Hello all, just tested a new ac200p and getting some confusing results. I’m very new to solar so learning as I go. When I tested a 20W LED bulb it showed the AC output at 42watts, then I tested my magic chef deep freezer 7.0cf which shows it operates at 250kwh per year, on the battery it’s showing an AC output of 48 watts.
Don’t laugh but is that 48 watts per hour? If no I do I figure how many watts per hour it is using. I know that 250kwh per year is roughly just under 700 watts a day and I’m not sure how many hours the freezer will run yet but guessing it runs more often than not 700 watts seems in the ballpark (15 hours @ 48 watts?)
I’m confused because I thought these deep freezers used 100/200+ watts, I know the starting wattage is a lot higher and I missed seeing it when I plugged everything in. I’m pretty sure the compressor is running on those 48watts because the outside of the freezer is warm, seems a little of an LED 20W bulb and a deep freezer are using the same amount of energy?
OK thanks Wex and Brogers0724. Have done a couple test on the freezer and it seems to run around 36 watts and yes also saw the spike on the startup which lasts a second or so. Only getting 21 hours out of the battery which seems a little low so reached to support for help. The LCD screen does not turn off which I assume is normal.
I have the same problem with my ac200p … not getting full 2000 out of the battery. I wrote the Company twice about the problem over a month ago and they never responded back to my emails. It is frustrating. In my case, a 12v cooler which runs 50 watts on 3 different solar generators I have, shows it runs 98 watts on the ac200p. Something is not right. Customer Service is non existent.
I know you say it’s a 12v fridge, but how are you powering it? Via one of the 120v AC outlets, or one of the 12v outlets (like the cigarette lighter outlet)?
I have powered it with both the DC outlet and the AC outlet. I thought the doubling of the power wattage might have been from the internal inverter but I don’t think so because I am getting double wattage using either the DC Outlet and the AC outlet on the AC200P. I noticed someone on Amazon reviews was having the same problem I was having. When it is doubling the wattage, the battery runs down a lot faster. Another reviewer on the either this site or on Amazon said that any appliance under 100 watts, the AC200P inverter would double the wattage. I wish Bluette Customer Service would have gotten back to me on my emails.
I emailed them and essentially got a reply back that stated it’s running as expected but they did not respond to my questions. After emailing them back and asking them about the original questions I also have not heard anything back. I’m very frustrated with support also and with the performance of this battery, will let you know if I find any solutions also, it’s interesting your comment above lovekittens about doubling the wattage, not sure if I’ll get time to do this but would be interesting to plug some other stuff in to bring the wattage up above 100 watts just as a comparison how long it lasts.
Mark, on my battery i am using the AC out plug that is the only one I’ve tried so far.
I’m assuming the display is supposed to remain on while in use is that correct?
Yes, please let me know what you find out. That Customer Service is not responding to my emails and is avoiding answering your questions is not a good sign.
After doing more testing this week I’ve come to the conclusion the displayed numbers on the ac200p are more for general reference and should not be used as literal power input and output. All week I’ve been had my battery connected to solar while running one of my deep freezers, I’m only getting about 18 hours out of the deep freezer while their advertising shows I should be getting 30
Today was/is a very cloudy day and with my 630 watt solar panels I’m getting a pretty consistent 90-100Watts of charging, my freezer is pulling 35-58W per the display, for the second it takes to startup that jumps to 1095 very briefly and it probably runs about 80% of the time.
So I’m using 60W an hour but charging 90-100W per hour I would expect to see the battery % increase, but that’s not happening I’m losing capacity so that tell me the display is not very accurate. Either the solar input is wrong of the AC output is wrong or that output watts don’t account for the inverter and it’s using 40% of the available capacity while running. I don’t have any meters to test this but I certainly don’t feel like I’m getting the advertised performance out of this battery.
Hey quick update: After posting this I went down and let the dogs out so checked the battery again, sure enough it had drained another 1% but was charging at 101W. Continued to watch it for a few minutes to make sure the charging wattage was staying consistent and the battery charge rate suddenly jumped to 99%, while watching it the thing flipped from 76% to 99% despite it being in the 70’s for the last several hours.
I unplugged everything and turned he power off and back on to verify the charge level and sure enough it was 99% still. So that further supports my other testing the display is no where near accurate, is it possible I have a defective unit?
Hi Mike: I actually called both times and left a message. I must have called 2 to 3 times, several days apart. The first time on the voice mail, I detailed the problem I was having with the AC200P. I have not emailed them. I will try by email instead. They definitely have a problem with returning voice mails. Thanks.
So just a quick update, I connected my other identical 7.0CF chest freezer this morning, both are fully stocked and completely frozen. One freezer pulls between 35w-48w on the display, both freezer together are pulling 145w. Tested each freezer on it’s own and both were in the 35w-48w individually, but together it shows they are pulling little over 70W each.
Anyone know if this is inverter loss or is it just an issue with the display not being accurate under 100W? Will email support and ask as well.
I’ve found on my AC200P that the watts going out always read higher on the Bluetti than what my external watt meter is showing. Sometimes a little and sometimes a lot! Some of it may be inverter loss but I’m guessing its just not very accurate as the rest of display readings are suspect as well. Solar watts going in always read higher on the Bluetti than what an inline watt meter is showing and the % of battery remaining can be off as much as 15%. The best way to keep track of the battery is to use external watt meters and only use the Bluetti display as an approximation.
Thank you. I think I will try a wattage reader and see what it says … as Eric suggested. Then if I find the AC200P is not accurate, I will contact Bluette at both email addresses. Using the phone number did not get me any responses to my numerous voice mails.
