Flexopower Lithium444 Setup Open Discussion/Questions

[Viking1204]

I have a Flexopower but haven't set it up and used it yet, it's charged and I'll probably run my fridge off it soon to test both out. I have questions thought, I wonder if there is a way you can add batteries to the Flexopower setup to increase total AH's like you can the Goal Zero Yeti 400 which has chaining ports? Also, has anybody noticed how cheap it is to get a high AH lithium battery pack with jump starters? If I'm not mistaken, the one in the link below is 180 AH, if you could connect that to the Flexopower you would have a lot of run time no matter what you were using. Am I off base, is the output of these jump starters different where you couldn't connect it to the Flexopower to add additional AH's of juice to it? Or could you just make your own solar generator using the 180 ah battery in the jump starter? I'm not an electrician so that's why I figure I'd start this thread so we could all talk about how to get the most out of our Flexopower solar generators.

Robot or human?

 

[slomatt]

1 amp = 1000 mA (miliamps), so that 18000mAh (milliamp-hour) jump starter is 18Ah. The Flexopower is 40Ah, so the jump starter has a little under half the capacity.

 

[Viking1204]

My bad, I seriously miscalculated, missed a zero somewhere. Still begs the question, can you expand the capacity of the Flexopower with another battery connected to it? Below is another one, not sure I believe this one considering the price but that's how it is advertised, 89,800mah = 89.8ah, pretty sure I got the math right this time.

Robot or human?

There's also these portable power banks which are getting pretty cheap too. The one below is 24.8ah. I think my wife has one of these in her car, I guess I'll take a look and see if it is possible.

 

[John Smith]

I tried to run my fridge on a 28000mAh jump starter pack. It did work but far not long enough.
I think that these packs are mainly designed for short peak amps and don't work really well on lower constant amps.

 

[Viking1204]

Once I get the Goal Zero regulated cable I ordered from REI which is currently scheduled for Monday I'm going to make sure the Flexopower has a full charge and run my fridge on it with cold drinks in it and see how long it runs. After that I'm going to hook my wife's jump starter pack up to the charging port of the Flexopower and then run the fridge off the Flexopower and see if it changes the run time and actually uses the jump starter pack. If it does then I know I can get a good lithium battery and extend the run time of the Flexopower.

 

[Baughb]

So I got the Flexopower 444 and a Dometic CFX50 with the intention of only using the Flexopower for the fridge.

I bought the 2 Goal Zero cables; One that "regulates" the voltage and the other that allows you to "combine" the outputs of a lithium Goal zero unit. And then 2 of the 6mm barrel to Anderson adapters.

Powerwerx is a fun source so I bought a number of things there so I could build my own adapters and cable lengths.

Using the 444 with the CFX with nothing but the Dometic supplied cable and charging the 444 from the car's cigarette 12v port and when necessary, a Renogy 100 watt panel (Straight in to the 444, bypassing the Renogy controller) in the Eastern sierra last week seated in the passenger area of a black vehicle with window shades (Don't wanna cook the 444!!!) this setup performed awesomely.

The CFX was/is set at 36 degrees F. and LO battery protection.
it never beeped or blinked or stopped BUT... the blue lights on the 444 are just friggin useless. To that end, I'll be getting an inline DC volt meter to keep an eye on things. Sadly it has to be in series rather than in parallel to the circuit. This is a completely portable set up that leaves the vehicle and goes in the garage at trip's end.

Currently, I have the set-up in the yard with the Goal Zero adapter kluge set up to see if it fails. So far, 2 days and everything is working like it "should'.

I feel very fortunate that this has, up to this point, operated "as advertised" with a minimum of fuss and customization.

Next week I'll be going out for 8 days using this set up. If any of you are gonna be in Last Chance, ID... let's get a beer at the Trouthunter, or a cold one out of the CFX!!!

Now if Flexopower gets their USA made, flexible, lightweight 120 watt panels actually available, that would save me a bit of weight.



Bob

 

[BrianP]

Anyone else not able to charge their Flexopower 444 on 12volt??

 

[Viking1204]

Anyone else not able to charge their Flexopower 444 on 12volt??

I haven't tried yet but I will when I get a chance. My trunk has a cigarette lighter plug in the backseat I can test it with.

On a side note in case you haven't seen the other thread I posted it in. My Costway fridge I purchased from Ebay is dead on arrival. Plugged it in using A/C, nothing, using DC, nothing, no power at all. Contacted Ebay to return it as a defective unit and the Ebay seller refunded my money and told me to keep it and not send it back. I guess it's not worth it to them to have to pay for the return and then send it out for repair and then ship it out again. Since they didn't have anymore in stock they just refunded my money. Now I need to see if I can fix it with my knowledge of electrical appliances and if I can't fix it take it to a local appliance repair place and get it fixed if the cost isn't too much.

 

[Brewbud]

I haven't tried yet but I will when I get a chance. My trunk has a cigarette lighter plug in the backseat I can test it with.

On a side note in case you haven't seen the other thread I posted it in. My Costway fridge I purchased from Ebay is dead on arrival. Plugged it in using A/C, nothing, using DC, nothing, no power at all. Contacted Ebay to return it as a defective unit and the Ebay seller refunded my money and told me to keep it and not send it back. I guess it's not worth it to them to have to pay for the return and then send it out for repair and then ship it out again. Since they didn't have anymore in stock they just refunded my money. Now I need to see if I can fix it with my knowledge of electrical appliances and if I can't fix it take it to a local appliance repair place and get it fixed if the cost isn't too much.

