first time mini solar setup, looking for advice plus safety check

[ThatGuyOverThere]

Hello!
I am working on making a basic backup system to keep laptop, peripherals and router running in the event of an outage on a $500 or so budget pre-tax. I do not own any specialized tools for solar or have any prior experience with these things. Total newbie both to forum and to solar.

What I came up with was an ecoflow river pro (not 2, just the li-ion original), and a coleman 100W panel (not buying for those prices but thats the best links I could find for reference)

https://www.costco.com/coleman-100w-solar-panel-with-8.5-amp-charge-controller-.product.100389117.html

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T1KY8SG/ref=syn_sd_onsite_desktop_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&pd_rd_plhdr=t

Assuming I read the specs correctly the panel should be well within what the ecoflow can handle, as well as cover the fuse and protection side of things, and this should be enough to power through a short outage and sloooowly top up from solar to keep essentials running if the grid stays down longer.

1)does this setup make sense?

2)The problem I ran into was that the panel comes with just bare wires and no connectors on the end, so at the moment (considering that this is a pretty low power setup) I want to get one of these ring to xt60 cables:

https://www.amazon.com/Extension-Connector-Terminals-Compatible-Generator/dp/B0B4976GSY/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3ADQ0YR3MTITK&keywords=ring%2Bto%2Bxt60%2Bcable&qid=1686026684&s=lawn-garden&sprefix=rin%2Bto%2Bxt60%2Bcable%2Clawngarden%2C228&sr=1-2&th=1

and use some bolts to get a decent connection with the wires (and then some electrical tape over it for insulation probably). Is this a viable solution? Any other suggestions? I would rather not add permanent connectors on to the end of the panel wires in case I want to use it with the charge controller it came with to charge a 12v sla once I get a better panel for the ecoflow in a year or so.

I was hoping to find a cable with those screw tightened terminals (or clamps or something for bare wires) on one end and an xt60 on the other, but so far no luck, if anyone could recommend me one at a reasonable price I would be grateful!

3) Also price, longevity and future-proofing-wise.... looking at all the new and shiny lifepo units and looking around this forum and the web in general... with how fast lifepo is being adopted, would it be wiser to get a smaller capacity lifepo unit for around the same price (sacrificing endurance in the event of a longer outage) in the long term, or would the larger capacity lithium ion still be a reasonably safe bet with current and near future price difference between the 2 battery types, because while it will degrade and lose capacity faster, it has more capacity to start with and so should in effect give a comparable product lifespan as long as it is not mistreated too much?

 

[MichaelK]

Poor choices for overpriced gimmick units. You'll get more bang for your buck assembling a simple 12V system from components. DON'T buy 12V panels like the Coleman you reference. I can find 250W panels cheaper than that 109$ Coleman. You'll get far better performance with larger high-voltage residential grid-tie type panels. I'm seeing 250W for ~75$ in my area. Get two 6V golf-cart batteries and wire them in series for 12V. Get one or two 250W residential panels, and pair those with a 30-40A MPPT controller like an Epever 4210. Add a small 500-600W inverter, and you'll have everything you need to make a complete system.

 

[ThatGuyOverThere]

Poor choices for overpriced gimmick units. You'll get more bang for your buck assembling a simple 12V system from components. DON'T buy 12V panels like the Coleman you reference. I can find 250W panels cheaper than that 109$ Coleman. You'll get far better performance with larger high-voltage residential grid-tie type panels. I'm seeing 250W for ~75$ in my area. Get two 6V golf-cart batteries and wire them in series for 12V. Get one or two 250W residential panels, and pair those with a 30-40A MPPT controller like an Epever 4210. Add a small 500-600W inverter, and you'll have everything you need to make a complete system.

Thank you very much for the suggestion and yes that does make sense in response to how poorly I worded my original question. I now realize I omitted a few pieces of information in my original post that were relevant: As mentioned the links are for reference of product not price: the coleman panel price is $80 for me (plus costco return policy, the peace of mind value is obviously subjective but I think worth considering). I did look around for panels and the only units I found in that price range either had comparable specs with less warranty (and no controller bundled, that I might have a use for in the future as mentioned) or, with 200W+, were used or from sketchy companies both of which I was worried about as a first timer as I do not have experience to evaluate the condition or talk about it with the seller.

Obviously it's very likely I missed some good deals due inexperience on this topic, so if you can recommend/link me to a panel in that price range that you consider trustworthy id happily switch to that and be very grateful!

About the ecoflow... the reason I went with it rather than the battery option is secondary uses like the ability to take it with me on the road in a small vehicle when needed, trading cost efficiency for flexibility and convenient portability in this case was necessary. Once again sorry for not clarifying this originally, if it was only for the stationary installation, using the 2x 6v battery solution does make sense, and is actually something I am taking notes on and considering for future expansion with a dedicated home system now (thats a year or so away though). Again if you can recommend a better unit in that price range and inverter output or have other suggestions that fit this hybrid use case (like would a lower capacity lifepo unit be a better longterm choice, with the option of getting a second or just more cost efficient battery packs later on) please tell me.

Summary of cost I am looking at: the ecoflow unit price is $400 in this case (so 400(ef)+80(panel)+20(for the cable, unless I get a better idea) ~ 500 pre tax)

Only now realized that this info was probably relevant after reading your response. Sorry for not clarifying this in my original post