Lion Energy Foldable Solar Power Kit 100W Solar Panel | 400W Solar Inverter | AC & USB Outputs Portable Power

Five stars don't just fall out of me, I don't do it as a matter of habit. Normally I feel 4 stars speaks well of a product and it takes something special to reach that level. Not only was I thrilled with this product overall, I needed to contact them and that is where they put it over the top. Great product and great communication...bingo, five stars. So what's in the box? 1) Cables - super high quality. I pulled back the rubber covers at each end and inspected the QUALITY CONTROL of each cable supplied. They were well constructed and properly done w/ nice fit and finish. 2)Solar Panels (array) - Very cool. They come folded like a suitcase with solid hinges, latches and a handle. Each corner is protected from bumps and dings with permanent plastic covers. When properly handled they should last for years of portable use. Open up the array and the integrated legs can be adjusted to the proper angle and locked in with a thumb screw. 3) Charge Controller - I don't want to geek out too much but the fact that this is a PWM controller is important. This would be normal at this price point and beginner level, but also makes it ideal if you want to start with a less expensive lead acid battery. Hook up is a piece of cake. 4) Inverter - 400 watts and it worked great. I put some various mild loads on it and everything ran flawlessly. Now that we know what's in the box, set up takes under 5 mins. Literally under five minutes. You will need a Phillips screwdriver and that's it. My attached picture shows it hooked up to a power tool battery charger and I later added a fan. So if you set this up in your shed, you could easily run some lights, a fan and charge tools at the same time. That would still leave room to charge a phone that's streaming music. I personally will be setting up the kit to power my shed, but will leave the array accessible from the ground so I can clean it and pack it up and take it with me for: Fishing / Camping trips A tailgate or two (it will run a small TV easy) And I have been on some powerless jobsites where this would have been a godsend. In summary the price point is fair, Lion Energy is a real player in the solar industry and customer support was up for it when tested. It is up to you to just add the sunshine.

I could nit-pick about finding the right screw driver and complain about how the instructions could be improved, but I can't deny that this is a very well made, high quality, portable solar panel kit. I was expecting something large and fragile, but instead I got a sturdy folding solar panel with plastic corner protectors and a carrying handle. It even has latches so that you can close it securely. The instructions mainly consist of pictures (so you should download the manual/quick start guide from the manufacturer's website). But since there aren't very many parts it's not that difficult to figure it out how to assemble the kit. Once I got everything connected it all worked just like it was supposed to. The output of the solar panel (without being hooked up to the charge regulator or anything else) was nearly 22VDC. The output of the charge regulator (and the battery voltage) was 13.5VDC. The output of the inverter was 117VAC. Since the solar panel is rated for 100W and the inverter is rated for 400W, the inverter is less likely to fail since it won't be pushed to the limit of what it's capable of (except when it's drawing more power from the battery than the solar panel is putting into the battery). You can also use the inverter separately from the solar panel kit by connecting it to a 12VDC car battery using the cables or the cigarette lighter connector that comes with it. I got this kit to run a 12VDC pond pump and provide lighting for a small storage building. But when I discovered how portable it is, I hooked it up to my trolling motor and it worked, so I'll use it for that too. Since the instructions weren't very informative I called the manufacturer and was told: The continuous wattage of the Inverter is 400W, the peak wattage is 500W. The peak power 100W listed in the charge controller's specifications refers to the solar panel itself. The 800W printed on the box is just wrong. You can directly connect a 12VDC device to the charge controller and use it as a voltage regulator by using the connections on the far right of the device, but you still need to have the battery connected to the middle terminals. The small white button on the charge controller is supposed to be able to turn the external device on and off (But to me, requiring that the battery is connected seems to defeat the purpose of having a separate output, since you typically connect the device to the battery anyway). You shouldn't attempt to connect the inverter to the charge controller's output without having the battery in the circuit. The inverter needs the power provided by the battery. The inverter can be used independently of the solar panel. You can connect it to a car battery to power a 120VAC device. The left yellow light on the charge controller indicates lower charge states of the battery. The right yellow light on the charge controller indicates a fully charged battery. You can use a lead acid battery charger to charge the UT 250 battery, but it's unlikely to ever indicate a full charge – unless you use a charger with an AGM mode.

