Glad it helped. The ATEM 300W is not worth the circa $390 asking price in my opinion. Really revolves around what sort 12v load you are trying to service. If you are wanting to charge an AGM battery occasionally, I'd almost be tempted to roll the dice on an eBay option. Lead acid absorption really falls off to only a few amps above 80%, so no massive advantage is spending big on a u-beaut solar blanket. If you are charging multiple lead acid batteries or lithium, then it is well worth spending the money.
Thanks. Club price at Anaconda for the KT Cables blanket is actually only $699 vs $370 for the ATEM at Sunyee. Overall though I agree that the ATEM isn't terrible provided you purchase from Sunyee (or similar) during one of their 20% off sales. I'm only wanting to deal with a single blanket solution so the KT Cables is a clear winner, however just like I said in the video description, a couple of these ATEM blankets in series through a decent MPPT controller would yield some pretty good results.
@@JOHNSMITH-if9jrnot used them personally, however expect they'd be very similar in output to any of these generic panels. Typically expect 50% of what is claimed to put you in the ball park, sometimes more with blankets as it is generally harder to get them directed towards the sun which significantly impacts solar production. I've actually moved onto using homemade solar suitcases for this reason, especially relevant if you're in the south which puts the sun lower in the sky.
Excellent basic & simple to the point type of review, can you share a link of the panels? Also I recommend that you get yourself an MPPT and not that type you used
Thanks a lot. These are Australian based sites that I got the panels. KT Cables www.anacondastores.com/camping-hiking/power-cooling/solar/kt-cable-300-watt-solar-blanket-kit/90166369 ATEM www.sunyee.com.au/products/12v-300w-folding-solar-panel-blanket-mat-completed-kit-with-dual-usb Since making this video Is have replaced my AGM battery with Lithium and also got myself a 40A MPPT. Still working on configuration, will be either 4 x 200W panels in 2 series strings or 2 x 250W panels in a single series string. Going to depend on whether I want to be able to run the AC of battery I think, at this stage I don't think it'd be worth it.
Nice video. Can u tell me have the kt cables solar panels you have , is it scratched or damaged or have a white milky looking damage to them after folding and packing away for a period of use? Alot of the cheaper panels seem to get damaged by them rubbing on each other when packed away. Just wondering if this medium priced blanket suffers the same fate?
Thanks. My panels have no significant scuffing marks as yet, but certainly doesn't mean they won't. I'm pretty particular about getting the dust/sand off the panels and wiping them down before packing them up. May also pay to lay some soft cloth over the panels before folding up to reduce the friction rubbing while on the road. Another consideration is that since making this video I have upgraded my battery from AGM to a Lithium one. This has made the gap between the KT Cables and ATEM significantly larger as the Lithium battery absorbs charge flat out until almost full. Above 80% charge the AGM absorption rate would drop WAY off to just a few amps, at which point going for the more expensive panel is wasted money. Also have found (especially with AGM) that it is this last 20% that is really important when off grid camping, we could never fully replenish it during the next day. This put a 3 day absolute max (assuming great solar production conditions) off grid with our single 105aH AGM. Yet to test the Lithium the same way, but early tests indicate with a moderate upgrade to my Van solar and the KT Cables solar blanked we will be able to off grid camp indefinitely.
I have a 220 watt Off Grid TREK solar blanket. Yeah, expensive at US $1,700. but made to THE best quality flexible panels (SunPower) and on a high quality UV resistant polymer backing from Japan. Off Grid TREKis a Canadian company and they have excellent customer service. I use it to charge my BLUETTI AC200 MAX lithium IRON phosphate battery which in turn charges the 2 lithium -ion batteries on my E-Cells 2 wheel drive e-mountain bike. ->That bike is rated to haul 400 pounds so it is a true cargo bike. I'll use it to haul boned-out big game meat in saddle bags and a large front rack.
@@dominic-ryan I needed the 220 watt output AND the smaller "footprint" the Off Grid TREK blanket gave me over any other solar blanket available at this time. My blanket gets cable locked to my SUV's roof racks. Hopefully that and the main power cable locked inside my cargo space will deter theft while I'm out hunting on my e-mtb. And hey, my BLUETTI AC200 MAX lithium IRON phosphate battery cost as much as the blanket. I console myself in that the system can be used in a home power outage. ->Charge the battery all day from the blanket then charge my e-bike's batteries at night from the AC200 MAX.
For that price is it guaranteed (and actually does) put out 220watts? Also.. lifetime warranty.. if any panel goes out they replace it no charge? Cause that is insanely high cost so I Would expect the absolute best from that.
