I currently have (2) SP120 solar panels and will be receiving 2 more shortly. Since I live in the Northeast, it gets quite cold, many times below the 32 degree rating for my AC200.
Since I’m going to use it for emergency power outages, I was just thinking that once the battery drains and I need to recharge it, I cannot put the AC200 outside in the winter as it will be too cold.
Therefore I will need extension cables, I’m guessing around 50 footers or so.
Does anyone have a recommendation for high quality cables I can use? I don’t think Bluetti sells any.
I think I recall several people making their own, but I’m okay with just purchasing high quality cables that might be a little expensive.
If I’m not mistaken, the longer the run and depending on the size of the cable, it might affect the charge rate. But I’m okay with that as I’ll eventually have 4 panels.
Valemo brand are pricey but great quality. These are 10 ga. cable and personally I think 12 or 14 ga. work for your application since they will be connected in series. These cables would be good for any amount of panels you would connect in series up to the voltage and amperage limits of the AC200. My personal choice is the Acopower cables below in 20’ lengths they work well for portable purposes, are very flexible and easy to handle.
Another alternative
Some will recommend “Windy Nation” brand for good value…I personally do not recommend them because both wires are a seperate wire and makes them difficult to handle with portable set ups. The above choices have both wires together and are much easier to work with.
Thank you so much for the links. I have been looking for extention cables in 20’ but all only had one end with mc-4(I understand why the do that but I don’t want to manually add mc4 connector at this time.
I’m disappointed in Maxoak. I ordered various connectors and received only order confirmation. When I inquired later why no shipped email I was informed they would not ship until February due to Covid19. There was nothing to indicate pre-sale or backorder when I placed the order. It seems wrong to take someone’s money but not inform it could be a couple months to receive the order. A lot can happen in 4-8 weeks.
In my personal experience the 14 ga cables work very well on the AC 200 with almost no measured loss. If you had fixed panels that you are not moving around then I would say go with thicker 12 or 10 ga cables. The 14 ga cables work much better for portable applications out to about 60 feet. If you really needed to go further with portable, the 10 ga would have lower loss. When speaking of loss we are talking about maybe 10 watts out of 400 at 100 feet. Solar is so variable that this is insignificant. When performing personal testing at 100 feet lengths, I have never seen loss close to that amount.
The lower the voltage, the greater the loss with distance. The higher voltage the AC200 uses makes it perfect for low loss when running an extended distance with multiple panels.
I think you will like them. I know I do. You will also see comments from others stating that you need a thicker (10 or 12 ga) cable or you will have large wattage losses. My advice is to hook up your panels on a steady sun day and connect them with your shortest cable. Record the input watts. Then…attach one extension cable at a time and record the input watts. After you get done adding your total length I think you will be very happy with the input watts with no extensions vs all your extensions.
I have four Acopower 120 watt panels. I think they are great panels and their portability, thinness and output is their greatest asset. They are a little pricey though. The Bluetti panels are heavier but more robust in build and I also bought four of them. Both brands have similar output. The Acopower extension cables are NOT limited to 120 watts and I have run three extension cables connected together running all four Acopower panels connected in series with very little voltage drop over the 70 feet.