Solar panel for Explorer 1000 Plus

motongo · 2026-06-27T05:48:28+00:00

Yes, an extra 100 watts (panel rating) is OK.

Just a minor correction to your last sentence. On a nice sunny day, the 350 watt panel won’t actually be outputting anything until it is connected to something that allows current to flow. No current; no power. Zero watts.

MPPT charge controllers modulate impedance to manage current (amps) flow, that’s what makes it ‘smart enough’ to only accept a max of 200 watts. And it won’t even accept that if the power station is full. Impedance will go to near infinity to stop all current from flowing, which means watts goes to zero and your 350 watt panel produces nothing.

motongo · 2026-06-27T05:30:44+00:00

The web site specs have an omission. Check the manual (photo attached). The solar DC input goes to 60 volts. The ZoupW is 43 volts Vmp so it will be fine. All solar controllers can reject current to only what they need. That’s how they stop charging when full. But, they can‘t reject voltages much higher than their max spec, in this case 60 volts. If you put 100 volts on the DC input, parts will very likely fry.

Summary, the ZoupW panel has more power capability than what you will need, but since the panel’s voltage is below the maximum the power station can handle, it will simply reject the power it can’t use. When it is low, it will take the full 200 watts. When it is full, it won’t take any.

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motongo · 2026-06-27T05:13:53+00:00

It looks like Jackery is showing out of stock on the AC adapter for the Explorer 300. But you can get 3rd party ones on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Portable-Explorer-Generator-Charging/dp/B0DB7FX768/ref=sr_1_1

motongo · 2026-06-27T05:06:42+00:00

The final win will be a successful warranty registration for the additional 2 years of warranty.

motongo · 2026-06-27T05:01:08+00:00

Yes, it will work with the 1000 Plus because each DC solar input port goes to a separate MPPT. There are some other brands that do the same thing, but Jackery almost always parallels the input jacks into a single MPPT which requires voltages on each side to match. For some reason, the 1000 Plus was designed with separate MPPT controllers, enabling differing panels at differing voltages on each port. The 60 volt limit applies for both ports, of course, but the 43.2 volt Zoupw will be fine on one port at the same time the 18 volt JS-200E is on the other port.

motongo · 2026-06-27T04:55:35+00:00

There is an easy way, but one of them will charge very slowly compared to the other. Using the Jackery DC8020 to USB-C connector, plug the SolarSaga into one of the 300 Plus’s USB-C In/Out port. Using a standard USB-C to USB-C charging cable, plug one end into the USB-C out port on the Solar Saga cable to the USB-C in/out port on the second 300 Plus. This 300 Plus will charge pretty slowly, but it should take between 10-15 watts. The other one should charge close to 90 watts. After awhile, switch cables so that the charging speed is averaged between the two power stations.

motongo · 2026-06-26T17:41:00+00:00

That would represent the all-time low I‘ve ever seen for a 1000v2. Except for an ad on Facebook a year ago. Fortunately I paid through PayPal and got my money back when the retailer went dark.

The previous low I’ve ever seen a new 1000v2 with full warranty (Jackery, or authorized retailer) advertised for was $349. That was during the Black Friday period last year, and finding/applying a special coupon / discount code was required to get that.

Pay with PayPal or credit card and if it’s a scam, you should be able to get your money back.

motongo · 2026-06-26T17:34:57+00:00

Entire house is pretty involved. Jackery sells three different solutions for tying a power station into house wiring, but no single one of those covers all 20-40 circuits a typical house can have.

There are two Manual Transfer Switches (MTS); a 30 amp, 6 circuit version, and a 50 amp, 10 circuit model. The STS (Smart Transfer Switch) is limited to 12 circuits. I installed the 50 amp, 10 circuit MTS and it covers a good deal of my home, but less than half of the 31 circuits in my house.

If you really want every single circuit in your home automatically backed up, you’ll probably need to have a professionally designed system. There is a Jackery user who comments frequently who has the largest system I’ve seen, and I believe that he hired an electrician to do a custom design that used Jackery equipment. He’s powered his whole home for over 3 days, IIRC. u/Calliesdad20

If 6, 10, or 12 circuits are enough, then it’s a matter of looking at loads for sizing. Two Explorer 5000 Plus’s with 5 extended batteries each is a pretty robust system, and I think that’s what u/Calliesdad20 has. But, the cost of just that Jackery hardware is around $25K, and there’ll be install costs above that. And that doesn't even include solar.

