See more projects and get my FREE Solar Financial Calculator on my website ProjectsWithDave.com: projectswithdave.com/ Use my special code "F3800SC" to save $2,274 on Anker SOLIX F3800 and expansion battery, valid until September 30th! : shrsl.com/4n8qm
@bobjones97274 ай бұрын
Good informative video. It seems every time you invest in a system, out comes something new and improved for less money! My concern was always that if the grid had a serious hiccup this equipment would become scarce and or really expensive real soon. Solar panels are an excellent example. They will be "worth their weight." Only issue I had with this unit is the very high (IMO) inverter standby power consumption. Maybe its inherited of a split phase unit but Anker needs to fix that somehow.
@ProjectsWithDave4 ай бұрын
It could be because it is really running two 3kW inverters to make split phase.
@13MAM132 ай бұрын
30:30 Water heating test was 👍👍👍
@ProjectsWithDave2 ай бұрын
Thanks! I thought it was a fun experiment. I've always wanted to see if any of these on demand water heaters would actually work. Now, if you live in Alaska the water coming in would have been too cold to be elevated to a reasonable temperature, but anything south of Ohio should be workable.
@tronziebit2 ай бұрын
This saved the food on the fridge during Hurricane Milton. I used a small gas generator to charge it during the day, and run it silently ay night.
@ProjectsWithDave2 ай бұрын
That's a great setup! A gas generator combined with a battery backup is an ideal solution. I show the data in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nGHWnKqEath9rMk
@mikeru99203 ай бұрын
You left nothing out in this Video. Thank you so much!
@Spaniard473 ай бұрын
Side note regarding inductive loads... high frequency inverters get a bad rap, but in my testing I've found the biggest factor by far is how it's programmed to deal with these loads. Many inverters trigger a fault if a certain output threshold is reached for even 1/60th of a second. MOST inverters are properly equipped to handle substantial short spikes, but their driver modules are not properly implemented to make the most of the hardware. A while ago, I chanced upon a brand that actually implements solid logic on their inverters (Xijia / Swipower), and it completely changed the way I think about inverters. Their 1500W model (yes, 1500W) outperforms a popular 3000W inverter handily. In fact, it starts every 120V appliance I own (12A shopvac, air compressor, any power tool, etc) with the only exception being a 12,000BTU portable AC (almost nothing starts it). This is 100% down to its use of built-in soft start driver and very well programmed fault detection. It's pretty remarkable what a well-designed high freq inverter is capable of!
@ProjectsWithDave3 ай бұрын
I would agree there is a significant difference between brands on the performance with induction loads with hardware that is rated the same. I haven't tried the brand you mentioned.
@unijabnx200029 күн бұрын
Would love to see someone testing a set of ecoflow delta pro ultras(without SHP) to compare ankers 12kw setup vs ecoflows 12kw setup.
@FuncleChuck3 ай бұрын
I have precisely zero interest in PV but a battery+inverter at 120/240V is very interesting to me. Even 3000W would run my A/C, lights, and fridges - and 5-6 kWh could get me through all but the hottest nights. I’m still on gas heat and a gas water heater, but I don’t want to run a gas generator during the night in a power outage.
@ProjectsWithDave2 ай бұрын
Not having to run a gas generator at night is one of the best reasons to get some battery backup.
@hardymichael5332 ай бұрын
Espension battery add good idea 😊
@RCTVAccount4 ай бұрын
Nice review. The only thing that is holding me back is the PV voltage limits. I have seven Sirius 410W (VOC 37v) bifacial panels for a 24K EG4 mini-split. It works great, but I think I would prefer to hook up the panels to a battery system and then run the mini-split off of 240v more than during sunlight hours.
@ProjectsWithDave4 ай бұрын
Running a mini-split directly from solar is a struggle because every cloud that passes over resets the system. A battery in the loop would make a huge difference. I think they should come out with a mini-split that has the option to connect a battery to fix that issue.
