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expiredxjimmyx posted Mar 23, 2023 10:31 PM
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expiredxjimmyx posted Mar 23, 2023 10:31 PM

Lion Energy GO 20 Portable 20W Solar Panel

+ Free Shipping

$8.50

$10

15% off
Lion Energy
257 Comments 54,142 Views
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Update: This deal is still available.

Lion Energy has Lion Energy GO 20 Portable 20W Solar Panel on sale for $8.50 when you apply discount code BN during checkout. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Community Member xjimmyx for sharing this deal.

About this Item:
  • 20W Solar Panel with Monocrystalline cells
  • Dual USB 11.8" connector wire from panel to Lion Cub GO with max current output of 8A
  • 2 USB 5.34V @ 4A outputs
  • Dimensions: 18.4" x 14.3" x 1" (L x W x H)
  • Weight: 3 lbs

Editor's Notes

Written by qwikwit | Staff
  • About this Deal:
    • This matches a recent Frontpage deal.
    • Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars from 32 reviews.

Original Post

Written by xjimmyx
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Update: This deal is still available.

Lion Energy has Lion Energy GO 20 Portable 20W Solar Panel on sale for $8.50 when you apply discount code BN during checkout. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Community Member xjimmyx for sharing this deal.

About this Item:
  • 20W Solar Panel with Monocrystalline cells
  • Dual USB 11.8" connector wire from panel to Lion Cub GO with max current output of 8A
  • 2 USB 5.34V @ 4A outputs
  • Dimensions: 18.4" x 14.3" x 1" (L x W x H)
  • Weight: 3 lbs

Editor's Notes

Written by qwikwit | Staff
  • About this Deal:
    • This matches a recent Frontpage deal.
    • Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars from 32 reviews.

Original Post

Written by xjimmyx

Community Voting

Deal Score
+73
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Top Comments

sjguy01
972 Posts
918 Reputation
Received mine today. I can confirm the dual male micro USB is unregulated 8V open circuit from the panel, and the two plugs are in parallel. The female USB ports on the box are separate. 1 panel won't have high enough voltage for solar controllers so I tried splicing 2 panels up in series and got 15.6V open circuit in afternoon sun.

In afternoon sun I got about 24W (13.3V at 1.8A) from the 2 in series which is less than I expected for the conditions, but maybe it was a bad connection (I was using alligator clips to temporarily connect the wires). A 100W rigid panel in the same conditions was getting 75-80W.
sjguy01
972 Posts
918 Reputation
Yeah the 2 female USB-A ports are regulated at 5V so I'd trust it as much as any other cheap phone charger. They don't have any fast charge protocols so you will be limited to 5W or 10W depending on if you device is willing to accept 1A or 2A without any fast charge protocol.

If you leave your phone or power bank you'd want them out of the sun. If you put it under the panel's shade make sure the panel is propped up to allow airflow underneath or your phone will bake.
Rezer
1021 Posts
471 Reputation
So I finally got these panels yesterday and today I did some basic testing to see what the output looks like.

First of all, taking the cover off the back of the panel is a destructive process. The plastic cover is screwed to the PCB from the side that's facing the panel on two opposing corners, and the PCB itself is glued to the panel making those screws inaccessible. You could probably drill out the screws by going through the back of the cover, but I wasn't in the mood for making a replacement cover. I did manage to get the end cap off which is just a snap-in fit over the USB A ports and I was able to see that each USB A output is fed by individual buck converters (2x inductor + 2x unidentified 8 pin chip). So they're not just linear regulators at least, which is nice, and the dedicated buck converter for each port means you can sustain higher current when both ports are in use.

I then tested it with a variable load in full southern california sun at solar noon with the panel pointed straight at the sun, and found that each USB A port voltage starts falling below 5V when it pulls anything north of ~1A. It holds 4.8V pretty well up through 1.8A, and once you get up to 2A it drops to about 4.5V. I was able to push it up to just north of 4A before the voltage fell off a cliff, but at 4A the voltage had dropped to very close to 4V. Long story short, any device plugged into the USB A port is unlikely to ever pull much more than 1.5A just due to the voltage drop, even at peak solar output.

That's not the whole story through, because I repeated the load test with a power bank charging from the other USB A port. The power bank was only pulling about 1.25A at 4.95V, but it kept pulling that amount even as the other port approached 4A. Even better, it maintained 4.95V until the load from the other port completely swamped the panel's output, at which point both ports dropped to < 2V of output. The peak output I saw is very close to if not slightly over the 20W peak output claimed for this panel. Unfortunately, due to the way USB charging works (e.g. devices tend to pull as much as they can until the voltage drops to around 4.8-4.9V), it's very unlikely that you'll hit 20W even with 2 devices charging in full midday sun. The buck inverters just aren't up to the task for 2A of output while maintaining 5V, but that's not the panel's fault...with a proper regulator connected to the unregulated micro USB ports I'd imagine 20W is pretty doable.

256 Comments

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Mar 24, 2023 01:26 AM
1,890 Posts
Joined Sep 2018
Gears_and_BeersMar 24, 2023 01:26 AM
1,890 Posts
I'm going to assume it's not even 'water resistant' considering how far they went out of their way to skip that topic.

