Solar Generator - Pireps?

Mtns2Skies

Final Approach
Joined
Jul 12, 2008
Messages
5,625
Location
Wisconsin
Display Name

Display name:
Mtns2Skies
Does anyone have experience with small "solar generators"? I'm thinking about getting one for OSH so I can power my laptop to get some work done and save some of my vacation days. The brand Jackery seems to have taken over the industry, displacing Goal Zero and a few others but was looking for some pireps on the proper sizing and if these are worth it or not. I was thinking about a 60W solar panel mixed with their 240 Watt/Hour Model.

Screenshot 2022-07-08 6.55.54 AM.png
 
I generally prefer components to integrated solutions. I already have a deep cycle and an inverter that I can reuse, so I've been looking at panels & charge controllers. This caught my eye a while back:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079JVBVL3

That said, the Jackery has a lithium battery, so it's probably a pretty good all-in-one to get started with. What happens when the battery ages out? Do you toss the whole thing? :(
 
Last edited:
4-5 years ago I brought a little cheap Amazon foldable solar panel that I had hopped to use to charge my battery pack during the day so I could charge my phone at night. Obviously something went wrong because it fried a brand new battery pack and it's self. I suspect it's because there was no charge controller built in. Otherwise I have no experience with solar so I am of no help.
 
We’ve been using a PortaWattz 12v jump-starter for over a decade with good results. At first we had one of these 7w solar panels: https://m.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200832935_200832935

We ultimately got a second one and basically just plug both into one of those 12v cigarette plug doublers. 14w has been more than enough to recharge the battery after charging phones, running small fans in the tent, etc. Even one panel was enough, really.

The integrated ones would work fine but, sadly, there’s some level of theft at OSH and it may be more tempting than my low-brow setup.
 
Buy a 1000w inverter type generator. Honda and Yamaha lead the pack. Small. Light. Quiet. Sips gas. And they work in the dark.
 
I rolled my own solar solution a few years ago for my last OSH trip. Flexible 100W solar panel, charge controller and 18Ah SLA battery. All in < $200. I needed this for my CPAP and did charge mobile devices. It was cheap and light. It worked. But if it had been cloudy, IDK? FWIW, if (hopefully when) I make another OSH trek I would instead purchase a small generator like @stewart mentioned. It's a little bulkier and heavier, but you have so many more options. The little Harbor Freight model looks hard to pass up and can be had for ~ $400.00...
 
How many days are you going to be there and how much energy do you think you'll need? Maybe you can just bring some topped off storage and forgo the solar portion. Or downsize the panels and only use them if you miscalculated.
 
I will never buy anything that bills themselves as a "solar generator".

Anker is a new arrival to the market and they generally make excellent gear. So maybe look at their solutions.
 
Kind of bulky and heavy, but my old removed-from-service Concorde lasts a LONG time in charging service, and it’s paid-for.
 
To the carry-with solar panel thing? I have a Goal Zero panel. Never used it, but the way the other products from Goal Zero have worked? I’m confident it’s top shelf gear. Maybe just take a solar panel to charge and feed off the airplane battery. Laptops don’t consume much power. Beware of your inverter. Some are energy pigs.
 
@N4984R just bought one

f7c2639570e9e2b46e6c3e2dde2db6b7.jpg


Got the Bluetti EB70S with a 200w Solar panel array. 37.5 lbs for the whole system. Going to be giving this a test run at Boy Scout camp this week. Seeing if it will keep up with an Engle 40qt 12 volt cooler/fridge while we are there. When i set it up in this picture it was late in the day 6pm or so. It was pushing 163watts charge to the power station


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
It's "Prime day" on amazon so there are some really, really good deals on Jackery products. I went ahead and snagged the 240 + the 60W solar panel. We'll see how it works at OSH.
 
