Goal Zero 1000 Lithium Costco

[chaeha]

Was at Costco this week and saw the new Goal Zero 1000 Lithium. 42 lbs and much smaller than their previous offerings. Says it's rated for 1500 watts/3000 watts surge. $999.

Wondering if this could serve as a replacement for my Yamaha 2000 gas generator.

Would like the silence and no gas features of the lithium over the gas.

Can I plug into this unit with my shore power cord and run a solar panel from the unit?

Thoughts?

[lsbrodsky]

I did not see the price, but their older technology unit costs substantially more. There were not any specs, either, but based on their calculator it looks like it is a battery, inverter, with charging options and about 8 amp-hour capacity. That is not a lot of capacity for the money. A Honda or Yamaha has so much more versatility for real boondocking. I would consider this thing a toy.
Larry

[jimmini]

I am not a fan of lithium batteries YET because of the fire hazard.
Do a web search they have brought down aircraft (UPS) taken out trucks hauling them and unknown number of cell phones,electronic cigarettes and computer fires from them.
I am not ready to risk my life in my trailer using one.

[AWCHIEF]

I have had one cell phone and a flashlight with lithiums self destruct. Think I will wait a while before trying to justify the exorbitant cost.

[jimmini]

I have been told that I should point out that we had problems with Nicad batteries in aircraft when we started using them back in the 1960's.We called them thermo runaways. they got hot and failed but not on fire.The answer back then add a light that tell us when it got hot and better maintenance practices. Now we use them in aircraft with very few problems.There still is a fire hazard from the smaller rechargeable ones used in things like outdoor lights.
Remember the Boeing 787 Dreamliners had problems with the Lithium batteries.
Just a note many of the Lithium batteries come from the same country that the air bags in are cars that failed came from.
I guess if we give it time the Lithium and Nicad battery problem will work it's self out.
BUT till then $$$ for $$$ in my opinion the lead acid battery is still safest and best over all buy for what you get.

[alano]

Like Larry said, this thing only has 8 AH and he's being generous. If I use their calculator with a space heater, you're only getting the equivalent of 6 AH of capacity at 120 V. Yes, generators are somewhat noisy, but one tank of fuel gives you 20x the capacity. And when it runs out, it only takes a minute to refuel.

If the goal zero 1000 is similar to the 1250 unit, then yes you can add solar panels to charge it back up. According to the 1250 unit it takes 40 hours to recharge it, so the goal zero 1000 would take 32 hours instead.

This thing also weights almost the same as a 2 KW generator too.

[lewster]

Originally Posted by jimmini

I am not a fan of lithium batteries YET because of the fire hazard.
Do a web search they have brought down aircraft (UPS) taken out trucks hauling them and unknown number of cell phones,electronic cigarettes and computer fires from them.
I am not ready to risk my life in my trailer using one.

Neither are any of my clients (or the hundreds of AM Solar's clients) ready to risk their life and limb to a potential fire hazard. You have a far greater probability of having a fire from your ammonia /absorption fridge than a quality modern lithium cell.

If you follow the most recent formulations of lithium batteries (LiFePo-4), you will NOT find any instances of fire or overheating own RV use. The lithium iron phosphate formulation being used in Victron's lithium batteries are of a much lower energy density and completely different composition than the lithium cobalt batteries that have experienced thermal runaway and combustion.

You are comparing apples to cow dung!

All lithium batteries are NOT the same simply because they all have 'lithium' in their name.

[chaeha]

Thanks for all the comments.

FYI.
Battery says it's 1045 Wh capacity and 96.8Ah @ 10.8V.

[jimmini]

Originally Posted by lewster

Neither are any of my clients (or the hundreds of AM Solar's clients) ready to risk their life and limb to a potential fire hazard. You have a far greater probability of having a fire from your ammonia /absorption fridge than a quality modern lithium cell.

If you follow the most recent formulations of lithium batteries (LiFePo-4), you will NOT find any instances of fire or overheating own RV use. The lithium iron phosphate formulation being used in Victron's lithium batteries are of a much lower energy density and completely different composition than the lithium cobalt batteries that have experienced thermal runaway and combustion.

You are comparing apples to cow dung!

All lithium batteries are NOT the same simply because they all have 'lithium' in their name.

I know nothing about solar batteries.
I am a AMT and do know aircraft and the Lithium-ion batteries fist used in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner where cow dung.
Photo of Lithium-ion battery JAL 787 in Boston after it suffered thermal runaway
https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...he-dreamliner/
Read this see how fast the UPS crew died in this B-747 from a cargo of lithium batteries that caught on fire . http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...thium/2582213/
I do think things will get better after what has gone wrong with the lithium batteries but I use as few as possible and do not leave them on charger when I sleep.

[alano]

Originally Posted by chaeha

Thanks for all the comments.

FYI.
Battery says it's 1045 Wh capacity and 96.8Ah @ 10.8V.

That's true. But you're using the system at 120 V, so the effective amp-hours at 120 V is 6-8 amp-hours.

