You can get the solar charging issue fixed by following these steps: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OBlP926tU-w.html Check out my website for tons of DISCOUNT CODES, power station reviews, my 12v fridge guide, and solar panels featured on the channel! jasonoid.com/
I’ve been watching your videos for years.Ive made purchasing decisions based on your tests and word. You explain pros and cons very well.How do you only have 50k subs ? Makes no sense!
I've just bought the 2023 version of this in the UK and I'm extremely pleased with it. This new one does have a percentage display. Performance wise I got the same results as you. This is my first device with lithium ion phosphate and I honestly don't think I will ever go back to standard lithium. This unit also has a true MPPT charge controller (I tested it by charging from a bench power supply, adjusting the voltage to simulate cloud and sun from a solar panel) and the unit compensated. Very good value for money
Jason, I only discovered your channel a few months ago, but have been impressed with the tone and thoroughness of your reviews. That's why I was so surprised by you recommending this unit. It's the solar charging capability that truly puzzles me. I've watched a ton of solar power station reviews (and have some experience myself) and have never seen a unit fail to charge when over-paneled like this. Hearing you say the words "50 Watt solar limit" left me disappointed. The unit (just as with any other solar power station) has a charging voltage limit (drawing as much current as the panels can provide up to the current limit of the unit) but the Amazon page for this unit doesn't specify the voltage range for solar charging, nor do you in your video. Even then, once the unit has found it's maximum charging rate (the maximum Watts) cutting out altogether and ramping up again, continuously, is simply a sign of a fault (either in design or the unit you reviewed). I should also point out that the Amazon page itself states a solar charging limit of 100 Watts. This unit has a lot going for it, I would agree, but, given its limited capacity, I would expect many of its owners to want/need to charge this via solar. I really wouldn't expect anybody doing that to either (a) not have a solar panel of at least 80 Watts capability, which will fail to charge this unit properly, or (b) buy a 50 Watt solar panel just for this reason (and give up the flexibility to use it in other, more demanding cases, as well). I watched the video all the way through, with especial interest in seeing your take on the solar charging aspect, and was left agog at you both not calling it out and ultimately recommending this unit. Didn't you find that aspect of this unit mystifying also?
I appreciate the feedback James. I probably should have been more clear on that solar issue. If that was the only way to charge the unit and it failed I think I would have recommended a hard pass on it.... But the other charging methods and Lifepo4 chemistry are still strong points for the battery. I'd still pick this up over any other small power station because of the dual charging. Other people have commented in the video already that own this power station and it appears to be a design flaw of the unit. The manual states it can handle 24v max but doesn't specify much more. Most people will charge this power station off another power station using UBSc because 56 watts is pretty decent. Thanks for calling me out on it, I'll be more clear on these issues on the future.
Hey James, did you ever see this video? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OBlP926tU-w.html Ctechi has a repair kit available to anyone that wants one for free.
Actually, I doubt most people would care that much about the solar charging limitations. This battery fits the perfect use-case scenario of leaving the house for the day, overnight, or even a weekend, to charge phones, laptops and other minor power needs. It's almost perfect for this, and getting a larger battery is heavier and far less portable. Charging it up with a 40w solar panel during the day is likely unnecessary. If you're a home-amenity addicted glamper that needs fridges and hairdryers to camp, or say, live and travel in your van then maybe a bigger unit is more suitable. Even then, it's more useful having a small one for portable applications and something more beefy that doesn't get moved a lot. I think by far, this is pretty much the ideal day/weekend trip/festival phone, drone, and laptop charger. Nobody will even need or use solar charging for that.
A review of the Ctechi 320wh would be awesome as you didn't do an inverter load test on the 240wh? and see if 50 watt solar charging limit has been fixed? and how much more capacity the 320wh version actually has...
Really neat review, you not only talked about the aspects mentioned on the product page, but also gave some additional information and did some testing, I'm sold! Was looking for a supply for my telescope mount and this is the one I'll be buying! Thanks!
