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Solar · EcoFlow

Solar panels for the EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max

Written by Ian Schneider·Solar & Off-Grid Tester

The RIVER 2 Max takes solar through one XT60 socket, a yellow two-pin DC plug, and the plain XT60 at that rather than EcoFlow's own XT60i. The port is rated for 11 to 50 volts and 220 W. Fill it and the 512 Wh battery is done in about two and a quarter hours of good sun. That is a morning on my deck with the afternoon left over.

Four of the panels we track fill the port by themselves, and the lightest of the four weighs more than twice what the station does. The others get there in twos, threes and fours. Twenty-seven of the forty-one stay under 50 volts, six of them EcoFlow's own. Five go over. Two of the five are EcoFlow's too, and only a cold morning puts them there.

Nothing in the box reaches a panel. The manual lists the station, an AC charging cable and the paperwork, then names the solar cable, an MC4-to-XT60 adapter, as supplied separately. MC4 is the weatherproof push-fit connector on the leads of nearly every panel. The same socket takes the car charging cable, so the sun and the truck wait their turn.

The door
11–50 V
Its width
220 W
Plug
XT60
Full battery, best case
~2.3 h
EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max portable power station
EcoFlow's product page has a What's in the box list for the RIVER 2 Max, and the first item on it is a RIVER 2 Pro. The manual has the right list. No solar cable is on it.

The door

Every panel we track, lined up at the RIVER 2 Max's solar input

Every panel we track, ordered by the voltage on its label. That figure is Voc, the open-circuit voltage, which is what a panel puts out in sun with nothing drawing from it. The black line is 50 V, where the manual says damage starts. A bar past the line stays off this station.

The pale cap on each bar is a cold morning, about 10% more voltage at −10 °C. Cold cells push harder. That cap is the part I'd check on my own deck in January. Two bars cross the line only with the cap on. Both are EcoFlow's.

Hover a bar to see which panel it is. If there is a panel in your garage already, type its Voc in the box and it gets a bar of its own.

Swipe sideways for the whole line-up.

010203040506070volts, open-circuit+1++2yours?50 V · the lintel11 V · the step

Hover or tap a bar for the panel’s name and its verdict.

  • Fits through the door
  • Too tall
  • Extra height on a −10 °C morning
  • Maker prints only the operating voltage; the real height is above the dashes
  • 1Our pick: BLUETTI 350W
  • 2EcoFlow's own 125W Bifacial Modular

What we'd buy

The best solar panel for the RIVER 2 Max

Picked by the numbers on this station, not by brand.

Best overall

BLUETTI 350W Solar Panel (PV350)

One panel delivers 220 W, the most the input takes.

Check price at BLUETTI

Best value

Eco-Worthy 200W Flexible HJT Solar Panel 18V ETFE 18BB (GW-L02AM200HJT2)

About $1.64 for every watt it actually delivers here. 2 panels deliver 220 W, the most the input takes.

Check price at Eco-Worthy

Best to carry

Renogy 200W Portable Solar Panel Blanket (RPP200SB-SE)

144 W from a 8.82 lb panel, the most delivered watts per pound.

Check price at Renogy

A day on solar

How long the RIVER 2 Max takes to charge on solar

About two and a quarter hours, with the port taking its full 220 W. Twenty-three of the panels that fit can get it there, four of them alone. One 200 W folding panel by itself delivers about 144 W in real sun and needs a little over three and a half hours. A 100 W panel delivers about 72 W and needs about seven hours.

A good day gives three to six hours of sun that strong. The full port and the single 200 W panel both finish inside one. The 100 W panel wants a long day, or two short ones. How many of those days a month brings depends on your state and the season, and the system builder has those numbers.

a good day's sun: 3 to 6 h0 h1 h2 h3 h4 h5 h6 h7 h8 hInput full (220 W) · full in 2.3 hOne 200 W panel (144 W delivered) · full in 3.6 hOne 100 W panel (72 W delivered) · full in 7.1 h

Hours of good sun, from empty. Where you live and the month decide how many of those a day gives; the system builder works it out.

Every panel that fits

Solar panels compatible with the RIVER 2 Max

Twenty-seven fit. For each one: the cable that gets it into the XT60 socket, what a single panel delivers in good sun, and the most the RIVER 2 Max will take from a set. Sorted by delivered watts. Eleven of them need an MC4-to-XT60 lead, the same cable the manual says is sold separately.

Too tall

Solar panels that won't work with the RIVER 2 Max

Five panels read past 50 volts, or get there once the morning is cold enough. EcoFlow's two are the near misses. The 400W folding panel reads 48 on its label, and the 125W Bifacial Modular reads 50, which is the line itself. Both pass in warm weather and neither does on a cold morning. If one of those is the panel you own, keep it for a station rated higher.

The other three are taller on the label and stay off in any weather. The Anker SOLIX PS200 reads 57.6 V and Renogy's 590 W bifacial reads 52.63. The Jackery SolarSaga 500 X reads 48.5, under the line until Jackery's 5% tolerance is added. I'd leave all three on the stations they were bought for.

Over the 50 V lintel (5)

No verdict (9): the maker doesn't publish an open-circuit voltage

Own a panel that isn't in the line-up?

Type its voltage into the door chart above for the height test, then put the rest of the label into the panel checker, already set to the RIVER 2 Max, for current and plug too. Or build the whole system to see how it keeps up where you live.

The plain answers

How long does the RIVER 2 Max take to charge on solar?

One 100 W panel delivers about 72 W in good sun and refills the 512 Wh battery from empty in about 7.1 hours.

One 200 W panel delivers about 144 W in good sun and refills the 512 Wh battery from empty in about 3.6 hours.

At its 220 W solar limit it refills in about 2.3 hours. More panel watts than that won't charge it any faster.

A day gives three to six hours of sun that good, depending on season and place, so one 100 W panel takes 2 to 3 days to fill it. The system builder works it out for your state and month.

What adapter does the RIVER 2 Max need for solar?

Every panel we track needs a cable to reach its XT60 input. None comes in the box.

The cables they need: MC4 to XT60 (11 panels), DC8020 to XT60 (4 panels), Anderson to XT60 (2 panels) and DC5521 to XT60 (2 panels).

8 panels don't have a named plug from their maker, so check the lead before you buy a cable.

Can you use non-EcoFlow solar panels with the RIVER 2 Max?

Yes. What decides it is the panel's voltage and plug, not the brand. 21 panels from Anker SOLIX, BLUETTI, Renogy, Eco-Worthy, Jackery and Rich Solar work with it, as long as the panel stays under 50 V on a cold morning and starts above 11 V.

The strongest single panels here are the Anker SOLIX 440W Rigid (220 W delivered) and the BLUETTI 350W (220 W delivered).

Can you connect two solar panels to the RIVER 2 Max?

Yes, joined into one input with a series or parallel cable.

Don't wire two BLUETTI PV100 FX Flexible panels in series: together they would pass its 50 V limit. Parallel them instead.

Past 220 W delivered, more panels only help on cloudy days.

What is the RIVER 2 Max's solar input?

Solar Charging Input: 11–50 V, up to 13 A, 220 W.

Input limits from EcoFlow's documents, checked 2026-09-18 (source). Delivered watts assume 72% of the panel's rating in good sun.