adequate to oversee this?
Thanks
Mike
@mhmacmillan
No problem, it is safe to leave the machine charging when you are not at home.
It can also be left connected to the solar panel overnight. It’s just that when the machine is connected to the solar panel overnight, it may automatically turn on and then lose a bit of power, since PV charging automatically activates the machine when it’s turned off.
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@ Bluetti Admin : How about the warranty exclusion number 1. Misused, abused, damaged by accident or damaged due to force majeure (e.g. lightning strikes, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.);
" A typical lightning flash is about 300 million Volts and about 30,000 Amps. In comparison, household current is 120 Volts and 15 Amps."
I don’t think that 300 million Volts and about 30,000 Amps will do anything good to any appliance. If you’re afraid of a direct lightning strike, disconnect your solar panels when you’re not at home so you don’t end up in a thunderstorm without knowing it. Or perhaps there are companies who can offer you a fitting surge protection system between your solar panels and your Bluetti device. But even these cannot guarantee to keep your Bluetti safe from a direct lightning strike into your solar panels.
I know but I don’t think the advice of the Bluetti Admin is entirely correct with regard to the warranty exclusion, to leave everything plugged in when you’re not around.
You’re right, there are some risks where it is NOT safe to keep your PV connected. Bluetti means that it is electrically safe to keep them connected under normal circumstances. With things like phone chargers or electic bike chargers it is usually advised to only charge them while you’re at home because of risk of fire. Bluetti feels that their devices have enough safety measures that you can let the batteries charge while you’re not at home. Both via solar panels or by permanently connecting them to AC utility power.
This does not include natural and unnatural disasters like lightning impacts, tornadoes, acts of war, plane crashes or angry girlfriends.
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It’s OK if everything stays connected but standard procedure should be to put a circuit breaker for solar panels between the panels and the power station.