Use of Different Solar Panels on Larger Jackery Power Stations

[Solar User]

Hello all. I have experience with using Bluetti power stations (and how now I have successfully built my own rudimentary station) so I am relatively familiar with the basics of solar power but I have a relative who owns multiple Jackery power stations. They really like them but have expressed interest in getting panels other than the Jackery brand SolarSaga series (specifically they are interested in the Renogy 200 watt solar blanket to charge their Jackery 3000 series station. I have looked at the specifications for the Renogy panel and they seem to fit into the acceptable range for the Jackery but there is some question about the two ports on the Jackery. Would the Renogy panel be able to be plugged in to one port and two 100 watt SolarSaga panels plugged into the other? The Jackery user guide specifies that the input should be balanced between the two ports when using Jackery panels but I was not sure how/if this translated to other brands of panels. Are they trying to keep the operating voltage similar between the two ports? I have adapters that will convert MC4 type plugs to the Jackery barrel plugs but I did not want to damage their station if there are issues caused by using different panels in the two different ports. Thanks in advance if anybody has any insight into this.

 

[Gaijin2]

You can put whatever you want on one port, but if you're using both ports you really want them to be the same. My experience is with the 5000+, I haven't used the 3000, but it sounds very similar. On the 5000+ the two DC8020 ports are connected to the same MPPT. Because of that, you really don't want unbalanced input happening. If they were different MPPTs then you can mix and match however you want, but because they're the same MPPT, you need to keep the input balanced and equal between the two ports (or just don't use one).

In the user guide for the 5000+ and SolarSaga 500X panels, it lays out the acceptable configurations. You can connect:
1 500x to either port
2 500x's, one to each port
3 500X's, but they have to all be run through their 3-port adapter and run to one port. You CANNOT plug in 1 panel to one port and 2 panels into the other port, that's a "prohibited combination"!
4 500X's, but only as two to each port (using their 3-port adapter). You cannot plug in 3 with the adapter into one port, and just one in the other port.
5 is a prohibited combination. You cannot do 4 & 1, or 3 & 2.
6 is allowed, but only as 3 & 3. You can't do 5 & 1 or 4 & 2.

So if the Renogy you want to use meets the port specifications and you keep it well below 60V, you should be able to use either 1, 2, or 4 of those blankets to recharge the 3000, but definitely confirm with Jackery support first! Put the same number of solar blankets on each port. 1 alone, or 2 in series to one port, or 2 as one in each port, or 4 as 2 in series to each port, seems like they should all work.

But I'm pretty sure they'll tell you don't use a SolarSagaX in one port and your Renogy in the other.

All that said, the 3000 Pro's ports are a little different from my 5000+ ports, the 5000+ is limited to 600 watts per port whereas the 3000 can handle up to 700 watts, so maybe there are other differences I'm not aware of. That's why I say you have to run the question by Jackery Support, they're the only ones with the definitive answer.