That is unfortunate about the fridge. Although since it won't power on at all, it sounds like it might be an easier fix than having to diagnose why it won't get cold. I assume you tried replacing the fuse. I believe the Smitty Bilt fridge is the same as the Costway fridge. Searching the web for "fixes" for that fridge may help some. With a little luck and some effort you might just have yourself a free fridge.

 

[BrianP]

I haven't tried yet but I will when I get a chance. My trunk has a cigarette lighter plug in the backseat I can test it with.

On a side note in case you haven't seen the other thread I posted it in. My Costway fridge I purchased from Ebay is dead on arrival. Plugged it in using A/C, nothing, using DC, nothing, no power at all. Contacted Ebay to return it as a defective unit and the Ebay seller refunded my money and told me to keep it and not send it back. I guess it's not worth it to them to have to pay for the return and then send it out for repair and then ship it out again. Since they didn't have anymore in stock they just refunded my money. Now I need to see if I can fix it with my knowledge of electrical appliances and if I can't fix it take it to a local appliance repair place and get it fixed if the cost isn't too much.

I've noticed that with a lot of suppliers. Not worth it to have their products with issues returned...

Good Luck!!

 

[Baughb]

Man! Do I feel fortunate! I have my Flex Power plugged into the 12 V cigarette socket in the car and that is keeping it charged with all the LEDs lit. My CFX50 has been staying between 32 and 36° entire trip from Los Angeles out to Utah..

 

[BrianP]

Man! Do I feel fortunate! I have my Flex Power plugged into the 12 V cigarette socket in the car and that is keeping it charged with all the LEDs lit. My CFX50 has been staying between 32 and 36° entire trip from Los Angeles out to Utah..

Really?? WOW!! All they are saying to me is send it back and we'll test it, at MY expense. Something about 30 days return policy that is buried on their website. I keep asking them questions and all they say is send it back and we'll test it and report what we find out. Ummmmm... no thanks. It will charge with 110/120, but just blinks whatever level it is charged at. Too bad I didn't think a little more before buying something from FlexoPower.

Anyways, a Cascadia 4x4 hood solar panel being wired today, happy about that and report to follow.

 

[Brewbud]

Really?? WOW!! All they are saying to me is send it back and we'll test it, at MY expense. Something about 30 days return policy that is buried on their website. I keep asking them questions and all they say is send it back and we'll test it and report what we find out. Ummmmm... no thanks. It will charge with 110/120, but just blinks whatever level it is charged at. Too bad I didn't think a little more before buying something from FlexoPower.

Anyways, a Cascadia 4x4 hood solar panel being wired today, happy about that and report to follow.

If they have a known problem with the LEDs they should be taking care of you. You may want to mention you have seen they are having problems on several forums and you would prefer to post about the great support instead of the lack of support.

 

[BrianP]

If they have a known problem with the LEDs they should be taking care of you. You may want to mention you have seen they are having problems on several forums and you would prefer to post about the great support instead of the lack of support.

I did that and they didn't seem to care. "We have offered resolution pursuant to our policies and we are happy to assist you per those policies. We look forward getting your positive response" is the response I've gotten from them. I'm surprised they perhaps hadn't tested the unit before shipping...

 

[OutdoorsBen]

At least you got a response I am flat out getting ignored about my LED’s being inaccurate unless it’s being charged.

 

[BrianP]

At least you got a response I am flat out getting ignored about my LED’s being inaccurate unless it’s being charged.

Have you tried messaging them through Facebook? They never responded through email.

 

[Baughb]

Back from the 8 day trip and I am a fortunate guy. My CFX50 never got to the point of drawing enough power out of the 444 to go to the 3rd flashing led. The solar panel kept it topped off thanks to very sunny days and moderately cool nights (low 40's). The 12v cigarette adapter worked fine the whole trip as well. I did NOT use the Goal Zero cables because it was working so well but as an additional precaution, I got an inline DC meter to keep an eye on things. So far, I am just stoked. When I use it again in the field, I'll try to get some real numbers from the meter. I think Flexopower just cheaped out on the LED meter thing, precision is king and not that expensive. Still though, I'm pretty satisfied.

 

[BrianP]

Back from the 8 day trip and I am a fortunate guy. My CFX50 never got to the point of drawing enough power out of the 444 to go to the 3rd flashing led. The solar panel kept it topped off thanks to very sunny days and moderately cool nights (low 40's). The 12v cigarette adapter worked fine the whole trip as well. I did NOT use the Goal Zero cables because it was working so well but as an additional precaution, I got an inline DC meter to keep an eye on things. So far, I am just stoked. When I use it again in the field, I'll try to get some real numbers from the meter. I think Flexopower just cheaped out on the LED meter thing, precision is king and not that expensive. Still though, I'm pretty satisfied.

Based on their customer service and their faulty LED's I would NEVER recommend them to anyone!! What's with admitting there's a fault? The trick I've found is to recharge the pack from my 110/120 inverter. DO I trust the 444?? Nope...

 

[OutdoorsBen]

Has anyone been able to contact Flexopower? Mine is now dead and I am getting zero responses from them. First the led’s went out two months ago and now it won’t charge at all. Leaning toward bad product with zero customer service.

 

[BrianP]

I had some contact with them, but nothing lately. I agree, DON'T BUY THIS THING!!!