Tweet
My dad bought the f3800 with 3 400w panels and the ext battery. On testing We only saw less than 200w per panel at about 2pm laying flat on the grass. I connected 2 in series but that was to much v (60v max) . In parallel about 380 w input.
it also has 2 inputs. We put the 3rd panel on that and they both charged. It's a decent system except the overrated panels.. The big problem on this is if he maxes out the solar input which with the very limited 60v per input x2 is tough to match, it barely works ok to fully charge the battery. If you want to charge the ext battery also then it looks to be nearly impossible in a day.
but wait! That's not all!
what if you want to use the battery during the day
AND charge the battery!? Now you need at least double the bare minimum input and thats only on a perfect solar day. Add in the 4kwh battery charged in parallel from the same 2400w max solar input and this really looks limiting.
Solar input on the portable home batteries seem to always be the weak link. They can time shift well charging in 2 hours at super off peak then run your fridge or such on it all day. But in a sustained emergency it doesnt look good.
I hear there was 1 brand that let each ext battery have its own solar input if anyone recalls the brand please chime in.
2400w input x4h is 9600wh so it seems possible to fully charge and have limited daytime use but in reality it will probably be very hard to configure to hit this peak input. Still I think this is one of the best speced units and the price was inline but skip the panels at $400 ea.
it also has 2 inputs. We put the 3rd panel on that and they both charged. It's a decent system except the overrated panels.. The big problem on this is if he maxes out the solar input which with the very limited 60v per input x2 is tough to match, it barely works ok to fully charge the battery. If you want to charge the ext battery also then it looks to be nearly impossible in a day.
but wait! That's not all!
what if you want to use the battery during the day
AND charge the battery!? Now you need at least double the bare minimum input and thats only on a perfect solar day. Add in the 4kwh battery charged in parallel from the same 2400w max solar input and this really looks limiting.
Solar input on the portable home batteries seem to always be the weak link. They can time shift well charging in 2 hours at super off peak then run your fridge or such on it all day. But in a sustained emergency it doesnt look good.
I hear there was 1 brand that let each ext battery have its own solar input if anyone recalls the brand please chime in.
2400w input x4h is 9600wh so it seems possible to fully charge and have limited daytime use but in reality it will probably be very hard to configure to hit this peak input. Still I think this is one of the best speced units and the price was inline but skip the panels at $400 ea.