4/24/22

Went dry camping for the last 4 days and 3 nights and used the Jackery to relieve the load off the camper battery.

- my wife exercises a lot and uses her iWatch (?) to monitor her progress - charged each day (battery in her watch is getting old) from a single digit to 100%
- charged 2 iPhones each day from far less than 50% to 100% each day
- charged an iPad that my wife reads on each day from around 40% to 100%
- by each day I do mean charged each devise 4x

17% power on the Jackery 500 when we pulled out.  I did not use the solar panel to charge this time, I wanted to see how much it could do.  I did charge it back to 100% from wall receptacle when we got home (maybe 4.5 hours).  I will try the solar panel on our next trip.  The charging station served its purpose for us.  Our Renogy 100w solar suitcase kept our camper battery well charged throughout the whole trip as it always does.  We are in AZ at temps on this trip from the mid 60's to the high 70's. No clouds.  I apologize for not being able to give you more technical specs as this is not one of my strong points.

AntiGravity has some new products out which may worth your time to research if you are interested in this sort of thing.  Antigravity jump packs are great in my opinion.

Good luck in your quest for solar.  I think John Kerry invented all this stuff... or maybe John invented the Internet, maybe it was both, its all so confusing.

YMMV




48% charged when it arrived and took 3.5 hours to charge to 100% from wall receptacle.  The transformer on the charge cord did get hot, you could put your hand on it but would worry me to leave the house with it plugged in.  It did cool down after full charge.

Charging iphone now, next an ipad, then I'll try and run a 31" TV, and charge it tomorrow with the solar panel.

24 month warranty.  $829, but with McCain internet tax $903.

What else do you want to know?

Here is a shitty picture with my Walmart tablet.

Attached File

We have the same setup, my cords do not get "hot" a little warm but nothing I'd be concerned with. If yours is getting "hot" I'd call their CS and explain the issue.

I'm waiting on my 300 and panels.

I check on that charging cord!

It wasn't the cord getting hot, it was the transformer box on the cord.  It says it will get hot, I just didn't think that hot.  It cooled down after charge was complete.  I'll keep an eye on it.

Last night I charged 2 cell phones and 2 tablets that were under 50% charged.

I then plugged in a 15 year old 31" TV for one episode of the X-Files "Clyde Bruckman's Final Response"

Ended the night at 74% charge.

Put it on the 100w solar panel this morning and had it back to 99% charged in about 3 hours.  Panel kicked off at 99%. The panel produced 71 watts.  The panel is nice and light, but that may hinder you on a windy day.  I do not like the fact that the panel is not water proof.

I also thought that for those of you that live in crazy weather places, you may want a new, small TV if you wanted to track weather during a power outage.  I'm sure the new TVs take less power.  Overall, I think it's a pretty solid unit.

I would like to find a connector for this cord on the panel so you can charge a deep cycle battery.

I have been looking at these but cannot decide between the the Ecoflow or Jackery. What made you go with the Jackery?

I went with an Ecoflow River Max Plus

https://ecoflow.com/products/river-max-plus-portable-power-station

They go one sale often, I got mine for around $430. It's 720 watt-hours. It charges from the wall super fast. Mine arrived at 30% and took about 55 minutes to charge 100%

I also bought a 100 watt solar panel from Renogy.

I haven't had a chance to hook it up yet to see how fast it chargers off solar.

I found the Jackery to have good reviews and a few members on ARFCOM said they were having good luck with Jackery and recommended it.  I also wanted a package deal so I didn't have to find cords to link everything up.  My cords for my Renogy panel that I use on my camper are different, but I wanted a separate unit anyway.

I am not a tech/electronics guy, so comparing units/specs/companies/etc., would have done me no good.  I checked Anker and Renogy first, but they didn't have a unit this big or if they did, they were OOS.

I bought directly from Jackery because I heard there may be some counterfeit stuff out there.

As far as the panel not being waterproof isn't as big of a deal here in AZ as it would be another places.  I missed this fact when reading about it.  If I lived in a wet area, I'd send the panel back and look for something else.  I'd go to Renogy, and I've heard their customer service is great.  

I am in the same boat, not electtronics guy! I also like to check these things out in person but cannot locate a Ecoflow. I did get to check the smaller Jackery at Harbor Freight and have heard good things.  I think I also will buy direct when I pull the trigger, thanks!

Jacks are Harbor freight are not a good deal!

https://www.ar15.com/forums/Outdoors/Jackery-at-Harbor-Freight/18-701836/

I will be getting a 800W Bluetti and their 200W panel for some boondock type trips my wife is planning.  Looking forward to how it does and plan to make it my power supply for my radio base station for SHTF comes around home.

Looking forward to you own tests OP!

