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Old 01-19-2025, 07:40 AM   #1
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Using Jackery "generator" and solar panels with AS

I've looked through the existing threads and apologize if I've missed the answers to the following questions.... I have an AS with two 80 watt solar panels on the roof and have a 3500 watt generator I can use if needed.



I've got a Jackery Explorer 1000v2 "portable power station" on order, and just received their Solar Saga 200W foldable solar panel. I understand how to connect the panel to the glorified Jackery battery, but would like to do more than just run appliances directly off their power station.


Can I connect the power station directly to my AS 50 amp plug? I already have an adapter to run a household extension cord to the 50 amp port. That way I can hopefully run the microwave or coffee machine without having to drag the Jackery battery around.


Can I connect the Jackery Solar Saga solar panel to the Zamp cable at my battery box with appropriate adapter(s)? What adapters would I need?


Does that Zamp plug bypass the solar controller my trailer came with and go directly to the batteries? That would be dumb of AS to do, but if so, what's the least costly charge controller I could use, and where could I mount it?



Thanks for the help!
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Old 01-19-2025, 08:01 AM   #2
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Can I connect the power station directly to my AS 50 amp plug? I already have an adapter to run a household extension cord to the 50 amp port. That way I can hopefully run the microwave or coffee machine without having to drag the Jackery battery around.

I’ll address this question. The short answer is “yes” as I’ve done that with my Yeti Goal Zero 1000. I would turn off the breaker for your converter as you don’t want your Jackery to be wasting energy on the converter charging your house batteries. In that mode your Jackery will be powering all 110 outlets in your RV and that will run your Jackery down faster. I.e. your Jackery is your shore power now.


This also includes your refrigerator. My refrigerator runs off of propane so I take it off of the “auto” mode and switch to propane only. If yours is all electric refrigerator it will probably drain your Jackery faster as well. If your Jackery has a remote control maybe you can just turn it on/ off as needed.
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Old 01-19-2025, 08:40 AM   #3
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"Can I connect the Jackery Solar Saga solar panel to the Zamp cable at my battery box with appropriate adapter(s)? What adapters would I need?"

My Jackery solar panels don't have a charge controller on them, so I'm assuming yours don't either. That means you can't plug them in directly to the external port on your Airstream because you won't be regulating how much power goes into the batteries.

If you end up connecting your rig to your Jackery, then connect your Jackery solar panels to the Jackery to keep a charge going to that. -Ari
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Old 01-19-2025, 08:43 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GOUSC View Post
I’ll address this question. The short answer is “yes” as I’ve done that with my Yeti Goal Zero 1000. I would turn off the breaker for your converter as you don’t want your Jackery to be wasting energy on the converter charging your house batteries.
Gousc
Good response. But, if his house batteries are LFPs in consort with an inverter and or charger, why not hook directly to the incoming shore power inlet? That way his Jackery is a shore power "source." Other than paying attention to house loads turned on, his trailer will function as "normal."

To me the bigger question with battery based "generators, is the challenge of where and when to recharge them. How do you do this with your Yeti other than get to a fixed base power cord from a genset or pedestal?
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Old 01-19-2025, 08:53 AM   #5
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The problem with "Solar Generators" (poorly named) is that expectations exceed reality. The way to judge if a "power box" will do what you need is to start at the end and work backwards. If you want to power the microwave and the microwave draws 1000 w. and the solar generator you own supplies 300 w/hr., then you can run the microwave for 20 minutes.
However, plugging in your 50 amp power means you'll be powering the converter, perhaps lights, inverter, parasitic loads, and in the end the "Solar Generator" required to keep most people satisfied is too big/expensive/heavy.

I'd consider one to power an electric blanket or heating pad when boondocking on chilly nights.
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Old 01-19-2025, 09:24 AM   #6
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Thanks for the replies to my questions so far. One thing I forgot to mention is that I have a StarLink system mounted permanently under the bed, with the dish pulled out of the storage area at the rear of the trailer. So it would be awkward to power the StarLink accept via the trailer's shore power inlet.


Good hints about switching the fridge to propane, as otherwise it would automatically go to 110v when it sees shore power. Ditto for turning off the breaker for the charge controller.



How about the solar panel questions? Should I buy a solar controller and mount it in the battery box or where the propane tanks are?


