Previously, when using the Starlink up at the Beta Site I have either used a small battery backup brick, or I’ve used an adaptor that lets me use my Milwaukee M18 batteries that power my tools. But, both of those did not really have an option for recharging up there. Once the batteries were drained, it was switch to another battery and take the depleted one back to the house to recharge. What to do?
CostCo was selling this for $200 off, bring my price to $599. (No longer on sale at CostCo, but on sale at Amazon for $100 off but comes with 200w panel instead of 100w). I did a bit of research online and saw that this was the cheapest price out there for this particular device. It came with a 100watt panel to recharge, so there was the option of recharging it up at the Beta Site rather than having to return to town to recharge. Ok, I’ll take chance with it.
The system comes with a 100w panel, but I decided to go ahead and pick up the 200w panel as well. Not cheap, but I wanted every advantage possible. The system has two inputs for panels, or you can buy an additional cable (which I did) that allows you to add panels in serial (daisy chaining) if they are panels of the same wattage. So, putting a 200w and 100w on the same cable is a no-no. I plugged the 200w panel into one input jack, and the 100w into the other input jack…no prob.
Like most electronics these days, the Jackery has an app for your phone. I found this to be an immensely interesting feature. Using the app, I linked the system to my house wireless network. Having done this, I could now, from anywhere with internet, see battery usage, charging rate, hours to charge, hours remaining, turn off the charging outputs to any devices I was charging, etc. This opens up some tremendous possibilities, which I’ll cover shortly.
The battery came completely charged, so I needed to discharge the battery so I could start documenting how well the panels worked to recharge it. Unfortunately, all I had around that needed charging were some flashlights and tool batteries. I got the battery down to about 89% before it was time to head to the Beta Site.
Got up to the Beta Site and the weather was mostly clear with a few clouds here and there. The sun went behind the clouds every so often, but most of the time it was direct late morning sunlight. I Laid out both panels and hooked them up.
As I mentioned, the app for the Jackery needs internet to send the info to your phone. So…I brought out the StarLink and fired it up. What was the draw of the StarLink versus the input from the panels? Lets go to the app:
So thats the data Im being shown when the StarLink is running. Now, at that moment Im not really doing anything internet-heavy except some texting. But even when it was a little more intensive, it was in the 24-34w range in terms of usage. Meanwhile, the panels are throwing 242w into the battery. In short, I’m using the battery up slower than the panels are refilling it. So, as long as the sun is shining, I can internet as much as I want and the battery will get more charged rather than less. But man does not live on internet alone. Lets see what happens when I throw a 12v DC Milwaukee battery charger on there and throw on a battery that needs charging and run the internet at the same time.
Note the times. While using the internet and charging the Milwaukee M18 battery, the system still charged itself up to 100~%. Even when the sun went behind a cloud there was enough input to offset the internet usage.
My anticipated usage for this sort of package is very simple: run the internet and recharge the things that need recharging (camera batts, tool batts, flashlightg batts, etc.) And for that usage, this seems to be a good way to go.
Here’s the really interesting part, though…With no recharging, this thing will run the internet for 30-37 hours. We saw that the internet was using 1/10th of the power that was coming into the system, so, as I see it, that means one hour of charging gives you ten hours internet. So, its entirely possible that with this set up I might be able to leave things runnig 24/7…which means internet live feed may be possible. This interest me greatly. That would open the possibility for a remote rover.
Now that would be something cool!
But back to the job at hand… So I’ve had one weekend of playing with the Jackery. I’ve left it up at the Beta Site in the cargo container. When Im back up there in two weeks I’ll see if there was any measurable self-discharge. Even if there was, I’m convince that a half hour with both panels in place will top that tank right off.
SO, my overall impression so far is good. But, a new broom sweeps clean. Be interesting to see how this holds up over the next year or so. As I said, my very minimalist meeds seem to be met by this setup but those needs won’t be minimal forever. But until such time as I need a more comprehensive, expensive, purpose-built, battery-and-panel-heavy setup I think this might carry me through until then. So, overall: recommend.
Interesting test. One of the reasons I bought a Goal Zero Yeti for our storm shelter was its ability to charge from either AC or solar while simultaneously powering connected equipment. As I recall, Jackery’s implementation just 2–3 years ago was not nearly as elegant.
Clearly that has changed. The newer Jackery systems appear to handle pass-through charging much more gracefully, and your Starlink test is a great real-world demonstration of it. The Jackery offering has improved considerably.
