Ozone from Bluetti ACP200?

[hipsterreplacement]

Hi,

I bought this unit and two PV200 solar panels months ago as backup in case of emergency. I finally got to the time of year when I can more easily use solar so I've been testing things out for the last couple days. I have the battery unit in my travel trailer with the door ajar to let out the solar connection cord. I noticed a smell that gives me a slight headache. After a couple days of this and looking it up online, I'm fairly convinced ozone is what I'm smelling. This really messes me up for using solar on a frequent basis because I'd need to keep the battery unit inside to keep it shaded during hotter parts of the year.

Has anyone else experienced ozone from their Bluetti or other brand battery units?

 

[tx2sturgis]

Ozone is not a normal smell associated with these units, so I suspect maybe you are smelling something else with your trailer's door ajar.

Are you downwind from a farm, a factory, or a truckstop, or railroad depot or anything like that?

Or is there a possible source of an odd smell in your trailer? Maybe a small propane leak or maybe a bottle of ammonia or other cleaner or deodorizer that has spilled in a cabinet or drawer?

I hope you can find whatever it is, and please let us know.

 

[maki2]

It is spring and there is a lot of vegetation in bloom which could easily create a sinus headache.

I have never heard of anyone reacting to odors from a closed cell lithium battery. They do not offgas anything, they can’t, they are closed cell and chemicals do not escape them.

Remember it is very easy to mistake a reaction from one thing as a reaction to another, coincidences do happen frequently.

 

[Happy Camper]

It's possible that the unit might have a bad transformer or component. I don't think it's the battery at all.

It could be that components are coated with anti corrosion and are being heated up on first use. That usually goes away fairly quickly (hours or days) as it burns off.

I would call Bluetti to verify it's normal. The smell isn't something everyone notices. I can smell and hear electronics when others don't. It's a strange thing at times lol.

 

[SierraVanCampers]

How far away is the two PV200 panels from your trailer door? I would smell the junction boxes on the panels (in the zipper pouch on the panels where your MC4 connector cables are attached to the solar panel) Smell each panel and see if this is the odor. I just repaired a Bluetti PV120 panel that had a burned up diode inside the junction box. The attached picture is what happened when the panel was placed in the sun and connected to a Bluetti power station. The panel was less than an hour old. This may not be the source of the odor but at least worth checking. Your junction box and wires may not look like the picture but could have minor damage inside causing the odor.

After 30 + years of working with DC power and batteries, if you plug something in and then start smelling an unusual odor.....well probably is related.

 

[hipsterreplacement]

Ozone is not a normal smell associated with these units, so I suspect maybe you are smelling something else with your trailer's door ajar.

Are you downwind from a farm, a factory, or a truckstop, or railroad depot or anything like that?

Or is there a possible source of an odd smell in your trailer? Maybe a small propane leak or maybe a bottle of ammonia or other cleaner or deodorizer that has spilled in a cabinet or drawer?

I hope you can find whatever it is, and please let us know.

The smell diminishes or goes away completely if I put the battery unit outside. I'm pretty familiar with the smells in the neighborhood and if it were coming from outside, I'd smell it when I go outside. But that's not it. Nor does the smell linger when I turn the unit off. Thanks for the suggestions, though!

 

[hipsterreplacement]

How far away is the two PV200 panels from your trailer door? I would smell the junction boxes on the panels (in the zipper pouch on the panels where your MC4 connector cables are attached to the solar panel) Smell each panel and see if this is the odor. I just repaired a Bluetti PV120 panel that had a burned up diode inside the junction box. The attached picture is what happened when the panel was placed in the sun and connected to a Bluetti power station. The panel was less than an hour old. This may not be the source of the odor but at least worth checking. Your junction box and wires may not look like the picture but could have minor damage inside causing the odor.

After 30 + years of working with DC power and batteries, if you plug something in and then start smelling an unusual odor.....well probably is related.

View attachment 33824

Thank you. I went and took a whiff. No real smell from them. Also not significantly warm to the touch, which is good. Thanks for suggesting checking on this, though. I guess I'll write Bluetti. One reason I suspected the unit of creating ozone (not the batteries themselves...I dunno...there's more than the cells in there) is that the smell reminds me of certain home/office printers, which can also create indoor ozone pollution.

 

[hipsterreplacement]

It's possible that the unit might have a bad transformer or component. I don't think it's the battery at all.

It could be that components are coated with anti corrosion and are being heated up on first use. That usually goes away fairly quickly (hours or days) as it burns off.

I would call Bluetti to verify it's normal. The smell isn't something everyone notices. I can smell and hear electronics when others don't. It's a strange thing at times lol.

Thank you. Yeah, I wasn't certain it was literally the battery cells, but something in there, including other components. Thank you for the suggestions. I emailed Bluetti.

 

[hipsterreplacement]

The smell diminishes or goes away completely if I put the battery unit outside. I'm pretty familiar with the smells in the neighborhood and if it were coming from outside, I'd smell it when I go outside. But that's not it. Nor does the smell linger when I turn the unit off. Thanks for the suggestions, though!

I'll double-check today to make sure I didn't gloss over anything and it really is coming from outside.

 

[maki2]

Hot weather releases plasticizers containing fumes in all kinds of car interiors components and housings. Could be doing the same to the Bluetti case. Maybe it needs a fan blowing on it to push the fumes out the door instead of having a fan bringing in air across the unit.
Simple solution that can be deployed quickly.

