Integrate Bluetti/Powerbank

D

DDean

Well-known member
Joined
May 6, 2024
Messages
142
Fluid Motion Model
R-29 S
Vessel Name
Skipperjon
Hi All - wondering if anyone has done this already

I’d like to have an out-of-the-way solution to connect my boat to my Bluetti via shore power. I’d like the Bluetti to be secured in the cave and have it connect to the boat via shore power without having cables all over the cockpit etc. 2025 R29 NW.

There’s a wooden back to the cave that I can probably bring a shore power cable into the storage under the aft steering, and then I can install a port on the storage door to bring the cable out and over to the shore power plug. Any other ideas?

Has anyone installed a second shore power plug in the cave? Where would the best place to input that to?

There are two goals: 1) charge house batteries from the Bluetti as needed, but 2) also run AC items as if on shore power.

I’m going to install a big solar panel to keep house topped up but would be good to know what others have done.

Thanks - these new power banks have the potential to be very helpful.
 
2600W and it’s ~2100 WH. So it’ll recharge an R29 NW from about 50% (the lower limit of usable power capacity) about once (2100WH/12V=~175AH) and it’ll have enough juice to run coffeemakers etc while being used as shore power.

The trick is to hook it up without anything being in the way!
 
I don't know anything about the circuitry on the 29. But 2600W is just over 20A. Really no need to feed it into the shore power connection. Depending on how often you plan to use it you could simply make a double ended chord and back feed your AC circuits through a receptacle. Or wire it directly to the input side of your battery charger, let it continuously keep the batteries charged, and rely on your inverter(assuming you have one) when you want to use AC appliances. Not the most efficient way to go but is simple.

I considered going that route(i.e. power bank) but once I took a good look it didn't cost much more to convert my house bank to LFP. We don't use AC power while afloat.
 
thank you Dan. I had wondered about backfeeding. I think that’s potentially risky because I’d want to put a guard in place to prevent backfeeding while connected to shore power or the with the inverter on. Seems complicated

I’m going to explore connecting direct to charger. I can see connecting upstream of the solar controller too - basically a switch that feeds solar or the Bluetti into the solar controller and let everything downstream work its way as if the power is coming from solar. Voltage and amperage should align with what the victron 100/30 sees normally. But that won’t help with AC.
 
DDean said:
thank you Dan. I had wondered about backfeeding. I think that’s potentially risky because I’d want to put a guard in place to prevent backfeeding while connected to shore power or the with the inverter on. Seems complicated

I’m going to explore connecting direct to charger. I can see connecting upstream of the solar controller too - basically a switch that feeds solar or the Bluetti into the solar controller and let everything downstream work its way as if the power is coming from solar. Voltage and amperage should align with what the victron 100/30 sees normally. But that won’t help with AC.
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No matter where you connect it into your AC circuit it's going to energize the entire circuit unless you open breakers to isolate things. Also I'm pretty sure you'll have problems with phase conflicts if you have your onboard inverter and the power bank energized at the same time. Unless one or the other has electronics built in to synchronize it with another AC power source. For that reason if you do decide to use it to power the battery charger while using the on board AC inverter you'll likely have to open the circuit breaker to isolate the AC side of the battery charger. Though I suspect the inverter shuts itself off if it senses AC power downstream but you'll have to check your documentation.

Why isn't anything easy on boats ?
 
For those considering this, I went off the deep end and reviewed some options when the Prime Day sale was on. the best option looked like the Anker Solix C2000 as it has very low idle draw, and its easy to connect to the shore power receptable. plus fast solar charging; the flexible solar panels were on sale too!
 
I think that these power banks are potential game changers for those of us without big lithium banks. If you don’t mind lugging them, they’re portable shore power as needed.

On my previous R27 with 440w solar, my solution to charge the Bluetti was to, once the house was fully replenished (by lunch), flick the inverter on and charge the Bluetti at 300 or 400w, whatever the solar was putting out, via limiting charging by the Bluetti app on AC. It worked great and I plan to do the same once the panel moves to the new boat. It saves having to lug solar panels for the power bank and while it requires the inverter, with lots of solar I definately had tons of solar to spare.

Just need a way to route a short shore power cable from the cave to the plug I guess.
 
DDean said:
I think that these power banks are potential game changers for those of us without big lithium banks. If you don’t mind lugging them, they’re portable shore power as needed.

On my previous R27 with 440w solar, my solution to charge the Bluetti was to, once the house was fully replenished (by lunch), flick the inverter on and charge the Bluetti at 300 or 400w, whatever the solar was putting out, via limiting charging by the Bluetti app on AC. It worked great and I plan to do the same once the panel moves to the new boat. It saves having to lug solar panels for the power bank and while it requires the inverter, with lots of solar I definately had tons of solar to spare.

Just need a way to route a short shore power cable from the cave to the plug I guess.
Click to expand...

On the R27's, I was able to drill a big hole, install an access port, and easily plug in the LFP portable battery to the shore power connection. It was pretty easy to route the cable from the cave, aft, under, and into the starboard lazarette where the access port was. Next time I'm o an R29, working, I'll look around and see if it's doable on the R29.

IMG_9142.jpeg


IMG_9145.jpeg
 
Cutwater28GG said:
I was considering just using this plug to connect the anker straight to the shore power connection. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DGXYZWDK/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_2?smid=A2E5KQ7XTIHL17&th=1
martin why cut such a big hole?

do you leave the battery inside and run the cable out? or the battery outside and run the cable in?
Click to expand...

The owner stores the Bluetti LFP battery in the cave. Runs the shore power cord through the back of the cave, down, and under, comes out into the starboard lazarette. Lays on the deck. Open the access port, reach in, and pull up the shore power cord, which is usually a Smartplug connector, and plug it into the boat's shore power connector. needs to be big enough to get your hand down there, and for the Smartplug connector to easily fit through.
 
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