How You Can Recharge Your Suaoki Power Station With Solar Panels
Suaoki is a well-known company in the new solar generator/power station category. Their portable batteries are used everywhere, for home emergencies, camping outdoors, RV owners, CPAP users, and even people that want a UPS at home in case the power goes out.
Their portable lithium batteries are available in a lot of different sizes depending on what the customer needs, and with AC outlets, USB ports, 12V outputs, it’s easy to understand why they’re so popular.
Related Post: This solar panel is compatible with both 12V RV/car batteries and power stations
There are three ways to recharge these power stations: at home with the AC wall charger, in the car through a cigarette port, and with solar panels.
Today I am going to focus on how to charge the Suaoki products with solar panels.
I’ll help you figure out the limitations of each power station Suaoki makes, the maximum charging wattage they can handle, how long it takes to recharge, and last but not least, the best solar panels you can use to recharge them.
Best Solar Panels For Suaoki Solar Generators
Let’s start by looking at a couple of great solar panels that can recharge the Suaoki power stations. Then we’ll look at each Suaoki battery to figure out inputs, limitations, and ratings.
Note: Scroll left/right on small screens to see the whole table.
Suaoki Power Stations Listed
Here are the most popular Suaoki power stations and their specifications.
I couldn’t find every spec about every one of them, so if you have any extra information from the manual for either of these, please leave a comment and I will update the post to make it more accurate.
Note: Scroll left/right on small screens to see the whole table.
What You Should Know When Choosing A Panel
So as we can see above, the smaller models have DC inputs, while the larger models have APP (Anderson Power Pole) inputs.
The APP port will charge the large models faster than when using the DC 5.5×2.5/2.1mm port, so it’s great that Suaoki has put the Anderson Power Pole inputs on them.
While there are DC ports on the large models as well for the wall charger, Suaoki recommends using the APP for solar inputs.
It’s still possible to connect solar panels to the DC port inputs, though, in case you want one of the portable panels that don’t have MC4 connectors.
Related Post: Suaoki G500 Vs Jackery Explorer 500
Five out of the six models come with an MC4 to DC/APP adapter cable so they’re compatible with the panels above straight out of the box.
If you have the Suaoki 222Wh Portable Generator, you’re going to need an adapter like the iGreely MC4 to DC cable (click to view on Amazon) if you want to use a solar panel with MC4 connectors.
iGreely MC4 to DC Adapter Cable
This adapter is required to use MC4 panels with the 222Wh model.
How Do I Connect The Solar Panel To The Suaoki?
It depends on which power station you have and which solar panel you chose. If your Suaoki came with the MC4 to DC adapter and you picked a panel with MC4 connectors, it can only be connected one way.
If you chose a panel with DC and USB ports, it probably came with several DC outputs, one being the 5.5×2.5/2.1mm your Suaoki supports.
Suaoki’s largest Suaoki 120W even comes with a DC to APP cable so you can plug it into the larger models that have an APP input.
It’s also possible your solar panel came with MC4 connectors, and you want to use the APP input for a quicker charge, then you would need a No products found. (some power stations include this adapter). Note that you might have to rearrange the APP side of it to fit your Suaoki battery. It’s easy to do.
How To Use Third-Party Panels From Companies Like Renogy, HQST, Newpowa, ECO-WORTHY
You can use third-party panels without buying an adapter with every Suaoki power station except for the 222Wh, which requires the adapter above.
The MC4 adapter included with the other models have a positive female MC4 connector and a negative male MC4 connector. That makes it compatible with 100W solar panels from a lot of different companies, like Renogy 100W, HQST 100W, Newpowa 100W, and Eco-Worthy 100W.
These come with MC4 connectors and will connect directly to the adapter Suaoki included with your power station.
How Long Will It Take To Recharge The Suaoki?
Using the battery capacity in watt-hours and the output of your solar panel, you can calculate how long it will take.
The calculation looks like this: Wh/W=hours, for example. The G1000 has 1183Wh and can handle up to 150W solar input, 1183/150=7.89 hours.
Remember that a 100W solar panel doesn’t generate 100W but around 55-70W. So to reach the 150W limit on the G1000, you would need 200W or more of solar panels.
Can I Improve The Charging Efficiency When Using Solar Panels?
What you can do to make sure the solar panel is generating as much electricity is possible is to angle the solar panel towards the sun. This will help a lot in the morning and the evening when the sun is low on the horizon.
Laying the panel flat on the ground is only the most efficient way to charge when the sun is straight above in the summer.
What If My Suaoki Power Station Isn’t Listed Above?
If I didn’t list a specific Suaoki power station on the table, it’s most likely still compatible with the solar panels I recommended. I haven’t seen a Suaoki power station without either a DC or an APP input.
Which Solar Panel Is The Best For Suaoki Batteries?
The panels I recommend above are good for different uses. Some are great for hiking, while others are better mounted on top of a vehicle like an RV, or put on the ground.
My favorite out of the panels on the list is the Suaoki 120W Foldable Solar Panel Charger. It’s a very versatile panel that can be used in lots of different ways.
It’s easy to pack, easy to set up with the built-in kickstand, very efficient in its 120W, and has a lot of connectors for not only power stations but also 12V batteries. Besides that, it has a USB C Port capable of delivering up to 60W so you can charge a Nintendo Switch and the latest laptops with it.
For camping, the Renogy 50W Eclipse is another one of my favorite panels. It’s rigid, has a built-in kickstand, can be left out overnight, and has a very efficient monocrystalline panel from a reputable company.
Which Suaoki Power Station Is The Best?
It depends on what you need to run. If you only need to charge your phone, tablet, and a speaker, the smallest model is more than enough.
If you travel full-time in an RV, van, or car I would recommend at least the 400Wh model. It can run TVs, laptops, speakers, computers, and tablets.
To run kitchen appliances like a small coffee maker and a toaster, the Suaoki G1000 is the only choice.
Can I Plug A Suaoki Power Station Into An RV/Van?
I have written a post that talks about doing this, but when talking specifically about Suaoki batteries, the only one I recommend plugging an RV or van into is the Suaoki G1000.
With a Camco 15A to 30A or a Camco 15A to 50A depending on if you have a 30/50A RV camper, you can plug it into the battery and let it recharge your trailer batteries, while also allowing you to use the outlets in your camper.
It won’t run the air conditioner or microwave, but it will run everything else with its 1000W pure sine wave inverter.