Jackery Solar Generator 1500: The Best Solution for Powering Camp?

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Viking1204

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Thankfully the (OP) advertiser titled the thread with “The best solution for powering camp”? with a question mark. Because, quite frankly it is far from the best solution. Did I see a price tag for this unit & panels upwards of $2500 ? I’ll admit, I’m a DIYer and field electronics and solar fascinates me. Here’s what I have: 165AH AGM batteries under the hood, a 100 watt solar panel mounted to the rack, a 120 watt solar panel that I can move around and chase the sun. We power an ARB 64qt Fridge, an Engle 15qt freezer, and two AC water pumps, one for the shower and another for the kitchen, couple of phones and a charger pack for DSLR batteries. If we have sunshine, this set up will run indefinitely. If no sunshine we just go exploring in the vehicle to get everything back up. The lowest my batteries have ever seen was 12 volts. So why would anyone need 400 watts worth of solar? Let’s break this down a little more. I think I paid 300 for the two solar panels, maybe 100 for wiring, manual switch, fuse panel, and solar charger. The batteries? An odyssey and a blue top marine. Ya need one good battery anyway, the Odyysey was on sale for 250. Miscellaneous costs? I’ll say $50 for joiners, terminal ends, etc. All told, $700 and I’m being generous, cause I’m cheap & I never pay full price for anything. How much does that jackery cost again? Maybe I should go into business wiring up fellow overlanders set ups and rip em off for a couple of thousand each, eh? LOL
Well said! I too went the DIY route. I have a 138AH Lithium battery in the bed of my truck I charge with a solar panel and dc-dc charger. I used a plastic toolbox to make my battery box. It includes a fuse panel and a 12V panel with cigarette lighter, USB, and Anderson connector for DC outputs. I have an AC inverter but haven't brought it online yet. I'd really like to get another battery to run the inverter that isn't tied to the one that runs my fridge. I have about $1k in my setup. Like stated in the Video you can't charge a Jackery with a normal solar panel unless you find or make a special adapter cable. I will eventually get a foldable solar panel I can chase the sun with, currently researching the best options for that at an affordable price but any that fold seem to have the Overland tax on them. I paid $85 for the 100W solar panel on my roof.
 
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grubworm

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i wouldnt throw the baby out with the bath water...the idea of the jackery is really good and there are quite a few other brands like it that are cheaper, but still around $1000-1200. a lithium battery of that size alone will be around $600-700 and a decent inverter might be another $100, so it's already getting up there in price. i have a small jackery that i really like and it did come in very handy when hurricane Ida hit us and we were without power for 3 weeks. the small jackery was easily charged with my 200w panels i have permanently mounted to the camp trailer.
gas generators are great, and the only option i had for running an a/c at night was a gas generator. however, for rest of my electrical needs, a large jackery like the one the OP reviewed would be very handy. when the storm hit, it wiped out power all over the area, so gas stations were closed and fuel was impossible to get without driving a couple hours and waiting in line for even longer. new orleans is an hour away and some of the stations were open and the fools were shooting each other for line cutting. i'd pay extra just to not have to deal with that kind of mess. we needed power to charge phones, batteries for flashlights, radio, etc and its not practical to run a generator for such a small load, anyway, so solar was a great option to have.

i paid $1200 for a 9kw genny and $500 for a 2kw inverter generator, so i'm already spending money and have to buy gas and oil and then store the huge things in my shop and then hope they work when an emergency happens. with the jackery type setup, it is lighter and smaller to store and nothing else to buy for it to work....just sun and we have plenty of that here.

although we were still at home, we were esentially "off grid" after the storm hit and its amazing just how much stuff we rely on that is reliant on electrical power. based on what i paid for generators and fuel and the hassle of getting fuel and storing it, etc....this jackery set up is pretty good. i think the $1500 is a bit much and $1000 is closer to home. there are several brands on amazon that are around the $1000 mark and if i had to get all the components and assemble them myself and then make a wooden box for a case, i would be around the $1000 mark and it wouldnt look as nice, so personally, i would buy a like item for a $1000.