@RCTVAccount4 ай бұрын
@@ProjectsWithDave My bifacial panels generate over 2200 watts of power and my two arrays are separate. The 24K EG4 says the operation range is between 190W to 2250W. My experience has been there is enough wattage to operate the mini-split even in cloudy weather. I have not yet noticed the system reset during the day. My house is 2100 sqft with the majority being open concept. The 24K mini-split keeps my house around 68 degrees from sun up to sun down. The most interesting feature is that when the unit turns off after sunset, it remembers the settings and automatically turns on after sunrise.
@NeverTakeNoCut-offs2 ай бұрын
Very nice review, as usual. I can see the appeal of these in terms of simplicity. Unfortunately, this is the "give away the razor handle, and charge for blades model" Expansion batteries are very expensive. Why don't you do an underground water storage tank for dump loads?
@ProjectsWithDave2 ай бұрын
I have an extra water tank for daily dump loads, but I can only use so much hot water. There isn't a good way to convert it back to electricity.
@mine000023 ай бұрын
Hi Dave I really thank you for this video however Can you do one that shows you running your whole home ac with fridge and washing machine? We do want to be able to do those things in the event of a power outage. I have watch plenty of use videos but no one does the whole home air conditioning with fridge washing machine and dryer.
@ProjectsWithDave2 ай бұрын
I did a test showing the unit can easily deliver 10kW at once for extended periods of time so you just need to add up your appliances and make sure it is under that. If you ran them all at the same time, you would want to start the AC first because of the surge load at startup. Also your AC would likely need a soft start device. Once it's running it really isn't that big of a load. My 4Ton heat pump is only about 2.5kW. The fridge is very small less than 1kW, the washing machine is in the 1kW range, the dryer can range quite a bit but lets use the max at 5kW. The total would be 2.5kW+1kW+1kW+5kW= 6.5kW. Since most of those are split phase loads you would be well under the 11kW max for two Anker 3800 units combined with the home distribution center. Hope that helps.
@mine000022 ай бұрын
@@ProjectsWithDave thank you sooo much
@LordAshura3 ай бұрын
The idle power consumption, lack of dual charging, and limited PV voltage is what ruins it. Anker seems to be aggressively cutting prices as it seems like it is not selling well when you have the Ecoflow Delta Pro 3 and Ultra.
@mr.c66743 ай бұрын
Yeah, your needs are what everyone else needs 🙄
@danielbilbay18492 ай бұрын
Thanks for the review on the solor charging aspect that was helpfull
@ProjectsWithDave2 ай бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
@qtrhors14 ай бұрын
Can it supply your every day needs. I think these systems are great for what they are intended for. Running commercial grade industrial tools is not a concern for the average home owner who wants to run as much of his home off grid when the power goes out. It would take 2 3800's and 4 extra batteries with the solar maxed out to 4800w to be considered a whole home backup system.
@ProjectsWithDave4 ай бұрын
It depends on what you are running. For my home I need about 10kWh to have good margin to my loads. That would require extra batteries.
@brysonfulkerson8522 ай бұрын
Awesome review! Regarding these all in one systems and "selling" excess power back to the grid (I'm in an area that pays 1 to 1), I've read up that Anker is the only portable system with that capability. I was leading towards the Ecoflow Ultra system until I saw that it apparently is not capable of offloading to the grid. Do you have any info that speaks to that?
@simon3594 ай бұрын
With the internal idle consumption being that high, and with the limited solar input, this can create a major problem! There are better solutions.
@tanktexas7 күн бұрын
Love it . I really been wanting to buy these. They seem great
@ProjectsWithDave3 күн бұрын
Thanks, I'm glad the analysis was helpful for you.
@coziii.18293 ай бұрын
I use those In Bunker
@fduran69933 ай бұрын
With the extra solar energy you could transfer it to an electric water heater (dc?).
@ProjectsWithDave3 ай бұрын
Yes, you can do that.
@loluog2 ай бұрын
Did I understand you correct, that you can charge with solar AND a wall outlet simultaneously?
@perrya48782 ай бұрын
thats what i want to know..... ????
@d3phunk372 ай бұрын
No. It will only use power from the wall. If you lose wall power it would start drawing from solar if it's available. There is no way to make solar input priority for charging
@mattke5etc4 ай бұрын
The link for the MIG welder and the plasma cutter are the same link, which leads to the plasma cutter.
