How to Charge Anker Power Stations with Solar Panels (& Save Hundreds)

This is a very beginner-oriented tutorial on how to solar charge Anker portable power stations with cheaper, non-Anker solar panels so you can save money while solar charging safely.
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• Anker SOLIX C1000 Power Station - amzn.to/3LKs9IG
• Renogy 100 Watt Solar Panel - amzn.to/3SuOSMJ
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• Anker 531 Solar Panel - amzn.to/3WMk7Wb
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Whichever power station brand you go with, I'd recommend a brand that doesn't use a proprietary solar connector which locks you into using their solar panels.
(I've only used Anker power stations so far, so am not that familiar with power stations from brands like EcoFlow, Jackery, etc.)
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Editor: Javan Khabi
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DISCLAIMERS
Some of the links in this video description and in the comments below are affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on one, I may earn a commission which will help fund more videos like this one. Thank you! 🙏
For general informational purposes only. Nothing in this video is intended to be professional solar or electrical advice. Please consult with a licensed professional in their field of expertise in your jurisdiction.
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[@jasonbroom7147]

I see a couple of others have already mentioned it, but your guidance on not exceeding the amperage rating is demonstrating a lack of understanding on how PV input works. In simple terms, "volts are pushed, amps are pulled". You can't control how many volts a panel pushes to a device, but the amps are pulled by the device, so within reason, you can absolutely exceed the amp rating without any issues. Stay under the VoC and you'll be in good shape, but you can safely "over-panel" by exceeding the amp number shows on any power station. That's just a number explaining the max amount it will pull.

[@aflipzkidn]

The info you have given on Amps is incorrect. Volts are pushed and amps are pulled. You can over Amp all day and the power station will never draw more that its requested 10 or 12.5 amp. Its actually a good thing to have more Amps by over paneling. This will help on cloudy days. Over voltage is BAD, do that and you will let the magic smoke out of the box.

[@eugsmiley]

Several comments about the amps pulled, but no one mentioned that if you do the math on the solar panel at 4:00, you can put two of those panels in series for 45V at 12.21A, giving you just under 550 Watts maximum power at the input of your Anker.

[@philiplapilla5956]

Finally found a channel that makes it easy for a solar moron to understand the details. Thanks for this. I have learned and understood more in the last 2 video's than I have in many others. Subscribed and will be watching more.

[@Jorge.1419]

Just found your channel and I must say I love your videos. Thank you! Although I have a background on electronics engineering my solar kit knowledge is limited. Cheers, from Portugal

[@mcfunswimmer011]

I purchased two 200W Renology 12v solar panels off of Amazon. They are usually on sale and they are way cheaper than Anker's solar panels, and they usually work better at solar than Anker's panels. They work great with my Anker f3800 power station! Anker's is nicer for portability, but they need to do better with their panels since Renology beats theirs.

[@ImNoExpert7]

Great vlogs.... So thank you 🙏... I have just started my retirement years, and after 30 years, have finally convinced my wife to retire in SW France. I am hoping to start my own project by going as "off-grid" as possible, with perhaps disconnecting from the grid entirely and substituting and additionally needed power by using a Hydrogen generator....(Oh, and during the lovely SW French sun period in the summer, producing my own Green hydrogen).... Keep those videos coming as your "Janet &John" approach makes things clear to dumb-sculls 🤪like me. Well done 👍

[@juddfrazier]

This was extremely helpful and very much appreciated!

[@arnoldreiter435]

i see others have mentioned this but your take on the amps is not accurate. number one rule is never over voltage a unit! all of my power stations(i own Bluetti, Jackery,Anker and Oupes) will accept over watts and over amps and the mppt controller is fine with that. Collecting solar is a fluid and dynamic thing and over paneling is common to get good collection with less than ideal conditions.

[@mark4837]

I was kind of sure about the numbers but now you answered my question. Cool dude

[@emnuell12]

How nice to have your video. We wait every month for a video, we hope there will be more.. Thank you

[@erikkuhlemeyer9402]

You need to do some more research how amps work with solar panels.

[@toadynuts]

You need to do some research into elaborating.

[@maggiebraun2011]

That was hilarious at the end! "That's how you save hundreds of dollars on your...." Martin would be proud!!!🤣

[@sheilaeish]

This was very informative. I’m a beginner and will be starting with 2 lithium batteries but I’m unsure about how many solar panels I need. Can you do a video.

[@femboyelectronics6441]

Multiply Ah and voltage of battery it gives u capacity in Wh 100W panel will produce 100wh in an hour, 50wh in 30 min in reality the 100w will make more like 50w so, True power of a panel is manufactures wattage · 0.5 I say Solar panel power should be 3 or 2 times the capacity So 10Ah 12v cell is 120Wh so panels should be about 250W (But do your own reasearch too and those are just my recomendations)

[@Charlemagne_III]

You need twice as many as you think you need.