I've got one of these

https://us.ecoflow.com/products/riv...MI2Iv5zLf2-AIVVBXUAR0l_QjAEAQYAiABEgLiBPD_BwE

I use a 60w flexible solar panel similar to this one

https://www.invertersupply.com/inde...MIsoPA77f2-AIVeG5vBB2LNgjCEAQYBSABEgIsdPD_BwE

The Lithium battery pack has a BMS that has a built in charge controller.

I leave the flexible panel laying flat, or tied to my tent. It will recharge it before 2pm in the summer.

I can charge my laptop, all my small battery packs, my cell, and power a 12v fan while I sleep. It will take it down to about 35% by morning.
 
I normally take the Honda 2000 Generator to Oshkosh but I picked up an Ecoflow River Pro w/ solar panel on sale this week. Should be here tomorrow/Friday so looking forward to playing with it & seeing if I'll take it in place of the Honda this year. If so I pick up 20+lbs of useful load which gives me more gas for the unknowns on the Fisk arrival!
 
f7c2639570e9e2b46e6c3e2dde2db6b7.jpg


Got the Bluetti EB70S with a 200w Solar panel array. 37.5 lbs for the whole system. Going to be giving this a test run at Boy Scout camp this week. Seeing if it will keep up with an Engle 40qt 12 volt cooler/fridge while we are there. When i set it up in this picture it was late in the day 6pm or so. It was pushing 163watts charge to the power station


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I made it through the entire week at Scout camp without running out of power. The camp is in the Hoosier National Forest, and our site was surrounded by 100’ tall trees. At the end of each day the Bluetti was back up to 80-100%. I don’t think there will be any problem having plenty of power at Oshkosh


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I made it through the entire week at Scout camp without running out of power. The camp is in the Hoosier National Forest, and our site was surrounded by 100’ tall trees. At the end of each day the Bluetti was back up to 80-100%. I don’t think there will be any problem having plenty of power at Oshkosh


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice real-world test. Thanks!
 
Does anyone have experience with small "solar generators"? I'm thinking about getting one for OSH so I can power my laptop to get some work done and save some of my vacation days. The brand Jackery seems to have taken over the industry, displacing Goal Zero and a few others but was looking for some pireps on the proper sizing and if these are worth it or not. I was thinking about a 60W solar panel mixed with their 240 Watt/Hour Model.

View attachment 108459
This combo worked perfectly at OSH. I used the generator to charge phones at night and during the day while I was working remotely the solar panel was able to charge the Jackery battery while I was charging & using my big engineering laptop. Very impressed with the set-up and I will happily be using it on future camping trips! It's pretty light too.
 
I will never buy anything that bills themselves as a "solar generator".

Anker is a new arrival to the market and they generally make excellent gear. So maybe look at their solutions.
Taking another look at these things, I see that Anker uses lithium-iron cells, which as I understand it are heavier, but also safer and capable of more cycles. Looks like Bluetti does as well, but their smallest unit seems like overkill for my needs. One nice feature of the Bluetti units is that they have a bigger inverter so their AC outlets are capable of much higher output.
 
Taking another look at these things, I see that Anker uses lithium-iron cells, which as I understand it are heavier, but also safer and capable of more cycles. Looks like Bluetti does as well, but their smallest unit seems like overkill for my needs. One nice feature of the Bluetti units is that they have a bigger inverter so their AC outlets are capable of much higher output.

Yeah, I have a Honda that I'm not really looking to replace, but if I were in the market for a battery system that lithium-iron chemistry looks very appealing.
 
Yeah, I have a Honda that I'm not really looking to replace, but if I were in the market for a battery system that lithium-iron chemistry looks very appealing.

yeah, the LiFePO4 battery chemistry (also called LFP) is great. The capacity of Lithium (mostly) without the fire risk, more tolerant to different charging methods, etc.

we use them to power the electronics in our gliders. A single LFP battery replaces two sealed lead-acid bricks, can now be a single LiFePO4 and run the radio/vario all day on a long flights.
 
