In a previous video I went over the Anker PowerPort Solar charger and briefly talked about how I used it for recharging USB battery packs. I’ve been successfully using that system to recharge my phone for over a month now, but it took awhile to dial in the process. In this video I’m going to quickly show you what I learned along the way to get the best performance from your portable solar charger.

My first mistake was setting this up in a window instead of setting it up outside in direct sunlight. I don’t know enough about solar to tell you why this is, but my charging speed went up dramatically when I found a place to mount these outside. It’s less convenient, but the difference is dramatic.

Which is another tip. With just some nails or screws you can create a hook for the loops on the panel, making it easy to temporarily mount outside. I picked two places in my yard that get the best sun throughout the day, popped in some screws, and covered the exposed threads with gaffer tape so they wouldn’t eat into the loops. Nails would work just as well.

When you hang it, you can use the loops in the corners, or you can use the loop in the middle to hang it from just one point.

Now, another thing I learned the hard way is to not just leave this up into the evening or overnight. When the light gets low, the output gets low, and it can cycle the charge circuit in these batteries in and out of sleep, causing them to lose power, or falsely report that they’re full when they’re not.

For best results, I take this out in the morning, hang it up, and then collect it close to dusk.

Another thing, don’t be fooled by the two USB ports on this solar charger. You really can’t hope to charge more than one device at a time. In my experience, having two things plugged in really just choked the power going to either device.

Finally, consider heat. Whether you’re charging a phone, or a battery pack, those both have their own overheating protection that will prevent them from working or charging if they think they’re too hot. But here you are, putting them in direct sunlight for hours at a time.

I would sometimes look at the charge indicator on my battery and see it flashing full bars at me. I figured it was charged, but it was really indicating that it was overheating.

So I don’t recommend using the built-in pouch on the panel. You could use a longer USB cable and store your battery or gadget in a cooler spot. Or, you could do what I did and use one of these insulated, fireproof LiPo charging bags to keep your battery in.

I had one of these handy already from charging drone batteries, so I gave it a try and it’s been working great. It’s around $8, it can fit my big battery and keep it cool, and the velcro on here is really strong so I don’t worry about things falling out.

At this point I’ve committed to using it this way, so I glued it to the back of the PowerPort with E6000 glue that can handle high temperature. I recommend this hack, though it definitely ruins the skinny look of the solar panels.

Like I said in the previous video, using this setup I can charge the big pack here with about a day and a half of direct sunlight, even if it’s slightly overcast. Once charged, that pack can recharge my phone for over a week while I charge up some of these smaller batteries and swap them in when this one’s drained.

Overall, it’s been a good way to dip my toe into harvesting solar energy, and I’m especially glad to have this as part of my disaster prep kit.

Anker 15W Dual USB Solar Charger, PowerPort Solar

Batteries tested with:
Anker PowerCore+ mini

Anker PowerCore 5000

Power Banks RAVPower 22000 Portable Charger

Recommended Accessory:
Teenitor Fireproof Insulating Charging Bag

06/30/18