Excellent vid..I've had one for about 6 months but not really used it in the field. I did find out that Ctechi has a firmware upgrade for the solar charging issue. I contacted them and they replied very quickly and are sending out an upgrade kit. So their customer service is amazing. gonna subscribe big time, thanks
Since actual DC watt hours are 209.6, inverter efficiency is more like 190/210 = 90.5%. Good review, it's great to have a capacity test. Good product too, given that it's so inexpensive.
You make a good point. This power station has direct LiFePO4 voltage there probably isn't much efficiency loss through the DC output. However, the argument could be made that a regulated power station would have efficiency loss on while using the DC output so it wouldn't be the actual capacity. I'll consider that point in my future reviews! Thanks!
@@Jasonoid this might sound strange but I like the fact that the 12 volts is unregulated because if I connect my home made "online voltmeter" (made from an ESP 8266 with tasmota on it) I can get a rough idea of charge level when I'm nowhere near the unit.
in some short videos it is said to be too noisy for the fan noise. it is possible that there may be some increase in the fan noise under load, it is acceptable, but the sound I heard in the video I watched was disturbing. do you hear much fan noise in the device under load? because I want to run the cpap device when I go to bed at night. it should not disturb our sleep. thank you.
It doesn't have a limit on input voltage. It just continues to take power from lifepo4 36ah battery down to 3.5v damaging it slowly. Everything checks out fine apart from that issue.
Jason, I finally bought one of these and started using it for my reclining sofa. It doesn't last as long as I had hoped. I'm trying to fine tune some things and eliminate variables. My biggest concern is how many Hertz I'm actually using. The manaul says the default AC frequency is 50Hz but through a keypad function you can change to 60Hz. I am not sure how to switch to 60Hz. Will you please do a video showing us how to change between frequencies? Using 50Hz with 60Hz appliances will damage them. Thanks
I don't have this power station anymore so I can't test that out. CTECHi does have a support email that you can reach out to. They have always been quick to respond for me.
Just ordered the Ctechi GT300. Hope it is also good. I already have one regret about ordering this. I want to use it in combination with a folding solar panel. By watching some reviews of solar panels I noticed they all had power stations with displays that show the input voltage, which helps you angle the panel. With that missing, I think it will be difficult to maximize solar efficiency. So unfortunately I will probably end up sending this back as soon as I receive it. I'm pretty sure it is pretty good for people who will not use it with a solar setup.
Thank you for an informative video. Would this be suitable as an inline backup for my CPAP in case of power outages, so it would just take over if power is cut? I hate the idea of of waking up gasping for air. Thank you
If anyone else wonders, I bought this, and a fan comes on at regular intervals, so not a great option as an inline CPAP backup. We will use it in other ways.
Jason, so one can charge any station from another via 12 V cigarette, in case a station has such technical possibility? Like you charged ctechi from bluetti
Yes, 12v charging should be available on all of these since they come with 12v charging cables. You can charge them from another power station, a portable battery, or even your vehicle.
hi jason, great video! thank you for the precious review. i've just unboxed my ctechi 240w and i didn't know it came fully charge so i immediately plugged it to a wall socket through the dc input and the last bar from the battery grid on the display began blinking. however, after 1 hour it was still blinking so at this point i'm just wondering if it's normal or not... now that i know it comes fully charged (or at least almost), i'm guessing there should be a margin of something like 10-15% of uncharged battery but 1 hour to charge that much seems a lot. what's your take?
@@Jasonoid wait but doesn't it flash while charging and then stops once fully charged? on the user's manual it says: "When charging the product, the battery indicator will flash once every 1 second, which Indicates that the current charging state is normal. When the product is fully charged, all power grids will light up and show a constant light display state."
@@aportadaesquerda I have since given this power station away to a viewer in a giveaway video so I can't confirm what happens exactly. I was going off my memory so it may be a little rusty. I'm sorry!
