Yeti Tank Expansion Battery 23100 vs. 23105 V2?
I have four original Yeti Tank Expansion Batteries (SKU 23100) connected to my Yeti 1400 Lithium Portable Power Station with WiFi. A few days ago I ordered two more Yeti Tank Expansion Batteries and when they arrived I noticed the boxes and pack list were labeled with SKU 23105, and the pack list says "V2".
What is the difference between the original model and this V2 model? Do they both use the same case with the same dimensions, and do they both come with the same group AGM battery installed? Can both models be safely chained to the same Portable Power Station?
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I called Goal Zero Technical Support a few days after starting this thread. The agent I spoke with said that the original and V2 Yeti Tanks are identical with regards to the case and AGM battery, but the V2 has an 80 Amp fuse inside the case. The agent did say that V2 tanks should be connected ahead of the older tanks, i.e. closest to the Yeti Link. I presume that this is because the cable for each tank in any chain carries it's own current as well as that of all the downstream tanks; and the objective with the fuse(s) is to protect the circuit at the point where it carries the most current.
I asked the agent if opening a case to replace a fuse would void the warranty and he said no it would not. So I picked one of my newer V2 tanks that showed some stress marks on the plastic cover and got to opening it up...
There are four 4mm Allen head machine screws and two #2 Phillips sheet metal screws securing the top plastic cover to the aluminum side panels on the case. On removing the cover I found that it also has some alignment nibs that seat into some unused screw holes on the side panels. Inside the case I found an inline fuse holder connected to the positive terminal of the battery (see attached photo).
There is some thick closed cell foam secured to one half of the inside of the cover that sits on top of the battery. On this particular tank the clear plastic cover for the fuse holder was not fully snapped onto the holder. I also found at least one of the top cover alignment nibs broken off...
I'm speculating that whoever assembled the top cover initially landed that foam on top of the fuse holder and began to screw the top down in that position. That would have likely loosened the fuse cover, broken off the alignment nib, and stressed the cover enough to put a flex mark in the plastic top.
Anyway, what we have here is essentially the upgraded "Male EC8 to Ring Terminal" cable assembly with inline fuse holder (https://www.goalzero.com/products/male-ec8-to-ring-terminal). The "fingers" on the EC8 connector male pins are also about twice as thick as those on the connectors for my original Yeti Tanks. The clearances on the plastic shroud of the connector also seem tighter (but that might be just my imagination). In any case, seating that upgraded connector onto the Yeti Link female connector requires much greater force than the connectors for my original Yeti Tanks. Ditto for seating the male connector from my second V2 tank onto the female connector for the first V2 tank.
Each V2 tank also came with one "EC8 Clamp" and installation guide (see attached scan). This clamp is mentioned on the "Female EC8 to Ring Terminal" cable assembly page (https://www.goalzero.com/products/female-ec8-to-ring-terminal).
The V2 tanks also came with a multi-language User Guide with "CL081021V1" printed on the lower right corner of the back cover. The English portion of that guide seems identical to the PDF User Guide "JG020119V1" at Goal Zero.com (https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0520/1156/5225/files/yeti-expansion-tank-user-guide-115-76f5.pdf), except that on page 1 it mentions compatibility with newer model Yeti Power Stations and also includes this verbiage:
! WARNING !
Ensure cable is fully inserted and tightly in place before use. Check upon subsequent uses. For questions, contact Solutions Center at support@goalzero.com or 1-888-794-6250
There are also plastic tags attached to both cables on the outside of the tank. One side of these tags repeat this verbiage and the other side says:
Maximum cable amperage: [80A]. Do not exceed the max amp rating of this cable.
IMO these improvements on the Yeti Tank design seem to be a result of Goal Zero's efforts to resolve connection reliability with automotive implementations of Yeti Link, where vehicle vibrations can cause the older EC8 connectors to work loose (see https://www.goalzero.com/pages/ec8-recall).
I would eventually like to swap out the male EC8 to ring terminal cables in my original Yeti Tanks for the newer assemblies with heavier duty connectors and inline fuse holders. Shorter term, I would like to add the EC8 connector clamps to the older connections in my Yeti Tank chain, as those seem a bit too easy to disconnect compared to connections with the newer male connectors. However at this time it doesn't seem possible to order an EC8 clamp separately (and they don't appear to be included with the newer male cable assemblies).
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(Marking this Question as Answered)