Jackery SolarSaga 60W Solar Panel for Explorer 160/240/500 as Portable Solar Generator, Portable Foldable Solar Charger for Summer Camping Van RV(Cant Charge Explorer 440/ PowerPro)

I bought this with a Jackary 240 this winter and love the 240, but am not thrilled with the Solarsaga 60. When first used in best sun it made 46 watts charging. After that it usually only charges at 40 watts, even in great sun. I have tried angling it, but still cannot get more than 40 to 42 watts now. During its first use several of the solar cells discolored and became lightened. I sent an email to Jackary, but they have not responded. Many people on the Internet say that Jackary does not have the service after sale they once had. This should be sold as a 40 watt solar panel, not a 60 watt !

Im an avid astrophotographer. I wanted dependable solar panels to charge my Jackery Explorer 500 and 240 power stations during the day, then use that power to run my imaging rig all night while shooting planets and deep space images. I ended up buying both the Jackery SolarSaga 60 watt and 100 watt panels and I couldnt be happier with how they perform. The 60 watt is a great match for the Explorer 240. The 240s charge controller limits the input to about 40 watts so the 60 watt panel is perfect for it. Even with that limitation, it charges the 240 quickly. I use the 100 watt panel to charge the larger Explorer 500 power station and they work well together. I have used this 60 watt panel to charge the Explorer 500 but it takes a little longer. The 500 can charge at around 80 watts so it saves time using the larger panel for charging it. The 60 watt panel is easy to use because its very light and has a handy kickstand on the back to get it angled up at the sun. It has snaps to keep it folded when not in use. The material is very high quality and should stand up to heavy use for many years. I did buy a Rockpals 60 watt panel and while it works well, its output isnt quite as good as the Jackery Solarsaga 60 nor is it as easy to use (see photo). The Jackery produces more power with just the three panels vs the Rockpals four panels. The Jackery power stations charged by the panels allow me to do some nice planetary and deep sky work.

Advertising suggests that it will take 6.5 hours for this solar panel to charge a Jackery Explorer 240. From my limited experience the panels will charge the 240 much quicker than that even on a partly sunny day. These panels are really marvelous. Easy to set up, use and store. Many of our devices that are battery powered are charged via USB. These panels are perfect for that and are one more thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint. I dont know that embedded carbon in manufacturing these panels, but investing in solar panels like these promotes research into all the different ways we may capture energy from the sun.

So I am now an owner of almost every item in the Jackery product line, but here I will focus on the Solar Saga 60W solar panels for one primary reason: they are the most portable item in the entire line. There are a bit smaller than the 100W solar panels (as intended), but theyre also designed to be used with the smaller powerstations/batteries (further promoting portability). I use these whenever I am taking my car to go to the outdoors, along with the Explorer 240. They work as described by the manufacturer (i.e. it takes full daylight hours of a day to charge the battery), which means theres a risk of not having power during the day when it is charging (since pass through charging is not recommended). My solution? I purchased 2 batteries, so that one is charging using these solar panels, while the other one is in use! This way I have power round the clock.