Still seems like a deal.
3
Mar 24, 2023 01:27 AM
3,947 Posts
Joined Oct 2012
donldmnMar 24, 2023 01:27 AM
3,947 Posts
I got a couple. Might look into converting the double micro usb to usb c for power outages or something like that.
1
Mar 24, 2023 01:34 AM
834 Posts
Joined Nov 2005
rpowerMar 24, 2023 01:34 AM
834 Posts
Could this be used to power 2 Wyze cameras? Also, I assume you'd need a battery pack to store power?
Mar 24, 2023 01:40 AM
121 Posts
Joined Jul 2007
thespeedofdarkMar 24, 2023 01:40 AM
121 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank thespeedofdark

It looks to have 2 USB plugin outputs on the bottom of the black box on the back.

That might calm a few people down.

It's just a re-branded panel.
1
Mar 24, 2023 01:41 AM
577 Posts
Joined Dec 2007
ahannanMar 24, 2023 01:41 AM
577 Posts
Picked up 6 for Christmas stocking stuffers... lol.
Last edited by ahannan March 23, 2023 at 06:45 PM.
2
Mar 24, 2023 01:42 AM
982 Posts
Joined May 2004
BunduckieMar 24, 2023 01:42 AM
982 Posts
Does this come with the power brick?
3
Mar 24, 2023 01:42 AM
5,833 Posts
Joined Dec 2004
CaleoMar 24, 2023 01:42 AM
5,833 Posts
Quote from rpower :
Could this be used to power 2 Wyze cameras? Also, I assume you'd need a battery pack to store power?
Given that these have USB output, I suppose you technically could with the right USB battery pack. That last part is important... many will cut off after a given time, and not provide continuous power to USB output.. or it might not provide output when being charged, etc.

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Mar 24, 2023 01:47 AM
5,833 Posts
Joined Dec 2004
CaleoMar 24, 2023 01:47 AM
5,833 Posts
Quote from Gears_and_Beers :
I'm going to assume it's not even 'water resistant' considering how far they went out of their way to skip that topic.

Still seems like a deal.
The panel itself is probably fine, but the USB output, probably not..
1
Mar 24, 2023 01:54 AM
1,890 Posts
Joined Sep 2018
Gears_and_BeersMar 24, 2023 01:54 AM
1,890 Posts
Quote from Caleo :
The panel itself is probably fine, but the USB output, probably not..
So in theory if it is placed below an awning at a 45 (or so) degree angle and there is a light rain shower, it should be fine? Obviously anything close to a storm would probably fry it, but a light rain killed my last folable mini-panel with the single port on the back (about halfway down the panel, very close to the outside edge). I'm thinking the outside edge placement is what caused it's doom. Rain was able to reach it easily. This seems like a better placement, especially if rotated 180 and the port near the ground.
Mar 24, 2023 02:02 AM
1,890 Posts
Joined Sep 2018
Gears_and_BeersMar 24, 2023 02:02 AM
1,890 Posts
So I need a math double-check. My primary power banks have a 3A input, lower than the panel's output for each port. So limiting the panel output to 6A, that's 0.003kW per hour, right? If I paid $9.54 total, at 10 cents per kWh (electric company rate) my break-even point should be 3,180 hours ($9.54 ÷ 0.003) correct? So at 12 hours per day that would be 256 12-hour days to break even? Obviously there will be plenty of days where it will be cloudy, raining, snowing, shorter winter hours, etc. But I'm just getting a rough idea. Even at a 6 hour per day average that's still less than 2 years to break even, right?

Seems like a no-brainer.
5
Mar 24, 2023 02:04 AM
539 Posts
Joined Apr 2006
damicomjMar 24, 2023 02:04 AM
539 Posts
Quote from Gears_and_Beers :
So in theory if it is placed below an awning at a 45 (or so) degree angle and there is a light rain shower, it should be fine? Obviously anything close to a storm would probably fry it, but a light rain killed my last folable mini-panel with the single port on the back (about halfway down the panel, very close to the outside edge). I'm thinking the outside edge placement is what caused it's doom. Rain was able to reach it easily. This seems like a better placement, especially if rotated 180 and the port near the ground.
After you have your usb cable(s) plugged into the ports, I would use some of this stuff to create a seal around the entire usb box. And then check it a few times per year to make sure it is still sealed.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardn.../100212441
Mar 24, 2023 02:06 AM
5,833 Posts
Joined Dec 2004
CaleoMar 24, 2023 02:06 AM
5,833 Posts
Quote from Gears_and_Beers :
So in theory if it is placed below an awning at a 45 (or so) degree angle and there is a light rain shower, it should be fine? Obviously anything close to a storm would probably fry it, but a light rain killed my last folable mini-panel with the single port on the back (about halfway down the panel, very close to the outside edge). I'm thinking the outside edge placement is what caused it's doom. Rain was able to reach it easily. This seems like a better placement, especially if rotated 180 and the port near the ground.
I can't answer that, but if I were to try using these outside, I'd eliminate the USB output, hard wire an output cable, and use some good sealant to seal the box up, maybe even 3d print a shell to help shield it from the elements.

Rain bounces and is driven by wind, you can't really count on just the panel angle for protection.
Pro
Mar 24, 2023 02:06 AM
1,217 Posts
Joined Mar 2009
lurewars
Pro
Mar 24, 2023 02:06 AM
1,217 Posts
Well in for 4. Should be nice for small devices or u s b batteries. I'd like to figure out a way to charge ryobi 18 volt batteries with these.
1
Mar 24, 2023 02:20 AM
7,188 Posts
Joined Nov 2010
MusicSharkMar 24, 2023 02:20 AM
7,188 Posts
Quote from Gears_and_Beers :
I'm going to assume it's not even 'water resistant' considering how far they went out of their way to skip that topic.

Still seems like a deal.
solar panel but no 'water resistant' EEK!.
4

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Mar 24, 2023 02:22 AM
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