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Discounted Solar Kits: https://PoweredPortableSolar.com/ I test the Titan solar generator with a Power Queen 12.8v 200ah Plus …
Date: August 24, 2023
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Discounted Solar Kits: https://PoweredPortableSolar.com/ I test the Titan solar generator with a Power Queen 12.8v 200ah Plus …
Love your videos and have been following them since you started this channel. Question: Will Titan ever be designed using LifePo4 batteries? That is what I would love to see! I hope to move into my off-grid house in about a year.
It looks like Point Zero, now has the first Titan "LiFePo4" stackable batteries on their website (as of 7/12/23).
They say that if you buy them, you have to get the Titan reprogrammed (and they will do that for you)
Where can I go in person to purchase a Titan Do not wish to purchase on line.
Hold what button to recalibrate? Sound Mic interference, also not in transcript.
It's seems that voltages would become different due to the resistance of the wire…over time…hence why it's heating up and tripping. To Give it its best shot lower the guage of the wire going to the externals…all wires should be cool to the touch…otherwise its not enginnered correctly, if resistance is higher to the external battery bank…or in other words different than the backplane of the titan internal batteries…the difference in resistance will not allow them to discharge evenly over time…and more apt to drain unevenly…optimally the same guage that connects the backplane of the Titan Batteries should be used as the gauge to the external batteries…Heat should be minimal unless there is EXTREME LOAD and at that the heat should be distributed evenly over the combined batteries sources both internal and external.
Thanks for the prompt response.
Didn’t you have a video awhile back showing the Titan (either in you camper or off grid cabin) with a non-Titan battery hooked up to it? Maybe I’m having a senior moment.
It seems the problem is connecting the batteries as expansion packs. If they were used strictly to charge the Titan through its charging ports, that would bypass the compatibility issue.
Great effort on your part, sorry it did not work out for you as planned, but we all learned something, thanks to you.
I used those cheap breakers had same issues….. Buy Bussmann breaker and rerun test spend the $40+ on good breaker…. Bluesea marine is another choice…. I only buy the yellow breaker model with out the red button….. I used it on 12v and 24v good luck….
I personally use almost this exact setup. Two Titan batteries plus two 200 amp lifepo4 batteries. I had the same connector and same issue you had. I called Point Zero Energy and they had me send the cord to them. They said they repaired it (no cost to me) and it has worked flawlessly since then.
By the way, I have been able to get 120V/240V split phase with my Titan by using a Victron autotransformer. When doing so it does use double the amps that you would use at 120V when powering 240V like my well pump.
Thanks for the video. I was literally getting ready to buy my 5th Titan battery since there on sale right now. I’d like to use the other batteries but I like the simplicity and compatibility of the Titan batteries. I figure these batteries will last me over 10 years because my Titan never gets below 85% capacity. What are your thought on my additional battery purchase and 10 yr estimates??? 🙏
The Titan is a 24v system ???
I have had problems with these in-line (and flat style) breakers. I have never had a problem with the higher priced Midnite Solar ones. Sure, you'll need the J Box, but you'll never have problems, and will always meet Code.
Nice…
I have extensive experience paralleling a LiFePo4 battery with the Titan in my camper setup. You just have to recognize what the limitations of doing it are. Initially I ran into the exact same problem that you did using a similar in-line fuse and #6AWG cable. I figured out what was happening. The Titan's batteries are NMC chemistry and thus they have a different (more sloped) SOC voltage profile than the LFP. The LFP battery voltage profile is much flatter than the Titan's. When you are in the middle of the range of both batteries, there isn't too much of an issue sharing load or charge. However as the Titan is being charged and begins to get into voltage ranges above 27 V, it tries to "lift" the LiFePo4 battery up the voltage curve with it. To do that the Titan sends more and more current to the LFP battery during charge. I've found that even after charging has stopped, the Titan continues to send current to the LFP battery to equalize the voltage. As you reach the higher state of SOC on the Titan, so much current is flowing to the LFP that it blows the breaker. The converse is true at lower SOCs. As the Titan battery voltage sinks below 26V the LFP battery takes a higher percent of the load because is trying to "lift" the Titan up the voltage curve. The LFP begins sending more and more current to the Titan and potentially blowing the breaker again.
Solutions: 1) don't run max loads or max charge near the top and bottom 1/3's of the SOC cycle, 2) use better breakers with higher current rating and better connections.
Also keep in mind that #6AWG is good for up to about 60A so if you run max loads or charges, you risk overloading the cable too. Worst possible case would be the LFP is taking all of the charge or all of the load. At 2000 watts / 26 volts = 77 amps. I have found that if the total load/charge is less than 1000 watts continuous or 1800 surge on the Titan, you should be just fine.
