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Solar · EcoFlow

Solar panels for the EcoFlow RIVER 3

Written by Ian Schneider·Solar & Off-Grid Tester

EcoFlow gave the RIVER 3 one DC socket and asked it to do two jobs. It takes a solar panel or a car's cigarette lighter, through an XT60i plug, the connector EcoFlow puts on its own solar cable. On solar it accepts 11 to 30 volts and 110 W. The manual puts it more bluntly: keep the panel under 30 V or risk damaging the station.

Seventeen of the forty-one panels we track stay under that line, five of them EcoFlow's own. Eighteen go over, and three of those are EcoFlow's too, including both 400 W panels. The seventeen that fit fill a 245 Wh battery at 110 W in a little over two hours. That is quick enough that I'd plan a cabin weekend around one panel and a long lunch.

The door
11–30 V
Its width
110 W
Plug
XT60i
Full battery, best case
~2.2 h
EcoFlow RIVER 3 portable power station
In the box: the station, an AC charging cable, the manuals. The solar cable is a separate purchase, and so is the panel.

The door

Every panel we track, lined up at the RIVER 3's solar input

Every panel we track, lined up by the voltage printed on its back. That figure is Voc, the open-circuit voltage, which is what a panel puts out in sun with nothing plugged into it. The black line is 30 V, the RIVER 3's ceiling. Any bar reaching above it stays home.

The pale cap on each bar is what a cold morning adds, about 10% at −10 °C. Three panels only cross the line because of that cap. The Jackery SolarSaga 80W reads 28.5 V on its label, which looks fine in July. On my deck in January it wouldn't be. The charge controller sees whatever the panel is putting out that morning.

Hover a bar for the panel's name. Own a panel already? Type its Voc below and it takes a place in the line.

Swipe sideways for the whole line-up.

010203040506070volts, open-circuit1+++2yours?30 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: Renogy 200W Portable Solar Panel Blanket
  • 2EcoFlow's own 125W Bifacial Modular

What we'd buy

The best solar panel for the RIVER 3

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

Best overall

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

One panel delivers 110 W, the most the input takes.

Check price at Renogy

Best to carry

Jackery SolarSaga 40 Air (JS-40C)

30 W from a 1.98 lb panel, the most delivered watts per pound.

Check price at Jackery

A day on solar

How long the RIVER 3 takes to charge on solar

A little over two hours, with the input full at 110 W. Any of the seventeen can get there, though the smaller ones need company. One 100 W panel on its own delivers about 72 W in real sun and takes a little under three and a half hours.

A good day gives three to six hours of sun that strong. Either setup fills the RIVER 3 in a day, usually with daylight left over. At 245 Wh there is not much to fill. Where you live and what month it is decide how many of those days you get. The system builder works that out for your state.

a good day's sun: 3 to 6 h0 h1 h2 h3 h4 h5 h6 hInput full (110 W) · one 200 W panel · full in 2.2 hOne 100 W panel (72 W delivered) · full in 3.4 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 3

Seventeen fit. For each: the cable that gets it to the XT60i socket, what one panel delivers in good sun, and the most the RIVER 3 will take from a set of them. Sorted by delivered watts. Seven of them want an MC4-to-XT60i lead, MC4 being the weatherproof plugs on most rigid panels.

EcoFlow's own, the pairings it documents

  • EcoFlow 110W Portable Solar Panel
    110 W · portable · 8.8 lb · $259 · 21.8 V
    EcoFlow lists this pairing
    Plug: EcoFlow doesn't name the plug. Check the lead before buying a cable
    One panel: 79 W in good sun
    Best with up to 4: 2 panels → 110 W (door full), full in ~2.2 h
    2 in parallel
    Check price at EcoFlow

Everyone else's

Too tall

Solar panels that won't work with the RIVER 3

Eighteen panels push more than 30 V. Three are EcoFlow's own: the 125W Bifacial Modular, the 400W and the 400W Rigid, all built for stations with much taller inputs. If you already own one, keep it on the station it was bought for.

The Anker SOLIX PS200 is the far end of the list at 57.6 V, close to double the limit. Three others only cross on a cold morning: the BLUETTI SORA 60, the Eco-Worthy 200W flexible and the Jackery SolarSaga 80W. The Jackery SolarSaga 100 Air reads 29.7 V and Jackery allows 5% either way. I wouldn't plug that one in with the sun out and the socket rated to 30.

Over the 30 V lintel (18)

No verdict (6): 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 3, 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 3 take to charge on solar?

One 100 W panel delivers about 72 W in good sun and refills the 245 Wh battery from empty in about 3.4 hours.

One 200 W panel delivers about 110 W in good sun and refills the 245 Wh battery from empty in about 2.2 hours.

At its 110 W solar limit it refills in about 2.2 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 1 to 2 days to fill it. The system builder works it out for your state and month.

What adapter does the RIVER 3 need for solar?

Every panel we track needs a cable to reach its XT60i input. None comes in the box.

The cables they need: MC4 to XT60i (7 panels), DC8020 to XT60i (2 panels), Anderson to XT60i (2 panels) and DC5521 to XT60i (1 panel).

5 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 3?

Yes. What decides it is the panel's voltage and plug, not the brand. 12 panels from BLUETTI, Eco-Worthy, Jackery, Renogy and Rich Solar work with it, as long as the panel stays under 30 V on a cold morning and starts above 11 V.

The strongest single panels here are the BLUETTI PV200 (110 W delivered) and the Eco-Worthy 195W N-Type 18BB Bifacial (110 W delivered).

Can you connect two solar panels to the RIVER 3?

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

Don't wire two BLUETTI SP100L panels in series: together they would pass its 30 V limit. Parallel them instead.

Past 110 W delivered, more panels only help on cloudy days.

What is the RIVER 3's solar input?

Solar Input: 11–30 V, up to 8 A, 110 W.

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

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