Running a Furnace with a Power Station! Anker SOLIX F2000 Test!

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In this video I demonstrate how to connect a power station/generator to your furnace through the EZ Generator Box & take a detailed look at the Anker SOLIX F2000 (PowerHouse 767).
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[@drescherjm]

I got a bluetti ac180 today for $682 shipped including taxes for a backup (among other usage) for this same purpose. A few years ago we had a 3 day power outage in winter were the temps were under 40F and it was no fun without any furnace. Although we did light the gas fireplace and had a few items on kitchen the gas stove it still was a chilly time.

[@mrfoodarama]

When you touched the plug and felt voltage but not immediately pulling your hand away (low current) I was immediately thinking it was some kind of capacitive coupling, very interesting!

[@mfiels]

That transfer switch for a single circuit looks neat, looking forward to the install video with more details on what the floating neutral means in terms of how to hook up to the panel.

[@KuryakinIllya]

Good video and an interesting use case.

[@Tony.Tony.Tony.]

What an organized electrical panel!

[@SolarShenanigans]

I've seen something like this before when I was using an off grid inverter to run lights while I hooked up the grid input to the same inverter at my main panel. I'd get some low voltage off the inverter neutral from running the lights due to the floating neutral. Not enough to really zap you but enough to make my fluke non-contact voltage tester intermittently chirp. I suspect this phenomena is related to that floating neutral and Anker just fed you some random jargon. P.S. please wear safety glasses when shorting out electrics in front of your face, I appreciate your safety squints but... ;)

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

When I was editing the video I was thinking that too... Bad call on my part... I would hope Anker was being honest but like I said, I'm not an electrical engineer! :)

[@SolarShenanigans]

​@@BenjaminSahlstrom Nor am I, I could be completely wrong as a power station is not the same as the stuff I typically fiddle with. Working with off grid Solar, managing the neutral to ground bond is a constant issue and every inverter is different. Some have internal relays that bond the neutral to the ground or float it in different modes too. If you turned the UPS mode off I wonder if the voltage would still be there, actually. Fun fact while we're talking about getting zapped by things that shouldn't be hot, there are some solar charge controllers on the market that will put out low voltage AC on the DC lines from the solar panels. If you don't ground your array you can get a 'tickle' from touching the solar panel frames when the sun is out. Solar can be very... exciting sometimes. :)

[@stephane184]

This is the exact use case I want to implement. Anker currently having extended Black Friday sale. Getting a f2000+expansion battery and 2 x 200 w of their solar panels

[@markchidester6239]

Hey Ben, Id love to see a video about the mini split you put in your garage. Hows it holding up? Any problems? Better units available. Thanks for what you do!

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Maybe I'll make an update video on that sometime this winter!

[@medicmanfd]

Here in Des Moines Iowa, MidAmerican Energy winter rates are about .10 cents per kilowatt hour.

[@robertlane6675]

I have the same transfer switch and have it wired to a circuit that has an outlet in several different parts of the house and several led light fixtures. Power cost here is about $0.12 including all extras on my average power bill from the city owned muni power company.

[@tjd1956]

PG&E in El Dorado Hills near Sacramento Ca. $.051 Summer about $.037 Winter per KWH.

[@cgutowski471]

The shared neutral is an issue for anyone using a transfer switch and powering inverter from Main panel, kinda like a UPS. Only way around it is to use a non GFCI breaker on the circuit powering the Anker. Not sure if it’s right but it works.

[@PWoods-cd6tk]

My Bluetti AC 200 Max does not trip the GFCI when plugged in to the main and running the transfer switch - probably something to do with the AC to DC converter of the power brick. I have another station that does though. Renogy told me that their inverter charger would be ok to connect directly to the transfer switch without having to worry about neutral ground bond issues.

[@thorritz8520]

So i get running natural gas furnace like u did. We have a natural gas furnace boiler. One haa to also power circulators correct? How much power is consumed with those circulators running? My house has two zone baseboard so would need to include that i think? I also have nest thermostat which is on transformer although it has some internal battery.

[@jimwind374]

9.5 Canadian cents here in Manitoba. About $9.50 monthly basic charge on top of that. Average power bill for us is about $100 CAD. 😁

[@carabela125]

The safety capacitor should have a resistor to bleed off the voltage stored within seconds. There may be a small normal amount of leakage current through the capacitor.

[@johnsarafin8144]

There should not be voltage. The resistor would bleed off any capacitor residual voltage. From the HVAC point of view this would be similar to the start run capacitor.

