Which Solar Panels Are Compatible With The Anker 757 Power Station?
The Powerhouse 757 by Anker is a popular portable power station, also known as solar generator, that is great for not only RV and van travelers but also homeowners that want to have a lithium battery for backup power.
With its 1229 watt-hours, it will power and charge a lot of different electronics and devices for several hours or even days.
While Anker does sell solar panels for this power station, did you know that you can also use third-party panels?
There are a lot of different type of portable solar panels on the market depending on what you need.
In this short article I am going to recommend a couple of different panels and tell you how you connect it to the Powerhouse 757.
Solar Panels Compatible With The Anker Powerhouse 757
Here is a table of a couple of different solar panels that are compatible.
They’re different type of panels, some are portable and not waterproof while others are more heavy, rigid, and waterproof.
What Makes A Solar Panel Compatible?
The solar charge controller in the power station decides which panels are compatible and not.
Since the Anker power station already has a charge controller, you should not buy a solar panel with a built-in solar charge controller. Then it will not charge the battery.
The input limits
The input ratings of the 757 is as follows: 11-30V, 10A, 300W max.
What this means is that the open circuit voltage of the panel we connect must be within the 11-30 range.
What about the 10A limit?
The 10A limit of the charge controller means that it will only use 10A of what a panel produces, and if fully utilized you can get up to 300W of input.
How do I maximize the input with solar panels?
A solar charge controller with a 11-30V and 10A limit is not ideal, and you shouldn’t expect to get close to 300W input.
Why is it not ideal?
One 100W solar panel will produce around 6A at 18V. If we connect two panels in parallel, we’ll exceed the 10A, which is fine to do, but we’ll be wasting the extra electricity.
Connecting solar panels in series is not possible, since that adds the voltages together and 18 times two exceeds the 30V limit.
The XT60 input
Last but not least, the 757 has an XT60 input, so the panel we connect must either have an XT60 connector or be used with an adapter.
Note that Anker might not include an MC4 to XT60 adapter with the 757, so to connect panels with MC4 connectors you’re going to need an MC4 to XT60 adapter like this (click to view on Amazon). The reason I say might is because I have gotten reports that they don’t, but according to Anker it is.
If You Already Have A Solar Panel With MC4 Connectors
A lot of rigid and large solar panels on the market comes with MC4 connectors.
If you have already purchased a panel that has this, the only thing you need to hook up the panel to the 757 power station is an MC4 to XT60 adapter like this (click to view on Amazon).
How To Connect Two Panels Together?
Even though the charge controller in this power station has a 10A limit, you can (and I recommend to) connect two 100W panels together to increase the charging speed.
Any of the panels in the table above can be connected in parallel, and this is done with an MC4 Y branch (click to view on Amazon).
What you’ll do is take the positive MC4 male connector from each panel and connect them to one of the Y branches. Then do the same with the negatives.
Finally, you’ll connect the Y branch to extension cables or the MC4 to XT60 adapter.
Connecting two panels together with a Y branch will add the amperages together but not the voltage, which is why it is compatible with the 757.
Panels can also be connected in series where you connect the male from one panel to the female on the second panel, but this adds the voltages together and should not be done with panels being connected to the 757.
Extension Cables
I recommend using MC4 extension cables with the lowest gauge as possible. The lower the gauge, the thicker the wire.
I recommend the Geosiry MC4 extension cables (click to view on Amazon) that come in different lengths.
I like this specific cable because it has the protective tube which keeps the cables together.
Can I Connect A Harbor Freight Solar Panel To Anker 757?
If you have purchased a Harbor Freight panel without a solar charge controller it probably has what is called an SAE connector.
To connect it to the 757 you’re going to need an SAE to XT60 adapter like this (click to view on Amazon).
You will probably not have to use the reverse polarity adapter included with the adapter above, because the polarity should be correct right out of the box.
Please leave a comment down below if you have any questions.
The Anker 757 does not include an MC4 to XT60 adapter. I just purchased one. It would be nice if they did!
Hi,
Thanks for letting me know!
Not a comment but a question. Will the Rockpals PR085 200W (2022 model) work with the Anker 757? From the rockpals website:
Peak power: 200W
Power voltage: 18v
Power current: 11.1A max
Seems like it might be a good fit because Rockpals includes an XT60 connector (with their 4 in 1 cable).
Hi,
Yes, that panel should work great with the Anker 757.
Hi, I have a Rockpals upgraded 100W solar panel which only comes with connectors for 5.5*2.1mm, 6.5*3.0mm, 8mm, and Anderson. What adapter would you suggest to connect it to Anker’s XT60? Thanks in advance!
Hi,
An Anderson to XT60 adapter (click to view on Amazon) should work. Make sure you choose the correct “Style” on the Amazon listing.
Great article, so helpful, thank you!
Why do you say the Solar Panels output 18V, when most spec sheets state 12V, such as the Renogy 100W? If they were 12V, could you connect them in parallel to add the voltage and maintain a lower current closer to the max 10A?
Hi,
The panels are called 12V panels because they’re made for 12V battery systems. They don’t output 12V though, and it wouldn’t be very effective if they did since then they would be at or below the voltage of a 12V battery.
In a parallel connection, the amps are combined but the voltage stays the same. So you can combine two 100W panels in parallel to produce 11-12A, while the voltage will stay around 18-20.