Ultimate Goal Zero In-Car charging

[snowblind]

Hey Guys.

I've been running a Goal Zero Yeti 400 for a couple of years now. Last year I bought a car-charger adapter and was surprised to see that it charged at a higher rate than the wall charger!! :Wow1: The only problem I had is that I HATED the cigarette-plug 12V socket. The socket pulled out easily, or didn't charge unless perfectly seated, or was just big and stupid in general.

Replacing the cigarette-plug was problematic because Goal Zero uses a propriety 8mm connector/cable for charging. Fortunately GZ recently released solar panels with MC4 connectors and therefore released an MC4 to 8 mm adapter cable. We ran dedicated wire to the adapter and connected via Renology MC4 connectors.

The end result is a clean and safe install with AWESOME charging performance. The specced MAX input the Yeti can accept is 120watts. The wall charger maxes at 70watts. Here is a photo of mine pulling 134watts. :Wow1::Wow1::Wow1:







Matt

 

[cruisertoy]

nice. I used a couple sherpa 100's and a Sherpa 50 last weekend but was disappointing in that they overheated in the truck. No idea how hot it got in there but we were in southern Utah and it was sunny. I had them plugged into a Nomad 27 and they were running my Engel 45 fridge. Does your 400 overheat?

 

[calicamper]

I like their stuff but pricy. I'm building my own out of a 50cal ammo box using solar as the primary charge source. I have about $180 in the box and about $280 into all the associated stuff, plugs, fuses, leds and charging hub for the gopro, cellphone etc. Our tent trailer leds and switches.

 

[snowblind]

nice. I used a couple sherpa 100's and a Sherpa 50 last weekend but was disappointing in that they overheated in the truck. No idea how hot it got in there but we were in southern Utah and it was sunny. I had them plugged into a Nomad 27 and they were running my Engel 45 fridge. Does your 400 overheat?

I have never had a problem overheating the Yeti 400. The Sherpa series are a TOTALLY different product though. The Yeti 400 weighs 29lbs The Yeti 150 weighs 12 lbs. The Sherpa 100 only weighs 2lbs!

The Sherpas use Li-Ion batteries whereas the Yetis use AGM batteries. Li-Ion allow a much lighter battery pack but they can be heat sensitive. Maybe tuck the Sheras down under the seats.

The Sherpas are also REALLY expensive, even by GZ standards.


Matt

 

[snowblind]

I like their stuff but pricy. I'm building my own out of a 50cal ammo box using solar as the primary charge source. I have about $180 in the box and about $280 into all the associated stuff, plugs, fuses, leds and charging hub for the gopro, cellphone etc. Our tent trailer leds and switches.

Goal Zero can very pricy. Especially if you commit to their solar panels.

As a stand alone unit I think the Yeti 400 is competitively priced. $459 get you a 33ah AGM battery, a nice charge controller, 12V outlets, USB outlets and sinewave inverter all wrapped up in a pretty package. I live near the GZ headquarters so I get even better pricing on refurbed units.



Matt

 

[taco_tay]

Goal Zero can very pricy. Especially if you commit to their solar panels.

As a stand alone unit I think the Yeti 400 is competitively priced. $459 get you a 33ah AGM battery, a nice charge controller, 12V outlets, USB outlets and sinewave inverter all wrapped up in a pretty package. I live near the GZ headquarters so I get even better pricing on refurbed units.



Matt

Wanna hook a brother up with a refurbished yeti? What kinda prices do they have for the refurbished ones?

 

[snowblind]

Wanna hook a brother up with a refurbished yeti? What kinda prices do they have for the refurbished ones?

Refurbs are around $300 I think. Give the HQ a call and ask for the factory store. I'm pretty sure they will ship direct to you. If not let me know and I can down there for you.


Matt

 

[taco_tay]

Refurbs are around $300 I think. Give the HQ a call and ask for the factory store. I'm pretty sure they will ship direct to you. If not let me know and I can down there for you.


Matt

Awesome thanks Matt. I'll have to give them a call.

 

[cruisertoy]

I work across the street form Goal Zero. I got a screaming deal on several original Sherpa 50 and 120's. They have done a recall on them since they were catching fire. Two of mine melted. They swapped everything out for brand rev.2 Sherpas so I ended up with several. I still have two Sherpa 50's in their boxes. About once a month GZ does a refurb sale and the prices come down dramatically. A lot of the stuff is Costco returns that they have gone through. I think you could pick up a yeti 1250 for something like $650-700. I purchased a Nomad 27 that only puts out 24watts for $50. The Boulder 15's were $20 a few months ago. Since GZ was bought out the prices of the refurbs has gone up.

 

[taco_tay]

I work across the street form Goal Zero. I got a screaming deal on several original Sherpa 50 and 120's. They have done a recall on them since they were catching fire. Two of mine melted. They swapped everything out for brand rev.2 Sherpas so I ended up with several. I still have two Sherpa 50's in their boxes. About once a month GZ does a refurb sale and the prices come down dramatically. A lot of the stuff is Costco returns that they have gone through. I think you could pick up a yeti 1250 for something like $650-700. I purchased a Nomad 27 that only puts out 24watts for $50. The Boulder 15's were $20 a few months ago. Since GZ was bought out the prices of the refurbs has gone up.

Man I should give you my number and keep an eye out for me.

 

[Honu]

nice to see that adapter might do that for my one other hard panel

 

[cruisertoy]

Man I should give you my number and keep an eye out for me.

it's funny. I work across the and have bought tons of stuff from them over the years. They send out a "sale email" to locals when they have the monthly refurb sale in the warehouse and somehow I never get it. I have given them multiple email addresses and still nothing. I end up seeing the sign when I leave work and it's too late. I'll keep an eye out for good deals and post up if there's time.

 

[taco_tay]

it's funny. I work across the and have bought tons of stuff from them over the years. They send out a "sale email" to locals when they have the monthly refurb sale in the warehouse and somehow I never get it. I have given them multiple email addresses and still nothing. I end up seeing the sign when I leave work and it's too late. I'll keep an eye out for good deals and post up if there's time.

Awesome thanks man! You can always PM me as well if there is a screaming deal.

 

[sampep]

Awesome to see that.
2x faster than the wall charger!

Do you think the 130w is limited by the 8mm port? I think the documentation mentioned 160w max.
My yeti 1250 accept 240w and wanted to maximise that input.
The anderson connectors allow max input power of 240, not sure if your yeti has one? But could be 2x as fast

 

[snowblind]

Awesome to see that.
2x faster than the wall charger!

Do you think the 130w is limited by the 8mm port? I think the documentation mentioned 160w max.
My yeti 1250 accept 240w and wanted to maximise that input.
The anderson connectors allow max input power of 240, not sure if your yeti has one? But could be 2x as fast

The Yeti 400 has a published max input of 120watts. I don't think that's the limit of the 8mm port though. The Yeti 400's Anderson port is ONLY for chaining additional batteries. It is a direct connection to the internal battery and bypasses the charge controller.

For your 1250: According to the published spec the 1250 will take 160W max via "Charging port (input, 8mm)" That could mean a max of 360W if you can use both 8mm ports. In addition to that the PowerPole charge plug can take up to 240W max. If GZ allows you to combine the inputs you could theoretically charge at near 600W! More likely you're limited to 240W max but it's nice to dream.

I think it is very important to remember that these max charge rates are only possible when the battery is at 60% reserve or lower. For many users there is no need for such a large "bulk" charge rate because they keep their batteries topped up. 120W of solar is roughly double my current camping needs.


Matt