Those small alligator clips and wires you’re using to charge your AC200Max at night are probably going to heat up real good if you’re pulling 97W / 12.8V = 7.6A from the battery. I’d strongly recommend using lower gauge wire to prevent the wires from overheating.
You’re likely also losing 10-20% energy using this method by charging the battery using the AC charger plugged into your power station but if you have excess solar energy and your AC200MAX internal battery is full, it’s better than missing out on the extra energy.
Lastly, IMO if you’re able to afford an AC200MAX then you should consider getting a larger battery as this one only adds 20% more capacity whereas a 12.8V 100Ah battery would add 64%. You’ll be paying less dollars per Watt-hour.
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I wanted to purchase the bluetti battery cables on Amazon but they’re sold out. The little alegator clips was only for demonstration purposes for the video. I knew I was going to get called out for that. Within one minute that alligator clip got hot as hell. I agree with the bigger battery.
How are you monitoring SOC of the add on battery ?
If you add a decent sized LiFePO4 battery, charge controller and monitoring, do you end up significantly ahead vs buying a B230 or B300 (where you have the convenience of the BMS built in) ?
I hope so, but haven’t looked in detail !
I’m not really monitoring the soc. The battery has a built in bms and I use the charger made for the battery. The charger has lights and indicators when it’s full. I’d rather use the B230 or B300 for a more permanent solution because when paired with the 200 max they act as one unit. As a separate battery just charges your max back up with a wh limit of the battery. I hope this helps.