Another youtube channel you may be interested in is your fellow Montanan “Goneagain” He and his wife have endorsed both the jackery and bluetti systems. IDK if you’ve seen his channel, but he has a lot of off grid travel methods.
I’ve thought seriously about one of these systems for the prep pile, thanks for another review!
Wintertime performance will be less impressive, given more clouds and colder temps, but it will be interesting to learn what happens for sure.
We bought a Jackery from Amazon a couple of years ago during their sale, and haven’t needed it, but it does sit there making a nice humming noise.
Kurt
That is actually a misunderstanding about the cold and solar panels. The battery storage discharge can be affected by the cold if not stored in a climate control area though. The colder temperatures actually make the productivity of solar panels more efficient. Clouds and shorter day during winter will affect production but not the cold.
Sorry to be unclear. I was speaking specifically about the batteries in cold conditions. They will suffer – which we’ve seen in, for instance, Teslas in Montana.
With regard to the panels themselves, more clouds means less electricity to the batteries.
Not quite a doom loop, but I expect degradation in performance will be measurable.
Kurt
You know this is how Skynet started……
Any thought to mounting solar on top of the Conex?
My Starlink network name up there actually is SkyNet.
Not sure about mounting to top of container. Don’t want do anything that might compromise roof integrity.
What about building a slim profile frame with the panels on top, and magnets on the bottom?
My biggest conern is that the panels being that high oif the ground will make them a sail when the wind comes through. Anchoring to the roof of the container would require bolting through the roof which I am not keen on. I could, I suppose, create a frame with ‘legs’ that run down the side of the container and bolt to the base but thats gonna be a lot of lumber. Most likely I’ll go with a ground mount a few yards away, or, possibly, a couple 55-gal drums full of rocks to use as a base for a post to put a panel on.
I’ve made a wood frame that spanned to both sides of the container to bold solar panels to, then tied the wood frame to the container.
A small Mig or Tig welder would be a useful tool for your site. You would need to see if the new small welders could be powered by your Honda generator and/or your collection of panels. A couple years ago they were costing $350-$650. The ability to weld on site would be a very useful ability, especially if it can be done without a bigger power supplier.
Magnets like this would work, I’ve used them for similar applications –
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D62SQXCN
You can remove the eye bolt and you have a threaded hole to use.
And then use an entry gland on the side of the container to bring the cables inside.
amazon.com/dp/B08GL6WY2Z
They have a tripod mount; we weigh ours down with sandbags to hold the dish in place.
They make a mount that sits on something and is held in place with cinder blocks. We have one. Works fine.
I’ve enjoyed watching this. Seeing buddies do cool is great! I’m pleased how you’ve had the mid life education and career growth that has made this and so many things possible.
Yeah. On the one hand, it’s neat…but on the other theres a lot of “I should have done this twenty years ago”.
+1
I’m at the exact point in my life now that I wanted to be in 30 years ago.
Also, you could put a frame up there and just bolt it to the holes in the corners that would be used for stacking..
I have two Jackery solar systems both with 200 watt panels. A 2000 and a 3000. After testing both making sure everything worked I put them in the closet and check them every 30 days. So far (9 months) zero discharge.
Just thought you might like to know.
Early jackery products had issues with premature failure and using proprietary connectors on the panels, I hope they got that resolved.
You might want to get the 12v “car” version of the milwaukee charger if the jackery has a 12v outlet as it should be more efficient than the multiple conversion steps to AC and back…
Are you using rechargeable batteries in the trail cams? I’ve got a trail cam at my BOL that triggers on shadows and leafs and eats AA batteries like they’re going out of style. It’s a couple of bucks every time I change them even with kirkland batteries.
nick
For the trailcams I use the rechargeable batteries that the manufacturer sells. However, I’ve also added the solar panels that are sold as well. On the main camera, which is the on that you guys see the most pictures from, I have the solar panel mounted to it and havent had to change the battery or recharge it in several months.
If you look at the picture of the Jackery, you can see the 12v Milwaukee charger plugged into it.
Just be aware sogens, as the battery banks like jackery are called, have restrictions on charging temperature. I suggest you check that out for cold weather months. Some can be discharged at lower temps, but cannot be charged. There are sogen manufacturers that will handle colder temps, they have built in battery warmers for cold weather. Oupes, Bluetti, and others are a few. Check out tweo website that have lots of testing done on different systems for more information.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVsNMiYQkqwIq_gd0rTJF9g and
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn799FaTeuf9lzDk78fwt6g
both good fact testing sites for such equipment.