i have solar panels permanently mounted to my camp trailer and on top of my tundra's camper shell, so for travel and camping, i can plug in during the day while driving and be fully charged at night when i need power. i made my own set up using an AGM battery and it works great is a lot cheaper, but i definitely want to upgrade to a lithium battery and that is where the bulk of the cost lies. for off grid camping....i would definitely go with a set up like the OP reviewed. the price of the jackery is high, but if i was given one or even got one at half price, i would definitely use the hell out of it
 

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"The Best Solution to Powering Camp" I've been looking for a small nuclear reactor to power my camp and house and a few other things. If anyone hears of a good deal on one please post the link. Been looking on craigslist and around but nobody much messes with them. I think this is a great opportunity for someone to produce a product that everyone could use...probably need to get rid of all the pesky regulations and let market demand drive the bus. :astonished:

But cerealously, I would like to find some good, thin, flexible, lightweight solar panels to tape/ glue/ fasten to the top of the hardshell RTT to help keep the batteries charged. Te pones I have are too heavy and hard to handle even though they are designed to be "portable". Any wreckormendations? I use a small generator as backup and do occasionally use it but the 12V system keeps up the 1000Ah pretty good when traveling with a 52 qt fridge/freezer. When it's dark I go to bed and have some LED lights that work off small solar battery pack for many days. I have adjustable LED flood lights powered off the engine battery. Nice to have if setting up in the dark. Found some battery powered fans that work good when it's warm. 5 lb propane tank last me a month of daily boiling water for coffee and a little cooking. Occasionally cook on a fire. Water is usually the limiting factor and I carry some filters, again, for backup. 30 L water lasts about 4-5 days at least. By then I'm usually relocating and finding water is fairly easy. EASY is what I like!
 
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The Jackery is currently $1,600 and it's about 127ah. You can buy a good lithium battery off Ebay for about $400 now and pick up a pretty good inverter for less than $100 if you watch for sales. Add in a toolbox, MPPT Charge Controller, wiring and connectors and I'm pretty sure I could build a solid 100ah solar generator for under $700. As has been stated the Jackery has the Overland tax added to it, there is no reason it should be over $1,000 when you need special adapters to use a solar panel other than Jackery's to charge it.

Check out Ecoflow if you want something lower priced and you can use any solar panel to charge.

 

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Pecron has some good looking units also;

 
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I have owned and used this solar generator for 4+ years now to power our 12v SnoMaster fridge/freezer and camp lighting. It is hooked to a 100w solar panel mounted on our rooftop tent. The only major weakness the Jackerys have in my opinion is the low solar input they can handle. But it has worked flawlessly and I highly recommend Jackery products.
 
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grubworm

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Nice commercial. What did Jackery pay you for that?
How about you send Jackery a message back that’s is 2023 and their “Solar Generators” have not evolved nor has Jackery shown any innovation in the last decade.
true. i also own a jackery and i noticed that harbor freight has been selling their line for a while now. harbor freight IS "cheap tools" and for jackery to be in there is like when a movie goes straight to DVD and isnt even in theaters.

 
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true. i also own a jackery and i noticed that harbor freight has been selling their line for a while now. harbor freight IS "cheap tools" and for jackery to be in there is like when a movie goes straight to DVD and isnt even in theaters.

Wow! Clicked on the link only to discover that Jackery is in stock at the HF just a few miles from my house. Had no idea!
 

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true. i also own a jackery and i noticed that harbor freight has been selling their line for a while now. harbor freight IS "cheap tools" and for jackery to be in there is like when a movie goes straight to DVD and isnt even in theaters.

