Bluetti EB70 experiences

[Ags]

I have been looking for a bigger power supply than my venerable TalentCell 3Ah unit. The TalentCell was ok with my AZGTI but was far too small for my HEM15 and AsiAir mini. Things would start malfunctioning after a couple of hours as the TalentCell would be delivering barely 10V. We’ve been meaning to buy an emergency battery that can be charged via solar cells, so we combined the two plans and bought the Bluetti EB70. It provides 716 Wh, has a car plug 12v outlet, and two 10A 12V 5521 outputs. It has two USB-C PD outlets that can give up to 20V and 2 EU main sockets.  At 10 kgs it’s a solid unit but not too heavy. One of the main reasons for selecting this unit is it is a LiFePo4 battery.

I tried out the mains charger today and it’s fast enough but the fan sounds like a hair dryer. At least I won’t forget I am charging it. 

Testing it with the ASIAIR I see the 5521 ports are actually giving over 13V, I hope (and currently believe) that’s OK.

Edited June 12 by Ags

[Vroobel]

I guess this is enough for 3 nights of imaging, 6-7 hours per night.   My Jackery 500 (518Wh) was nearly empty after 1 similar night while powering two fully functional rigs, just for a test. Please, correct me later if I'm wrong. Thus I wish you three clear nights in a row every time.   

 

Edited June 12 by Vroobel

[Ags]

Great, sounds like I will need to charge it once per year 😀

My HEM15, Air and ASI485MC draw only 1A, but I am planning on getting a cooled camera. Other nights I have to power my laptop. I might need dew strips for my refractors but not the RC.

[fireballxl5]

1 hour ago, Ags said:

Testing it with the ASIAIR I see the 5521 ports are actually giving over 13V, I hope (and currently believe) that’s OK.

My Tracer LiFePo4's push out 13.4V when fully charged, with no apparent issues using my ASIair units over 3-4 years.

[Ags]

1 hour ago, Vroobel said:

I guess this is enough for 3 nights of imaging, 6-7 hours per night.   My Jackery 500 (518Wh) was nearly empty after 1 similar night while powering two fully functional rigs, just for a test. Please, correct me later if I'm wrong. Thus I wish you three clear nights in a row every time.   

 

I was looking at the Jackery 500 but the Bluetti offered 200 Wh more for a slightly lower price, and was also LiFePO4 vs the Jackery’s Lithium-ion technology.

[Vroobel]

I know, I know.  I simply like the design and I know people using the Jackery and they are happy with it. When (or if) my life changes enough that I can go under a dark sky for several days and nights then I'll try to buy this:

https://uk.eco-worthy.com/collections/12v/products/12v-280ah-lifepo4-lithium-battery?srsltid=AfmBOoqjpISnct-z8vYmNfS_wy-yVI4DoVq9ncBxwGir8_behXiyx7XArM4

280Ah, 3584Wh, 6000+ deep cycles and 15 years of warranty, unfortunately, 29kg. It needs a 20A quick charger and a battery monitor like the one below, plus a lot of sockets, fuses, switches and a box to fit it all. It should cost no more than £750 in total + some DIY.

In the meantime, I'm going to use what I have, 500 deep cycles of the Li-Ion is still not too bad if we count clear nights. But I cannot say that I don't consider the LiFePo4 power tank from the shelf, I don't know what the future holds.

https://uk.eco-worthy.com/products/200a-3-5-touchable-display-battery-monitor-with-hall-sensor-for-agm-and-lithium-lifepo4-batteries?variant=40700176007317

[globular]

Did you get it with (or already have some) solar panels to charge it @Ags?

It claims a 200W solar panel with recharge it in 3-4 hours - the same as the recharge time for mains. 

I'd be interest to hear if you get close to those times.

[Ags]

I was tempted by the Jackery as I know the brand but decided to take a chance on Bluetti - I have never heard of them, but the internet tells me they are reasonable.

[Ags]

2 minutes ago, globular said:

Did you get it with (or already have some) solar panels to charge it @Ags?

It claims a 200W solar panel with recharge it in 3-4 hours - the same as the recharge time for mains. 

I'd be interest to hear if you get close to those times.

No panels yet. The claim seems dubious, perhaps they tested solar charging on Mercury 😃

[Elp]

For a custom rig I tried the ecoworthy 96Wh LiFePo4 batteries and although theyd start near 14V, they quickly dropped within a 5 minutes to 11V or so until parts started to turn off. So I was put off by them. I bought another Talentcell but this time a LiFePo4 model and use that with my hem15 setup. I've measured the hem15, asiair mini, cooled astro camera to minus 10 running hard at 80pc cooling, taking images, guide cam looping and slewing in both Dec and RA I was drawing around 3A, so estimated a ceiling of 3.5A. You need to measure the mount whilst it's slewing as that's when it draws the most power, even though in operation sidereal tracking it'll be less.

Edited June 13 by Elp

[Ags]

I managed to source some 18AWG 5521 cable on Amazon. That should be good up to about 8A, although the AsiAir can’t draw that much so it’s a bit academic. 

[PatientObserver]

On 12/06/2024 at 16:44, Ags said:

I was tempted by the Jackery as I know the brand but decided to take a chance on Bluetti - I have never heard of them, but the internet tells me they are reasonable.

I have three different Bluetti power stations. I bought them for camping not astrophotography, so I cannot speak of their use with AP.

On 12/06/2024 at 16:47, Ags said:

No panels yet. The claim seems dubious, perhaps they tested solar charging on Mercury 😃

I have Solar Panels, but have not yet had the need to make use of them. There are good reviews on YouTube of them though if you want tested numbers.

[Ags]

I had a very short session with the EB70 and my 1A, 3-8W setup. The mount always sounded great but sounds even better now. Gotos seemed more accurate.

[Vroobel]

You should check your PSU. 🤔

[Ags]

What do you mean?