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lmarstell

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Apr 27, 2021
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Two questions:
# 1. How long does say a Jackery or any solar generator keep it's charge for when not in use?
#2 Does anyone know anything about the Patriots solar generaters other than being more expensive?  They are rarely talked about I noticed.  Tks!
 
Regarding the Patriot Power Sidekick portable power station, it looks identical (other than the label) to the GOLABS power station I bought back in February 2021. List price on Amazon is $299.98, but right now it has the same $100 digital coupon it had when I bought it. The 100-Watt DOKIO solar panel I use to recharge it while tent camping currently (as of 27 April 2021) sells for $129.99 on Amazon. Both have free shipping, even without Amazon Prime. Compared to the $497 I'm seeing right now on the 4Patriots Web site, you can get the power station and solar panel I bought for $329.97, and have a solar panel with 2.5 times the 40-Wartt rated capacity of their bundle. Finally, my GOLABS power station came with an adapter to allow input from a solar panel with MC4 connectors, a 12V cigarette lighter charging adapter and an extra 12V cigarette lighter outlet that plugs into one of the station's two 12V outlet ports. The Web site for the Patriot Power Sidekick lists none of these accessories.

So far, I'm satisfied with the quality and performance of my GOLABS power station. I like that it has a LiFeP04 battery, as that allows more cycles before the battery loses capacity to retain a charge. My only complaint is that the cooling fan for the inverter is a bit louder than I'd like. Since the Patriot Power Sidekick seems to be the same unit, I would expect it to be of equal quality. That being said, paying $167.03 less, while getting much more output from the solar panel I bought, seems a pretty short decision tree for those in the market for such a setup.

Naturally, you can build your own portable power station for less cost in materials, but for tent camping, I found the GOLABS power station to be a more sensible choice than "rolling my own."
 
I have a Jackery 500 Explorer (new version)

I keep it at 41% charge because that's storage voltage for the battery.
The self discharge rate is VERY low so it can hold it's charge in storage state for 6 months to a year without losing significant voltage.

If you store it at full charge it will drop a bit faster initially and there are charts for lithium batteries that show discharge rates for various lithium chemistries. Just remember not to store your lithium batteries at full charge if you want them to last.

I'm satisfied with my Jackery unit. Does everything I need from it and more.
 
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