My solar set-up so far.

Bravo30 · Sep 2, 2017

for now i have a Mophie 12,000 MAH Powerstation xl and Xstar Vc2 Plus charger. i plan on purchasing the Anker Powerport-Solar 2 for use while backpacking and as an emergency around the house if the need arises. I primarily use 18650 and 14500 batteries. Does this combination of chargers and batteries compliment each other? any issues i need to be aware of when charging lithium ion/battery bank off of solar?

Id like to thank you guys for helping with the charger. ordered the Xstar last night!! will eventually get the vc4 for around the house.

Solar Charger:

https://www.anker.com/products/variant/PowerPort-Solar-2-Ports/A2421011

Power Bank:

http://www.mophie.com/shop/powerstation-xl-old?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=2492

USB Charger:

https://www.lumensdirect.com/products/vc2-plus-master-charger

Woods Walker · Sep 3, 2017

One potential issue. Test that Xstar for solar compatibility aka charge errors during interruptions in power. Often when comes to solar the simplest gear aka less features is the best. See how it handles interruptions in power during intermediate sun and physically blocking the panels etc etc. I have a Morphi 10400 mAh powerbank though a simpler model and it seems good so far. I have a solar charger which uses those same panels. They work great in good light but slightly more problematic in low light. Overall very good panels and they're now kinda standard with many models.

Woods Walker · Sep 4, 2017

Out of curiosity I just purchased that charger and will see if it is solar compatible.

noboneshotdog · Sep 4, 2017

Xtar states "solar compatible" in its description. Please let us know your results guys.

Woods Walker · Sep 4, 2017

noboneshotdog said:
Xtar states "solar compatible" in its description. Please let us know your results guys.

Where did you find that info? Edit. Ok I found it however that's really just a standard type 5v compatibility statement. We will see though testing how it handles interruptions in power for true compatibility.

Timothybil · Sep 4, 2017

I have that panel, and for as much as I have used it, I like it. I can't speak to the direct charging, because I use it to charge one of my power banks, which I then use for whatever, like lighting or charging my Li-Ion and NiMH cells.

On a side note, I purchased a couple of those six inch LED lights on a flexible stem. They do a good job of lighting up the immediate area enough to be able to see and walk around, and make a good reading light as well. Just make sure you get the ones that have a reasonable color temp, like around 5,000 to 6,000K, and not the really cheap ones that are screaming bright blue-white.

Woods Walker · Sep 4, 2017

I tested the Xtar VC4 out of curiosity. Ok it was my first solar try but dang. It worked better than expected for such a relatively feature heavy charger. It was hard to create a charging error and it would self recover. I was kinda taken by it's late....late afternoon solar performance. Worked with lithium ion 18650 and AAA NiMH. Mostly ran a .25 or .5 Amp when the sun was getting weak. Still this brings hope for the VC2 Master I ordered.

noboneshotdog · Sep 4, 2017

Woods Walker said:
I tested the Xtar VC4 out of curiosity. Ok it was my first solar try but dang. It worked better than expected for such a relatively feature heavy charger. It was hard to create a charging error and it would self recover. I was kinda taken by it's late....late afternoon solar performance. Worked with lithium ion 18650 and AAA NiMH. Mostly ran a .25 or .5 Amp when the sun was getting weak. Still this brings hope for the VC2 Master I ordered.

Great news. Are you using the same panel as in OP first post. Or something similar?

Woods Walker · Sep 5, 2017

noboneshotdog said:
Great news. Are you using the same panel as in OP first post. Or something similar?

No. An older 16 watt Allpowers. I am testing a bunch of USB chargers for a video and thread to determine solar compatibility. I like this one as it's kinda middle of the road output (not 20 plus watt or 10 watt) and the 4 panels allow me to cover them one at a time to see how the USB charger handles power fluctuations.

Low light...

Worked.

I am going to test it in full sun ASAP. Just because this worked doesn't mean the VC2 Master will. I do think the little MC1 Plus is probably more ideal. It ran in a bit lower light and self restarted more easily though still I was caught off guard that the VC4 did ok but it's my first try with it so time will tell.

Xtar MCI Plus approaching the edge of it's low light operating ability.

Woods Walker · Sep 5, 2017

I was able to create an interesting but not fatal solar charging error with the VC4 today which is only obvious in stronger light. Will update later.

Keitho · Sep 5, 2017

Really cool testing you're doing WW, I'm looking forward to your results and video. That little usb volt/power meter looks cool!

Timothybil · Sep 6, 2017

I hate to tell you this, but your panel is only providing 10w output. The solar cells might be putting out more, but by the time it goes through the electronics to the USB outlet(s), it is 10w (2A) max.

Woods Walker · Sep 6, 2017

Timothybil said:
I hate to tell you this, but your panel is only providing 10w output. The solar cells might be putting out more, but by the time it goes through the electronics to the USB outlet(s), it is 10w (2A) max.

