Best Solar Panels For Rockpals Power Station + Use Any Brand

Which Solar Panels Are The Best For Rockpals Power Station/Solar Generators?

Rockpals is a popular brand that makes not only power stations but solar panels as well. They specialize in very portable products and their solar panels are popular because they can fold.

But you can actually use other solar panels with a Rockpals solar generator as well, and that’s what I am going to help you with today. I’ll also share my top recommendations when it comes to solar panels that you can use with a Rockpals battery.

The reason you might consider a third-party panel from a brand like Renogy, HQST, Newpowa, or Richsolar is that they make solid panels that are more durable and easier to mount on vehicles like an RV, van, or car.

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I have two 100W Renogy panels mounted on top of my travel trailer that I pair with my power station, and I wouldn’t be able to do this if I had foldable panels like the Rockpals ones.

First, let’s take a look at what Rockpals power stations I am looking at and what their ratings and ports are.

ROCKPALS 300W Portable Power Station, 280Wh CPAP Backup Battery Pack UPS Power Supply 110V Pure Sine Wave AC Outlet, QC3.0 USB, 12V/24V DC, LED Flashlight for Camping, Home, Emergency
ROCKPALS Portable Power Station 500W, 505Wh Solar Generator Backup Power Supply with 110V AC Outlet, 2 DC Port, Car Port, Type C, QC 3.0, Emergency Light for Camping Home CPAP Red
Input voltage rating
14-22V
18-24V
DC input connector size
GX16 2 Pin
5.5x2.5mm
Max input wattage
80W
90W
ROCKPALS 300W Portable Power Station, 280Wh CPAP Backup Battery Pack UPS Power Supply 110V Pure Sine Wave AC Outlet, QC3.0 USB, 12V/24V DC, LED Flashlight for Camping, Home, Emergency
Input voltage rating
14-22V
DC input connector size
GX16 2 Pin
Max input wattage
80W
ROCKPALS Portable Power Station 500W, 505Wh Solar Generator Backup Power Supply with 110V AC Outlet, 2 DC Port, Car Port, Type C, QC 3.0, Emergency Light for Camping Home CPAP Red
Input voltage rating
18-24V
DC input connector size
5.5x2.5mm
Max input wattage
90W

Note: Scroll left/right on small screens to see the whole table.

How To Connect Any Solar Panel To A Rockpals Solar Generator

As we can see in the table above, the DC inputs are different on each power station.

The adapter you need if you have the Rockpals 250W is the Aimtom MC4 to DC 5.5mm x 2.1mm. This is compatible with solar panels that come with MC4 connectors where the male MC4 connection is positive, and the negative female. All the solar panels I will recommend down below are made this way and will be compatible with the Rockpals solar generators.

Aimtom MC4 to DC 5.5mm x 2.1mm

AIMTOM 6.6Ft Heavy Duty Waterproof Solar Male/Female Connector to DC 5.5mm x 2.1mm Solar Panel Adapter Cable for Charging SPS-155 SPS-194 Power Stations, Solar Generators or Rechargeable Battery Pack

Check Price at Amazon

Note that you’re not going to need this adapter with all of the solar panel recommendations down below.

If you have the Rockpals 300W or plan on purchasing it, you don’t need an adapter because it comes with an MC4 to DC in the box. That adapter has a positive MC4 female connector and a negative MC4 male connector, which makes it compatible with the panels below.

It’s the same story with the Rockpals 500W, it comes with an MC4 to DC adapter to use with solar panels.

Best Solar Panels For Rockpals Batteries

Here are the best solar panels to use with a Rockpals power station.

Rockpals 60W Foldable Solar Panel – This is Rockpals own foldable portable solar panel. They have two models, a 60W, and a 100W. These are portable, durable, efficient monocrystalline solar panels.

Rockpals 100W Foldable Solar Panel – This is the 100W option of the panel above.

No products found. – One of the best portable choices when it comes to solar panels with a kickstand is Rockpals 80W model. This panel can be used with all of Rockpals solar generators and will efficiently recharge the battery during the sunny hours of the day. It has efficient monocrystalline panels, and the kickstands let you take full advantage of the sun since you can tilt it during the morning and the evening, or day in the wintertime, and angle it directly towards the sun. It beats Renogy’s suitcase since it’s so much more lightweight and travel-friendly.

Related Post: How big do solar panels need to be to recharge RV batteries?

Renogy 100W Solar Panel – If you want to mount a solar panel on top of your RV, van, car, or cabin roof, this is the kind of panel you want. I have two of these mounted on top of my travel trailer roof, and they’re incredible. Compatible with all three Rockpals solar generators, but requires the purchase of the adapter to use with the 250W.

Renogy 100W Suitcase without solar charge controller – I own two of these as well that I move around as needed during the day. The kickstand makes it very easy to angle the solar panel towards the sun to improve the charging efficiency, and they’re waterproof so you can leave it out even though the weather is bad. Compatible with the 300W/500W out of the box but the 250Wh requires the adapter.