[@1McMurdoSilver]

Hi Ben.. I also am from MN and pay $.088+$.037 per kWh (total is $.125/kWh) , plus all the other crap.. Basic Service Charge, Affordability Charge, Resource Adjustment, Interim Rate Adjustment, City Fees, Transit Improvement Tax, Other Special District Tax, County Tax, State Tax.

[@Jon-hx7pe]

affordability charge? charge you to make electricity more affordable. sounds as messed up as ontario!

[@1McMurdoSilver]

@@Jon-hx7pe It is the cost to provide payment plans and non payment for low income individuals, phrased more positively of course.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Minnesota is not great for costs especially with all the green energy stuff. Crazy how affordable power is in other parts of the country! They're turning some of the best agricultural land in the US into solar fields around here. Seems like a bad idea.

[@Jon-hx7pe]

that if anything should be covered by general tax revenue - not on the bills. utilities are not social services agencies! its like going to home depot and you get an extra charge to subsidize low income.@@1McMurdoSilver

[@Jon-hx7pe]

lots of bad ideas - solar panels are crap on the grid without storage. nothing green about green energy. @@BenjaminSahlstrom

[@IGoProEVERYTHING]

You have the cleanest panels I have seen on KZbin.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Thanks! Hopefully will have more panel videos coming up in the next few months!!!

[@bernlitzner2739]

A thing of beauty! Also a talent I don't have. Mine is just OK.

[@TH3mrBROWN]

Did you check to see if the the hot and neutral are reversed on the power station? I've seen many reviews that say they are reversed, could that also be the cause of voltage on the input??

[@jkim412]

Positive Comment!!!

[@Jon-hx7pe]

Ontario canada - time of use rates, 8.7 cents off peak, 12 cents mid-peak, 18 cents peak. add 2-3 cents per kwh transmission to local utilities. fixed local utility fees mean being charged $40 b4 using any electricity. the system here is really messed up - the tou periods don't coincide with demand. lots of political interference!

[@PWoods-cd6tk]

40 cents/ kwh over here in Central CA during peak. 2 kwh per day is $24 a month, and $288 a year. Usually a furnace has an accessible 120 cord, so I don't think these types of transfer switches are very useful since they can only handle one circuit. If you plug the solar generator directly to the heater, you can plug the solar generator directly into the wall and not have to worry about tripping anything and just use it as a UPS. I hooked up a 4 circuit transfer switch and now I regret not doing 6 or 10 circuits.

[@markchidester6239]

$.40 kwh, omg! Imagine charging an EV on that. What is the cost of peek? What are the times of peek and off peek?

[@PWoods-cd6tk]

@@markchidester6239 Peak is 4:00 to 9:00 PM for most people. There are different plans. Peak prices fluctuate from 38 to 44 cents. I just call it 40 cents per kwh to keep it conservative. There are breaks for EVs, but that's going away. We are on NEM 3 metering now which pays very little for power back to the grid for new solar owners. If you calculate 40 cents/kwh and have a 100kwh battery, that's $40 per fill up, which is not bad. You would just have to have a lot of batteries and panels to be able to do that every night when you get home.

[@Dmitrytln]

Probably designer improperly calculated power dissipation for shunt resistor and it burnt immediately after first using, so capacitor in your power bank is no more shunted by resistor.

[@grandn8646]

Why not just a switch with an outlet onto the furnace and wire in a short cord to plug into either the outlet on the furnace or the Anker?

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Will be exploring this topic more in an upcoming video, but there are a few reasons why this setup is better.

[@livingstone6675]

UPS witchcraft. The input is essentially connected to the battery bus and the output and its all hot. The mystery isn't that there is voltage on the input the mystery is why does it not knock you on yer ass . Very interesting video Ben. Thank you.

[@tjd1956]

If using that type of battery would we need an inverter generator or could we use any generator to charge that battery while hooked up to a transfer switch to power sensitive electronics such as tvs and computers?

[@teuton6167]

You need an inverter generator.

[@tjd1956]

@@teuton6167 Are you saying I need an inverter generator just to charge one of those batteries? or only if that battery is powering sensitive electronics at the same time?

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

You should be able to use a normal generator to power it but when it is in UPS mode I believe it transfers the power straight through.

[@teuton6167]

@@tjd1956 I think inverter generators are recommended. I’ve seen some posts from folks who said a regular non-inverter generator worked and other models didn’t. You can get a 2500 watt dual fuel inverter generator from Champion for $400-$500.

