I hope you're doing a write up somewhere for those of us not electrically gifted.
Goal Zero Yeti 400 Solar Generator Experience?
- Thread starter Glenn
- Start date
I hope you're doing a write up somewhere for those of us not electrically gifted.
Influencer II
Anker packs a lot more into a lighter package for sure and their company support is great! I've got several Anker items in my arsenal and they all perform great!
Advocate III
So I had to send back the controller due to a broken wire receptacle that accepts the (+) pv cable. It would not tighten down and secure the wire properly. I think I had a "Tim the Tool Man" moment when I ordered my parts anyways thinking that bigger would be better for future expansion... Bad idea !
So I now I have the same controller coming, but this time I got the 20A instead. I did like the MT50 Remote Meter that comes with it.
I am also swapping out the monster 1500W inverter for a 600W. My batteries showed about 3/4 capacity and the 1500w kept flashing a warning alarm. I looked up the alarm and it was either reading overheating, overdraw or low battery. Well there was no load EVER on it and it never ran long enough to overheat, so it must not have liked my batteries @ 3/4? Didn't think the size of the inverter matters to the power supply coming in, only for going out.
Anyways...it was much bigger than I thought it was AND it already irritated me, so it had to go !! Now I wait again
So I now I have the same controller coming, but this time I got the 20A instead. I did like the MT50 Remote Meter that comes with it.
I am also swapping out the monster 1500W inverter for a 600W. My batteries showed about 3/4 capacity and the 1500w kept flashing a warning alarm. I looked up the alarm and it was either reading overheating, overdraw or low battery. Well there was no load EVER on it and it never ran long enough to overheat, so it must not have liked my batteries @ 3/4? Didn't think the size of the inverter matters to the power supply coming in, only for going out.
Anyways...it was much bigger than I thought it was AND it already irritated me, so it had to go !! Now I wait again
Pathfinder II
That's the problem with sla/agm, their tolerance for depth of discharge is poor compared to li-ion types. Inverters' protection circuits are designed to warn you and/or shut off before the battery is too deeply discharged. When you say the battery was at 3/4 capacity, what was the voltage?
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Advocate III
I had this half assed hooked up for a total of about an hour. Batteries only charged an hour or so out of the box. The voltage was at 13.3 on the meter.
Pathfinder II
Advocate III
Pathfinder II
That's what I thought. Your voltage was well above the warning level. What did your inverter docs say?
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Advocate III
Pathfinder II
Most inverters are designed to shut off when voltage drops into the 10s. Based on what you experienced, you were nowhere near that.
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Advocate III
I returned that inverter anyway and a 600w AIMS PS is on the way. Im wondering if that inverter was just screwy. The new parts will be here Friday they say, so I will hook it up again and see. Just don't make sense to me. Short of calling Windy Nation , I cannot seem to find anymore info on that particular inverter.
Pathfinder II
Looks like the AIMS PS600 has the alarm go off @ ~10.6v & shutoff @ ~10.0v. It's very possible the previous was a dud.
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Advocate III
From reviews I have read about the AIMS it seems most are happy with it. I "thought" the Vertamax was the same. But like you say, maybe I had bad luck and it was a dud. Hoping...
Influencer II
- 3,682
- First Name
- Rick
- Last Name
- Vinnie
- Member #
2380
- Service Branch
- Army Veteran 11B 54E
I have been using a Goal Zero Extreme 350 with two Boulder 30 panels for 4 years. Mainly, I use the GZ to run a 35 liter ARB fridge while stationary. I charge the GZ while driving using a 220 inverter, while at the same time running the fridge from the 12 v socket so the GZ is most always topped when I stop for the day. It will supply the fridge, set to cool between 5-7 degrees Celsius for almost 2 days without a recharge thru solar or car power. (I have a dual battery set up in case I am stationary longer). It is a very reliable and robust setup, which also doubles as a limited home emergency backup. I have no experience with the Yeti model, but I can vouch for the brand. Most important is what do you want to power? What is your plan to recharge? How long stationary vs. driving? Recharge time with solar vs discharge time from end equipment connected. Always sun or often shade? Hope this helps!