Renogy 50W Solar Panel – If you would rather have a small durable panel that you can take out and charge your battery with when needed, this 50W panel from Renogy is a good choice. It’s an efficient monocrystalline panel that will generate between 30-40 watts in good sun. I recommend tilting during the wintertime or in the morning/evening so it’s angled towards the sun. Compatible with the 300W/500W straight out of the box with the included adapters, if you have the Rockpals 250Wh you’ll need to purchase the adapter.

How Can I Improve The Charging Efficiency Of My Solar Panel?

The easiest way to improve the charging efficiency of a solar panel is to tilt it towards the sun. It matters a lot when the sun isn’t right above you. During the morning and evening hours, a solar panel lying on the ground might not generate any watts at all, but if you tilt it and angle it directly towards the sun you might generate a couple of watts. If you go camping in the wintertime, you’re going to have to angle the solar panel all the time to not let a lot of electricity go to waste.

Related Post: Best 1-300Wh Solar Generator With MPPT Charge Controller

Another important thing is to make sure there is no shade on the panel. Just a little bit of shade can reduce the output amps significantly

How Long Will It Take To Recharge The Rockpals Battery With Solar Panels?

The Rockpals power stations I listed in the table have 240Wh, 280Wh, and 540Wh. It was hard to find any information about the max input wattage, and the ones in the table are estimates based on what I have found.

Related Post: Do Solar Generators Include Solar Panels?

If we assume an input of at least 50W, here is how long it would take to recharge each:

No products found. = 4.8 hours

Rockpals 280Wh = 5.6 hours

Rockpals 540Wh = 10.8 hours

I know for a fact that the largest Rockpals 540Wh can handle up to 80-90W, so if we assume it can input 80W with a 100W panel, it would take 6.75 hours to charge it from empty to full.

Which Rockpals Power Station Is the Best?

Which Rockpals solar generator is the best depends on what you need. If you only need to power phones, tablets, a TV, speakers, and a laptop, I think the No products found. is a really good power station. With 240 watt-hours of battery capacity, a 250W pure sine wave inverter, and an MPPT solar charge controller that increases the solar charging efficiency significantly in the morning, evening, winter, and cloudy days, it’s a very powerful and portable choice.

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It’s a power station that is hard to beat because it has so many of the things campers are looking for in a portable power station, all in under six pounds. The only negative thing I can think of is that it doesn’t have a regulated 12V output, so I wouldn’t use it with 12V fridges/freezers since they won’t run properly when the battery is low. If that’s a necessity to you, I recommend the Jackery Explorer 240.

Pair it with the No products found. and you could be out camping forever.

Let me know down below if you have any questions.

11 thoughts on “Best Solar Panels For Rockpals Power Station + Use Any Brand”

  1. I have rockpal 500W 520 for CPAP plus all else. I want at least 200 W solar power. Is 200 W solar power the max with rockpal 520 wh?

    What do I need to buy in Renogy for kickstand to get 200 W? two 100W suitcases without solar charge controller alone?

    Might I need anything else?

    Reply
    • Hey Susan,

      Looks like the Rockpals 500W can handle up to 90W input, so it won’t fully utilize the 200 watts worth of solar panels, but it will maximize the charging when it’s sunny.

      If it was me, I would get only one panel since the first panel will generate 70-80W during sunny hours, and the second panel would only add another 10-20W.

      If you still want two panels, then in addition to the two Renogy 100W with kickstand & without charge controllers, you’re going to need an MC4 Y branch to connect the two panels together in parallel. Then an MC4 To Anderson adapter

      If you would go with only one panel, you’d only need the MC4 To Anderson adapter and connect it directly to the panel.

      Another way to go would be to get a Dokio 160W, which is a very portable and foldable panel that I believe comes with the right connector for your Rockpals power station, so you don’t need anything else. It comes with a charge controller, but you don’t have to use it.

      Let me know if you have any questions.

      Jesse

      Reply
    • Hi,
      It will most likely just not charge at all, since the charge controller in the power station will see an already regulated voltage which will be too low to charge the battery.

      Reply
  2. I have 2 HQST 100w panels in parallel for my small camper. To charge my Rockpals 250, I need the Aimtom MC4 to DC 5.5mm x 2.1mm. Can I just disconnect the panels from my camper’s MPPT controller and connect to the Rockpals 250 with the adapter? Or should I disconnect the panels and only plug 1 into the Rockpals 250? Thanks for your help

    Reply
    • Yes, you’ll disconnect the charge controller before connecting any panel to the Rockpals. Looks like the Rockpals you have maxes out at around 65W, so if it’s sunny you won’t need more than one panel but if it’s cloudy it can be beneficial to connect both panels to the Rockpals in the same parallel connection you have already made.

      Reply
  3. Does a Rock Pals 500 have a built in solar charge controller or would I need to add one between a Renology 100 solar panel and the Rock Pals 500? Also, what cables do I need to connect the two?

    Reply
  4. I’m looking at the Rockpals 600W power station. Could you help me with what connector I would need to charge it with my Jackery SolarSaga 100W panels? Thanks much!

    Reply

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