I have a 40W folding solar panel that is rated at 20v. I'm not sure what the max open-circuit is, but I think would be near the limit of 24V for this Ctechi. What would you recommend to make sure my solar panel doesn't max out this power station? Should I add in a cheap solar controller?
If you used a cheap solar charge controller that would drop the voltage down to around 12-13 volts which would really lower the charging speed. I'm not sure if you'd have an issue with the small 40w panel you already have, I don't think the 24v is a hard limit since I have used many different panels on mine and didn't see an issue.
Hey Jason. Great channel and amazing knowledge being shared. question for you. I have the setpower rv45 12v fridge and it's awesome. Only problem is during road trips when we stop for a few hours the fridge stops getting power and just uses it's amazing insulation to keep cold. I know this ctechi is small, but would you recommend it to be setup as a pass through battery option to power our setpower rv45 for 4-6 hours tops when the car is turned off? it's on sale for 135 right now and just seems like a steal for that price. Thanks for the reply!
Let's say the fridge ran continuously, it pulls 35 watts on ECO mode. If you plan for around 200wh of capacity on this power station it could potentially run the fridge for 5.7 hours. You might want to go with something a little larger but it might work for that long.
Hey Jason, I’m trying to figure out for how long this power station would be able to support a mini fridge. Do you have any idea or possible guess? I couldn’t find any official numbers from the company.
Hi Thank you for this review. The only problem I have is that I am not an electrician so I don't understand what it means in practice. Could I run a coffee maker with this? Thank you Allen
A coffee maker pulls a bit of power, you can check the back of the device for power requirements. They are usually listed in 120v @ 6 or 7 amps. You'll need a much larger inverter / power station to run a coffee maker. Check out the Ecoflow Delta 2 review on my channel, that one will handle a coffee maker.
I just got one and it is actually smaller than the camera angles suggest. Not much bigger than six VHS cassettes for those who remember such things. Also quite light so easy to carry. Has anyone left one of these permanently connected to a small solar panel ? I have a summer house without mains power where I was thinking of doing that. It doesn't get used Monday to Friday so I am thinking even a 25w panel would charge this fully over a week.
Hi Jason, thanks for the very informative review! Is it detrimental to solar charge (18V x 3A ~50watt Allpowers panel) under indirect sunlight? I understand there is a built in controller (max 21V input), but given the solar panel will output very small voltage current and thus power, would that be bad for the long term longevity of the CTECHi powerbank.. Cheers and thanks in advance:) G
I’m looking for a portable power pack but I also need to power a reclining sofa. I have the space under the sofa to store it in a safe place. Does this unit turn itself off if there is no load for awhile? How much space does it require to dissipate heat? What are your thoughts about using it primarily to power my sofa and then take it on a weekend trip once a month?
Hi i am music DJ and i am looking to buy a JBL BLUE Tooth speaker , and its the JBL 310 so its powerful 100 watts , but the battery only last 5 hours outside , so i was thinking to buy a power bank like this one , but do you think it is strong to keep my blue tooth speaker working out side for another five hours ? or can you tell me which one is good to buy for what i like to do thanks
I have the 320wh version - was charging it on the car charger disconnected came inside and the fan came on on it’s own and won’t turn off!! Even if I fully discharge it. It’s on 0% charge now and still running the fan at 100% ! It’s so annoying
Ctechi have a new version of this GT200 with new features such as a new larger display and faster charging. It would be good if you can get one to review.
Hi Jason great review I have just recently brought one, I was just wondering is it possible to dual charge off a car USB c socket with Solar at the same time. Thank you
This is a pretty small unit, I'd recommend something a little larger for a diesel heater to run continuously. Maybe look in the 500wh category instead of the sub 300wh category.