Way to go, CZ!
Doesn’t apply to the BOL, but:
I got two jackery jackeries? jackerii? units to run in parallel for 240vac because well water is still desirable during SHTF. What ain’t in the little operating pamphlet: when using the 240vac adapter, you can charge them using only solar. So much for charging them using a generator without shutting down the house first.
I have the same Jackery and you chose well. i used it to run my fireplace insert blowers all last winter. They are excellent.
Hi Jaybo, We have used these for decades on our fireplace insert, no batteries or A/C. The Ecofan
https://www.efireplacestore.com/fsd-800ca-kbx.html?campaignid=279254739&adgroupid=1229254059812004&msclkid=9a52f92decd31a11215293bd1ec21daa&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=MFGMPN-G912308876&utm_term=ecofan%20810caxbx&utm_content=Caframo
John Wells passed a few years back.
He was an interesting human.
Yeah, pancreatic cancer took him out fast. I enjoyed his drone work. He really had a good time out there living his way.
I’m really surprised you haven’t gotten into the power station game a while ago, but from previous posts on your battery/inverter systems it really was a non issue for you since you have the honda’s to recharge them when needed. They really are game changers for the modern prepared citizen, little 1200w gas or propane generators can charge them in a hour, can have some massive watt hours in the size of a suitcase, solar recharging, pass through charge/use. I have a couple of units(Ecoflow and Pecron) plus a couple of homemade units that I can charge via solar and generator. Just need to not let them freeze. Some units like the Pecron have built in battery warmers that help keep them from freezing, cold kills power stations batteries fast. I don’t care for Jackery or Goal Zero due to their past issues and proprietary plugs.
Dude…the autonomous robot guard would be SO COOL!!!
I know, right!
My adopted nephew the Jarhead has the exact same Jackery system and has used it extensively at an off-grid location. 5-stars, does like, does recommend.
https://a.co/d/0aTU7lM8
I use this Starlink Mini Power Supply Starlink Mini 12V Adapter 12V/24V to 30V 3.5A, Waterproof DC Step Up Converter with Female Plug 9-28V Input for RV/Off-Grid/Marine, Starlink Mini Accessories. Just connect it to a battery of your choice. I use it for my camper which has 400 watt solar with 300 AH mini battery and also have ability to add more portable solar, but haven’t needed it yet.
Thanks, I was looking for the step up converter for boosting the 12 volt system. Just ordered one. Thanks
300w of solar panels even on a cloudy day should keep you at break even for the light use of the Starlink. I think you will be very happy. The comment above about temps for charging is one to watch. It’s a real concern.
I got the next larger model, the Jackery 3000. I had it sitting for over a month, no loss of power whatsoever from sitting powered down. I need the additional power the 3000 offered, along with the 30 AMP connection. So far, very impressed and we run a Starlink mini off of it. The larger solar panel setup sold me as well. 2 200 watt solar panels. These units are supposed to last ten years. 4,000 recharge cycles.
CZ, let me add another option to consider and one that could be powered by the Jackery. Probably 4-5 years ago, I bought a couple of indoor AOSU motion-sensor security cams that record to a removable microSD that plugs into the unit and/or to remote storage you can purchase. These units come with a phone app that lets you view the cam live, lets you review vids taken and recorded when movement triggers the cam, and lets you download still shots or vids to your phone. You can also re-point the cams remotely. These cams are powered by USB, so you could mount one or two on your conex, control it remotely, power it from the Jackery and so forth. This all depends on you leaving the Starlink running for Internet connectivity. No batteries to replace, ever, and tons of options in terms of how you set up the cams. Only real downside I see is that viewing distance in absolute darkness isn’t as good as a trailcam, but there is a built-in IR bulb for short-range viewing in the dark. You could boost your IR illumination separately, of course. The indoor units I’m using are about $28 on Amazon, but the company offers a wide variety of units built for outdoor mounting, some with built-in solar panels. Just one more thing to consider at some point.
Being a dumb retired utility lineman, I see the specs on the linked Costco site to be 1536 amps output current, hmmmm, 12 volts maybe but at 120 volts seems optimistic. They must mean watts.
It seems the last time we heard from CZ was on the 27th of August. I hope one of those bears did not make him lunch.
Was outta town. Just got back.
Did you get eaten?