[Trihonda]

I'll try this once more....



It applies to all. There will be no further jabs from anyone.

Message received.

 

[wjv]

This just arrived today.

FlexSolar 40W Portable Solar Charger,18W Fast Charging QC3.0 USB-A PD 2.0 USB-C DC Foldable Solar Panel for Camping Waterproof Compatible with Smartphones,iPads,Power Banks,laptops,Power Station

Buy FlexSolar 40W Portable Solar Charger,18W Fast Charging QC3.0 USB-A PD 2.0 USB-C DC Foldable Solar Panel for Camping Waterproof Compatible with Smartphones,iPads,Power Banks,laptops,Power Station at Amazon. Customer reviews and photos may be available to help you make the right purchase decision!

www.amazon.com

As soon as we have a sunny day here, I'll try it out and report on its performance.
I have a 716 wh BLUETTI EB70s that I can plug it into, that will tell me exactly how many useable watts it is producing. I can also measure the open circuit voltage. I have a 200 watt BLUETTI panel for the power station, but thought this 40 watt panel with USB and a 5521 DC port would be good to run my Nitecore battery chargers (AA, 18650), and my smaller 10K-15K mAh power banks.

 

[justinsane]

Just MHO but $65 seems kind of priecy for 18w. If you shop at amazon (I try not to but it's hard), search for "folding solar panel". You can get in the 40-50 watt range for $65.

I bought a Swiss Tech 10,000mah battery bank from Wally world for <$20 it is IPS4 weather proof, charges via USB-C and has two 2.4A USB charging ports. It also does pass through charging, so I can leave it plugged into its charger and still charge my phone with it. If the power goes out over night my phone still charges.
I liked it so much I bought a second Swiss Tech battery bank for <$40 but that one is 20,000mah and it has a built-in solar charging (to charge it) as well as a built-in wireless charger (to charge other devices from it) and a flashlight.
Again, I liked that one so much I have bought another of those specifically for my GHB.

 

[NMPRN]

Those solar batteries that only have a few square inches of solar panels will very likely not be able to actually charge the battery. Every one I've seen comes with a disclaimer like: "we recommend charge it via a wall outlet, take the solar panel charging feature as the emergency back-up solution"
...Test it before you actually need it.

I got one a few years ago that has about 10 times the panel area and actually works very well. It's a Bushnell PP1010 PowerSync (PowerWrap). They're hard to find now but if they ever show up again I'm going to stock up on them.

In the sunny southwest U.S. it'll keep a couple of small USB devices charged. With some planning and wise use it'll keep two Baofeng UV-5Rs charged ...at least charged enough for basic use

 

[Back Pack Hack]

Those solar batteries that only have a few square inches of solar panels will very likely not be able to actually charge the battery. ...

+1. At best, they should be used to charge a battery charger, not the device itself. Then use the charger to juice up the device.

 

[NMPRN]

I got one of the freebie ones the NRA gives you for renewing your membership and it can't even charge itself after days in the sun. ...but it works great if you charge it from the wall

 

[wjv]

Those solar batteries that only have a few square inches of solar panels will very likely not be able to actually charge the battery.

I just was watching a video where the guy was testing some of these.
On average they put out 1-2 watts max
The single panel ones take 12-14 days to charge one set of batteries
The multi panel ones take 6-7 days to charge one set of batteries
A 28 watt folding panel system like the BigBlue panel can charge a set of batteries in 6-8 hours.

I have two 40 watt panels for charging my Nitecore chargers and for topping off my small batteries. I almost bought two 60 watt panels, but they were double the cost of the 40 watt ones ($165 vs $75 each)

My big panel is a BLUETTI 200 watt (PV200) is for recharging the BLUETTI EB70s 716wh power station. In good sun, it can typically crank out 165 watts of power.

 

[wjv]

Just MHO but $65 seems kind of priecy for 18w. If you shop at amazon (I try not to but it's hard), search for "folding solar panel". You can get in the 40-50 watt range for $65.

Yup
The one I got was 40W for ~$65.
Has 3 ports (two USB and one 5521)

 

[wjv]

This just arrived today.

FlexSolar 40W Portable Solar Charger,18W Fast Charging QC3.0 USB-A PD 2.0 USB-C DC Foldable Solar Panel for Camping Waterproof Compatible with Smartphones,iPads,Power Banks,laptops,Power Station

Buy FlexSolar 40W Portable Solar Charger,18W Fast Charging QC3.0 USB-A PD 2.0 USB-C DC Foldable Solar Panel for Camping Waterproof Compatible with Smartphones,iPads,Power Banks,laptops,Power Station at Amazon. Customer reviews and photos may be available to help you make the right purchase decision!

www.amazon.com

As soon as we have a sunny day here, I'll try it out and report on its performance.
I have a 716 wh BLUETTI EB70s that I can plug it into, that will tell me exactly how many useable watts it is producing.

Today was a sunny day with just a little haze in the sky. I tested at 10AM and since I'm in the Pacific NW, the sun wasn't high in the sky.

I was able to get a consistent 31 watts out of the FlexSolar. I'm guessing without the haze and a bit later in the day, I probably could get 33-35 watts. Considering most USB or 12v battery chargers for AAA, AA, 18650 and such draw 12-15 watts max, that should be sufficient to run 2 chargers at once.

I bought 2 of these off of Amazon ($20)

Amazon.com: 5V DC Converter, DROK 2pcs Waterproof DC Buck Converter 8V-22V 12 V Step Down to 3V-15V 6V 9V 3A Adjustable Power Supply Voltage Regulator Module : Electronics

Buy 5V DC Converter, DROK 2pcs Waterproof DC Buck Converter 8V-22V 12 V Step Down to 3V-15V 6V 9V 3A Adjustable Power Supply Voltage Regulator Module: Power Converters - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

And will wire them into a 5521 extension cable. That way, I can tap off the 5521 output port on the FlexSolar and turn the voltage town to the VDC range that items with a 5521 input might use.

The panel also has 2 USB ports on it: QC3.0 USB-A (18W), PD 2.0 USB-C (Max Panel output)

I was so happy with the FlexSolar panel that I bought a second one