Hola desde España, excelente rewiuw!! Tengo una pregunta porfavor, realmente se puede usar mientras se carga con una placa solar de 60w? Se podría usar de manera continuada hasta agotarse sin que se estropee la power bank? Gracias
Esta versión tiene un problema que solo le permite cargar a 50 vatios. La nueva versión que sale puede cargarse a 100 vatios. Puede cargarlo y ejecutarlo al 0% sin ningún problema.
@Una Cuenta the 240wh version that's fixed should be selling within the next month or two. Any version of the 240wh Power station that is for sale right now would probably have the 50 watt charging issue.
Hi Jason! This is a great review. Could you recommend a power station for me in this price or below 500usd? I would charge it by solar power and by car. I would use it for my camera gear batteries, drone, gimbal, microphones, lamps, phone, battery powered vacuum cleaner, shaver, lawnmover,laptop...) Thanks
Decent review. Thanks for posting. FYI: the blinking light is actually an SOS mode, to alert others that you need help. It's not intended to be in invitation to a party.
the party mode was just a joke. SOS could be helpful in some circumstance on these power stations. I'm glad they put it in the programing if theres a LED light.
I just got one and tried it out. I ran my Dell All in One. To my surprise, it went from 5-grid power to 2 in just 20 minutes. I figured it should be able to power the machine close to 1 hour given the average power consumption of 200 watts. I'm wondering if the unit is defective. How do I tell if its capacity is as specified.
Run a measurable load (like a 50 watt fan) and see how long it runs. If it runs for 4 hours then you pulled 200 watt hours from the power station. If it runs for 2 hours then it only pulled 100 watt hours. Then you can measure how much power is in the battery.
@@Jasonoid A Zoo Med Repti Tuff Halogen Lamp (75 watt) was run via the AC outlet. The power indicator dropped to the 3rd grid within 20 minutes, but stayed there for almost 2 hours. The total runtime was 3 hours and 6 minutes which gave the total 232.5wh and was too good. I think the blub was not actually consuming 75-watt as rated.
@@xiaoanlu423 the AC inverter on this power station puts out 110v instead of 120v, that heat lamp will pull around 65 watts of power instead of a full 75 watts.
Hola, una pregunta porfavor : Mientras estoy cargando con un panel solar de 60w , es normal que se apague la pantalla después de unos segundos parra ahorrar energía? Quiero preguntar si sigue cargando aun que la pantalla esta apagada? Que panel solar es indicado para que cargue cuando NO le da el sol directo?
Returning to this one...wondering what they said they were doing to fix it; is the firmware fix user-installable over USB, or does it have to be sent back?
I will provide an update video once they provide the kit. Not much info on it so far. I'm not sure of the process but I'm guessing it's just a USB drive that plugs into a specific port. I might want to setup a "USB sharing group" where we ship the dongle / kit around the USA to people that want it upgraded.....if they don't have many of these available to send out to everyone.
I was a bit confused. You said it has solar input of 40-50Watts, but it can charge from other PD, and/or car charging, right? So 3x 40-50Watt = 120-150 Watt? Not sure, as I didn't see you test this.
It only supports dual charging for a max of 110 watts or so. I also have a separate video about fixing the solar bug. You can watch the charging section of the video at 6:30.
My new power station was fully discharged using 40watt load then recharged with supplied mains adaptor. Fully charged but still switched OFF found 2.7vdc on 12volt output sockets? Used unit for testing various devices then it was switched OFF. Now measures 9.8vdc on 12v outlet sockets?? Put a small load on the socket and voltage dropped to about 4vdc, but when load removed voltage went back up to 9.8vdc. Someting wrong here as there should be 0 volts with unit switched OFF.
@@Jasonoid Thanks for your quick reply, yes I thought that it may be capacitors that needed to drain but when I put a small on the outlet the voltage dropped then returned back to the 9.8vdc mark. I left my multimeter connected for over 4 hours with no drop-off in voltage 'from a switched off supply' Anyway I have sent a question to Ctechi EU Direct here in the UK for a response.