I don't think that blanket will EVER produce its rated 220 watts in the field but it often givens me 180 W and sometimes 190+ When charging my BLUETTI AC200 MAX.@@b3owu1f
If I were to buy again, it would be something like the Alvolta 440w solar case. The KT Cables blanket is still pumping out a good level of power, however as it is a 3 x 5 configuration it can really only be laid on the ground which reduces winter time production quite a bit.
Absolutely, especially since the KT Cables 300W blanket had been more or less constantly been at a $699 club price since I made this video, very hard to justify the ATEM at $369 for anyone wanting a single blanket solution. If you can get 2 x ATEM blankets heavily discounted though and put them in series to a decent MPPT controller I think you'd see a decent bump in solar generation yeild.
300w is the absolute maximum theoretical output, real world results are never going to be the same. This is why over panelling is a thing, because factors such as angle to the sun, cloud cover, ambient temperature and debris on the panel can all impact performance. In this case though, the single largest factor is almost certainly the 12v 20A PWM solar charge controller. Unlike MPPT which will use nearly all power generated by the panel, PWM will dump anything over its target viltage. This is really my bad as I should have had my power meter on the input side of the charge controller to see the output of the panel (not the charge controller). The KT Cables panel is rated at 18.8V with a maximum of 15.95A. At an output of 15.5A as in the video that is around 97% of max, which would put the panel voltage 18.2V. Even if we round that down to 18V, then the actual panel output during this test would have been 18V X 15.5 279W. As you can see in the video the output of the PWM controller is around 13.2V X 15.5A, which is 205W. The Atem on the other hand is rated at 18.3v at a max of 16.39A and the amperage output was falling well short of that at a max of 9.5A. Even assuming max voltage here of 18.3V, that still puts it at 174W.
good comparison , I was looking at the ATEM 300 but now am looking elsewhere. Thank you.
Glad it helped. The ATEM 300W is not worth the circa $390 asking price in my opinion. Really revolves around what sort 12v load you are trying to service. If you are wanting to charge an AGM battery occasionally, I'd almost be tempted to roll the dice on an eBay option. Lead acid absorption really falls off to only a few amps above 80%, so no massive advantage is spending big on a u-beaut solar blanket. If you are charging multiple lead acid batteries or lithium, then it is well worth spending the money.
Thanks for posting such an honest, informative video. Straight to the important information.
My pleasure. Glad it was of use 👍
Good review, I have the atem 300w & rarely get over 9amps. The kt cables seems much better but then it's 3 times the price.
Thanks. Club price at Anaconda for the KT Cables blanket is actually only $699 vs $370 for the ATEM at Sunyee. Overall though I agree that the ATEM isn't terrible provided you purchase from Sunyee (or similar) during one of their 20% off sales.
I'm only wanting to deal with a single blanket solution so the KT Cables is a clear winner, however just like I said in the video description, a couple of these ATEM blankets in series through a decent MPPT controller would yield some pretty good results.
@@dominic-ryan hi mate what do you think ok kings solar blanket products?
@@JOHNSMITH-if9jrnot used them personally, however expect they'd be very similar in output to any of these generic panels. Typically expect 50% of what is claimed to put you in the ball park, sometimes more with blankets as it is generally harder to get them directed towards the sun which significantly impacts solar production. I've actually moved onto using homemade solar suitcases for this reason, especially relevant if you're in the south which puts the sun lower in the sky.
@@dominic-ryan ok thanks
Excellent basic & simple to the point type of review, can you share a link of the panels? Also I recommend that you get yourself an MPPT and not that type you used
Thanks a lot. These are Australian based sites that I got the panels.
KT Cables
www.anacondastores.com/camping-hiking/power-cooling/solar/kt-cable-300-watt-solar-blanket-kit/90166369
ATEM
www.sunyee.com.au/products/12v-300w-folding-solar-panel-blanket-mat-completed-kit-with-dual-usb
Since making this video Is have replaced my AGM battery with Lithium and also got myself a 40A MPPT. Still working on configuration, will be either 4 x 200W panels in 2 series strings or 2 x 250W panels in a single series string. Going to depend on whether I want to be able to run the AC of battery I think, at this stage I don't think it'd be worth it.
Hey mate where did you source the 40amp MPPT controller? What increase in performance did you get?
Nice video. Can u tell me have the kt cables solar panels you have , is it scratched or damaged or have a white milky looking damage to them after folding and packing away for a period of use? Alot of the cheaper panels seem to get damaged by them rubbing on each other when packed away. Just wondering if this medium priced blanket suffers the same fate?
