Group Buy: Jackery Explorer Portable Power Stations and SolarSaga Solar Panels

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
I found it to be comparable to some of the other units available on the market. There are, of course, cheapers ones available. The Jackery SolarSaga panels are rated at 23.7% efficiency. If that's important to you, it might be worth the extra little bit to get above the 20-22% efficiency that many of the other panels offer.

Also, the warranty is nice to have.
 

tex

That's Mr Asshole to you
Thanks. Let's see if I win something for a change
 

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
I figured it would be good to do a 1 year follow up review on the Jackery Explorer 1000 and SolarSaga 100W panels. Some good, and some not-so-good that was made right.

In short, I absolutely love the Explorer 1000. I'm on the fence about the solar panels.

TL;DR version: I liked the Explorer 1000 so much that I got some additional models. I'm very happy that I went with Jackery instead of one of the Amazon value brands that I initially considered.

Explorer 1000

I've been using it nearly daily to power my 12v fridge. Since none of us get to camp as often as we like, I figured I'd rather use the fridge than let it just sit in the garage heat all summer. Plus, with COVID STILL going on I'm working from home. The fridge and Jackery are right next to my desk and make sure that I have cold coke during the workday or a cold beer right after the workday. Just a quick tangent on the fridge....the house fridge stays pretty full with food for a family of 5 and I can't justify taking up a shelf with beer. Plus, the ICECO fridge set at 37 has the cans feeling ICE COLD instead of just cold. Beer just tastes better at this temp, so I'd probably keep the beer in there regardless of family fridge status.

If I let it run to 0 percent, I can power the fridge for about 4 days. However, running it to zero is not recommended. I normally will recharge it on the 4th morning when the battery pack is between 20 and 30 percent.

I did notice that the runtime on the Jackery decreased during the heat of summer despite being in a climate controlled environment. I expected no change since we have central HVAC. I credit this to the fact that the fridge compressor seemed to run with an increased frequency. Not a fault of the Jackery at all if you're pulling more power from it! The runtime has returned to what I thought was normal now that the ambient temps outside have dropped. So with that, I don't feel like I've noticed any reduction in capacity over the course of the year with multiple charge/discharge cycles.

I also occasionally charge my phone from the Jackery. It's right next to me and why not use power from the sun to charge it up? Even if ever-so-slightly it helps to offset the cost of the unit, why not?

Ok, so what don't I like about the Explorer 1000?

Well, for starters, the size. I've mentioned before that it doesn't fit inside the Tacoma very well. To use it while driving on a trip inside the vehicle, you have to orient it such that you cannot see the display or anything plugged in. If you're using the plug that came with the ICECO fridge, this means that you might not be powering your fridge (hint: get the ARB plug) and wouldn't know it. This makes it more difficult to see the remaining amount of charge. Not a deal breaker and an acceptable trade off for the additional storage capacity.

I still have yet to use the flashlight as a flashlight. When I'm camping, I'd prefer to have a more portable/compact flashlight. So this feature is nice to have there, but not super practical.

SolarSaga 100W Solar Panel

These are one of the more efficient solar panels on the portable market. At least they were when I initially did the research and I haven't seen anyone claim to have a higher efficiency. It's possible that they have been surpassed....I'm just not sure. I didn't care to look it up right now because that isn't really important. What is important is that these are highly efficient solar panels.

I really like the magnetic closure when it works. The solid "click" that you hear when the plastic around the magnets locks together is a good sound.

My original solar panels (2) died within a year (almost to the day) and a couple of weeks between each other. Jackery made this right by sending me replacements and a return label for the defective panels. The exchange process was very easy for me. So while I'm disappointed that they went out, the company stood behind their product and sent me new panels.

I have asked if there is something that I did to cause them to fail, and at this time have not heard back.

Here's everything bad I can say about the panels. If you've made it this far in the review, please continue to the end and don't just stop at the bad. I suspect that I have reasons for the bad.

The back of the panels is a thick cloth material. In my case, the cloth seemed to shrink over time which pulled the sides of the panel away from the actual panel. I don't know if this caused a performance issue, but the efficiency decreased over time. This is normal with solar panels, I just wasn't expecting it to be so dramatic of a drop. I think I was pulling around 85-90W per panel initially and it was down to about 65W before they died. That seems pretty substantial to me over 12 months.

