Bluetti AC180 power station - teardown and quick test

Bluetti AC180 stripped down to the batteries. I wish all power stations were built this well.
bluettipower.co.uk/pages/ac180

[@j-sonS]

My ac180 is on order. Should arrive in a week! My first lifepo system

[@marklewus5468]

You mentioned that honking big coil. It is the output inductor that filters the output of the AC sine wave inverter, which starts out as a high frequency PWM signal and is filtered to remove the high frequency components. Bluetti usually does a pretty good job of this. Bigger and inductor, lower noise. Physics!

[@coreybabcock2023]

Thanks for your awesome videos David

[@SKSK-rz7br]

Great breakdown .... With regard to light, I would have actually liked there to be a muted light bar as seen on the Eb55 and some of the ecoflow models .... Useful when camping

[@MichaelRobinson-hy8ms]

Enjoyed the video. However was hoping you might have attempted to start your diesel heater using the 12v socket s you tried and failed with an Allpowers device. Would be interested to know if the Bluetti is up to the task. Cheers.

[@rickdavid1795]

Great video Thanks

[@green_comet83]

Cheers for the excellent video! Great to see it's not using an AC power brick to charge like the older models.

[@DavidMcLuckie]

This pleases me also. It's fairly easy to replace a 3 pin IEC cable if you forget it. Not so much a complete charger.

[@bugzie-a1769]

great job David

[@dan32one44]

Good stuff 👏👏

[@jcadag8789]

Will you modify the AC input to include the earth so every time you plug the AC cord to charge that will always be earthed? Is it doable? Was there a earth terminal on the AC input so you can just tie them all? I want mine that every time I charged it that it is always grounded and no extra effort separate earthing.

[@jimf1196]

I have a new AC180 (April 2024). The AC grounds (AC Input, 4 Outputs, Ground Lug) are all connected within a tenth ohm. Think about it, in UPS mode it would be pretty bad to have a floating ground on the 4 receptacles. Use a meter to probe the AC receptacles and you might be surprised by what you see. Also AC outputs do not appear to be ground fault protected. The DC commons (DC input, 12V DC output, USBs) are all connected together but not directly connected to the AC Earth Ground. There is probably a capacitive connect between earth and common. This is not uncommon.

[@markjob6354]

The reason they don't connect the grounding screw in lug and the ground pin of your AC plug is there's always a danger of having a "hot" ground depending on how the main house power panel ground is wired. I've seen this before.

[@lua-nya]

Not because of internal earth-neutral bond?

[@Khoruzhin]

Thank you for the video. Is there any chance to disable Bluetooth by disconnecting a Bluetooth module? Or is it soldered in the main board?

[@beemrdon52]

How many screws did you have leftover?

[@1patrickmunn]

Hi David useful video, thanks. Is there anyway to remove the bluetooth module? I bought this to be "off grid" and it doesn't help having bluetooth on 24/7. Cheers

[@user-ol2zf4ze7s]

@DavidMcLuckie I am also interested in disabling bluetooth. The AC180 does not require bluetooth pairing confirmation, so anyone in the vicinity can tamper with the device. I reported the issue to Bluetti but so far they have not deployed a fix.

[@genuinetuffguy1854]

Nice tear down…it does look nicely engineered. I have the AC180 and I have been using it as a UPS at home. Only complaint is the fan is loud even when set to “silent”. If they offer firmware updates I’m wondering how that would be done with this unit. Would be nice if the fan speed could be varied…perhaps if it came on at a slower speed earlier in the temperature spike as opposed to coming on at higher speed after the internal temp has gotten x degrees above threshold.

[@DavidMcLuckie]

Funnily enough I've been using it as UPS as well. I agree, I'd rather have it start off slowly with the fan, rather than hit X degrees and go full power. Which it does even when not under load but just sitting in idle UPS. I've also noticed you have to disable AC and DC power saving timeouts, for it to not turn itself off.

[@mrkim5644]

I’d guess firmware update would be through the app

[@genuinetuffguy1854]

@@mrkim5644 It is, you just have to login. It won’t let you update firmware in offline mode.