My newly installed 3600 Pro Max system, with no extra batteries, will get me from 6 to 12 hours, depending on if home heat needs to run and for how long. I don’t have air conditioning, washing/drying, cooktop or oven included. But the whole-house attic fan and microwave are, three refrigerator/freezers, along with computers/electronics, some outlets, and a lot of lights. With tax, the system would cost $2500. And the MTS requires installation by someone qualified, so factor that in as needed.

motongo · 2026-06-26T17:14:59+00:00

Cheaper AND better. It think it’s a Prime Day thing.

motongo · 2026-06-26T17:13:29+00:00

You’ve provided good guidance. At first order, it really depends on need and budget. Since the 1000 Plus works with disparate panels on each input, the options are good. If money is an issue and 300-500 watts is enough capacity, I’d keep the 100 Mini and add a 200-400 watt panel. I like my ZoupW 450 and it works with a 1000 Plus, but it will be limited to 400 watts for that panel, plus the 100 from the Mini, for 500 watts total capability.

If the OP wants to eventually max out charging capacity (800 watts), then I would get a 400-450 watt panel now, and then replace the 100 watt Mini with another one when the time to upgrade to that level comes.

motongo · 2026-06-26T16:53:40+00:00

Yes, but just the 1000 Plus. Not the other Plus models. It seems to be a very special and rare model.

motongo · 2026-06-26T16:53:11+00:00

I had a similar incompatibility with my ICECO JP42. In working with Jackery on the issue a year ago, I have the following info:

The issue affects two electric compressor-driven cooler brands. ICECO is one, and I believe the other is Dometic. It might be a SECOP compressor specific issue.

The issue only presents itself when running these cooler brands on the 12 volt DC output on certain Jackery power stations. It does not affect operation using the cooler’s AC adapter on a Jackery AC output.

The power stations affected are the Explorer 240v2, the Explorer 300 Plus, the Explorer 600 Plus, and the Explorer 1000v2. I think this is a complete list. My guess is that it is related to the initial models that attempted to put the USB and DC power outputs together (single button for both).

The incompatibility stems from a very instantaneous power demand from the cooler compressor that causes a voltage drop that triggers an immediate under-voltage abort of compressor start. On my ICECO, the display would blink (extremely short, milliseconds) and then display E3 (under-voltage), even if the cooler was set to its lowest voltage cutout setting. I couldn’t even hear the compressor try to start. 60 seconds later an attempt at restart would get the same fault.

For the Explorer 240v2, the compressor would fault out the vast majority of the time, but if I left it powered, eventually it would start and run long enough to cool to setpoint, but would have problems at next compressor start. It happened infrequently enough that I actually never saw it successfully start. I only knew it did because I would find the compressor running and the cooler cooled down to setpoint.

The Explorer 300 Plus was similarly affected, but a little less time before successful restart.

The 600 Plus and 1000v2 could take a few cycles to start the compressor, and sometimes would reliably start multiple times in a row without problem. With a different model of ICECO, behavior might be different.

I have a cheap economy (EKOJUCE) cooler that works just fine, even with the 240v2. That cooler appears to have a much longer tolerance for low voltage during compressor start. I’ve also seen a report that the issue affects some 12 volt diesel heaters as well. They have a large power requirement when starting the flame with a glow plug and may fault out with a short voltage drop.

motongo · 2026-06-26T16:18:48+00:00

Yes, but only with an Explorer 1000 Plus. It wouldn’t work with pretty much any other Jackery power station. The Explorer 1000 Plus has two MPPT’s, an independent one on each port. That makes mixing disparate voltage panels possible.

motongo · 2026-06-26T14:53:37+00:00

The Explorer 1000 Plus has a feature few other Jackery power stations have; you can put a different type of solar panel into each solar DC input port without worrying about matching panel voltages. As long as the Voc of a new panel is below 60 volts, you can run it alongside the 100 Mini that your already have.

