Portable/folding solar panel makers
- Thread starter DaGoose13
- Start date
Rich Solar would get my vote. You might also check Bouge RV - their stuff seems pretty good.
Surely the proprietary brands for their solar generators, like jackery, ecoflow, and bluetti, would be presumably good, but also at the very high end of the market. Kind of like goal-zero.
Just source something that suits your usage needs to recharge your batteries.
Some of the 'soft' panels are more durable than others, actually designed for travel, with wrap housings and stands and such.
I have a suitcase that could be made up with hinges and a latch quite easily, with regular 12V rigid panels. I bought mine some years ago when things were cheaper, even came with a nice zippered nylon carrying case. But yeah, they're about 20x40 and a couple of inches thick, they are 85W each. I now use them with my ecoflow, pointed right at the sun I can see 155W of charging on the display. I also have a secondary built in solar charger with a port in the side of the coach, so they can be set out at camp to augment the 450 watts of roof panels.
Surely the proprietary brands for their solar generators, like jackery, ecoflow, and bluetti, would be presumably good, but also at the very high end of the market. Kind of like goal-zero.
Just source something that suits your usage needs to recharge your batteries.
Some of the 'soft' panels are more durable than others, actually designed for travel, with wrap housings and stands and such.
I have a suitcase that could be made up with hinges and a latch quite easily, with regular 12V rigid panels. I bought mine some years ago when things were cheaper, even came with a nice zippered nylon carrying case. But yeah, they're about 20x40 and a couple of inches thick, they are 85W each. I now use them with my ecoflow, pointed right at the sun I can see 155W of charging on the display. I also have a secondary built in solar charger with a port in the side of the coach, so they can be set out at camp to augment the 450 watts of roof panels.
42OhmsPA
What's in a title?
100 Watt Monocrystalline Solar Panel
Amazing deals on this 100W Solar Panel Monocrystalline at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com
4 In. Butt Hinge
Amazing deals on this 4In Butt Hinge at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com
Could keep them diy....
200W panels are huge. [shrug]
Stephen InGeorgia
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- Aug 9, 2022
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I recently purchased a Renogy 200W foldable off their ebay store. Less than any other site, and it had the PWM charger included. Nice case and latches, but it is a beast and heavy.
Thought about that, but each panel is usually around 1.5 inches and to get close to 1000w, it would be around 15 inches thick.100 Watt Monocrystalline Solar Panel
Amazing deals on this 100W Solar Panel Monocrystalline at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.4 In. Butt Hinge
Amazing deals on this 4In Butt Hinge at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
Could keep them diy....
Looking at something like this https://www.bluettipower.com/products/bluetti-pv350-solar-panel, so when folded they are just a few inches thick.
Windynation had some rigid panels with 3/4” (19mm) frames… I bought 3, wish I bought more. Pretty cheap too, around $60 each… I will search some more see if I can find them again.
Very nice. $$$$ though. $750 landed? OUCH
This is what I was saying - the solar generator sellers all have some panels they've sourced for their customers. They're portable, packaged to be portable, compact and lightweight, efficient and powerful, and WAY stupid expensive. Oh well.
Rigid panels are getting more efficient - cells are more compact - so you can get a 100W today the size of a 80W from yesterday. Depending on your storage space, a couple of 120 watt'rs might be a good fit for not a lot of money. Couple of square-tube legs bolted to the frame, hinges, latches, and a carrying handle, and you've got a nice portable solar array with sufficient output.
My cargo bay for portables is max 24" wide, but a 20 or 22" width package fits a lot easier. I could get a couple of newer 100 watt folders in there now - they're the same size as my pair of 80's.
I wonder if a pair of standard flex panels could be mounted to lexan or similar sheets, hinged, and configured to be portable. Might even get them to close up with the panels facing in. Might be worth exploring for a DIY option. Perhaps even 1/4" plywood with a light frame
Looks like their current ones are 1 inch thick which would make it around 4 inches think for around 400 watts vs 2.5 inches at 350 watts.
42OhmsPA
What's in a title?
Lots of panels on 'sale' on amazon today and tomorrow
Yeah, they are going to cost, but to get a little over 1kw of solar in a 3 foot x 2 food x 7.5 inch package, I think they are the only way to go right now. With the sale, they are definitely the cheapest unless I wanted to go with the PV400 that they have through indiegogo right now for 799, but they don't appear to be shipping until December at the earliest.
Yeah, been looking at them. EcoFlow has a 400w panel, but they want 1100 for it on sale, so the pricing isn't as good as Bluetti.
Finding the bigger panels are the issue as not many make them.
Yeah. And they are $100 each now... ugh.
K8MEJ
Owner, Off-Grid Power Systems
I've researched and tested quite a few and found the Bluetti PV200 panels to work well. They have better kickstands than most of the ones I've tried. The PV350 is quite large and heavy so generally we suggest the PV200 panels instead. Merlin Solar also sells portable, folding panels. While their kickstands aren't as nice, they don't have a zippered storage compartment for the wire, and they have no handle, their main benefit is they are waterproof and can be left in the rain for days on end. They are also lighter than the Bluetti panels. The Bluetti panels can tolerate being left in the rain for a little bit, but they aren't marketed as waterproof and I could see how repeated exposure could infiltrate the laminated layers.
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