[spenfolder]

Here is a great NOVA show on batteries. Those that blow up, and those that don't. Very interesting show about current batteries, and batteries of the future.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/super-battery.html

[waninae39]

This PBS show is a MUST watch

Originally Posted by spenfolder

Here is a great NOVA show on batteries. Those that blow up, and those that don't. Very interesting show about current batteries, and batteries of the future.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/super-battery.html

[thiel]

Originally Posted by waninae39

This PBS show is a MUST watch

Agree. Super interesting AND I had no idea I had been treading so close to incineration all this time.

[ASTailgate]

Originally Posted by chaeha

Was at Costco this week and saw the new Goal Zero 1000 Lithium. 42 lbs and much smaller than their previous offerings. Says it's rated for 1500 watts/3000 watts surge. $999.

Wondering if this could serve as a replacement for my Yamaha 2000 gas generator.

Would like the silence and no gas features of the lithium over the gas.

Can I plug into this unit with my shore power cord and run a solar panel from the unit?

Thoughts?

I just bought one of these. Im going to try exactly what you just asked this weekend. my bet is you can so long as your fridge is not a watt hog or you run it on propane at night. Im looking at getting a 165 watt solar panel.

[muddy_hollow]

I purchased the yeti 1000 and plan to use it for all 12v loads rather than deep cycle batteries. I know my loads and amp requirements and I might have to make some changes to wire gauges to pumps but so far everything works really well. I have my 2 80 watt panels plugged into the input ports and have been pleased with the results.

Shore power charging via the yeti adapter and a transfer switch to move the 12v load to my converter.

I haven't tried using the 120v converter yet but might use it for the microwave. Will report back

[68 TWind]

Microwaves pull a big load. 600-800 cooking watts for a small unit will pull around a 1000 watts from your source. I read the spec on the unit and it is capable for 1500W with a 3000W peak, very impressive. I just bet it would not take long running that kind of load to use up the battery. I did find on the Goal Zero site that for the 1200 model a full charge from 120V takes 16-20 hours (no data sheet for the 1000) but you can have AC and your solar panels working together. I would suggest you get the 120V working. That way you can charge your power pak when you need to and run the micowave when at a campground with electric service. Keeps us posted on your project. I was not familiar with the product but it sure looks like you will enjoy using it. The pure sine wave inverter is a nice feature.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by chaeha

Was at Costco this week and saw the new Goal Zero 1000 Lithium. 42 lbs and much smaller than their previous offerings. Says it's rated for 1500 watts/3000 watts surge. $999.

Wondering if this could serve as a replacement for my Yamaha 2000 gas generator.

Would like the silence and no gas features of the lithium over the gas.

Can I plug into this unit with my shore power cord and run a solar panel from the unit?

Thoughts?

Wondering how the Costco units are working out for everyone, or what plans you have for its use when/if you get one?

Thanks for your thoughts on the questions asked below [from another thread which has just been deleted].

Peter

Originally Posted by OTRA15

. . .
Wondering if it would make sense to carry it in our tow vehicle, take it out when needed like a generator [only 40 lbs.], then plug the trailer in via a short 10 amp shore power cord (properly rated) in your opinion? This could charge the batteries and keep the fridge running on 120 volts AC, plus other 120 uses carefully selected and toggled on and off as needed.

In essence it would be a separate redundant spare battery being carried in the tow vehicle, and could also support tent camping activities independent of the Airstream. Nice!

Another good redundancy would be its portability during hurricane power outages here in the NE.

Thanks,

Peter
. . .

Originally Posted by muddy_hollow

I purchased the yeti 1000 and plan to use it for all 12v loads rather than deep cycle batteries. I know my loads and amp requirements and I might have to make some changes to wire gauges to pumps but so far everything works really well. I have my 2 80 watt panels plugged into the input ports and have been pleased with the results.

Shore power charging via the yeti adapter and a transfer switch to move the 12v load to my converter.

I haven't tried using the 120v converter yet but might use it for the microwave. Will report back

Originally Posted by ASTailgate

I just bought one of these. Im going to try exactly what you just asked this weekend. my bet is you can so long as your fridge is not a watt hog or you run it on propane at night. Im looking at getting a 165 watt solar panel.

[ASTailgate]

I just plugged it In as my shore power to my 30amp with a 30 amp to 120v cable and it worked. I was able to run my microwave for about 3 minutes while running a small 6cf residential fridge. It took the Yeti down to 87% rather quickly. Otherwise I was pulling about 175 watts while just running the fridge and charging the 12v batteries as they are all hooked up to my shore power.

[ASTailgate]

Originally Posted by ASTailgate

I just plugged it In as my shore power to my 30amp with a 30 amp to 120v cable and it worked. I was able to run my microwave for about 3 minutes while running a small 6cf residential fridge. It took the Yeti down to 87% rather quickly. Otherwise I was pulling about 175 watts while just running the fridge and charging the 12v batteries as they are all hooked up to my shore power.

I did hook up a 165 watt solar panel to it in direct sunlight and was able to pull around 96 watts.

[OTRA15]

Thanks for the updates. How many 12-volt batteries are you charging in your 280 MH, and do you have a separate battery voltage monitor inside to track their voltage? Before you ran the microwave, was the new lithium unit at 100%?

Thanks,

Peter