Costco Folding Solar Panel Sale - 100W, 200W or 300W

[DGLP]

You would need to find an adaptor to connect from the Massimo panel to the Zamp port.
Details on the Massimo specs are limited.

[WanderBred]

Originally Posted by DGLP

You would need to find an adaptor to connect from the Massimo panel to the Zamp port.
Details on the Massimo specs are limited.

I agree with that.

[Viajante]

Originally Posted by DGLP

The 100 watt Go Power Duralite expansion panel specs:

Output Power

100W

Rated Current

5.06A

Rated Voltage

19.8V

We need an electronics guru to weigh in. Both Lexsun and Renogy panels also state optimum or output voltages of 18v, with open circuit voltages of 21.4 - 21.6v. This is without a solar controller. Is that any different than the Costco panel? On other threads people report using both Renogy and Lexsun as auxiliary panels connected to a zamp or other port.

I also looked at the gopower site and saw the specs for the "100w power module" to be 18.4v and 22.6v open circuit. Again, it looks like all of these panels are of the same class.

[Sean2a]

Originally Posted by DGLP

This is the type of connector that would fit the Zamp port, Sean.

Too bad they didn’t think to include one. I guess you could always cut and splice the Zamp adaptor in

[Sean2a]

Just need someone to take the dive and order one of these, try them out and report back before the sale runs out Though like others mentioned Costco has a very generous return policy. I once returned a humidifier to them a couple years after purchase, no receipt, no problem.

[WanderBred]

Originally Posted by Sean2a

Just need someone to take the dive and order one of these, try them out and report back before the sale runs out Though like others mentioned Costco has a very generous return policy. I once returned a humidifier to them a couple years after purchase, no receipt, no problem.

As long as you're not cutting the wires and splicing things they will.

[alanerickson]

SAE is what I have on my suitcase. I have an adapter like this and it works fine. Even includes an adapter to get the polarity right, but I plan on switching my camper wiring around so it's not needed.

[Ooshkaboo]

This is a email from Escape about a month ago, not sure if it helps but here it is…

Thanks for reaching out to Escape After Sales with questions regarding a portable solar panel, there are no specific panels that need to be used with the current solar set up. Most portable panels will connect in a similar fashion to the Zamp port, note that the Zamp port has been wired as per industry standard, red to positive and black to negative. Some solar companies reverse this set up, make sure you test the power are the connection coming from the solar panel to make sure the positive sides match up. See Photo showing positive side.

[HABBERDABBER]

eBay has this for a similar price:
Renogy 100W Watt 12V Volt Monocrystalline Foldable Solar Suitcase RV Camping
$170 Free shipping.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/20371638800...sAAOSwjphhAkBx

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Ooshkaboo

....note that the Zamp port has been wired as per industry standard, red to positive and black to negative...

yeah, but which color goes to the 'pin' on the port, and which to the 'socket'. SAE connectors can be connected either way. note one side of this has a positive pin, the other side ahsa negative pin.

on the SAE port connected to a battery or other power source, you want the pin to be negative/ground, and the protected socket to be positive, this is to prevent accidental shorts. gets a little trickier with a solar panel as it is also a power source, but if it was wired such that the pin was negative, then when you plugged it into the RV battery side, the polarity would be backwards.

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

yeah, but which color goes to the 'pin' on the port, and which to the 'socket'. SAE connectors can be connected either way. note one side of this has a positive pin, the other side ahsa negative pin.

on the SAE port connected to a battery or other power source, you want the pin to be negative/ground, and the protected socket to be positive, this is to prevent accidental shorts. gets a little trickier with a solar panel as it is also a power source, but if it was wired such that the pin was negative, then when you plugged it into the RV battery side, the polarity would be backwards.

Sometimes we can over complicate things, I’m ok with their instructions. Maybe you could email them and get this straightened out…

[brroberts]

Not sure what ETI is currently doing, but my Sept ‘21 build had the factory optioned Zamp port wired Zamp, not SAE. You need to just check when you get the trailer and see what you have. I asked ETI to wire it SAE, and they said no.

[John in Santa Cruz]

the zamp connector *IS* SAE.

when you plug two SAE connectors into each other, one of them has the exposed pin positive, the other has the exposed pin negative, just like the two connectors on that 'loop' I posted above.

[brroberts]

It is the same style connector, but Zamp does not wire it the same, and ETI followed the Zamp standard, not the SAE standard.

[DGLP]

Originally Posted by Viajante

We need an electronics guru to weigh in. Both Lexsun and Renogy panels also state optimum or output voltages of 18v, with open circuit voltages of 21.4 - 21.6v. This is without a solar controller. Is that any different than the Costco panel? On other threads people report using both Renogy and Lexsun as auxiliary panels connected to a zamp or other port.

I also looked at the gopower site and saw the specs for the "100w power module" to be 18.4v and 22.6v open circuit. Again, it looks like all of these panels are of the same class.

I'm not sure what mean by "the same class". I checked the Go Power website and found four different 100 watt solar panels:
Solar Flex, Slim, Retreat and Duralite. The first three are mounted panels and the Duralite is portable. The Vmp and Voc are different for each panel.

Check out this forum post for a discussion of characteristic voltage when matching portable panels to existing panels: "Adding portable solar to roof mounted panel".

[DGLP]

Here is the link to that post:

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...nel-20449.html

[DGLP]

Originally Posted by brroberts

It is the same style connector, but Zamp does not wire it the same, and ETI followed the Zamp standard, not the SAE standard.

I checked with Escape on February 9th. The positive goes to the female as shown in the photo.

[DGLP]

For my portable panel, I had Powerwerx make an extension cable using Anderson Powerpole connectors. I also purchased an adapter from Powerwerx that has both SAE connector ends, just in case:

https://powerwerx.com/bullet-sae-to-powerpole-connector

[Viajante]

Originally Posted by DGLP

Here is the link to that post:

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...nel-20449.html

Thanks for the link to previous discussions on the acceptability of small voltage differences between panels. All good information.

By “class of panel” I mean panels that are 18v, plus or minus a bit. The range seems to be 17.7v to 19.7 v. When you consider voltage drop for an auxiliary panel with length of wire, connections, etc., the voltage reaching the port will be something different anyway.

If one’s existing system is something other than 18v, such as 36v as in post #10, above, then you have to look at alternatives.

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by DGLP

I checked with Escape on February 9th. The positive goes to the female as shown in the photo.

This also is form Escape.
The red arrow is the positive…