[@JohnWilliams-qf2cm]

Great review David. AC 180 released in Australia on May 15. Do you reckon the earth wiring is a dealbreaker, as I would like an AC180 but not if the wiring has been done by people who don't know what they are doing, or maybe by the work experience kid! Once again, thanks for the great review.

[@DavidMcLuckie]

It's likely there will be a reason. It wouldn't stop me using it though.

[@retrozmachine1189]

You wouldn't be able to buy this specific variant in Australia, at least shouldn't be able to. The regulations here require the earth pin in the sockets to not be connected at all, except where the device has built in RCD functionality. That the earth pin is connected and presented via that screw terminal on the outside of the case to permit attachment to an earth rod or the like is a big no-no. As this variant stands the unit would be setup to operate as an IT class generator.

[@ZxAMobile]

@@retrozmachine1189regardless, these guys know what they’re doing and they cannot be questioned. I can’t find any downside to any of the construction on this generator. It is virtually perfect and shows the craftsmanship by Bluetti.

[@retrozmachine1189]

@@ZxAMobile Wouldn't be the first time that an 'unquestionable' product has been recalled because it turns out it wasn't standards compliant.

[@roddysallie8098]

Great video 👍 One thing I would love to know . Is it possible to charge this with a Orion-Tr Smart 12/24V-15A Isolated DC-DC Charger⁉️ Powering through the solar input

[@DavidMcLuckie]

That's exactly what Paul and I are going to try on his Landcruiser shortly.

[@roddysallie8098]

@@DavidMcLuckie great news 👍

[@zodaguado6655]

It will only max out at 8 amps

[@jcadag8789]

Can you set the charge battery level up to a certain percentage like stop charging when 80% charge is reach and then set it to turn off the whole power station when 20% battery level is reach? I have seen that kind of feature on the Ecoflow River 2 Max which is handy when you want your battery health good for a long time.

[@BOUNTYEATER]

ff hoping we can make this settings on bluetti..

[@gavinwilln7571]

The last "O" denotes that it is a round shape 32 x 70 round.

[@markclark4154]

700 x1/10 mm. This follows the convention of button cells where 1632 is 16 mm diameter X 3.2 mm high.

[@DouglasNewson]

Do you repair power packs

[@roddysallie8098]

Will it run a Diesel heater⁉️

[@michaelbradley-yorath9682]

I don't know about the elecctrical science of it but maybe the reason they don't integrate the earths is to isolate the mains power earth from the solar charging system to protect the solar panels

[@lewb7621]

Question. Can I run a 1400 watt kettle on a cold morning @ 5 to 6 degrees? And do you think it will die in 20 mins at this temp?

[@DavidMcLuckie]

Temperature is always a tricky thing for the power stations. Obviously the cold affects the chemistry and how well they operate. In the winter I've had them not start diesel heaters and not take a charge. Not this AC180 in particular as I haven't had a winter with it yet.

[@louis-ls8bk]

thanks for great job. just wondering is it possible turn charging on and off by app with wifi? thanks

[@solentice]

I can help answer this one as I have tested a unit. You can turn off the unit via the app, which will shut everything down, including charging. But you will also lose Bluetooth connection and won't be able to restart or start charging the unit from the app.

[@louis-ls8bk]

@@solentice thanks a lot bro

[@stevesracingbits]

Just use a WiFi plug to turn it on

[@ernieschatz3783]

Intesting difference in cell size vs the AC200P, which contains 160 26700 cells in a 16S 10P arrangement. I think I prefer the larger cell as there are less potential points of failure. Similar construction between the two units. Top notch in most all respects.

[@bveryafraidsc]

Has anyone tried adding to battery pack? Increase capacity but keep everything else intact.

[@myfpv6813]

thanks - great job :D

[@DouglasNewson]

My dc and usb ports stopped working say short on panel front

[@darylcheshire1618]

“1400 watt - yeeeesss!”.

[@Thergood]

I have other Bluetti's and they always fail me on mildy chilly mornings at camp. I'd be curious if this is the same. 50-60 degrees F (10-15 C) I plug in a portable kettle pulling 650-700 watts, it runs for a few seconds, and then instantly drops to zero perfect charge. I have to put it on the charger for an hour or two before it "remembers" it was fully charged. This is well within the operating temp range by the way.