The Solar Sega is the latest component added to our emergency preparedness schematic, which also includes the Jackery 160 and 240 Power Stations, as well as a host of power banks, etc. During short term power outages (which don’t necessitate cranking up the generator), the 160 and 240 each have a primary job addressing design flaws in our personal weather station, and our fixed wireless internet. I purchased the Solar Sega for use during longer term outages due to hurricanes, ice storms, etc. After the hurricanes and severe summer thunderstorms blow through and knock the power out, the weather is always clear and sunny. So the Solar Sega’s job will be to keep the Jackery Power Stations up and running, so that they in turn can keep the weather station and internet, as well as all of our devises and battery banks, up and running without having to string more extensions cords to the generator. This can be a real pain and a danger as well. Cords, splitters, more cords… . Now, thanks to Jackery, we are able to set up two “charging stations”-- one for wifi, husband’s computer, and his devises, and one for weather station monitor and all of my stuff. Before I provide the details of how my test run went, I’d like to address a comment a video reviewer had about the pouch on the back of the folded panel which holds the 9’ extension cord. The reviewer thinks this is a design flaw and I agree, to a degree. The issue is that when the 3-section panel is opened, and laid on the ground, the bulge in the middle (pouch on back of center panel) makes it impossible for the panel to lay flat. This is true. But it does not take into consideration that there are only three places on earth (and for each, only twice a year) where this matters-- where the panel would properly be flat-- 0° angle-- for optimal absorption of the sun’s energy. Here in the deep south, my angle of incidence for summer-- the smallest it will be all year-- is 6°. As you can see from the photograph, I did some improvisation with a piece of cardboard to get the correct tilt. At 6° the pouch is just barely was off the ground except at the middle. At all other, greater angles, it will be above the surface. So for folks who determine what angles of incidence are optimal at their latitudes, this isn’t that big a deal. If you just pitch the thing out the on the ground, it is. All that said, I would have liked to see the panel with a fourth section at one end, i.e., the pouch section. This would also allow the extension cord to be connected without the panel resting on it. How did it go? Good and bad. In the end it was fine, though I have some general questions for Jackery. The panel arrived just before noon on a day that started out with 25% scattered high clouds, and 102k LUX in full sun. I gathered up a white sheet upon which to lay the panel and deflect the heat, a piece of cardboard to get a tilt close to optimal, the Jackery 160 which was down to 63%, and had it set up and running by 12:15. Started off slowly but jumped up to 35W input in just a few seconds. (Maximum input to the station is 42W.) At 12:54 curiosity got the better of me and I’m glad it did. The Jackery 160 was in full critical mode! Lots of warning lights, and about 1/3 of the display was solid black. Hot as blazes-- this is not good-- unplugged it and took it inside. I just happened to have a lazar thermometer: the front was 110°; sides, about 100; back 90; top measured 122° and that’s after a couple of minutes inside. Took it out to the shop and put it in front of a window unit A/C. Within 10 minutes it had cooled to less than 80, and had been charged to 72%. But this was still not good. While I was at it, I measured the surface of the panel, 170°. Very not good. The maximum recharging temperature for the Jackery is 104°F. The “operating temperature range’ for the panel is 14-104°F. The air temperature was about 92 (didn’t think to get ground temperature). I risked it and put the Jackery back out there-- in the shade!-- at about 1:10pm. I monitored the temperatures. Jackery 160 surfaces stayed at 86-96, it was starting to cloud up and the temperature of the panel surface dropped to 150. Bottom line, the panel charged the Jackery 160 from 63% to full in 2 hours and 45 minutes which included about 15 minutes of panic and I’m guessing self-shut-down for some amount of time during the high temperature warning. To its credit, the station did what it was supposed to do-- shut down if over heating-- and recovered nicely. I’m assuming that maximum recharging temperature for the 160 is the temperature of the unit, since the air temp was not 104. So that’s on me; in the summer in Mississippi keep it in the shade (that 9’ extension cord will do the trick). But, question for Jackery (which has great customer service by the way). What does “operating temperature range” mean? It must mean the temperature of the panel itself. If so, what suggestions do you have for keeping the panel cooler? I’m thinking elevating it above ground to increase airflow is the place to start. If it’s going to do the job after summer storms/hurricanes that I described above, it has to work when it’s hot outside. Suggestions? Please note, this is not unique to the Solar Sega. All portable solar panels are black. That’s a heat absorption problem. A couple of other things. As I mentioned, the angle of incidence at your latitude matters for efficiency. I’d like to see Jackery include a map or table (season by latitude) in the owner’s manual with that information. I also tested how well the 160 did with pass-through wattage while charging with the panel. About as good as AC changing. Bottom bottom line is I’d like to see Jackery do three things: 1) explain to consumers the efficiency of its solar panel as it relates to angle of incidence; 2) highlight the recharging maximum temperatures with a waring to place the Power Stations in the shade; and 3) give some ideas about how one would efficiently recharge a Power Station via a Solar Sega in the heat of the summer.

