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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:
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.
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:
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.
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Deal
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+73
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Top Comments
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.
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.
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.
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256 Comments
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If these panels work anywhere near the advertised wattage, they should be super nice for banks. It doesn't get any cheaper than 1 of these and a power bank.
Should be fun to take a peek at how they have these usb outputs wired up. That weird double plug has me curious as to why they designed it that way.
The 8A figure is either the short circuit current, which is effectively 0V so no useful amount of power is delivered, or it's just the marketing department getting creative with 2 USB ports that can supply 4A individually but definitely not at the same time. If it's the latter, you can try to sue them, I guess. Good luck with that!
The 8A figure is either the short circuit current, which is effectively 0V so no useful amount of power is delivered, or it's just the marketing department getting creative with 2 USB ports that can supply 4A individually but definitely not at the same time. If it's the latter, you can try to sue them, I guess. Good luck with that!
That said, this still seems like a very good deal. You can't even buy raw solar cells at this price per watt, much less soldered and assembled in a panel with 5V usb regulation.
"Specs and Outputs"
"2 USB 5.34V @ 4A outputs"
I can't think of a great use other than wireless cameras that these can charge.
I like the idea of recharging household things like cabinet lights, aa/aaa batts etc. However I would have to charge a 10,000 mah battery 25 times to save one kWh, at about ten cents each for me. Going out to the shed to charge instead of convenient indoor plug, and the batteries having to be in fluctuating outdoor temps, I don't know... In Hawaii where it is 4 times as much I could see it adding up.
I am in for one anyway, because I would like to make solar more tangible for people when I am out educating on it at times, by charging a cell phone in real time. I do solar in Utah and Lion has some great value batteries for home backup etc. From what I am told, they are headquartered near us outside of SLC. An American company with Chinese owner/founder that has strong connections in Asia for low costs.
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Yes, that breakout cable is weird. It's some sort of proprietary connection that lines up with a power bank they sell.
I'm curious as to why it is set up that way instead of using 1 USB C connection to their bank. That could mean that each USB connection is separate from the other, and uses half the panel cells. That proprietary connection would make sense if so, because it would be the only way to charge their bank with the whole output instead of only half the panel.
That may mean that if someone wants the whole output put into a single power bank, they may need to change the end of that breakout cable to USB C.
I'll find out when I take it apart though.
Yes, that breakout cable is weird. It's some sort of proprietary connection that lines up with a power bank they sell. I'm curious as to why it is set up that way instead of using 1 USB C connection to their bank. That could mean that each USB connection is separate from the other, and uses half the panel cells. That proprietary connection would make sense if so, because it would be the only way to charge their bank with the whole output. I'll find out if it needs rewiring when I take it apart.
"2 USB 5.34V @ 4A outputs"
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Yes, that breakout cable is weird. It's some sort of proprietary connection that lines up with a power bank they sell.
I'm curious as to why it is set up that way instead of using 1 USB C connection to their bank. That could mean that each USB connection is separate from the other, and uses half the panel cells. That proprietary connection would make sense if so, because it would be the only way to charge their bank with the whole output instead of only half the panel.
That may mean that if someone wants the whole output put into a single power bank, they may need to change the end of that breakout cable to USB C.
I'll find out when I take it apart though.
First, micro USB connectors can only handle 2A, so you need to double them up to handle the full 4A output.
Second, and probably more importantly, those 2 male ports do not put out 5V of power. Plugging them into any micro USB device to charge will end in disaster since they're both connected straight to the solar panels themselves without any regulation and peak at 8V. By putting 2 male ports next to each other it makes it very unlikely that you can plug it into most devices aside from the one it's intended for.
That might calm a few people down.
It's just a re-branded panel.
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First, micro USB connectors can only handle 2A, so you need to double them up to handle the full 4A output.
Plugging them into any micro USB device to charge will end in disaster since they're both connected straight to the solar panels themselves without any regulation and peak at 8V. By putting 2 male ports next to each other it makes it very unlikely that you can plug it into most devices aside from the one it's intended for.
As for the other, you think this cord is wired directly to the panel without "any" regulation at all? I wouldn't have thought so, the usb panel I built puts out 10 volts.
It has a regulator board for the USB connection where it can supply 4.5-8.5 volts depending on the device. You think this breakout cable is directly to the panel? Interesting.
No wonder they have to clear these out. Not enough Lion Cub users? One look at that cable end and it's like "huh? what am I supposed to do with that?" lol.
here's a link to those regulator boards if anyone ends up needing one. BTW: They do not make it any easier to charge an I-phone directly with a solar panel. It's can still be a PITA.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product...UTF8&
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