I know. edit. It's even less in the real world very often. :laughing:

Woods Walker · Sep 6, 2017

Ok so here is the charge error.

Sometimes yea get perfect performance.

But it wants to keep 5 volts and reduces amps if needed. Amps times volts = watts I believe so reduction of amps isn't good.

So if clouds pass by the amps drop more.

The problem is it can't reset as more power comes online aka a passing cloud. So it can stay at .25 amps etc etc at around 5 volts even in full sun. This is a problem as the loss of .75 amps is serious. 1 A times 5 volts is 5 watts. .25 A times 5 volts is 1.25 watts. It needs to be unplugged and reset for get 1 amp again via solar. That said it didn't totally crash in low light and interrupted power. I was surprised at this however other testing in all multiple conditions shows the simpler star MC1 plus is so much better however will go into that in the up coming solar USB battery charging thread. I will test the VC2 Master and MC1 ant plus once they come in as well.

Woods Walker · Sep 6, 2017

Keitho said:
Really cool testing you're doing WW, I'm looking forward to your results and video. That little usb volt/power meter looks cool!

Thanks!

filibuster · Sep 6, 2017

Woods Walker said:
I know.

I've been testing a work around to this "10 watt USB limitation" we get with these USB solar panels using a single USB port. I purchased a power bank with two USB inputs that will plug into both ports of a 20-25 watt USB solar panel. This power bank also has pass through charging so I can plug my XTAR VC4 charger into it and get full continuous charge speed without having to worry about the sun going behind a cloud as the power bank acts as a UPS to keep charging the VC4 while the sun is dimmer at times. The VC4 in good sun doesn't max out the power production of the solar panel so I can charge both the power bank and the AA or 18650 cells I charge in the VC4 and have them all fully charged together by the end of the day. At night I can then use the power bank to charge or run other things.

One note about dual inputs, I tried this with a different power bank first but the Anker dual input power bank doesn't have pass through charging so I'd only get a trickle of USB power into the VC4 until the power bank was fully charged at which point I'd get full solar panel power passed through to the VC4.

For my next test I'm tempted to try a newer USB technology QuickCharge, as I found a USB solar panel that has it built into it and this RavPower power bank accepts it so it in theory should charge up more quickly from the QC 3.0 enabled solar panel than through regular (old) standard USB. The RavPower also supports pass through charging.

Woods Walker · Sep 6, 2017

filibuster said:
I've been testing a work around to this "10 watt USB limitation" we get with these USB solar panels using a single USB port. I purchased a power bank with two USB inputs that will plug into both ports of a 20-25 watt USB solar panel. This power bank also has pass through charging so I can plug my XTAR VC4 charger into it and get full continuous charge speed without having to worry about the sun going behind a cloud as the power bank acts as a UPS to keep charging the VC4 while the sun is dimmer at times. The VC4 in good sun doesn't max out the power production of the solar panel so I can charge both the power bank and the AA or 18650 cells I charge in the VC4 and have them all fully charged together by the end of the day. At night I can then use the power bank to charge or run other things.

One note about dual inputs, I tried this with a different power bank first but the Anker dual input power bank doesn't have pass through charging so I'd only get a trickle of USB power into the VC4 until the power bank was fully charged at which point I'd get full solar panel power passed through to the VC4.

For my next test I'm tempted to try a newer USB technology QuickCharge, as I found a USB solar panel that has it built into it and this RavPower power bank accepts it so it in theory should charge up more quickly from the QC 3.0 enabled solar panel than through regular (old) standard USB. The RavPower also supports pass through charging.

I still got charge errors with updated (old IOS not a problem) devices when using pass through charging. That made me think there was an interruption in power of some sort though never tested a secondary charger with a meter.

noboneshotdog · Sep 6, 2017

Thanks for this valuable information gentlemen. I'm looking into this type of set up and hope this discussion will help clarify what I should purchase.

ChrisGarrett · Sep 6, 2017

noboneshotdog said:
Thanks for this valuable information gentlemen. I'm looking into this type of set up and hope this discussion will help clarify what I should purchase.

Keep it simple and don't worry about not getting 100% efficiency. I'm in Miami with Irma barreling down and I'm not going to worry about my X, Y or Z chargers not giving me 100% power.

Even at 70%, it's going to be better than what the rest of the masses will have.

Obviously solar panels aren't going to work too well in the dark, or shaded environments.

Having a dinky 5v USB panel (14w-21w), or a 12vdc system (20w+) will put you ahead of the pack.

Chris

Timothybil · Sep 6, 2017

I agree. I have all the parts for my "I wanna be like Chris!" solar setup - the last of the cables finally came - but now I can't find where I put the charge controller. Arrgh! The perils of growing old. At least I am still looking down at the grass and not up at it , as my cousin is wont to say.

My solar set-up so far.

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The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim

Enlightened

Flashlight Enthusiast

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim

Enlightened

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim

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