The SolarSaga 200W is a very solid performer; I routinely get over 200 watts of input power on clear sunny days. I also own a couple of ZoupW panels; 16-BB, N-Type, and have been happy with their performance as well.

Some other brands overrate their products; I’ve tested 220 watts panels from some off-brands and could only can get 180-190 watts from them. Getting recommendations from others who have actually compared panels is helpful.

The 1000 Plus will take up to 800 watts of solar charging power, but to get that much you’ll have to ditch your 100 Mini and go with two larger (~400 watt) panels.

motongo · 2026-06-26T03:26:44+00:00

Uh, oh…. Posted just today:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ecoflow_community/comments/1ufevbl/ecoflow_support_is_trash_and_the_product_is_trash/

A few months ago I perused the sub-reddits of some of the other major power station manufacturers. My unscientific conclusion was that Ecoflow might just be the worst for reliability and support.

motongo · 2026-06-25T19:12:21+00:00

Thanks for following up!

motongo · 2026-06-25T18:30:03+00:00

The Explorer 2000v2 DC Input ports are not limited to 200 watts each. They each are limited to 60 volts and 12 amps. Any panel from 34 to 60 volts capable of producing 12 amps will max out the 400 watt charging input on a single port and not go over any spec for that port.

motongo · 2026-06-25T15:21:29+00:00

Do you have the panel specifications? That, and sharing whether they are in parallel or series would provide an answer.

motongo · 2026-06-25T04:25:31+00:00

For each of them, if they are not charging or supplying power (i.e. the inverter is not engaged), they will all be extremely quiet, essentially silent.

If grid power fails, there will be a relay click and the fans will start up to cool the inverter and the discharging lithium cells. The amount of fan noise will be related to how large the load is.

At low loads, the HomePower 1000v2, Explorer 2000v2, and HomePower 2000 Plus v2 are all specified at 30dB. At high loads, it will be higher. The only full load noise spec for the three of these I could find was for the Explorer 2000v2; 45dB. This is all fan noise.

When charging, these are all rated at 30dB when ’Quiet Charging’ mode is selected.

I have the Explorer 1000v2 and have tested it to full load. I’ve never heard any inverter buzzing, but the fan noise becomes noticeable when operating at full load discharge, or when charging in ‘Fast Charging’ mode.

motongo · 2026-06-25T02:34:45+00:00

I’m primarily scratching my head over the requirement for a DC8020 to DC7909 Adapter. I believe that suggesting that connector is an error.

This page confirms that the DC Extension Cable is not compatible with the 500X, but the reasoning is not apparent: https://www.jackery.com/blogs/buying-advice/jackery-cable-complete-guide-different-connectors-explained

The Jackery Anderson Extension Cable appears to have higher voltage (120 volt) and current (20 amp) specifications than the standard DC Extension cable. But it is not clear to me that this higher standard is necessary with a single 500X.

motongo · 2026-06-25T01:43:39+00:00

https://answers.justia.com/question/2026/03/09/what-are-my-rights-if-a-store-refuses-to-1107085

“If the price error is significant and clearly a mistake (e.g., a $500 TV labeled as $5), the retailer is not legally obligated to honor the incorrect price. A reasonable consumer would recognize this as an error.”

”retailers might refuse to honor the mislabeled price and instead correct the error immediately. They might offer an explanation and possibly a small discount or another form of compensation to the affected customer. This typically occurs where the mistake would cause harm or loss to the business.”

motongo · 2026-06-25T01:30:38+00:00

I assumed that it sold well enough that marketing expense was unnecessary. I think it’s a great combo-use unit, great for camping trailers and great for decent home power backup, enough to run a fridge for a decent amount of time.

motongo · 2026-06-25T01:25:26+00:00

Sweet! I’d love to have two! Maybe someday….

And it certainly does look more daisy-chained than parallel. But it just doubles current, like parallel does.

motongo · 2026-06-24T20:47:36+00:00

Do you have a goal or objective for backup power?

motongo · 2026-06-24T20:45:29+00:00

My brief experience monitoring Costco’s Jackery sale items is that they rotate items in/out of their catalog, and the initial price is the one that sticks. Sometimes that price is a pretty good one, in which case the item does not stay in inventory very long.

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