ROCK6

That new larger Bluetti panel looks to be kind of amazeballs for $650 or so.
PV350 Panel Producing Over 400W!

I got the jackery 1000 and 2 panels, I think the one panel was free or something, it was some kind of promotion, I also ordered straight from jackery.

I'm very disappointed in the panels.  With both panels the most I can get is 125 watts in bright sun, the kind of sun that only lasts a few hours a day. Then the wattage goes down. It takes a long long time to charge if you've run it down much.

Also, they say you can pass through charge it but what they don't tell you in the advertisement is that it damages the battery if you do it much, so it's not like you can leave the panels attached all the time as you use it.

I've done some tests. I can run 2 aquariums for 3 hours and have 70% left, I guess aquariums use more wattage than I thought. I can use my router and TV longer.

I did use it during a two day outage, as a supplement to my portable generator. It was very handy for keeping our phones charged and to use an appliance without having to move an extension cord. For instance, I use a water pik for my nightly dental routine, it was nice just to carry the jack in there.

You really have to watch these companies, they make deceptive claims about what they can do and people are influenced by the word "solar generator". The implication is that you can use the free fuzzy bunny energy to get through a lengthy emergency like what happened in Texas. People actually think you can run an AC with it. (I follow the Facebook group, if you need help that's where you get it the quickest, which is a negative in my book)

So the comments are - interesting. I've read some along the lines of "I cooked a meal in my instapot, jackery saved my life". Also a lot of people use it to run heaters and electric blankets.  One comment was asking the best way to hard wire it to the panel to run the dryer and power the house.

So I try to be helpful and tell them about camping stoves and explain the inefficiency of using it to produce heat. I don't even use my generators for that.

I think the boondockers know how to best use them and seem more satisfied. A lot of people are hung up on "free energy from the sun" and "I don't have to use gas". They are in for a rude awakening if they have a real emergency.

So I'm still up in the air. I was realistic as to how I would use it but the deceptive advertising is a big turn off.

Oh, one thing is kind of nice, during a short outage I can watch TV and have wifi, I've actually done that.

I have a lot of backpacking gear and emergency supplies, living in a hurricane zone that backpacking gear really comes in handy. I basically use the generator for my freezers and fans. I have rechargeable batteries, light, and other methods of heating and cooking. I do without AC, I don't expect to reproduce real life in an emergency. Hell, I haven't had a generator that long, I was inspired by a neighbor and had a lot of meat in the freezer so I got one.
 
Eta: it should have said jackery 1000.

So I did an experiment with my Ecoflow River Max Plus.

Last night I used it to power a 32" TV for about 6 hours and ran it down to 70%.

Today I hooked up my Renogy 100 watt solar panel. Today's weather in the panhandle is 80 degrees with clear skies (a few clouds). Max input from the panel was 85 watts and when a cloud passed by it would drop to about 25 watts. I left it to charge and took about 4 hours to go from 70% to 100%.

Not too bad, I'll definitely get a second panel to speed it up. I'm going to use the Ecoflow to power medical equipment during a grid down situation such as hurricanes.

Are any of these units able to be charged in freezing or sub-zero Temps?  I'd like to have one for a couple off-grid hunting trips, but I know lithiums shouldn't be charged that cold, and my usage would occasionally include frigid weather.

If you were just taking it out of a vehicle you could just use a lead-acid type battery instead of lithium, just that they're a lot heavier.

Lead acid type batteries would solve a lot of the practical/usage issues that folks have problems with. If you want something to just leave on float charge as a backup and the weight isn't critical a lead acid battery makes a lot more sense than a lithium, and is vastly less expensive. With a lead acid you could also just directly connect a panel if need be for charging... not ideal, but would work in a pinch, or could charge from a vehicle.


What is the connector?

Could take a cue from the amateur radio folks and just cut off the connectors and replace with Powerpole connectors. They're super handy because they're genderless... so you have to be careful not to connect things wrong, but it does give you a lot of flexibility.

I ended up getting this from the official ecoflow ebay store.  Everything looks and works like new. Very happy.

Attached File

Big one os 1260Wh and 1800watt(3.3k surge)

Small one is 288Wh and up to 1800watt

Grabbed this portable 120w panel. Love it too.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086M9J94W

Based on reviews and this site I am looking at the Wattfun unit.

Just an FYI.  Here is a comparison of the Jackery 100w panel and the Renogy 100w suitcase.

I'll compare output in a couple weeks when I go camping.

Jackery:

8.4 lbs
41" x 20"
Regulator is in the Jackery unit.  Plugs directly in to the Jackery.  I plan to use this to charge phones, tablets, flashlights, drone, and maybe a TV or laptop.  My wife asked if she could use her blow dryer with this.  

Renogy Solar Suitcase:

26.2 lbs
40" x 27"
Regulator is on the back of the panel.  Cables attach to deep cycle battery with alligator clips.  I use this for my camper.