@ProjectsWithDave4 ай бұрын
Thanks for letting me know. It should be fixed now.
@peterelhayek13 ай бұрын
Hi, was wondering if ac couple solar system on your house will still run if the grid is off with anker panel system
@ProjectsWithDave3 ай бұрын
No, the system is connected on the grid side of the Anker system.
@BrindleBrown4 ай бұрын
Could you use a Victron smart controller 150/35 to allow series strings to 150 volts and then connect the output of the Victron controller to the input of the Anker charge controller?
@ProjectsWithDave4 ай бұрын
I haven't tried that, but in theory, if the output is less than 60V it should work.
@perrya48782 ай бұрын
Can you use the unit while plugged in to a standard outlet 120v without the Anker "power panel" ?
@d3phunk372 ай бұрын
When it's charging off the 120v plug, the 220 outlets and one leg of the 110s (three outlets) are disabled. Only the UPS outlets remain powered.
@ProjectsWithDave2 ай бұрын
@perrya4878 If you are using a single unit without the power panel, it will work as a UPS when pugged in. So, yes you can use the outlets when it is plugged in.
@copiedoffme2 ай бұрын
Will the Anker 3800 remain 100% charged when off?
@kdeezey3 ай бұрын
I have a food trailer and was thinking of switching to one of these units. I believe that im running about 2300w or so with an ac unit (1500w) and 2 freezers (200w a piece) that run constant. I currently use a 9000w Predator that gets me about 4 - 5 hours of run time per tank. In your opinion, do you believe an Anker can be a good replacement?
@ProjectsWithDave3 ай бұрын
How do you plan to charge the F3800? The unit should be able to run your loads without a problem, but if you are running the AC constantly it will only last a couple of hours with the internal battery. If you wanted more run time you would need additional expansion batteries, add solar or charge it periodically with the generator.
@albertomartin703 ай бұрын
Mistake there… it is 1200 watts per port. In total is 2,400 watts. That is why you saw more than 1,200 watts and the unit did not shut down. Using these same solar panels, you can put three parallel panels on each input. Total of six 400 watts panels (using anker panels as example, with other panels you have to do the math to get 2,400 (1,200 watts on each input). Last firmware update lower the voltage threshold and increase the input amp to 27 amps instead of 25 but still max power input per port is 1,200 watts.
@ProjectsWithDave3 ай бұрын
The challenge is getting 1,200W into one port with such a low max voltage.
@mrdenson31013 ай бұрын
Do two units double the power of the inverter ? Is the total 12000 watts ?
@ProjectsWithDave3 ай бұрын
Right, each unit is 6,000W. So total with 2 units is 12,000W.
@mrdenson31013 ай бұрын
@@ProjectsWithDave many thanks. Starting to save now 💙
@johnschubert32382 ай бұрын
Can't the Ecoflow Delta Pro Ultra do all this and more?
@GamingCentral3000Ай бұрын
True but but that one costs a lot more.
@danielbilbay18492 ай бұрын
5000 watts you had .1 or 10 minutes run time?
@ProjectsWithDave2 ай бұрын
The capacity is only 3.8kWh per battery so each unit can only provide a little over 3,000W for an hour if it is a continuous load and the batteries are full.
@Buffy-883 ай бұрын
Great presentation. 👍
@ProjectsWithDave3 ай бұрын
Thank you! 👍
@LarryRichelli23 күн бұрын
I still don't understand how anyone can live on 25 amps no matter how many volts in their house, on these units
@NeverTakeNoCut-offs2 ай бұрын
How much does Anker pay you to do these reviews? Curious
@AbdulRahim-cu7y4 ай бұрын
Do you edit videos yourself, or have you hired someone? would love to discuss, if you’re interested.
@ProjectsWithDave4 ай бұрын
Unfortunately, I do it myself.
@AbdulRahim-cu7y4 ай бұрын
@@ProjectsWithDave Can we discuss further if you're interested in outsourcing it?
@ProjectsWithDave4 ай бұрын
You Can contact me through my website here: projectswithdave.com/about/
@AbdulRahim-cu7y4 ай бұрын
Cool! I just submitted a form.
@WiSeNhEiMeR-13694 ай бұрын
HOWdy P-w-E-D-D, ... Thanks for the REVIEW COOP ...
