2. misc-audio
  3. 178909-6960

Using battery power to go off the City's power grid

I'm using a Bluetti AC200MAX 2,200 watt expandable power station to take my system off the city's power grid.  It runs off a lithium ion phosphate battery with a 4,800 watt pure sine wave inverter. My total system only takes about 450 watts so I have never heard the fan kick on - it is totally silent. The music comes from a completely black background, with a huge soundstage that sounds very natural. I know that Ric Schultz has talked about these types of setups and there is a very expensive Stromtank battery system that is marketed to audiophiles. Anyone else tried this type of setup in their audio system?

Here is a link to a review:

 

128x128sbayne
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,438 posts
 

Thanks! Looks and sounds fantastic.  

ricevs
1,483 posts
 

If the battery charger is say 500 watts then the batteries will always be fully charged even if you have your low level components on all the time. Nobody has low level components that draw 500 watts......so just keep the charger on and connected to the battery and when you listen then disconnect the charger from the battery. Come on......this is simple! You do not need to turn anything off.....except maybe your power amp/amps.  Who cares how hot the charger is (they typially are switch mode so they run cool)?  As long as it is rated at 500 watts continuous (or whatever)....it should be able to do it all the time.

sbayne's avatar
sbayne OP
480 posts
 

Yes, Ric, agreed.

viber6
2,442 posts
 

ricevs,

Thanks for the comforting words.  However, the low level components could draw 1 (idle)-100 watts (loud music).  Without the battery charger, after 24 hours the battery would lose 24-2400 watt hours, with a dead battery unable to be recharged.  So it makes sense to run the battery charger all the time when not listening, IF you keep your low level components on.  

There is a question of what strategy preserves battery life the longest.  Suppose the battery has 4000 cycles of life.  If the cycle is prolonged by charging less frequently, then the life is prolonged.  But if the battery is constantly being recharged, the short cycles accumulate fast.  With cars, the alternator constantly recharges the battery, and the battery only lasts a relatively few years.  We are hoping these big batteries in our inverter system last longer than car batteries, so what is the best battery charging strategy?  I think I read that Goal Zero advises letting the battery run down a little, but obviously not to a very low level.

ricevs
1,483 posts
 

No matter how you use LifePo4 batteries.....they will last at least 10 years......by that time there will be batteries that have 4 times the capacity, last 30 years, weigh practically nothing and cost practically nothing.....anotherwords, find something else to worry about.  JUST DO IT!!!!!!

More to discover