The magnets stopped clicking together. I know magnets can be demagnetized. I don't know what I did to cause them to stop working together, but the magnets were ineffective after several months. When not in use, I have them folded up and leaning against each other. They still stay closed, so I'm not sure what benefit the magnets really had. However, I do like that feeling and sound they make when they click closed.

I live in Georgia (the state, not the country) and it is hot and humid here. My panels get used 2-3 times per week. I do not leave them outside overnight. I suspect that the humidity and heat caused the fabric to shrink and in turn cause the other issues. Regardless, Jackery promptly replaced my panels. I think that speaks volumes when a company stands behind their products.

For my non-traveling use, I really should pick up a panel that is designed to be outside all the time.

I liked my Jackery Explorer 1000 so much that I picked up a 300 which fits in the truck much better and is better suited for weekend trips. I also use the 300 to power my fridge while the 1000 is charging. I haven't had to use the Explorer 1000 to power the house fridge yet, but getting 3-4 days on the 12v fridge, I suspect it would last somewhere around 24-48 hours powering the house fridge. I wanted something that I could power the larger fridge for longer in the event of a natural disaster as my immediate family live in hurricane alley (Gulf Coast Florida) and the power goes out somewhat annually. So I'll be doing a review on the Explorer 1500 here soon too.
 

bakerla

Man, Myth, Legend
I've been happy with my 240 and 500. Have yet to use my solar panels though. It would be cool if it had BT and an app to check the battery usage and levels when you're driving or just to check while its stashed out of sight in use.
 

bakerla

Man, Myth, Legend
Finally got use to my solar panels this weekend. I was impressed.

full
 

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
Jackery Black Friday deals announced.

https://www.jackery.com/pages/black-friday
[IMG]


So....in reviewing the Black Friday webpage, there seem to be some discrepancies between what they have listed and what the email I received said. Mainly, there are more products listed on the website, and some of the dates don't line up. For instance, on the website, it lists the Solar Generator 1000 as running from Friday through Sunday (11/28) and the email I received said that it would run through Monday (11/29).

While that isn't a huge deal, I'd hate for someone to see my post and wait a day and (potentially) miss out on the deal.


Per my email:
Thursday, November 25 through Monday, November 29.

Jackery Explorer 240 - 20% off
Jackery Explorer 1000 - 15% off
Solar Generator 1000 - 15% off
Solar Generator 1500 - 15% off

Monday, November 29 only.
Jackery Explorer 300 - 30% off


Per the website:
Friday, November 26 through Monday, November 28.

Solar Generator 1500 - 15% off
Solar Generator 1000 - 15% off
Solar Generator 500 - ~12.5% off
Solar Generator 240 - 20% off
Explorer 1500 - 15% off
Explorer 1000 - 15% off
Explorer 500 - 15% off
Explorer 240 - 20% off
SolarSaga 60W - 20% off

Cyber Friday (Actual date listed is Monday, November 29)
Solar Generator 300 - no data
Explorer 300 - No data (see info from email)
SolarSaga 100W - No Data
Most of those deals are good from what we've seen from them in the past. The 1000 and up models are at or near the best pricing that I've seen from Jackery. The Explorer 300 is the best pricing that I've seen direct from Jackery, but it will only be available for one day. As for the other items listed with a question mark, I was not given information about those.
 

Silverback

Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
Harbor Freight is selling Jackery items now.

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Silverback

Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
No idea.. I do know that HF has stepped up their outdoor gear and the winches are getting good reviews.
 

CowboyTaco

Well-Known Member
I saw that and inquired about it. The rep basically said that they have a couple of units that are not sold on their website but are sold to other retailers. Harbor Freight and Home Depot being two of them. Not sure if they get the same units or if they are built individually for those retailers.

The Home Depot version that says it has 1000W is actually the "Jackery Explorer 900". Even though it advertises 1000W, it is less than the Explorer 1000.

I didn't ask specifically about the HF units, but reviewing their specs, the 400W unit is somewhere between an Explorer 240 and 300. The specs are closer to that of the 300, but it appears to have the body of the 240 (fewer USB ports and AC outlets).
 
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