Can You Use A Jackery SolarSaga Solar Panel With An EcoFlow Power Station?
Jackery and EcoFlow are two popular portable power station, also known as solar generator, brands. Both of them do not only manufacture portable batteries for traveling but also solar panels.
But can you combine the two, by connecting a Jackery SolarSaga panel to an EcoFlow power station, and if you can, how?
In this article I am going to tell you how it’s done and what you need to know.
Without further ado, let’s get to it.
Connect A Jackery Solar Panel To EcoFlow Delta Power Station
Before we get to the adapter needed to make the connection, let’s talk about what we are trying to do here.
The connector on the SolarSaga
Jackery makes the SolarSaga in three different sizes, 60W, 100W, and 200W.
One thing they have in common is the 8mm connector. The latest SolarSaga 100X (click to view on Amazon) also have the same connector.
The 8mm is a common connector that can be found on a lot of different solar panels and power stations, like Jackery, Goal Zero, and Bluetti. But not EcoFlow.
The input on the EcoFlow Power Stations
EcoFlow makes more than one power station. The most popular in the recent years is the Delta with 1260Wh, but lately the smaller River models have also become very popular.
One thing that all of the Delta and River power stations have in common is the XT60 input.
EcoFlow even includes an MC4 to XT60 adapter with all of its portable batteries, so you can easily connect a panel with MC4 connectors like the Renogy 100W w/ kickstand (click to view on Amazon).
That’s the panel I have been using with my Delta Max and Delta Mini.
How to connect an 8mm panel to an XT60 input
So the problem we have to solve is how to change the 8mm connector on the SolarSaga to an XT60 connector found on the EcoFlow power stations.
Fortunately, the solution is easy. It’s done with an adapter like this by SolarEnz (click to view on Amazon).
The input end of this adapter has an 8mm female connector, which is where you plug in the Jackery panel.
On the other end, there is an XT60 female connector which will plug into the power station.
Extension cables
You can use either XT60 or 8mm extension cables. I suggest buying the cable with the lowest gauge you can find, since that means a thicker cable which will equal less power loss.
I like the SolarEnz 20ft 8mm extension cable (click to view on Amazon) which comes in different lengths, but it’s not the lowest gauge out there. I just like it because it fits perfect with the SolarEnz 8mm adapters and connectors.
What if I have two panels?
If you have two SolarSaga panels, be it the 60W, 100W, or 200W, you can combine two with an SolarEnz 8mm Y branch parallel adapter (click to view on Amazon).
After connecting the two panels to the parallel adapter, you’ll plug it into the first adapter before plugging it into the input port.
One thing you should be aware of is the input rating on the power station you have. A lot of EcoFlows products have a 10A limit, which means that it won’t be able to use any amps over 10A. It’s still fine to connect though, as long as you stay within the voltage rating.
But let’s say you have two SolarSaga 100, which produce around 6A each, that will equal 12A on a sunny day.
Since the solar charge controller in the EcoFlow limits it to 10A, you’ll lose or waste 2 amps.
I still consider it worth connecting 200W though, since the conditions are not always perfect and your panels won’t be producing 12A when it’s cloudy or it’s early/late in the day.
If you use a long extension cable between the solar panel(s) and the power station it might not even reach 10A.
What about the other way around? An EcoFlow solar panel to a Jackery power station?
What you would need to do the opposite is an adapter with a female XT60 connector on one side and an 8mm male connector on the other.
I have not seen an adapter like this, but it would be easy to make your own if you have a soldering gun.
Please leave a comment down below if you have any questions.
Hi,
thanks a lot for your description.
There is only one thing left: the links to the adaptor cables on amazon are not working, maybe they are sold out.
Can you please tell me an other adress where I can get the required adapter to connect the Jackery SolarSaga to the EcoFlow River?
An adapter from Jackery SolarSaga to MC4 would also be helpful because the EcoFlow comes with an MC4 adapter, but I do not know where to get one.
Best regards,
Hendrik
Hi,
I found this one on Amazon DE (click to view). The listing is a bit unclear since there are two options that say the same thing but the pictures are different. The one I link to “Female positive” looks like it actually has the positive MC4 male connector, which is the one you want.
You might want to send the seller a message to make sure you’ll get the correct one. You want a 8mm female to MC4 connectors with a positive male connector.
Hi,
quote “On the other end, there is an XT60 male connector which will plug into the power station.”
Are you sure about this? Looks like an XT60 female connector, also the link is saying so (which could be correct nonetheless?)?
Best regards!
Hi,
Thanks for pointing that out, you’re correct! I’ve changed it now, thanks again!
Hi, thank you for your proposed solution.
I tried to connect a Solar Saga 100 to an EcoFlow portable station using the solution you mentioned, however it’s not working. I used the adaptor (DC 8mm to XT60) which I plugged into the EcoFlow, but I get nothing.
Note that I tried with a car battery, and that was working fine.
I tried to measure with a multimeter, and got a voltage output of about 16 V from the solar panel at the end of the XT60 cable, so it is within the range of values accepted by the EcoFlow. The solar panel also has no issue in charging a mobile phone in USB for example. I am very clueless as to why it’s not working.
I thought there would be a compatibility issue but your solution gave me hope that it should work anyway.
But apparently not. Any idea why?
Best regards,
Mathias
Hi again,
I guess I overestimated the capacity of the solar panels. They are advertised as working well under cloudy conditions. Today was a sunny day and I did get an output out in the Ecoflow eventually around 1 p.m.
Now the sun is hiding under clouds and is going down in two hours and I get nothing out.
So a bit disappointed in the panel but I guess with two of them one should be able to get a steady output at all times of the day. Specially during the summer it should not be a problem.
Anyway, your solution is indeed working so thank you!
Best,
Mathias
Hi, sorry for the late reply.
Thanks for reporting back on your findings, and yes that is disappointing that the panel can’t produce anything when it’s cloudy. It’s possible that the EcoFlow requires a certain amperage to start charging, but I am not aware of what that number/limit is.