[@tjd1956]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom Thanks

[@donmclean1220]

I’m not clear what their “safety capacitor” is for but their statement about non-dangerous current must mean less than 5 ma. That’s the trip current for a GFCI.

[@teseract]

6 cents a KWH under 1000kwh a month, 6.8 if over 1000kwh. Northwest hydropower FTW.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

What in that world. That's SO NICE!

[@Jon-hx7pe]

i like hydro and nuke - and hydro is nice and cheap. crappy intermittent renewables, not so much!

[@teseract]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom It's a PUD that mostly gets it's power from the Bonneville Power Association which runs the dams in the region like Grand Coulee. It's actually gone up, when I moved in 9 years ago it was 5.2 and there wasn't an overage penalty.

[@Majuscule2012]

I pay 7,880 ¢/kWh in Winter (Dec to March) 6,509 to 10,041 (Nov and April) 6,509 ¢/kWh (May to Oct) + 43,505 ¢ per day

[@Jon-hx7pe]

you must have a psc motor with those wattages. 2kw storage capacity sucks

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

It's an ECM main blower but only 2 main stages. I really like how the ECM ramps up and down quietly. 2kwh isn't a lot but it does buy some time!

[@Jon-hx7pe]

big furnace or high static? 40 to 60k btu furnace, would expect low fire 100-150w, high fire up to 300w. @@BenjaminSahlstrom

[@Jon-hx7pe]

standing pilot gas fireplace is a great alternative for emergencies, doesn't need power beyond what's generated by the powerpile heated by pilot@@BenjaminSahlstrom

[@erikj9962]

My 100k BTU forced air furnace pulls around 1200W. I am jealous of these lower power draws.

[@Jon-hx7pe]

100k is nuts for a house if you're talking high efficiency (90%+)- many furnaces are so grossly oversized its not funny. @@erikj9962

[@jamess1787]

$0.11 after I factor in conversion for 2kWh

[@t.d.harris1311]

Anker has had a problem with these devices having reverse polarity, if the small one has 70 plus volts bleed off what does the larger one have, 120 could be lethal in the right circumstances. Most of these Chinese devices don't meet NEMA standards.

[@hectormarkmunoz]

Isolate the ground at the furnace, problem solved brother.

[@paul.phillips]

We pay between $0.35-0.45 per Kwh within the first 2 tiers.. last billed averaged $0.39/Kwh. California. Do not recommend.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Yikes! It's all about perspective!

[@paul.phillips]

@@BenjaminSahlstromYep, but we get a lot of sun here, slowly moving circuits off grid. :)

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

@@paul.phillips I would be doing the same thing if I were there!

[@majorhavoc9693]

Crap. Was hoping you were connecting the EZ box directly to the side of the furnace.

[@bobbysenterprises3220]

Good of anker. However the fact that you are saying you thought they would ask you to remove part of your video says a lot for sure. I was thinking it was just you were excited and wanted to show how to do.

[@Dirtdabber1972]

Not going to use or waste my money on something that seems wrong. Not good enough explanation whatsoever. Test and find that will not use. Return and remove from property.

[@Dirtdabber1972]

Find some better equipment

[@rayhall7759]

Warning……. Not a how to video. Just another product advertisment disguised as such

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Wasn't my intention. I might actually change the title to clarify. Thanks for the feedback. Possible new title: Running my Furnace Using the Anker SOLIX F2000 Power Station

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Settled on this: Running a Furnace with a Power Station! Anker SOLIX F2000 Test!

[@1o1carolina53]

WHY WHY WHY do this? If the power is out extended time, TEACH RESILIENCE and compartmentalizing your home, run small single low wattage unit if anything at all. This is a waste of time!! Waste of resource. RIDICULOUS. The inmates are running your asylum

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

🤣🤣🤣

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

There are different levels of power outages. If the grid gets nuked, I'm with you. At that point, it's all about survival and conserving as much as possible. If, however, there's a storm that takes down a few lines (like most power outages), you'll likely have power back within a few days at the most! I don't know if you watched the whole video but I demonstrated the concept of only running your generator a couple of hours per day so that you can use the battery to run just the furnace.

[@1o1carolina53]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom no doubt Best advice.

[@josephobrien942]

Hello $0.137/kWh here is upstate NY, great job on the video.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Similar to here. Not too crazy expensive but not cheap either.