[@radiant9010]

That is very easy to understand and helpful [even for a clueless girl but wanna understand and learn solar like me]

[@JimmyGunXD556]

Oh i thought you were paying for the storage and ease of transport with the folding type.

[@myfpv6813]

What a misinformation… u need to be in range with Volts, giving small reserve for opencircut and cold weather ( in cold, panels will perform better, higher temp. Lowers efficiency). But with Amps u can overpanel - so can go more then mppt controller, it will take what it is limited to, not more. So this 12A panel is ok, just will work with station limit of 10A. Very often u need to overpanel for worse weather. (Clouds, etc)

[@DBbyDesign]

It really doesn't matter because plenty of youtubers have said Goodluck getting warranty if you use 3rd party pannels. These power stations are much like an apple phone. Propriety and they are expensive for the output.

[@lw2131]

​@DBbyDesign Which is why I dropped Apple and switched to Samsung. Don't want to bend the knee to corporate greed and coercion!

[@kurtisfoley2314]

Could you recommend a 300 or 400watt panel that is compatible with the c1000?

[@benburton3496]

4:47 the shorts current on the panel spec is the short circuit current. Not resistance load.

[@enricod.7198]

Can't the first panel (22V and 12.2A) be put in series with another identical one and actually have 44V 12.2A which is in spec for the higher voltage range and still 400W so under the 600W limit?

[@minibikemadman]

I only need a 300 watt unit..do they make a 300 watt version? I would use a 100 maybe 200 watt panel to charge it.

[@erikw2012]

Can I add 2 more of those panels ?

[@tronziebit]

Can I charge it with Pulsar 2319N gas genetator? How long to charge assuming 1,000watts?

[@censorbureau]

I bought the 200-watt Anker solar panel in a bundle deal with the Solix C1000 so panel cost $350 that way. Still, should've done more research first and gone with a cheaper panel. The most input I've been able to get from it is 135 watts on a sunny summer day in PA. That seems very low for it's rating, definately disappointed in the panel's performance, esp for the cost.

[@vandweleer8004]

Hey, good video, you explained very well.

[@SlammedAvalon]

Thank you for making this video

[@konkaragounakis5924]

Excellent presentation 👏

[@frankpagan1294]

Can it be charged through car lighter port?

[@jacoblong5840]

Begging for help here.. I currently have a brand new Anker solix c1000x. I have one compatible 170w rigid solar panel. Everything I Raa we as says I need a charge controller still if I’m connecting the power station directly to the panel? Is this true? Adapter looks like it just connects right to the panel. This is going to be in a fixed position on my shed roof. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[@haroldnicholos7436]

Can you use an outdoor in the rain. I mean honestly where I live in rain for over a week straight.

[@genieotl]

I got the Renogy 200w Solar Panel for the Anker Solix c300! Does anybody know if this is a good combo? I didn't want to pay $299-$499 for the 100w-200w anker panels.

[@Electronzap]

That'd be nice if they made solar panels that can mount directly to a solar generator. Just run an extension cord to your TV and computer

[@johnolsen1474]

Great video!!

[@kenastl]

The main advantage of the Anker solar panel is that it is perfectly matched to get the 600-watt maximum the Anker supports. I haven't found any other panels that match as closely.

[@DBbyDesign]

That's not a bragging thing. They did that on purpose so you would buy there pannels.

[@butchie2752]

⁠@@DBbyDesignworked for me but I only bought one. I tried to buy a second one on sale. but Amazon sent me the wrong panel.

[@lw2131]

​@DBbyDesign Exactly... and I'm still NOT going to buy theirs to go with my F2000. Just too gougy!

[@mrmike6711]

Thank u

[@johnmal5975]

Anker makes a nice wall charger station. The solar charge controller is a joke that forces people to buy their over priced solar panels. 60 volt limit is ridiculous!

[@RarHm]

The 60volt aint ridiculous, portable solar panel are ridiculous in term of price or durability while 90% of the time not being the good panel for the intented use. With that 60volt limit on the anker you can pretty much max the input at 500-600w continuous if you parrallel 2 rigid residential solar panel. That way you are at about 42-48volt and stay safe from cold temperature while maxing out the amps through even less than ideal day. It's how people think ''24volt'' panels are a thing and the guy in the video reinforce that by shopping for one while not understanding that the first panel was ''compatible'' despite having higher amps output than the powerstation is rated for. He also misled people in saving money by going off brand. It's going rigid and through local shops that you can save lots of money. He was showing people how a good ''deal 200w rigid panel is for 200$ usd'', this is insane. Residential panel of 300w should cost about 100-125$ max localy. Lots of people do what company tell them to, stay with the brand like a good pet. If you do some research and don't just spend money that's burning through your pocket solar hisnt really expensive. Ecoflow facebook group is full of people with too much money and not enough brain to see they got rob in daylight by buying Ecoflow solar panels. Portable are trash waiting to be put to the curb or to fight the company for replacement when they fail on the 3rd year you use them.

