We bought this portable solar panel three years ago, and I have some thoughts about it. Welcome to The Hippie Geeks, let’s get into a long-term user review of the Rockpals 100w Portable Solar Panel and how it has worked out for us over that time.
Three years ago, we were heading out in our first big trip in the camper van, and I needed some way to power our small refrigerator. We picked up this solar panel along with a Rockpals 300w solar generator, and we will have a video about that soon as well, but for now we are just going to talk about this 100-watt solar panel from Rockpals, and how it has worked out for us over the last three years.
One of the big draws for me for this panel was just how small of a package it was when stored, and that is because they have strung together four smaller panels that you unfold and combined that brings you to the total of 100 watts that this can provide when in full sun. If you are looking to connect this to your solar charge controller or solar generator, it will provide a max of 100 watts of power, and the short circuit current for the panel is 6.2a which it provides at 18v. It comes with an 8’ cable and weighs in at just over 7 pounds, which is pretty great for the power that it is going to provide.
The connectors are in a pouch on the back of the unit, and there are MC4 connectors coming from the controller that then adapt into a barrel plug connector for plugging into a solar generator so you have options when connecting it the way that you need to. One of the best parts is that it also has three USB connectors back there, with one of them being fast charge compatible. In our case the solar generator we bought could only accept 40 watts of input maximum, but by using these USB connections to charge our other devices at the same time, we were able to use the entire 100 watts that the solar panel could provide.
The downside to these portable panels versus a fixed solar panel is going to be the price, but they are far easier to store than the fixed panels are for sure, and the fact that if you are just looking to get a good amount of charging with USB devices this portable solar panel will be able to do that without even hooking it up to a full solar system, which can save you money, it just depends on how you are planning on using the panel. This panel will provide a full 100 watts of power in full sun when angled correctly, and it is still producing that amount of power until this day when I check it with out solar charge controller. I honestly didn’t expect this panel to survive and function for more than a couple of years, but three years later here we are and it is still working.
In the future here we are going to be setting up a more permanent shower spot, and that is going to require the use of a 12v pump to get the water heater enough pressure to function, and that is what I am going to be using this panel for next. I am hoping that it keeps going for another couple of years at least, but we will just have to see how it all works out. If you are looking to pick up one of these units for yourself to give it a try, I will leave an Amazon Associates link to it in the description down below. If you do pick it up using our link, we will get a small percentage of the sale for sending you their way, so thanks for helping to support the channel.
If you enjoyed this video, make sure to click on whatever other videos Youtube is showing on the screen right now, as you will probably enjoy one of those as well. Thanks for taking the time to watch this video, and we will see you on the next one.
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