— Update — Since my original review, Jackery support contacted me for a follow-up, and learning of my overall feedback, offered to provide me an upgraded panel to replace my original 60W panel. This communicates a passion by the company to ensure customers are completely satisfied. I think that’s awesome. +1 star for giving the customer a great experience. Also a note regarding interoperability with other solar products; I’ve continued researching Zamp, and have learned that they intentionally use non-standard connectors that reverse polarity (positive is negative and negative is positive). It seems solar companies are focusing on proprietary ecosystems, which I think is a negative for the consumer solar industry at large. I would like to see providers anticipate the consumer. As for Jackery, I’m very grateful that they replaced my burned-out panel, and provided an upgrade. This shows they are willing to “make things right,” regardless of consumer expectations. — Original — I recently purchased a SolarSage 60W and used it to charge a Jackery 240 + smaller batteries. It worked great, showing up to 54W output in winter...until I plugged it into my travel trailers Zamp solar charging input (mounted on the side of the trailer for solar panels). For some reason, connecting the Saga 60W into the solar port on my trailer, caused the batteries on the trailer to send too much current to the panels (as if they were a connected energy consuming device), instantly frying the solar panels components. Toast. Complete destruction within seconds. Black smoke, melted plastic and all. The panels look find, but the circuit connector on the back is fried. I contacted Jackery support and they explained that the Saga 60W has no flow control / surge / or any sort of circuitry protection. Its brainless and doesnt have any sort of built-in controller. Thus, frying the panel was my fault. Jackery did send me a replacement; a previous generation 60W panel which they said is identical to the current generation, except that my purchased Saga 60W had USB ports and the replacement panel does not. Thats awesome on their part, but I consider the lack of an on-board controller or other flow protection device a failure in design. Jackerys perspective was that the panels arent supposed to have a controller; thats the job of the receiving device (thats why their batteries have controllers). Oh well. Lesson learned. Jackery support told me clearly that I cannot use this panel with anything but Jackery products. The panel they sent in replacement looks identical to the original one, minus the USB ports. It is performing great, and in the winter, in SoCal clear skies during the peak of the day, my Jackery 240 is showing up to 55 W of input from the 60 W panel. Thats fantastic performance. The only other criticism I have is the material used to connect the three panels together is soft, meaning it has no rigid structure, so the outside 2 panels sort of sag vs. the center panel which is supported by a kickstand. On that note, competitive products have adjustable kick-stands so you can optimize the panels orientation to the sun. These do not. Its out or in. My recommendation would be to buy the next level-up panel that has a rigid body, and use it exclusively with Jackery products...just to be safe.

Used this during the weeklong Texas power outage of Feb 2021. I learned that: 1. In the winter, the sun would be so weak that this small solar panel would charge very slowly, or not at all on cloudy days. The only way this solar panel would charge at a rate that youd expect is if there is FULL SUN and you have positioned it DIRECTLY for HOURS in FULL BLAZING SUN. Makes sense, right? Ideally, you should have some way of positioning it flat on a rooftop, but if you are in an apartment building with no way to go outside, it has limited use against a window, no matter how bright it may be outside. 2. I bought this small one for portability, and also as a relatively inexpensive starter set with a Jackery 160 power station. The small surface area of the solar panel means less catchment of suns rays. I suppose I could use it while camping, but it is fragile to transport. 3. In the end, I can see myself using the power station only, and not the solar panel. You might consider saving yourself some money. Unless you are doing outdoor camping, in high summer. In which case, buy the biggest solar panel you can afford for full catchment of the suns rays, not this little one.

This solar panel is perfect to combine with a small Jackery generator for a camping trip! Kept our devices charged all week! Wish it was a little faster but overall Jackery products are the way to go!

I debated whether or not to buy a cheaper panel than the Jackery. Ultimately, I decided the kickstands, the magnetic closure, the ability to charge usb and USB-c directly from the panel, and the proper charging input without the need for an adapter for my 240 were worth the price. I dont have other panels to compare it to, but I can say that, so far, I am 100% happy I chose the SolarSaga. For one, I didnt realize that its actually a 68w vs a 60w panel. Im testing it as we speak and am currently getting 65w out of it when the sun peaks out and 25w when it goes behind the clouds. Thats at 10:30 am. For two, I also didnt realize that my 240 unit could handle that. I thought it topped out at 42w input. Apparently the later models can? During my testing yesterday the unit rose from 0% to 34% in 2 hours. I did have good sun and was getting about 50 watts. Well see what it does when the sun wont come out at all, but so far I can say that is plenty for my use. My wife and I camp every other weekend and never fully drain the 240 in a day, so I think well be able to top it off every day no problem with 2 or 3 hours of mediocre sunshine. That alone makes it a game changer for us. Were going camping again in10 days. Ill update this if Im wrong about any of this.