@@Jasonoid Thanks for your interest. This is the reply from Ctechi quote:- 'It is normal for the DC port to still output current when the unit is switched off. This happens because the output of the DC port is actually related to the voltage of the battery pack itself. This is a normal phenomenon, please don't worry, the CTECHi Powerstation has 8 protection modes and has been rigorously tested before leaving the factory, no leakage will occur.' end quote. Can't really say I agree with this but for the price point it seems a good device, would say it is important to disconnect everything from unit when not in use!! Appreciate this not a forum but would be interested if this is a common condition with this particular powerstation.
Another in an unbroken series of exceptional reviews. One thing I'm unclear about is: If you a solar panel bigger than 60W on the thing, does it shut down, or just limit how much charge it's accepting? (overcharge?)
When you put a larger panel on the power station, it's called overpaneling. It will help you get max charging speed more often. I'd only ever put a 100 watt panel max on this power station. The power station will only take in the power that it's limited to, so 60 watts total, the rest of the power is sitting waiting to be pulled from the panel.
@@Jasonoid Gotcha; I have since combed through the comments on this video and watched the companion with the firmware upgrade and have a better understanding of what was going on.
I have had this power station for a few month's now and the only thing that bothers me about it is the fan. It wants to run most of the time while using or even just charging.
Great review. I just got one for $125 after coupons. I don't have solar panels yet and have a question. You said that the when you used more than 50 watt panels it reset after reaching full charge. Do you know if the actual battery capacity reset to zero or just the indicator on the display. I plan on getting the Oupes and don't want to get two different size solar panels if aI don't have to.
The charging input wattage would just cycle from 0 to 50 watts whenever I put over 50 watts into the battery, the display or capacity wouldn't reset when charging it via solar.
Here's an idea for charging BOTH power stations off one solar panel.... charge the Oupes with the 120watt panel, then charge the Ctechi with the USBc cable from the Oupes. Then both power stations will be charged up using one panel.
I bought this power station and cannot charge it via solar. My panels are 120W and the input when a panel is connected limits the current to 1/10th what it should be. I confirmed this behavior with different panels plugged into this and my other power station and measured the current going in. The current the CTECHi SCC let in was 1/10th what my other power station would pull. I don't have a panel below 100W, so couldn't test if something smaller worked better. But I stayed within the input voltage limit. Seems like a severe design flaw. Their answers to online questions on Amazon said you can use 60+W panels, but apparently that's not the case. This could've been an excellent mini power station. I also got a 2nd unit to confirm I didn't get a defective one and both units behave identically with solar panels plugged in. I should note that I also texted it at near dusk so solar output from my panel was only ~30W and it still would reduce the current into the mA range.
It does seem that a 60 watt panel would be the max input, there have been other people in the comments confirm the same issue so I will probably release a second video talking about the solar charging flaw.
@@Jasonoid Thanks Jason! It'd be great if you did more testing and got a better understanding/picture of how the CTECHi behaves with solar. I'm surprised that even with only 30W output due to near sunset that the unit still didn't want to charge.
Just an update: I bought a 50W panel. It worked when it was gloomy and CTECHi was pulling around 12W (20V, 0.6A). Once it got sunny enough to go above 0.6A, the CTECHi immediately went into that protect mode and dropped the current to 0.1 to 0.14A, which is what I measured with my larger panels. So neither of the 2 CTECHi units I have will charge over 10-11W reliably.
Hey Jason, appreciate your input on this battery. I think AskIve has one of these he really likes it so between you and Ive digging it well, it's got to be good. Thanks Jason. Still looking at the 300w one you had on last time I forget the name.
Hola , en las pruebas no carga bien con paneles de 100w. Mi pregunta es si podrá ir bien con uno de 80w?? O máximo son 50-60w ?? Sin acer la actualización!
I've got one last month. Starting 2 days ago, the power grid stopped working. It always shows fully charged. Just wonder if anyone encountered such an issue and how to resolve.
