Hi all, I’m new and still waiting for my 1st power station to be delivered (BLUETTI 200v2).
I will occasionally use it for camping (in a SUV, not RV) so I’m looking at some recommendations for some light weight foldable (or blankets?) solar panels when off grid (at home I can just recharge from the grid at US$ 0.35/KWh.) Since the 200v2 can take up to 1000W 60V 20A so I like to get at least 500W if that’s portable. Any preferred/reliable brand and model that you don’t mind to share your experience? Thank you very much in advance!
Ok, after looking around, it looks like a good candidate is " Renogy 200W Portable Solar Panel" (23.4V/10A) and I will be able to do either 2x200W parallel or serie for 400W and not more?
Edited: actually, it can be: 2xparallel(2x200W in serie) for 46.8V/20A to get 800W?
Another candidate seems to be Renogy 400W portable (47.2V/10A) then I can do 2x400W in parallel to get 800W, yes?
Lightweight foldable panels with high output do not exist. All of them are bulky and heavy. Source= ME I own 2 Bluetti PV350s, a Bluetti PV200, and a 350 watt solar blanket. I almost exclusively lay them flat unless I absolutely have to. You also need to consider IP rating if it rains (i believe Ecoflow 400W is IP68 while Bluetti one is not). Another thing is wind damage. If you do decide to tilt them, you need to stake them down. I used solarpivotpower strap and a stake to stick them to ground, otherwise they can blow away. I’ve had a few land face down and was fine, but it was touch and go a few other times.
Solar blankets are terrible for power production. You can’t tilt them. They are flimsy as all hell. I would never buy one ever again, unless it was a very lightweight one I could put on my windshield to achieve a “tilt”. Avoid any solar blanket above 150W like a plague.
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Thank you so much for your inputs. Ok, I remove “flex panel” from my list 
. Appreciate the sharing of your experience.
- I understand that I need to keep the total input V (open circuit) of the panels to be less than or equal to the input V spec of the power station.
How does the short circuit current of the panels fit into the equation? I know what it is, just not sure how it plays into the matching of panels to the generator.
It doesn’t really affect the MPPT controller, as you know it rejects anything past 20A, what is more so important is that you match panels together so they run optimally together or one isn’t way stronger than the other causing the 2nd one to burn up from heat. It’s partially why the Bluetti website offers you to buy 2 X PV350s for example.
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Thank you! I’ll either get the BLUETTI 350W or Renogy 400W portable. No rush. I have the 200V2 for a day and I really like it! The build quality is excellent. I used a flashlight to look around and even looked inside the connectors and couldn’t find any fault or mistake. The box that it was shipped in was the best that I have never seen: with all edges reinforced with external hard cardboard protectors! That’s just truly attention to details! I’m impressed.