Also, I use the 24V charger ports to make the connection to the Titan, rather than the external battery port. In this scenario, you don't change the Titan AH capacity, but simply use the LFP battery as a charger or load sink. The LFP that I use has a Bluetooth on its BMS so I know the SOC of the LFP separate from the Titan. A close inspection of the internals of the Titan shows that the 24V charger ports are on the load side of the Titan's shunt and the external battery port is on the battery side of the Titan's shunt.
I think we're all quite interested in the results of your subsequent tests with this setup. I appreciate how much time and effort goes into performing these experiments — keep up the good work!
I have a Titan with two Titan Batteries and an external 24V 92.8Ah LFP battery connected using the same breaker/cable you were using. I primarily use the Titan to charge my EV at about 1.5kW, usually for 2 to 6 hours depending whether I'm charging from solar at the time or not. I try not to discharge below 25% of my total capacity. I've been using this setup for more than two and half years and I have never encountered the breaker issue you saw in your tests.
I was very interested in what your findings were going to be regarding the LFP battery voltage at 100% charge since I've always figured that the Titan would hold the LFP expansion battery at too high a voltage. For that reason I also try not to keep the Titan at more than 90%, but that's not always possible when the sun is out and I'm away from home.
Actually it's not the breaker at all. Although I would say this is indeed an El-Chepo breaker, and it should be replaced with as high end a quality one as you can possibly locate. 👍 The wires are way too small in gage.👀 Please use 2 gage or /OO gage (Ultra Fat multi-strand thin twisted copper wire rated for Marine/Sea use.) Those batts are draining at least at 100 Amps – This is a wee bit in a half of current to move around between devices ! 😉 Now rinse and repeat. BTW, I thank you for your patience and your time in making these review and test videos. I'm learning so darn much from watching your channel. 🤔
A+ plus for effort on this one 👍🏻. Something that comes up almost daily in EcoFlow and Bluetti forums is extending battery capacity (not using the manufacturer batteries) using LiFePO4 batteries via the DC input port. Requires a separate charger of course, and needs a DC boost converter to get higher charge rate. One bonus is it does get you a backup power option if you add an inverter. Might make a good video.
I found this an interesting test; you did a great job and very patiently I might add. As a suggestion, dump that breaker. They are useless and a hazard. I have seen them fail constantly; they are cheaply made. You have a nice Titan which was expensive; spend a bit more for good quaility breakers. Also the gauge wire you are using appears to be too thin. I would bump up all the gauge wires to handle the load from the liitum batteries; your moving a lot of energy around. But I do enjoy all the testing as you always learn something. This is not a failed test; some of the best tests come from experimentation. Awesome channel!
Can you run the titan without its batterys just using the power Queen & reddoo is series?
Those breakers generally get a bad wrap, a bussmann thermal breaker would be an good choice.
How are you expecting to charge a 29v nominal battery with what is, essentially, a 25.6v nominal battery? It's clear that you're trying to force the LFP batteries to a higher voltage by leaving the charger connected, but how does this truly extend the battery capacity of the Titan? I mean, the only way that "works" (and I'm using that term loosely) is IF you have the AC charger keeping the LFP batteries above their nominal voltage. This is just a bad idea, all the way around. If you want to use those two LFP batteries, and a simple boost converter to supply a "solar" input that will charge the Titan batteries, that's about the best you're going to be able to accomplish with those LFP batteries. Your only other option, and one that actually makes sense, is to build an NMC battery to match what's in the Titan, or at least build a 9S LFP battery (good luck finding a BMS) so that your nominal voltage is high enough to play nice with the Titan's batteries.
All of this because the Titan uses a battery chemistry that has largely fallen out of favor in this market, and because their own expansion batteries are very expensive on a per-kwh basis. Not to pile on, but LMFP chemistry batteries are already being made and they will completely dominate the market, once their ramp up is complete. They offer all of the advantages of LFP, but at almost the same weight (gravimetric density) and cost of NMC.
Got the money all set aside for the Titan 4000. Just waiting for you to show the whole set on the wiring to the panels. I hope you put that on your list about a year ago 🙂
I don't think I would have tried to balance anything. I would have just hooked it up and ran the hell out of it. That was tedious to watch. You've got lots of patience. Good job.
Has the Apollo voltage leak problem been resolved?
Thumbs up 👍 Could you be getting the heat from the two connections into the breaker? And or the size of the cable. But I’m thinking that the breaker might be bad. You need to find the heat.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep trying and experimenting and figure out something that works besides buying overpriced titan batteries.