Some of the guys I camp with at Oshkosh had one of the Jackery units and solar panels this year. Looking at their site, I think it was the "Solar Generator 240" package. I was fairly impressed with it. It was able to charge several mobile devices and its own battery easily, and one day I used it while working from camp and it charged my big, power-hungry work laptop from empty to full while I was streaming a lot of video and doing other stuff that had the laptop's fans screaming. It didn't have any trouble delivering the power demand even when I didn't have it plugged into the solar panel.

I also liked the display, it clearly showed how much power was coming from the panel as well as how much was being used by loads plugged into it and the charge state of the battery.

Buy a 1000w inverter type generator. Honda and Yamaha lead the pack. Small. Light. Quiet. Sips gas. And they work in the dark.

Except at OSH where you need to turn them off at 10:30.

I will never buy anything that bills themselves as a "solar generator".

Anker is a new arrival to the market and they generally make excellent gear. So maybe look at their solutions.

While I'm not a fan of the terminology, that's where the industry has gone. And it's a nice thing to have, IMO, so the only person you hurt by being pedantic is yourself. (And there's a picture of me next to pedant in the dictionary...)

I do really like Anker in general and have been very happy with the products I've purchased from them, I'll take a look at their stuff for sure.

This combo worked perfectly at OSH. I used the generator to charge phones at night and during the day while I was working remotely the solar panel was able to charge the Jackery battery while I was charging & using my big engineering laptop. Very impressed with the set-up and I will happily be using it on future camping trips! It's pretty light too.

I had a similar experience borrowing power from my campmates. I was impressed enough that it made me want my own even though I wouldn't likely use it before OSH next year.

yeah, the LiFePO4 battery chemistry (also called LFP) is great. The capacity of Lithium (mostly) without the fire risk, more tolerant to different charging methods, etc.

I'm kinda glad that's what I have in my car. The slight downside is that the energy density is lower so the pack is bigger and heavier than the other chemistries if the power is the same, or, as is the case for my car, the pack is roughly the same size/weight for about 20% less range. However, I can charge it almost however I want, including going to 100% every night, and it's expected to still have 80% of its original capacity after 750,000 miles, at which point I will be a lot deader than my car's battery. :rofl:
 
Looking at these a bit more, though mostly from the battery perspective since I have a couple of solar panels just sitting around.

I compared the roughly-comparable Jackery Explorer 240, Anker 521 PowerHouse, Bluetti EB3A, and EcoFlow River. The first three have been mentioned in this thread, I saw EcoFlow at Costco right before Oshkosh.

Frankly, the Bluetti makes a very compelling case as the winner. It's got all the features any of them have, with a middle-of-the-road price.

Prices are comparable - 219 for the Jackery, 239 for the Bluetti, and 249 for the other two. Same with the Wh storage capacity - They range from 240 for the Jackery to 288 for the EcoFlow, with the Anker at 256 and the Bluetti at 268.

The Jackery and Anker both max out at 200W output and 60/65W solar input, respectively, while the Bluetti and EcoFlow are 600W out and 200W in. The Bluetti can also charge at 350W via AC or 430W via AC and Solar simultaneously to get 30min 0-80% or 1 hour 0-100%.

The Anker has a 5 year warranty, the others are 2 years.

The Jackery is lightest at 6.6lb, the others are around 10-11lb. However, that is likely because the Jackery uses the Lithium NMC (Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt) chemistry while the Anker and Bluetti use the longer-lasting but heavier Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP) chemistry. (EcoFlow's is unspecified.)

Also, the Jackery has no USB-C port and no light, features all of the others do have.

Bluetti has a wireless charging pad and can be monitored over Bluetooth with an app, features that none of the others have.

All of them appear to be able to be charged via a standard MC4 solar panel connector, but it appears that you need to buy the adapter separately with the Jackery and Anker while the Bluetti and EcoFlow include it.

Really, it looks like the only thing the Bluetti doesn't have is Anker's 5-year warranty.
 
Back
Top