DOKIO 110w 18v Portable Foldable Solar Panel Kit (21x28inch, 5.9lb),Solar Controller 2 USB Output to Charge 12v Batteries/Power Station (AGM, Lifepo4) Rv Camping Trailer Emergency Power

I got the 110w 18v portable folding solar panel kit. It was a very good price compared to what else is out there. Packaging was fine. The quality looks good. I also got a 20 foot Dokio XT60 extension cable so my power station doesn’t have to be so close to the solar panels. I set up this kit to charge my Bluetti EB3A. The connections were easy. The EB3A was just above 50% charged at the start of charging. The solar panel was in good sunlight and the charge rate was about 65w. It charged the EB3A the rest of the way up to 100% in about two hours. So far it works great and I’m happy with it. This is a good deal.

This kit can charge a lifepo4 battery. Maximum charge current is coming from this cheap pwm charge controller, it's only at around 14.6 volts max voltage from this controller with this solar panel. Which is enought to charge a 12v lifepo4 battery at 14.4 volts charging. The only trick to charge a lifepo4 battery more quickly, is to have full sun day on solar panels.Best to invest in a mppt controller charger, but not totally necessary for a small solar panel setup like this. 14.4 volts in full sunlight on this solar panel to charge your lifepo4 battery fully. Make sure solar panel face is facing sun at 90 degrees to sun for best voltage.These solar panels seem to work, but they are fragile. Do not bend them too much, I heard one making a slight crackling sound when bending slightly. Good to have or make a solar stand that supports this solar panel well so it doesn't bend much. Like make a solar stand out of pvc pipe and carriage bolts to make a folding frame stand.Nice to have this light weight portable solar panel. Does charge a 12v lifepo4 battery 50 ah pretty quickly. But better to buy another solar panel to get more juice to battery for when you have loads on battery, and for charging, topping off your battery much faster.Too bad that all solar panels are only about 23 percent efficient or less. Can you imagine if solar was 100 percent efficient ? You could then run the whole World off of pure sunlight !!! Plenty of power comes from solar if We could get much more efficient panels, controllers and batteries. We need about 50 percent more efficient solar for it to really take off, and for a forever energy source.Solar panels used in space by NASA etc. like on all satellites, work better in the coldness of space, if you chill a solar panel down in temperature you can get much higher charge current. Much More effeciency from freezing temps, on a solar panel.

Final update, July 2024. After having (now a total of three) of these Dokio panels, I need to update my review. I won't change the stars, but really only think they are a 3 star product now. Two issues. The first, and most important, is I'm finding the SAE connectors coming off the panels expand and soften when they get really hot (90 degree day in sunshine), and lose connection. They also pull apart super easily, and you may not immediately notice you've lost that connection. Second issue with the SAE (and XT60) are they are not standard for solar. Virtually every other brand out there uses MC4 connectors. Neither the SAE nor the XT60 allow you to connect panels in series (which you may well want to do if you are using any other controller than the cheap one provided). I ended up cutting the SAE connectors off and wiring directly to the XT60 from the panel, then building an adapter from that to MC4.Second major reason for "downgrading" my review is the amount of power they produce (or don't). I have two "brand x" panels each rated at 200 watts, and they provide about the same amount of power as the three Dokio 220 watt panels (in both cases,panels connected in series - so three Dokios versus two "brand x" and those combinations provide roughly the same power).I'm going to keep the Dokios, as I already have them, and they are lighter weight and more portable than "brand x", so are easy to haul for portable use where I may not need more than what one panel provides. They do work, just not as well as some of the competition.Another update. I do like the portability. Since writing the below review, I can report the absolute highest production I've seen from the panel was about 140 watts. However, this panel is priced comparable to a number of 100 watt panels (and produces more than 100), so I guess it is a reasonable value in that regard. I decided to order a second one of theses so as to have a pair of matching units that I can parallel for higher power, and the second unit arrived today. It works comparable to the first unit, and in parallel they do produce twice the power as either by itself. Today was an overcast day without shadow, so power output was quite low - about 20 to 30 watts per panel. With both in parallel I was getting 40 to 60 watts with full overcast and substantially more with partial clearing (but not direct sunlight). Usable if not ideal, but decent for the portability.Product as described, very brief setup and test late afternoon appears to work well. But one major issue, the XT60 connector for the load connection to the charge controller is not the correct connector. Am ordering correct connector, but that added $10 to overall cost. I had already cut some of the wires to put power pole connectors on, so was past point of returning. Unnecessary hassle if they checked product before shipping this would not have happened.Today I received the correct connector (ordered separately from different vendor), and hooked everything up. On the brightest, sunniest, day of the year (summer solstace), in direct sunlight, I'm pulling an absolute maximum of 8.8 amps @ 12.7 volts, or about 112 watts (from a panel rated at 220 watts). While I am neither surprised, nor disappointed (this is about what I was expecting and hoping for), it is clearly not what the panel is rated/advertised at. This is better than what I was getting from a less expensive, lower quality, panel bought elsewhere. Note, I am at 47.7° N Latitude (WA State), so solar is less effective than say Arizona or Texas. Getting about 1/2 of advertised power seems to be fairly consistent reporting from a variety of users. I have not checked performance in shade or any other condition than direct sunlight - obviously it will be less effective but I don't know how much so.