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Advocate III
It sounds like the GZ has served you well. If you are parked longer than the 2 days and have your 2 panels setup, (60W together?) , will the panels keep you charged?
Advocate III
So the AIMS 600W inverter and new controller were delivered yesterday and got it all hooked up. After getting home from work I checked it out real quick and batteries are charging great and the inverter is a dream. Tomorrow I am going to test some things and test battery limits so I will have an idea of what we can and cant do in camp. I also wired up a 12V/USB Outlet with on/off switch and volt meter to add to my system since this new inverter had no USB ports, no biggie.
Big test day tomorrow, I have the day off !
Big test day tomorrow, I have the day off !
Influencer II
- 3,682
- First Name
- Rick
- Last Name
- Vinnie
- Member #
2380
- Service Branch
- Army Veteran 11B 54E
With great sun for most of the day, yes I could get more days. However, it is a careful balance between inside car temp, charging, keeping the fridge full, and turning down the fridge temp (0 degrees Celsius or more) while driving and back up when at camp so there is almost no power draw the first night. It is too much hassle which tells us it is not the ideal setup. I've got a dual battery setup in the rig so I change over if the GZ drops too low so it works (kinda) for me. Also I am not often in the same spot for longer than 2 days. Only on wash day!
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Advocate III
For the most part right now, we will only be a couple days anywhere. But we are gearing up and practicing for a year long journey and there will be places im sure that a week would be easily spent because of the beauty. That is why the GZ didn't quite fill my needs with the batteries total power storage being small. I have (2) 100ah batteries for this. Tomorrow I should have a better idea of its abilities...keeping fingers crossed!
Advocate III
So yesterday I got to test the system a little. One by one I kept adding a small device to 2 outlet strips plugged into the inverter watching for load draw on the meter and to test the inverter power(600W).
I had plugged in a decent sized fan, a radio, was charging my phone, charged my Wagan LED Lantern and also had 2 LED flood lights plugged in that I use in my yard. When the sun was bright it showed no battery draw and the panel kept up with charge. When light cloud cover came it showed only intermittent .1V draw on battery. I was very happy! I would never be running that much at one time anyways so even better and this was during the day to see how the solar panel could keep up with load draw.
I did get crazy and tried to run a portable ice maker(alone)...no dice. If I ran the batteries in series instead of parallel, Im sure it might do it but I don't want them hooked up that way. Im looking for "light load" longevity rather than power.
I was doing this while working on the jeep and I didnt have much time to spend on monitoring so I still want to try taking the panel off line and see what I can run for how long. (Just a fan for hot tent sleeping nights/minimal LED decorative camp lights after dark)
So far I am pleased. More testing to come
I had plugged in a decent sized fan, a radio, was charging my phone, charged my Wagan LED Lantern and also had 2 LED flood lights plugged in that I use in my yard. When the sun was bright it showed no battery draw and the panel kept up with charge. When light cloud cover came it showed only intermittent .1V draw on battery. I was very happy! I would never be running that much at one time anyways so even better and this was during the day to see how the solar panel could keep up with load draw.
I did get crazy and tried to run a portable ice maker(alone)...no dice. If I ran the batteries in series instead of parallel, Im sure it might do it but I don't want them hooked up that way. Im looking for "light load" longevity rather than power.
I was doing this while working on the jeep and I didnt have much time to spend on monitoring so I still want to try taking the panel off line and see what I can run for how long. (Just a fan for hot tent sleeping nights/minimal LED decorative camp lights after dark)
So far I am pleased. More testing to come
Advocate III
As an update, I did take the solar panel offline the other day and ran the tent fan on high, same 2 yard lights and the radio in the shed for 7 hours on just stored battery power and the batteries still had 12.3V when I shut everything off. I had no idea what to expect and Im very impressed so far. I have not put the solar panel back online yet. I want to turn everything back on with existing battery charge to see how many more hours it can actually run before the inverter will shut down.
So far...lovin it!
So far...lovin it!