The Togo panels are made in the same factory as the BALDR 120 panels as seen in my other videos. I have recommended the BALDR panels so I would guess the Togo ones are good too. Buy whichever one has a better price. But.... This power station doesn't seem to like panels over 50 watts so I'd recommend keeping to a small 50nwatt panel if you are going to be using it on this power station.
Hi, I would like to know the specifications of the dc connector for photovoltaics, or rather the dimensions as there are several dc connectors on the market like these: dc 5.0 * 2mm / dc 5.5 * 1.5mm / dc 5.5 * 2.1mm / dc 6.3 * 3.0mm / dc 7.9 * 5.5mm etc etc.. thanks
@@Jasonoid thanks Jason, no it’s basically just a 200w heating element but I’m struggling to find information on this mini power station’s inverter limits…
@@Jasonoid awesome thanks Jason! I’ve been collecting a lot of low wattage appliances and having fun with doing more with less, I have to say I’m surprised how much cooking is possible with even just 300w!
@@Jasonoid the manual says to immediately unplug it as soon as it is fully charged to avoid over-charging. I didn't think that was a thing anymore, as well.
Me uno a tu pregunta, porque de esta manera podríamos aumentar la capacidad de carga del generador, y no quedarnos con los 50w q al parecer soporta como máximo la entrada solar.
No se si me he explicado bien. Pero creo q de esta forma podríamos: 1. Usar un panel de 100w con salida mc4 y USB C y alimentar la ctechi con los dos cables a la vez. 2. Usar dos paneles, uno de 50w y otro de 60 w. Con el de 50w alimentamos la ctechi con los mc4 y con el de 60w lo hacemos con el USB c. No se si lo que digo es una barbaridad o no, pero si funciona sería una alternativa para cargar más rápido con energía solar. Alguien sabe si esto sería posible? Gracias
@@Guerrero13you Hola, l-o he probado, 45w reales por un lado con un panel de 60w(sol de diciembre)y 18w por PD (con otro panel)…, el USB tipo C solo me da 18w , Espero qué te sirva.
jasonoid muy buenas saludos ! me encantaria que pudieras darme una explicacion de mi ctechi 240wh ,, cuando lo cargo al maximo y se descarga poco a poco la primera raya se vacia con solo una bombilla de 9 w a los 40 minutos luego las 3 siguente me aguantan sobre 18 horas , y ya luego se apaga directamente no pasax la penultima y ultima es normal , gracias y cuidese un saludo
La línea en la pantalla muestra que está completamente cargada, una vez que comience a usar la batería, la línea se apagará para mostrar que no está al 100%
@@Jasonoid eso lo se jason! pasa que cuando me quedan dos rayas se apaga , es x ahorro de energia ! o x otra razon esa era mi duda gracias ya que se deberia descargar raya a raya un saludo
@@Jasonoid I atually have not. I usually charge it with the AC adapter plugged into my EcoFlow River. My River is charged with solar and I use it to charge all of my tool and camera batteries too.
@@JasonoidIt's excellent for charging and running smaller devices. It's a good intermediate point between a usb battery bank, and something like a Delta Pro that can actually power compressors and fullsize saws.
I have this Energizer unit. It is a really nice, small portable unit. Lots of features for the price. I have only been able to get it to charge at 60W by solar. It was my first sogen and I quickly outgrew it.
I saw some weird stuff with mine on a 100 watt rigid panel but I thought my clamp meter was buggin. Well it was buggin. Ha But I'll have to revisit this 100 watt panel stuff. Because that would suck if you couldn't use a 100. We shall see. I'm planning to do another video on it soon.