Thanks!
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Old 01-19-2025, 09:46 AM   #7
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These solar generators/power stations are meant to be connected directly to solar panels. They have an internal charge controller built into the device. You can plug your trailer directly into the power station and use it as you would shore power. Turning off certain devices will increase your power station run time. Load management is key to using power stations efficiently. Recharge with generator when needed.
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Old 01-19-2025, 10:50 AM   #8
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I’ve been using Goal Zero for 6 years and started with a 3000 and now have a 6000. I also have a 500 for device charging. You aren’t going to get much usage out of a 1000. With the GZ3000, I can boondock for 2 nights, and with the GZ6000 for 4 nights without recharging. If you get a Jackery, go for the 3000 or look at the GZ4000. I also have DC to DC charging while the Sprinter is running putting in about 700 watts. I don’t know what you plan to run with the 1000, but if it’s your entire rig, then I think you will be interested in something more substantial. The larger units have more powerful inverters and wont likely trip. I can see the 1000 sized units being appropriate for tent camping where lights and coffee and device charging are needed.
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Old 01-19-2025, 11:38 AM   #9
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Jackery

We have a Jackery 2000 and have experimented with that. Ran the entire trailer lighst TV and one 13 K AC at a rest stop. I sucked it dry in an hour .

Short answer the Jackery it’s a great unit we use it for outside and inside to power the Air Fryer or a blender / Keurig etc. I recently bought the new 1000 as it much more portable and lighter.

The short answer is our tried and true Honda 2200 gas unit is our go to if we have to run the AC. We have 800 amps of Lithium and a 3000 Victron which works great until AC needs are required.

I give up on Solar I appreciate it but Rain and clouds follow our Trailer LOL If I had the means the AirKrafters under hitch integrated Gen unit would be our dream.
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Old 01-19-2025, 01:35 PM   #10
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I only use my portable power box for specific needs, like an electric coffee pot, hair dryer, or running my WeBoost box for WIFI and TV use if I am not using shore power AC. I installed 2, 200AH LiTime 12V batteries earlier this year, and have been using them quite efficiently when needed to boondock. Can go a week now. Have not used the 1000W Inverter yet however, I plan to replace with 3000W later, after I get the larger wire installed. I can go 5+ days between charges from my experiments on the road, and still have 50% charge. I am pleased but wish i would have gotten the larger single battery like the one from EPOCH which has 300AH in a single battery which will fit in the battery box up front. $800-$900~ but quite a nice source of power. My thought is, the portable Li battery pack I have is a back up primarily or portable charging station.
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Old 01-19-2025, 02:44 PM   #11
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Solar Generator

I've used a Yeti 1400 for the past 5 years as a shore power source. We full time 3 months a year with a preference to stay at sites that typically do no have hook-ups. Use a pig tail to the 30amp cord and plug into the shore power outlet. We run frig and water heater on propane and use the stove oven for cooking, not the microwave. In cold temps this assures use that the furnace will run all night, plus we have enough power to watch a movie if need be 😆. It works great to charge the house batteries ( lead acid ). In the morning the Yeti is depleted, but house batteries are fully charged. To charge the Yeti, have mounted a 200 watt solar panel to the cargo racks on my trucks topper (also have 180 watts on the trailer roof). Carry the Yeti in the truck hooked to the 200 watt panel, charging the Yeti as we travel. Have had great success with this combination, but you do have to manage electrical usage. Have recently upgraded to lithiums and a Yeti 1500.
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Old 01-19-2025, 08:20 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SunchaserV View Post
Gousc
Good response. But, if his house batteries are LFPs in consort with an inverter and or charger, why not hook directly to the incoming shore power inlet? That way his Jackery is a shore power "source." Other than paying attention to house loads turned on, his trailer will function as "normal."

To me the bigger question with battery based "generators, is the challenge of where and when to recharge them. How do you do this with your Yeti other than get to a fixed base power cord from a genset or pedestal?
Like others have mentioned, I have found the 1000 to be better used for specific purposes vs powering the full 110V uses in the RV. It just didn't do the microwave consistently for me. I use my Honda generator for that now.
Once I upgraded to lithium batteries it changed the way I used the Yeti and it works well for me as an alternative energy source.

Regarding charging, I added a cigarette lighter at the foot of my twin bed in my Globetrotter. I just pulled a wire from the DC panel under the fridgd and drilled a hole in the wall beneath the shower panel to install the ligter input. With the GZ cigarette lighter I can charge the yeti while driving down the road. The solar panels keep my house RV batteries charged while doing this. When boondocking the Yeti can be recharged the same way.