The Lion Energy 400 watt Solar Power Kit comes in several boxes. The actual panels are folded up into what looks like a briefcase including a handle. Which I think is very smart and useful when using for camping. There are two other devices that come with the kit that are needed to use the kit, besides the battery. One of those devices has the 2 plug inlets and 4 USB ports. The other device connects the solar panel to the device with the plug inlets. Both of those devices connect to the battery. Everything has a purpose. I found the paper instructions that comes with the kit to be of little use. I chose to go to the Lion Energy website to find detailed instructions. Took about 15 minutes to figure out and connect all wires properly. We tried a fan as our first charge with everything connected and it ran great. The second item we ran was a small portable heater. This item we chose to just use only the charged battery and the device the has the plug inlets on it. The heater also ran great. The only problem I can see is the transportation of all the items when using for camping. I will have to invest in some kind of container to carry everything except the panels which are self contained. Other than that I would definitely recommend to others.

This is the accessory kit, that added to the battery makes the solar power kit complete! One is useless without the other. This solar power "system" ( the kit and the battery) are a better cleaner by far simpler solution to power needs when electricity from an outlet is not available. Having recently lived thru a 3 day power outage caused by minor Hurricane Maria, and not enjoying the prospect of my foid supply spoiling, I was considering buying a generator. Im glad I didn't. Have you looked into how much gasoline they burn thru? The kit has the solar panel which folds for storage, a nice feature! It comes with control box, power transformer and all the neccessary wires. The only downside is puzzling it out. The instructions are almost non existing. More better easier to understand set up instructions would be helpful.

If you have an off grid hunting or fishing cabin this is great set for recharging your devices. You can recharge your devices and power a radio. If you also buy the battery to go with this you can store more power. Has 2 electrical receptacles and USB for added convenience. Easy setup. I would recommend for small off grid cabin.

My recommendation of this kit would be made in better conscience if the kit came with 2 solar panels vs one. The kit would then be far more useful, but as it is the single panel and battery purchased along with the kit were enough to power a number of small loads for the short tiime I was able to test it. It took a while to figure out how to hook the Lion Energy Kit up. The directions were a little difficult. Once connected, the UT 250 battery was allowed to charge for several hours in variable sunlight. I plugged in a small fan, an electric drill and two cell phones. I used the electric drill fifteen to twenty minutes. It worked great for those relatively small loads. It completely charged my two cell phones. It would be far more useful to me if there were four solar panels. I then could hook up my larger fridge if the power went out. The 25 Ft. cord that came with it was too short. It needs a longer cord. As it is, I believe the kit plus battery would be great at a camp site. What I disliked the most was the price of this kit. It's way too high for what you get!! I would have to add another three solar panels to it before it would be of real benefit to me here at home. An exception might be powering Christmas lights or possibly driveway lights. I will do further testing later.

The Lion Energy 400 Watt Solar Power Kit is really a nice item to own. It even charged my i-phone and powered a bedside table lamp. But my real excitement and desire for the solar panel kit was to power my backyard fountain. It is at this very moment doing just that. The only downfall about the Lion DIY Solar Kit is there were no “written” instructions included with the kit. The instructions that were included were pictures that were not real clear. So it was somewhat challenging getting it hooked up to the battery and power inverter. And after the hook up was finally complete, the Solar Panel took approximately 7.5 hours to charge the Lion Safari UT 250 Lithium battery included in the Solar kit. I am giving the Solar kit a 4 star only because the instructions were so unclear and frustrating. But when it was all said and done, it was very worth the frustration experienced trying to figure out the “picture form” instructions. I would definitely recommend it to family and friends.

Putting together the Lion Energy 400 Watt Solar Power Kit will be a way to learn about setting up solar and using it. The portable 20 lb solar panel has a carry handle, unfolds to 26.5" X 40", and has 2 adjustable support legs. The panel connects to a charge controller with status lights and then to the lithium-ion battery using the included heavy-duty cables. Finally, the 400w inverter is connected to the battery. This system should power a refrigerator, a small space heater, or a fan, and most lights.

This item may be the best thing since sliced bread, but if you have to lie about it's capabilities to sell I personally don't want anything to do with it. Even the name is a Chinese lie. No matter how you spin it, it is only a 100 Watt solar system. If I come to your store and you had light bulbs marked like you do this item I would never buy another one from you.

I wanted to get this as a proof of concept before I purchased rooftop solar panels. The kit came quickly and contains everything you need to install and set up your own solar power system. EXCEPT the battery, which I also got. It's too early to tell yet, but it wasn't that difficult to set up.