GOAL ZERO YETI 1400 LITHIUM and fridge/fan options

[DPL646]

Does anyone on here have any experience with Goal zero batteries? Any recommendations for a 100w panel to pair it with? 

Im thinking about getting the GOAL ZERO YETI 1400 LITHIUM. Any thoughts?

Also, would love fan and fridge recommendations.

Thanks in advance

 

 

[Beta Don]

That's a very high tech (and very expensive) way to make portable DC and A/C power.  I'm sure it's the perfect solution to some portable power problems

I guess the real question is  -  Exactly what do you want to use it for?  Powering a small DC fridge?  There are many cheaper ways to do that  -   The Goal Zero Yeti would certainly do it, but at $2K, with an expected lifespan of 10 to 12 months or 500 cycles before you'll have to replace those expensive 18650 cells, I think I'd be exploring other options

Don

[Loafer]

I guess it all depends upon your financial status.  If it's good, and I suspect it is, then the Goal Zero Yeti might be a good choice.  In this economy we do depend upon on more financially able persons to purchase new items on the market; thereby, eventually driving prices down.  There are other choices and the folks here will be glad to share them with you.  Beta Don is a hitter here on the forum and his advice is well taken.  This is a very helpful place and given a few days you will likely have many options to consider.  Thanks for the inquiry.  We all benefit as a result. 

[DonShockley]

Personally, I see a couple drawbacks the the Yeti. Primarily the proprietary battery packs and questionable ability to get replacements in the future. BTW: the 10-12 months mentioned earlier seems to be talking about the standby time without self discharge of the li-ion batteries, not the life of the pack itself. Although I don't have need of portable power, I did see something that might work better. Of course each solution has it's own advantages and disadvantages and which is best will depend upon your particular needs and use scenario.

You could get the same power capacity for only $1300 with the Dewalt Power Station and eight replacable DCB609 Batteries (9Ah @ 20v = 180 Wh). The same $2000 would give you 50% more run time with 4 more batteries. The overall max capacity is acually larger at 1800W, and runtime limited only by number of easily replacable batteries you have charged. And there is a DC powered charger for the batteries that would work with the solar panel. The manual available online doesn't show a way to power the whole station directly from the solar panel, but it will charge 4 batteries at a time (3 hrs to full) when connected to AC power. So it would only take 6 hrs to charge the two sets of 4 batteries as opposed to 25 hrs on the Yeti. And since the dewalt batteries are the standard ones used for all their power tools, they are sure to be available in the future if one goes bad after a few hundred recharge cycles. And it would be much cheaper to replace just one instead of the whole pack.

Another couple comparison issues to consider: One potential issue is new engineering. The Yeti battery pack looks like new engineering with relatively untested design and longevity. The Dewalt batteries are already several years old with millions being tested daily for reliability. Second, since the Dewalt system uses tool batteries they could be used for that purpose if you have/puchase the tools needed. And there are a lot of varied tools using these batteries, some of which might also be useful when camping.

Here's a demonstration video for the Dewalt Power Station

Edited July 1, 2017 by DonShockley
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