Speaking of the Starlink V3 - I ran my cable in thru the front storage compartment without drilling holes and to the inside thru the little gap between the street side bed. When boondocking, I power my router with the Yeti GZ 1000 inside the RV. I keep it at the foot of my bed and have the output to the router from the Yeti 110V and use the cigarette lighter to keep the Yeti topped off from the solar. The input from solar closely matches the output to the router. I usually only use the Starlink during breakfast so the Yeti is charged back pretty quickly in the day and is full to use for night Starlink use. House batteries are kept charged by rooftop solar. Just repeat the next day.
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Old 01-26-2025, 11:24 AM   #13
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Jackery adapters.

We just bought a Jackery 1000v2 and had a problem connecting it to our current solar panel. We also bought a car charger cable which wasn't working either. Even thought the plug that went into the jackery looked correct, it isn't Most of the plugs fit the jackery 1000 that are available, but the Jackery 1000v2 is slightly different. Here's what Jackery said, see below. You can buy adapters for half the price at Jackery elsewhere. BUT it is best to check in with Jackery for your situation.

"
Are you using the car charging cable that came with an older Jackery model? The car charging cables of previous model do not work with E1000 v2, as it requires a DC8020 adapter, you will need to connect the DC8020 adapter:

https://www.jackery.com/products/jac...7909-to-dc8020
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Old 01-26-2025, 12:25 PM   #14
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Jackerys power usage

I have a 1000 and 2000 Jackery with 200w solar panel. I have lithium house batteries and 460w ZAMP solar panels. I use the Jackerys to power everything with a plug and the house batteries for everything else.
I charge the house and Jackerys off the TV while traveling and of course when on shore power, using solar when boondocking and this set up gives me 5-6 days of normal use (no ac) without solar and if we have 5 hours of direct sun, I can go indefinitely.
The 1000 Jackery is light enough to easily carry, the 2000 is around 50lbs, takes a bit more effort. Love the flexibility, trying to find a great storage location in the AS.
AND when not traveling, keep them at home for power outages. A big beautiful lithium power pack in the AS would be ideal, however for half the price and the added flexibility, the Jackerys are a great option for me
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Old 01-28-2025, 11:43 AM   #15
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"How about the solar panel questions? Should I buy a solar controller and mount it in the battery box or where the propane tanks are?"

Yes, if you want to use the Jackery supplied (or any other portable) solar panel and plug it directly into the Zamp plug on your frame you will have to get a solar charge controller. I've had good luck with Renogy.

I thought about mounting the charge controller semi-permanently to or near my battery boxes, but reality is that you need to have good access to your charge controller to make sure you have good connections coming in / going out. Since I'm only using external panels when I'm stationary (and don't want to risk the controller getting dirty / damaged), I just bungee the controller to the A-frame with two of those tiny 6" bungee cords.

After a couple of years I got rid of the Zamp plug anyhow, after realizing what a ripoff it is, as the wire gauge was too small, it started corroding, and kept blowing the fuse. I just replaced it with a thicker gauge wire with a fuse and SAE plug. It just hangs out of one the battery boxes and I can connect my charge controller to it in seconds.

If I really wanna kill some time one of these days I will mount the charge controller in a little box next to the battery boxes, but for now the bungees do fine when I'm parked.
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Old 01-28-2025, 11:54 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by northfayston View Post
We just bought a Jackery 1000v2 and had a problem connecting it to our current solar panel. We also bought a car charger cable which wasn't working either. Even thought the plug that went into the jackery looked correct, it isn't Most of the plugs fit the jackery 1000 that are available, but the Jackery 1000v2 is slightly different. Here's what Jackery said, see below. You can buy adapters for half the price at Jackery elsewhere. BUT it is best to check in with Jackery for your situation.

"
Are you using the car charging cable that came with an older Jackery model? The car charging cables of previous model do not work with E1000 v2, as it requires a DC8020 adapter, you will need to connect the DC8020 adapter:

https://www.jackery.com/products/jac...7909-to-dc8020
I feel your pain. A couple of Amazon returns later, this is what ended up working. Hopefully this will be helpful for anyone else with a 1000 V2:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6P6X5YP?
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