[@johnmal5975]

@@RarHm I get your point and agree. I buy my panels separate as well. I think it should be higher. It's not just this model there bigger units have that 60 v limit. It should be higher. It's cheeping out on the controller. I personally like the way pecron does it. They put 2 separate 95v chargers in their units. It gives you options and the ability to charge on a sunny day just as fast as the wall. These things are all dependent on ones individual scenario. I don't fully load my solar chargers unless I have to. I don't believe in pushing the controllers to extremes. Its really nice to have that two 95 volt cushions. Think about that scenario you just stated. Would you rather have 2 95v controllers or one 65v controller on a cloudy day in the winter? I still get mine charged you won't with that anker. That company focuses on charging from the wall. I bought my solar to use my solar.

[@berengerchristy6256]

What exactly does one do with these power stations?

[@davva360]

I have one for power outages. If I run a generator to keep my fridge running I would have to run it about 8 hours a day. If I use a power bank like this one it will run my fridge for 11 hours and i can then run my generator to charge it back up in an hour. That means I use a lot less gas and waste a lot less of the energy produced by the generator by storing it in the power bank. Also means my gas stored for the generator would last a lot longer.

[@davva360]

As I have the solar panel, it will actually run all day without needing to be charged by generator. I would just need to charge it up every morning as the battery bank will be very low in the morning due to no sun all night.

[@berengerchristy6256]

@@davva360 thanks. Where I live the power rarely goes out, even in winter and through storms, so I guess I’m fortunate there

[@davva360]

@@berengerchristy6256 hurricanes are a threat here. Never had significant damage but have lost power for a couple of days

[@mreega4812]

You care to make a video correcting all the issues everyone pointed out?

[@keepitreal5148]

200 watt panel charging at 100 watt that's not good

[@RarHm]

It's a portable, the fourth panel was not aligned like the first 3. They are finicky and not durable. They are an expensive toy that wont perform for half its cost and certainly wont last more than 5 years while rigid will outlive you :p

[@patrickhall3878]

Cool..but you can’t power much..

[@FREEDOM-bk4rv]

You're right. .you certainly can't power a Tesla😂

[@RarHm]

Because he cut the hamstring of those power station by just plugging small solar panel to it. You need to panel according to the max solar input of said power station to really say you gonna keep the recharge or use the power station through the day. I think he is using the the C1000 and that power station can take up to 600w of solar. Thats easily achieved with 2 residential solar panel of roughly 400-500w(under 50volt) linked in parrallel. With that you could keep the power top up all day long even when its not super sunny and still have enough energy to cook up dinner(not with the big 240v stove, but with 120v little stove/microwave), keep the computer running all day, lights, heating if its cold(with small portable heater), maybe cooling with mini split unit, recharging all your electronics device. Thats what i use my power station for, and thats about all i use the electricity for. Only thing not on my power station is the water heater, fridge and the big electric heater in each room. Often when its sunny in the winter and really cold i unload the surplus of solar energy while im at home by plugging the small heater as when its cold the solar production goes through the roof. My 470w rated panel max out my power station at 510w and i have a reason to believe that if the power station wasnt bloking it there it could go as far as 520-530w. When you overpanel you can really start using solar for a whole bunch of things in your house. Just need to remember to not use extension cord for high power draw device or you gonna burn your house down just as if you use the same extension cord out the wall outlet. As e renter i could only fit 1 panel, i think that if i could put a second one on i would be able to get about 50-80% of my electricity from those 2 panels depending on the time of the year. Solar dosent need to be expensive if you think a little out of the box of what installer/big company tell you it need to be. Spend good money on the power station, save your money on not buying ''their brand panels'' or the one from amazon( which is filled to the brim with scammer ) and buy your panel direct from a warehouse near you according to your need. I mounted mine on my balcony and went above and beyond to make it safe for people that might be close to it. Ex: use pvc tubing to run the wires, using sturdy material to make the mount to hang outside the balcony, identifying cables with ''DC power during daylight'', installing a fast disconnect switch near the panel and accessible to firefighter or handyman that could need to work around the wire or the panel...