 

[SierraVanCampers]

Glad to hear the panel is not the source. Sounds like you are on the right track.

 

[Happy Camper]

Please make sure to update us on this. It helps so many people that read this, active members and the many lurkers that don't post alike.

 

[hipsterreplacement]

Please make sure to update us on this. It helps so many people that read this, active members and the many lurkers that don't post alike.

I will. I'm just buckling under the unpaid admin of having to pursue customer service with 3 different corps right now and dealing with local gov't bs as well. Bluetti replied with info they want and I have to get that info into another email to them. I'll let you know how that turns out.

 

[blueskies]

Did you ever get this resolved? About to buy a Bluetti AC200P and I’m sensitive to smells, especially ozone!

 

[hipsterreplacement]

I'm still dealing with support over it. I have to pack it this week to send it back under RMA. It is still making that smell (I don't have a way of testing for sure it is ozone, but I believe that's what it is). However, I have a Bluetti EB3A that doesn't make that smell so I don't think it's all Bluetti that's doing this. It is likely something wrong with that particular unit I was sent.

At the time I bought, I didn't know the difference between the Bluetti AC 200P and the AC 200Max. I might make a different decision now. So make sure you've compared before choosing, is my advice.

 

[blueskies]

Thank you so much for the update! That helps a lot. I’m sorry you’re still trying to get it sorted.

Yeah I’ve looked at the AC200MAX and from what I can see, the differences are it has 2048 wh instead of 2000, has a few different output sockets, and has Bluetooth. I don’t want Bluetooth and the other differences aren’t enough for me to justify an extra $1000 (at current Australian prices. The AC200P is 2/3rds the price of the 200max at the moment.

Do feel free to correct me if I’ve missed any other important differences! I haven’t looked at them in a few days and have a lot of other stuff going on so maybe I missed or forgot something.

Oh. Just realized you posted a video! Will check it out. Thanks!

 

[Happy Camper]

The ozone smell is probably a faulty component that hasn't quite failed yet.
A lot of people confuse ozone smell for hot electronics smell.
I wouldn't be too concerned about buying one.

They seem to have a good name and reputation in that arena.

 

[blueskies]

The ozone smell is probably a faulty component that hasn't quite failed yet.
A lot of people confuse ozone smell for hot electronics smell.
I wouldn't be too concerned about buying one.

They seem to have a good name and reputation in that arena.

Thank you! Yeah, just got a little concerned because I have been super sensitive in the past and don’t wanna be feeling sick in my van from something that needs to be on all the time for the fridge.

 

[hipsterreplacement]

Thank you! Yeah, just got a little concerned because I have been super sensitive in the past and don’t wanna be feeling sick in my van from something that needs to be on all the time for the fridge.

Yeah, I think a faulty product - as a once in a while thing - could happen to any manufacturer. The difference is how they handle it when you bring it to their attention.

The delay is not entirely Bluetti's fault. Because they're paid to deal with customer support and the customer is NOT paid for their time dealing with things, sometimes I have to put some aspects of "life administration" on hold because other life priorities are more urgent at the time. So there was a delay for a while as I was absolutely swamped with customer/tech/constituent support issues with school/government/other companies all at one time. I was just swamped and overwhelmed. So after I had time to crawl back out from under that, I was back to it.

I'd give Bluetti 7/10 for customer support. It's better than some companies would be, but there were also times where I felt like their burden of proof was a bit ridiculous...it's not like I had any incentive to be lying about it - it was costing me time and money and the most I could ever get for what I was doing was an exact replacement of the faulty item, minus my time, labor, and energy.

The only other company in this space I can compare them to is BougeRV, who I'd rate 6/10. BougeRV was much better with replacement (in this case a fridge/freezer) without too much to-do, but when the replacement does something similar, they just tapped out.

Bluetti did a lot more back and forth and on at least one question blew an obvious troubleshooting answer I actually got from YouTube instead, but they are sticking to things and not blowing me off. The item is packed and I'm waiting for the RMA pickup to be sent and then we'll see how things go.

 

[hipsterreplacement]

Just an in-progress update. I got all the original packaging and contents together and took photographs. I printed out and put on the requested labels. I marked the box as they told me to mark it. Bluetti Support requested photos of the packed up box before they'd approve an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization). I did that and later got the authorization. They initially did it so that I'd have to haul this thing all the way to a FedEx office. As I'm disabled, that is a pretty rough ask. So they sent a different label and I had to stay home to make sure it was picked up correctly. Thankfully that happened in the morning so I had the rest of my day free to move. Even though they've got the photos and it's their shipper, they would not send the replacement unit until they'd got the returned unit in hand.

But when the unit arrived, they said they were sold out of AC200Ps and I'll now have to wait until "early October" for them to send a replacement. The entire way through support, they've been very suspicious, very wary and it does delay things and require more labor of the customer who would rather have had a working unit that didn't require support in the first place. It's delayed more by the fact that the timing of the emails indicates that support is being done out of another country even if the return is being sent to another address in the US. So some of the time elapsed is just due to the bad sync between waking/working hours.

I also thought I'd pop in to link to this 6 month progress review on the AC200P. So many reviews, even good reviewers, are reviewing something after a week of using it. So it's nice to have a review after 6 months of real world use. His conclusion about the phantom power draw matches up with my experience of how fast the battery would seem to go down sometimes..