Portable Solar Panels - Any Good?

HKF

HKF

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Hi everyone :)
I'm looking at this kind of thing and wondering if they're actually any good for charging phones/tablets/laptops/cameras/MP3 players. Does anyone have any experience of them? Can anyone recommend a particular one, please?
Thanks so much :)

Amazon product ASIN B07GB4H8FB
 
Is it worth bothering with one as surely the power required to charge a phone must be negligible when compared with the capacity of a leisure battery?
 
Spriddler said:
Is it worth bothering with one as surely the power required to charge a phone must be negligible when compared with the capacity of a leisure battery?
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mitzimad said:
has you van got solar panels?
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Yes, I do have a solar panel on the van but I'm looking at this for when we're away from the van :)
 
Spriddler said:
Is it worth bothering with one as surely the power required to charge a phone must be negligible when compared with the capacity of a leisure battery?
Click to expand...
Read the description .......
It's 25000mah, that's 25ah.
In yer dreams. :LOL:

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Lenny HB said:
The spec is a load of BS it says 25000ma at only 5v that would be 125 watts.
The panel is about 4 times the size of a phone so 5 Watts if you are lucky.
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So, having no knowledge of electrics at all, is 5 watts enough to charge phones/tablets/laptops/cameras/MP3 players, please?
 
Tried one while backpacking and cycle touring....cannot say I got good results....when arriving at overnight stops with electric supply I charged a powerpack which gave the phones some charge for the next day....
 
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Simon Meadwell said:
We have one its ok. Does charge my phone in good sunlight. Wouldn’t buy another one
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Agree with that! Absolutely useless unless it’s a bright sunny day………:rolleyes:

edit: a small power bank battery would be better, and can be used at night too! ;)
 
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pappajohn said:
Read the description .......
It's 25000mah, that's 25ah.
In yer dreams. :LOL:
Click to expand...
The (claimed) output wasn't my point.
I was suggesting that the power drawn from the OP's leisure battery and roof solar set-up to charge a phone wouldn't be sufficiently draining to justify having the stand-alone solar unit.
The OP has now clarified that it's for use when away from the m/h or any other charging source.

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According to the spec, it is the battery bank capacity that is rated at 25,000mah at 5v.

The fold out solar panels are stated as having a 5w output, which seems more realistic.

I guess like any solar panel they only work effectively in strong sun. My 100w panel can struggle to produce 10w on an overcast grey UK winter day. This device may therefore only produce less than half a watt in similar conditions.

It depends on intended use I guess. Used when tent camping at a 3 or 4 day summer music festival, and fully mains charged beforehand, any solar input might mean an extra phone charge or two during the festival which may make all the difference.
 
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We purchased ours when we purchased our first van . No solar panels and no idea what we needed. Did a job when we were on aires with no hook up but a power pack probably better option
 
I had one left with first MoHo, small portable panel, used as a back up for phone, but needs to be a bright sunny day..... But wouldn't buy one as use vans solar etc
 
HKF said:
Hi everyone :)
I'm looking at this kind of thing and wondering if they're actually any good for charging phones/tablets/laptops/cameras/MP3 players. Does anyone have any experience of them? Can anyone recommend a particular one, please?
Thanks so much :)

Amazon product ASIN B07GB4H8FB
Click to expand...
I hung one on the back of my Backpack when hiking and trickle charged a Power Bank with it. I then charged the phone when I got back to my tent in the evening. Overall, it wasn’t brilliant but was better than no power at all. 👍
 
HKF said:
Hi everyone :)
I'm looking at this kind of thing and wondering if they're actually any good for charging phones/tablets/laptops/cameras/MP3 players. Does anyone have any experience of them? Can anyone recommend a particular one, please?
Thanks so much :)

Amazon product ASIN B07GB4H8FB
Click to expand...
i had my sola panal supled and fitted by falcon near warington. very pleased.you can only try. ok.pj.

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The link in the OP is a power bank with some fold-out solar panels. The power bank is 25000mAh, ie 25Ah, but no voltage is stated anywhere, so the energy capacity can't be calculated. However it looks like other '25000mAh' power banks, which have the voltage of the internal battery as 3.8V, which would make it 25 x 3.8 = 95 watt-hours (Wh). That is conveniently just under the 100Wh limit for lithium batteries in passenger aircraft.

In terms of 12V battery power, that's 95 /12 = about 8Ah. It's a useful amount of power for charging small devices like phones and laptops, and could be charged up by solar in bright sunlight.

It looks to me like the only output sockets are two USB type A sockets, and it doesn't have any USB-C sockets. Also they don't appear to be faster-charging QC3 or QC4 sockets, just the standard 2.1A types which are a bit slow for modern phones. Hard to say, because there's no picture of the sockets.
 
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P Jones said:
i had my sola panal supled and fitted by falcon near warington. very pleased.you can only try. ok.pj.
Click to expand...

I've got a solar panel fitted already but was looking at this for when I'm away from my MoHo.
 
autorouter said:
The link in the OP is a power bank with some fold-out solar panels. The power bank is 25000mAh, ie 25Ah, but no voltage is stated anywhere, so the energy capacity can't be calculated. However it looks like other '25000mAh' power banks, which have the voltage of the internal battery as 3.8V, which would make it 25 x 3.8 = 95 watt-hours (Wh). That is conveniently just under the 100Wh limit for lithium batteries in passenger aircraft.

In terms of 12V battery power, that's 95 /12 = about 8Ah. It's a useful amount of power for charging small devices like phones and laptops, and could be charged up by solar in bright sunlight.

It looks to me like the only output sockets are two USB type A sockets, and it doesn't have any USB-C sockets. Also they don't appear to be faster-charging QC3 or QC4 sockets, just the standard 2.1A types which are a bit slow for modern phones. Hard to say, because there's no picture of the sockets.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your explanation. I know nothing of electrics but you've helped me to understand a little :) Very much appreciated (y)
 

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