Wow! Clicked on the link only to discover that Jackery is in stock at the HF just a few miles from my house. Had no idea!
The Harbor Freight and Home Depot versions are gimped by Jackery. They have PMC controllers vs MPPT controllers and lack other features of the 300, 500, 1000 etc…
 

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The Harbor Freight and Home Depot versions are gimped by Jackery. They have PMC controllers vs MPPT controllers and lack other features of the 300, 500, 1000 etc…
I’m always amused wth the term “features” and the importance of them or visa versa. Most features exist for the bling factor and have little to do with operational systems. For example, an MPPT controller is basically overkill for any system having less than a 300 watt solar array. Other features are usually for the convenience of the end user and, as stated above, have little to do with operational capabilities and even less to do with dependability. On another note; Harbor Freight is turning a corner with their quality? Yesterday we were in Cabelas and they too have turned a corner with their camping gear. I was pleasantly surprised with their new selections of high end gear. That being said, I really don’t want a head lamp that has a ton of features for $119.00 I just want a headlamp that works when I push a waterproof button. Out!
 
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The Harbor Freight and Home Depot versions are gimped by Jackery. They have PMC controllers vs MPPT controllers and lack other features of the 300, 500, 1000 etc…
I’m always amused wth the term “features” and the importance of them or visa versa. Most features exist for the bling factor and have little to do with operational systems. For example, an MPPT controller is basically overkill for any system having less than a 300 watt solar array. Other features are usually for the convenience of the end user and, as stated above, have little to do with operational capabilities and even less to do with dependability. On another note; Harbor Freight is turning a corner with their quality? Yesterday we were in Cabelas and they too have turned a corner with their camping gear. I was pleasantly surprised with their new selections of high end gear. That being said, I really don’t want a head lamp that has a ton of features for $119.00 I just want a headlamp that works when I push a waterproof button. Out!
Well, I for one want pass through charging, USBC ports, power delivery port, and faster charging so yea those are “features” that are missing.
 

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Well, I for one want pass through charging, USBC ports, power delivery port, and faster charging so yea those are “features” that are missing.
Well, being able to power a fridge while the unit is charging would be pretty important, my Renogy Wanderer PMW does that. Even the cheapo $12 controllers do. I thought all controllers do that. So the HF Jackery does not? We must have a different definition of features.
 

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Well, I for one want pass through charging, USBC ports, power delivery port, and faster charging so yea those are “features” that are missing.
Well, being able to power a fridge while the unit is charging would be pretty important, my Renogy Wanderer PMW does that. Even the cheapo $12 controllers do. I thought all controllers do that. So the HF Jackery does not? We must have a different definition of features.
I’ve had a 240 gen2, 500 gen1 and got rid of both and now have a 300 gen2. The benefits of faster charging, increased solar input capability, dual input charging, power delivery port and MTTP controller make the difference in price between the 240 and 300 kind of a no brained. That said I won’t buy another Jackery unless it’s LiFePo4 and more than likely I’ll switch to EcoFlow.
 

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I’m always amused wth the term “features” and the importance of them or visa versa. Most features exist for the bling factor and have little to do with operational systems. For example, an MPPT controller is basically overkill for any system having less than a 300 watt solar array. Other features are usually for the convenience of the end user and, as stated above, have little to do with operational capabilities and even less to do with dependability. On another note; Harbor Freight is turning a corner with their quality? Yesterday we were in Cabelas and they too have turned a corner with their camping gear. I was pleasantly surprised with their new selections of high end gear. That being said, I really don’t want a head lamp that has a ton of features for $119.00 I just want a headlamp that works when I push a waterproof button. Out!
HF has changed the way they do business a bit. I've seen quite a few new stores go up in the region here, hell, even my town has one. They still have the bottom of the barrel use it one and hope it doesn't break brands and tools, but they have incorporated a sort of tiered system in what they sell as well. You have the old standby bargain-basement brands like Chicago Electric, Pittsburgh Tool ect, but they have incorporated what essentially breaks down into a mid-tier and "pro" level of tools as well. The thing is they provide options for basically every budget at this point, with hand tools, battery tools, automotive equipment, testing equipment, specialty tools ect.