Renogy portable solar suitcase on sale - Amazon

mikracer · 03-20-2018, 11:51 AM

Been wanting one of these for a while to supplement my house battery. I haven't ever seen the price on this brand so low ($201), so I purchased one yesterday. If anyone else is looking for a portable solar setup, check it out.

It's 100w total with a 20a PWM charge controller.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

MountainBikeRoamer · 03-20-2018, 12:35 PM

Dang! That price IS great!

I literally just bought that very same suitcase (directly from Renogy) last week.
Seems like super nice unit, haven't had opportunity to test it out yet though.

mikracer · 03-20-2018, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MountainBikeRoamer

Dang! That price IS great!

I literally just bought that very same suitcase (directly from Renogy) last week.
Seems like super nice unit, haven't had opportunity to test it out yet though.

Did you get this unit with the Voyager charge controller? I was looking up the specs and it looks like the main difference was it was a 20a controller rather than the 30a Adventurer controller. With 2x50w panels, I don't think it will make a difference but I wanted to get another opinion.

MountainBikeRoamer · 03-20-2018, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikracer

Did you get this unit with the Voyager charge controller? I was looking up the specs and it looks like the main difference was it was a 20a controller rather than the 30a Adventurer controller. With 2x50w panels, I don't think it will make a difference but I wanted to get another opinion.

Yep, I did get the one with the Voyager.

The Voyager charge controller appealed to me A LOT....because its the only charge controller that they offer in these ready-made "solar suitcases" that is waterproof. (If you're using this unit outside......it seems that eventually the sun might disappear abruptly and rain dump down before you can retrieve the solar suitcase.....makes sense to me that the ENTIRE assembly be waterproof.....)

Also, that Voyager controller effectively "future proofs" the system quite a bit, should I ever decide to disassemble the suitcase into its separate elements and use them to do a quality, permanent van-roof install...(but with more added panels.) I believe the sales rep at Renogy indicated that this 20A Voyager controller will happily modulate/control up to 300W of solar panel.

Here's the official Renogy product listing for that suitcase:
https://www.renogy.com/renogy-100-wa...ase-w-voyager/

Additionally, the Voyager controller in this suitcase is unique in that it includes a temperature probe (to attach to the battery) which lets the controller do better controlled (and faster) charging, without over-heating your batteries while doing so.

Product listing for the Voyager Charge Controller:
https://www.renogy.com/renogy-voyage...y-and-led-bar/

mikracer · 03-20-2018, 01:41 PM

Thanks for all the info! Glad I went with the Voyager controller and it was cheaper too. Win win.

logrider · 03-20-2018, 05:23 PM

Am considering the same set up. Please post your thought about the system once you have it up and running (if you don't mind).

thanks,
Scott

mikracer · 03-20-2018, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by logrider

Am considering the same set up. Please post your thought about the system once you have it up and running (if you don't mind).

thanks,
Scott

I think there's a lot of discussion on these units on expo. I'll be putting it to use this weekend though and I'll report back. Not sure how long that sale is going for though so based on the positive stuff I've heard, I'd pull the trigger and save $75.

gcvt · 03-20-2018, 09:56 PM

That's a heck of a deal Jin! Also, I see Renogy is selling flexible panels again...interesting.

mikracer · 03-28-2018, 06:21 PM

Just wanted to post a follow up after using it this past weekend.

The panel does great in full sun exposure. I was able to recharge my trailers battery (Group 27, I think) back to pretty much full charge every day. During the night, we ran the propane heater and a small inverter to run the heated mattress. By morning, the battery was pretty drained but would charge up throughout the day.

I have to look in the manual to see what the difference between the readouts of "A" and "Ah" are, but I'm guessing the "A" is how many amps the controller is putting out and that read up to 4.9.

It looks like the unit is temporarily unavailable on the amazon link I posted...I'm guessing its sold out right now?

Mer1039 · 02-26-2019, 06:57 PM

I just bought the updated 100W Renogy Eclipse portable WO/Controller (Amazon $329). It will be plugged into the SAE ZAMP port I have in the rear of my van. I did have to modify the connector cables so that the polarity matches up with how the ZAMP port is configured. When plugged in, this portable panel will run in parallel with two ZAMP 100W roof top panels.

I only intend to use the portable panel when my roof top panels are shaded and daily SOLAR charging can't keep up with electrical use.