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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2017 09:44pm
Reply
$1,000 is the price. So what do you get, batteries and an inverter?
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 11 Mar 2017 02:42am
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Goal Zero Yeti 400 $375.00 (Amazon)
33 Amp Hours
Home Made
1 UB12350 Battery $60.00
35 Amp Hours
1 Inverter $25.00
1 MPPT Solar Controller $150.00
Total 235.00
Delta $140.00
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razmichael
Member
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# Posted: 11 Mar 2017 10:09am
Reply
I'm like many on this forum - would rather build than buy, but ...
Wire, fuses, switches - $40
Time is money:
Time to source, order/pick up components - 3 hours (say $45 low end of scale)
Time to hook up and test - $30
Time to build easy to move container - $45
Time to learn how to do all this - $$$
Cost of not having a warranty - $$$
Time persuading wife that it may not look nice but it is safe - $$$
And so on. For many people, it is much more cost effective to purchase a completed product that just works (but not nearly as much fun).
Having said that, yes, I have seen various products that are so overpriced it is ridiculous.
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 12 Mar 2017 11:26am
Reply
This is just a spendy AC power source with limited time depending on amp use. Take the $1000 you spend on it, get a Honda EU2000i, will do the same thing but at 2000 watts (2000 surge, 1600 all day), but all day on a gallon of gas vs limited time depending on charge.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 12 Mar 2017 12:11pm
Reply
Seriously I didn't know what these things have inside, thought maybe a nuclear reactor. Costco will likely sell every one. To cabin guys, not so much. Looks about the size of a milk crate. Hmm.
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 12 Mar 2017 12:32pm
Reply
I suspect its a battery, a battery charger and an inverter all rolled into one unit. Its nice for what it is, but its spendy for what it does. It might be a neat idea for power int he evening after the gennie is shut down. When I shut my genny down in the evening, I am going to bed anyway. 
If it was me, I'd spend the 1000 on the EU2000i and then consider the Yeti as a secondary power accessory, but not as a primary. In other words, I would not get it unless I had the Honda already.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 12 Mar 2017 01:25pm
Reply
I have a deep cycle aux battery in my truck. It has been powering lights, tablets, wood stove fan, radio since yesterday. Getting low but by the time I drive home later it will be charged.
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Wilbour
Member
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# Posted: 12 Mar 2017 03:25pm
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If you cannot build one yourself (like me), you would be better off having someone else build one for you. Those all in one wonders could be difficult to repair if one thing goes, battery or inverter ect.
Now where did I leave Creeky's phone number?
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NorthwoodsGuy
Member
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# Posted: 13 Mar 2017 01:12pm
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I actually have one of the smaller versions of this - the 150. For the $35 I spent on it (charity auction thingee) it has been amazing. We charge it before we go to the cabin, and it powers phones, lithium ion power tools, and occasionally a laptop.
That said, I wouldn't recommend anyone on this forum buying one. You can get more solar for less, and there are cheaper power bricks by milliamp power standards.
That's because these things are more designed for outdoor adventurers- people who will be in different places every night, who are willing to pay extra to have everything packaged up into one portable, weatherproof bundle. For that, they are great. For anyone with a cabin, probably not so much.
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