Attached File


Attached File


Attached File


Attached File

Charge it to 100 then run it down to zero the first time you use it to calibrate the batteries.

Lithium Iron Phosphate is the way to go if you’re going for a long term solution. It’s more expensive up front, but comes out cheaper overall because it has many more life cycles than normal lithium batteries. There are several good options: Bluetti, Golabs, plenty of others.

With the Ecoflow, you get faster charging, but that will come at the expense of battery life.

If you want to charge a battery with those panels you’re going to need a charge controller. Get a MPPT and not a PWM. Jackery uses 8mm or Anderson Power Port to charge. Just look for the adapters to use their panels to connect to the charge controller to charge a battery.

To my knowledge, the portable panels aren’t considered waterproof because the connections on the back are open and because the panels are surrounded by fabric, which will deteriorate outside over time. The actual panels themselves are fine outside.

Also, rigid panels are cheaper than portable ones. It just depends on what you need. If you need to take it with you, it costs more.

With that said I have a Jackery and it works great. It’s plug and play, easy to use.

For power stations YouTube Hobotech. For DIY YouTube Will Prowse.

MPPT is more expensive and provides essentially no benefit for the size of these systems according to the learned opinion I've seen, marketing hype notwithstanding.

I sold a Goal Zero 400 and a 100 watt panel.

Was not that impressed.  It was a novelty item.  Better than nothing.... and nicely portable if you need that.  If you don't, then your money is better spent on a real system.

I’ve got both. MPPT works better for me, it may be a YMMV situation?

I thought PWM controllers (especially the smaller cheaper ones) were not optimal for Lithium batts?

So I bought mine with the expectation I would use it for charging phones, tablets, having wifi, charging my handheld radio batteries, etc. Also maybe running TV short term. For this it seems to work well, and is like my last line/minimum needed kind of set up. But, again, that's what I bought it for. I also have a smaller 1800w inverter, and a 3800w dual fuel gas/propane generator. I kind of got all three to cover several bases, while having layers of needs. Not sure if that makes sense, but it did to me, and in that role the Jackery does well. I did not expect to run my deep freezer for days on it in cloudy conditions.

My girlfriend has the ecoflow with an extended battery pack. We had a pretty significant local power outage a couple of weeks ago while she was out of town. She was looking forward to getting home and trying out the setup. We do not live together. When I talked to her later that evening she told me she heated up soup with her microwave and made toast!!! I was pretty shocked at the robust capability of it. She asked me to predict what used more power, the toaster or the microwave. I thought a bit and said I think the toaster uses more. Sure confirmed. Apparently the toaster drew WAY more current.

My toaster uses 720W for two pieces of bread.

Most kitchen microwaves are 800 to 1000W.

I suppose if you use both sides of the toaster, or if you are talking about a BIG toaster...

Very few appliances will draw more than 1400W, because you are nearing the threshold to possibly trip a breaker.

Wow that sounds better than what I got.

And that's the kind of thing those things are for. I just wish they didn't kind of deceive people.  People deceive themselves though too.

Oh, I've also used mine once when the power went out during a rainy night. I could run a couple things until I set up the genny in the morning.

Pretty much what I said about her microwave. I said "well a real bad ass microwave is like 1100W, and I've seen your microwave, it's not bad ass, it's probably like 600W so I'm going to go with toaster". I have not paid attention to her toaster but according to her it uses significantly more power.

I've been looking at those. I really like solar stuff as long as you operate within its parameters and have realistic understanding of what it is capable of. I am an electrician so probably have a more thorough understanding of what a load will draw and what you can expect your power to do than most people.  

I'm just using a HF 100 watt panel with two 100Ah deep cycle batteries in parallel at home right now and it can do a pretty impressive amount considering it just comes out of the sky. I have a Bestek 300W pure sine wave inverter and a Ryobi 800W modified sine wave inverter also. I'm running two fans, charging my phone and charging a 4Ah Makita 18V battery off my circular saw right now from my solar bank and that Bestek inverter. My battery bank can pretty much be depleted and recharged every single day even in the fall/spring months in Oregon when it is cloudy and rainy. If you lived somewhere warmer and had another 100W panel you would be in business for all but the most demanding SHTF tasks IMO.

Bump to the top for small non-technical update.

I’m going to eventually go with the ecoflow delta max a spare battery possibly two and panels.  It can accept Up to 800 watts for solar.  That should be enough to power anything I want in my house and possibly AC as well.  Great thing about the ecoflow is the xboost technology

That’s a good price for that setup.

The river is expandable with their own battery pack.

I have the river pro and it’s pretty handy for a portable unit
but you can’t make it lighter if you wanted to.

Update in OP, 8/29