[@lua-nya]

That's odd. Tried discussing it with support?

[@Thergood]

@@lua-nya Yea. I’ve been back and forth. They don’t seem to understand the issue and keep sending me the same troubleshooting steps over and over. No matter how I’ve explained it or how many times, they always respond with some version of “Try it in warm temperature” and “cold weather effects battery life.” Which again, battery life is not the problem. It’s some kind of issue with the BMS, but their Support seems to be seriously lacking.

[@joebloggs6131]

My uncle throws a small blanket over the coffee machine at night, so that first thing in the morning, it works. Could try a small blanket cover etc at night so that in the morning they may just be working without delay

[@ZxAMobile]

@@Thergood if you have this sort of issue, you should be using very heavy insulation. I think you should be insulating everything that can be insulated in your entire life. Every single thing should be insulated. There is this saying that you can never insulate too much… I would recommend some bubble wrap with reflective foil (reflectix). Double bubble wrap is ideal.

[@marklewus5468]

About the grounding - I don’t know about the UK but in the US it is against code to ground a device at more than one point. regardless of code it’s a really bad idea because you can create a ground loop. Ideally, you would want the outlets to be connected to the AC grid ground (and not the post) when the AC180 is plugged into the grid, and only to the grounding post on the device the rest of the time. I guess that’s too big of an ask.

[@tonyclark6618]

UK regulations prohibit the sharing of the mains supply earth with generators.

[@ceesvandenberge5611]

1152 Wh / 10 cell x 3.2 V gives 36 A gives 6 rows of 6 A these with 10 x 6 A cells in serie explains it all. I guess

[@twocvbloke]

Just crunching numbers, 5x6 (cell numbers), 30, multiplied by 3.2v nominal cell voltage, 96v (so not right), divide by three, 32v, so, 10x series cells by 3x parallel (10S3P) arrangement, now if you will excuse me, my brain just overheated, it doesn't like doing maths... :P

[@HuyLe-qc8jc]

Should be 10S6P as there are 60 cells rather than 30 cells. It's 2 layers of 5x6 as each cell is 70mm tall for a 32700. Also, 6P * 6Ah/cell * 32V = 1152Wh.

[@johnmacgregor6544]

The reason the earth of the unit is separate from the mains input, is to prevent a short circuit in the unit from earthing to the mains grid. They should not be connected! This is islanding. If your unit develops a fault, it should go to its own earth NOT to your house earth anywhere. If an electricicy employee was working on the grid somewhere on an isolated supply, and your unit was made to earth to the mains nearby they would be electrocuted by the unexpected supply of electricity.

[@DavidMcLuckie]

Excellent explanation, thank you.

[@Urge38]

Yeah,!!!! Well done bluetti for having the 240v red and black power cables on a 12v male and female bullet connector NOT

[@DavidMcLuckie]

After a brief Google and a look at some specs for generic bullet connectors, I see they can be rated up to 600V and 27A. So I think we'll be ok.

[@eugenponomarenko789]

Nice video, Sir. I understand it's better not to use one of these as UPS because all onboard electronics works on battery, and so it will constantly recharge itself from 99% to 100% again and again. Is this correct?

[@DavidMcLuckie]

I have found this yes. I was using it as UPS for the laser engraver and laptop as I didn't want a power failure. But even with the laser and laptop turned off, it would still periodically run the fans (quite loud). Not the end of the world but something to keep in mind.

[@fenceup07944931177]

Looking for a way to run a small air compressor. It runs at 7amp 240v. Out of the power packs and generators. What do you think would run it? I'm using a coil nailer, and runs it quite hard.

[@DavidMcLuckie]

1700W is doable for the bigger power stations. It's the inrush current of the compressor motor that usually upsets them though. As it might pull something like 3000W for the first few seconds. The Anker 767 will start and run my 50L compressor, but it's also old and I have no idea the specs. :)

[@lostangeles4476]

Jasonoid runs a small pancake compressor as part of his review of the AC180. You might want to check it out.

[@ZxAMobile]

@@DavidMcLuckieI’m curious, does the turbo charging is bad for battery? Should we do eco only? Ty so much!