Yeah, super interesting. If your camp meter goes from zero up to 3.5 amps and then back to zero, you know it's doing the same thing. At least it will do 50 watts 👍
I got one after AskIve reviewed it and I saw a $125 off coupon on it. Adding in some cc reward points, I think I might have paid $80 for it, which is a steal for what you get (assuming it continues to work; AskIve said his identified as a frog and croaked). Mine did seem to charge from solar very slowly, so I'll bet it was cycling in the manner you described; my primary panel for charging is a 180W BougeRV fixed panel; I might have to get out a 60W folder for this, or charge it from a different station (AC or using a 5521->5521 cable). Otherwise, as many USB devices as I use in my daily life, the capacity and outputs of this device seem capable of being my primary small-scale workhorse. It's not quite big enough to run a compressor-cooler for a weekend, or power my small chest freezer in a blackout, but it can handle all the small stuff like weekly battery charging.
Hey thanks for sharing your thoughts on it! I agree, it has some weird solar charging issues but everything else works really well! I remember watching Ives video and I don't think he mentioned any issues with it.... But maybe that video was a brief overview video and there wasn't any demos... I cant remember. This one is perfect for small electronics and a larger power station could be dedicated to powering a fridge and charging this one up.
@@Jasonoid Ive did a a follow-on in which I believe he made a comment (wasn't in the video) that it had died. I believe he said it was being replaced under warranty. It will be interesting to find out if the new one has any of the same problems.
$100 bucks isn't bad, it would be hard to test to see if everything is working at the shop so it's hard to know it's not broken. There is some risk involved for sure.
@@Jasonoid not really . I'm such a cheap skate and hunt thru pawnshops so much. I can get a 24 hour Guarantee. But thanks to your video and videos. Much to the wife's dismay. I've come across a few things that I may not necessarily need, But want And will get.
Just an update: Mine is still going strong as my primary power station for device and battery charging. It seems a little slow to charge (I did apply the fix), but otherwise has been handling the job well.
Most 100w radios are about 20a at 13.8v. So almost no “small” power station can run a radio just from dc. I would accept that I could only do about half power in a low duty cycle mode (e.g single side band voice) and about 1/3!power in full duty cycle modes. The question is if the surge wattage os enough to run at full power in ssb with a power supply.
9:05 Party or Strobe Mode??? All that techno mumbo jumbo, meters and testing equipment but couldn't recognize the most basic rythmic pattern. dot-dot-dot, dash-dash-dash, dot-dot-dot... it's SOS genius. 🙄 The manufacturer states that this unit can only take a 18v 50W or 18v 60W solar panels. Their solar input is the slowest way to charge the unit (6-12hrs). The AC + USB C method is the fastest at just under 3hrs. Also if using solar panels set the optimum angle of the panels in relationship to the sun. Setting the wrong angle will affect the optimum solar input possible.
Hey David, the unit had an actual solar bug that wouldn't allow it to charge via solar panels over 50 watts. No other RU-vid reviewer of this power station even tested the solar with a watt meter so I guess I was the first one to find the bug? With no display it makes it a bit harder to track down. Ctechi acknowledged the bug and now has a repair kit you can get your hands on to get it fixed. With that solar bug repaired you can now "overpanel" the power station with 100-180 solar panel and get a respectable 55-60 watts all the time instead of no charge at all. You can view that process here in my second video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OBlP926tU-w.html Also, I know what SOS mode is LOL.... Just trying to mix up the videos a bit. Who doesn't know what SOS mode is? Well I guess if I didn't say it in the video it means it's something new to me. Sheeesh...
@@Jasonoid My bad - I bought the T320 version which is the longer lasting and upgraded version of this unit you have. The USB C port does handle both 60W input and output, but it won't charge the unit alone with the USB C port. To use the USB C port in conjunction with the AC, DC or Solar inputs. Plug the AC, DC or solar inputs first, then plug in the USB C cable. Plus I have charged it using my Bluerise 60W solar panel array. I've also plugged in combinations of the left cables with the USB C cables. Plus the Bluerise panel came with a full set of MC4 cables, MC4 adapters and other MC4 cables too many to list. But as a 60W panel it pairs nicely with my T320 power station. With the station at 80% and at high noon sun the panels charged the power station back to 100% in just 20 minutes.