Thanks. My panels have no significant scuffing marks as yet, but certainly doesn't mean they won't. I'm pretty particular about getting the dust/sand off the panels and wiping them down before packing them up. May also pay to lay some soft cloth over the panels before folding up to reduce the friction rubbing while on the road.
Another consideration is that since making this video I have upgraded my battery from AGM to a Lithium one. This has made the gap between the KT Cables and ATEM significantly larger as the Lithium battery absorbs charge flat out until almost full. Above 80% charge the AGM absorption rate would drop WAY off to just a few amps, at which point going for the more expensive panel is wasted money. Also have found (especially with AGM) that it is this last 20% that is really important when off grid camping, we could never fully replenish it during the next day. This put a 3 day absolute max (assuming great solar production conditions) off grid with our single 105aH AGM. Yet to test the Lithium the same way, but early tests indicate with a moderate upgrade to my Van solar and the KT Cables solar blanked we will be able to off grid camp indefinitely.
I have a 220 watt Off Grid TREK solar blanket. Yeah, expensive at US $1,700. but made to THE best quality flexible panels (SunPower) and on a high quality UV resistant polymer backing from Japan. Off Grid TREKis a Canadian company and they have excellent customer service. I use it to charge my BLUETTI AC200 MAX lithium IRON phosphate battery which in turn charges the 2 lithium -ion batteries on my E-Cells 2 wheel drive e-mountain bike.
->That bike is rated to haul 400 pounds so it is a true cargo bike. I'll use it to haul boned-out big game meat in saddle bags and a large front rack.
Wow, I would be way too anxious to use a blanket costing that much. Sounds quality though!
@@dominic-ryan I needed the 220 watt output AND the smaller "footprint" the Off Grid TREK blanket gave me over any other solar blanket available at this time. My blanket gets cable locked to my SUV's roof racks. Hopefully that and the main power cable locked inside my cargo space will deter theft while I'm out hunting on my e-mtb. And hey, my BLUETTI AC200 MAX lithium IRON phosphate battery cost as much as the blanket. I console myself in that the system can be used in a home power outage.
->Charge the battery all day from the blanket then charge my e-bike's batteries at night from the AC200 MAX.
For that price is it guaranteed (and actually does) put out 220watts? Also.. lifetime warranty.. if any panel goes out they replace it no charge? Cause that is insanely high cost so I Would expect the absolute best from that.
I don't think that blanket will EVER produce its rated 220 watts in the field but it often givens me 180 W and sometimes 190+ When charging my BLUETTI AC200 MAX.@@b3owu1f
Are these solar blankets durable.. and as good if not better than the somewhat stiffer but still semi flexible folding panels?
If I were to buy again, it would be something like the Alvolta 440w solar case. The KT Cables blanket is still pumping out a good level of power, however as it is a 3 x 5 configuration it can really only be laid on the ground which reduces winter time production quite a bit.
Not surprised, you get what you paid for. I also have a ATEM 100W solar blanket and it sux.
Absolutely, especially since the KT Cables 300W blanket had been more or less constantly been at a $699 club price since I made this video, very hard to justify the ATEM at $369 for anyone wanting a single blanket solution. If you can get 2 x ATEM blankets heavily discounted though and put them in series to a decent MPPT controller I think you'd see a decent bump in solar generation yeild.
Just got the 300w kt solar blanket on special for 240$ at supercheap
That is an outstanding price. Probably struggle to find them used for that price.
How is 200w closer to the mark ... It's 100watts off the truth! That's alot of scamery going on from kt cables
300w is the absolute maximum theoretical output, real world results are never going to be the same. This is why over panelling is a thing, because factors such as angle to the sun, cloud cover, ambient temperature and debris on the panel can all impact performance.
In this case though, the single largest factor is almost certainly the 12v 20A PWM solar charge controller. Unlike MPPT which will use nearly all power generated by the panel, PWM will dump anything over its target viltage.
This is really my bad as I should have had my power meter on the input side of the charge controller to see the output of the panel (not the charge controller). The KT Cables panel is rated at 18.8V with a maximum of 15.95A. At an output of 15.5A as in the video that is around 97% of max, which would put the panel voltage 18.2V. Even if we round that down to 18V, then the actual panel output during this test would have been 18V X 15.5 279W. As you can see in the video the output of the PWM controller is around 13.2V X 15.5A, which is 205W.
The Atem on the other hand is rated at 18.3v at a max of 16.39A and the amperage output was falling well short of that at a max of 9.5A. Even assuming max voltage here of 18.3V, that still puts it at 174W.