@ProjectsWithDave3 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching!
@nixquev4 ай бұрын
I don't know how to say this elegantly but your last few videos look to me like you stopped making diy viable projects and started "sponsored diy-viable only" projects. I preferred when you made stuff you use with your own means. Still, always high quality content sir.
@ProjectsWithDave4 ай бұрын
Thanks for the feedback. The DIY projects take a lot of time to build film test and edit. These are something to do in-between and gives me something to compare my DIY systems to.
@exosinfor4 ай бұрын
time bud, yt demands more videos than possible to make with just budget DIY projects
@lakorai23 ай бұрын
His own means finding $10K of cash that he has to drain his bank account to achieve to only get $500 in KZbin revenue for. This is not a charity. He has bills to pay too.
@FuncleChuck3 ай бұрын
I have to firmly disagree. More content, even sponsored, is better than months of nothing between DIY shoots
@Metodisten2 ай бұрын
Also, for us that live in apartments, don’t have the tools or have the knowledge to do it, it is great to have reviews on things you can buy of the shelves.
@danielbilbay18492 ай бұрын
Power for days? When you plugged in 2 heaters at over 2000 watts tue screen on machine said .4 hours left on charge. Funny all sponsored videos fail to mention time until out of juice
@ProjectsWithDave2 ай бұрын
Time depends on load. That is what the fridge test is for. It shows the typical amount of time you can expect to be able to run your refrigerator on a full charge.
@13MAM132 ай бұрын
I have run a 220volt 5,500 watt electric garage heater from this wih zero issues.
@ProjectsWithDave2 ай бұрын
Thanks for noting your actual experience!
@johnwhite2576Ай бұрын
How long coudl you run it for ?
@brentjohnson66543 ай бұрын
I like what I see from the Anker F3800. Also the Eco Flow similar one looks good for a minor backup. The down side of these devices in my opinion is the lack of capacity (kWh). Yes, they can add battery storage to increase the capacity but I might still lean to a DiY system with my own battery bank. I say this because of the cost of the Anker or Eco Flow. I do like the portability and I might be over stressing my need for capacity in an emergency. My full usage can be close to 100kWh/day during high usage. Often it can be below 93kWh/day. I am measuring that with my utility and the Emporium electric circuit analyzer (16 circuits I think). There are many use-cases that will work well with these portable units, so I am not saying they don’t have their place. Just the cost of adding enough battery for my capacity is cost prohibitive. I am not saying these are wrong, just essentially telling you my life story (that you didn’t ask for by the way haha). Again, thanks for the video. All the best from north Texas!
@ProjectsWithDave3 ай бұрын
Thanks, for the thoughts. I think these all-in-one systems are great under the right circumstances. However, if you really want to run a house with the loads you are talking about, I think it makes more sense to do a modular residential grade system. You can get much larger batteries for the price point with those types of systems. I have several options on my website you can look at using this link, the ones from EG4 are hard to beat: projectswithdave.com/batteries/
@brentjohnson66543 ай бұрын
@@ProjectsWithDave yes I agree
@brentjohnson66543 ай бұрын
@@ProjectsWithDave yes I like the EG4 batteries. Signatures solar is just 30 minutes away so I have that going for me. Haha
@FuncleChuck3 ай бұрын
Whoa, that’s a lot of power. You’re gonna pay through the nose for anything that handles 100 kWh daily. Your power bill must be massive!
@DIYsmithy2 ай бұрын
Fully agree, Beautiful appearance and portability come from Anker and EcoFlow, But the capacity is small and the price is expensive, so we can't afford it. My friend recommended me to use 20KWh all-in-one with10KW hybrid inverter from VNICE POWER . But I don't know anything about this product.I would appreciate it if DAVE could introduce a low-cost energy storage battery product.
@AOHgoog22Күн бұрын
A+
@mdunbar044 ай бұрын
👍
@alanday5255Ай бұрын
At $4,000 it should rub your feet..
@alexherrera391828 күн бұрын
7 hours of charging time is not awesome, kee in mind in average you have only 4 hours of usable sun per day, that is almost two days to charge the unit, that is really bad.