Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro Solar Generator Review

Well, this is embarrassing! Southern California is among the most developed regions of the country, and still, every summer, we struggle with power outages. 

And it’s not just storms and cut power lines. When we all fire up our AC units, the grid just can’t keep up with the demand, and we have blackouts all over the place. 

So what are my options:

1. Use a rumbling fuel-powered generator that emits toxic fumes and adds up to the overall carbon emissions — no way. 
2. Keep my solar generator charged at all times — sunlight is free, and it runs quietly. Most importantly, it doesn’t pollute my environment. 

This time, we’ve got a big one — a powerful solar generator that can really help out in your time of need and power all the essential appliances you have. 

But before we make any conclusions, here’s my Jackery 3000 Pro review. 

Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro Power Station Review

What is the Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro?

The Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro is a powerhouse of a solar generator with a capacity of 3023Wh and 3000W of power output. On top of that, there’s a surge potential of 6000W, so you bet it’s going to fire up every electrical appliance you have in your home. 

To put it in perspective, how about running a full-sized fridge for several days or charging a smartphone more than 100 times? Seriously, if your electricity doesn’t come back after that, you're in serious trouble. 

So, how do you position the Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro? Different brands market their power stations as home backups, while others lean more toward RV or off-grid cabin living. 

I’d say that the Jackery 3000 covers both scenarios exceptionally well. 

It wouldn’t be my first choice for camping, simply because it’s too big and honestly I don’t take so many gadgets with me. I prefer my RV solar generators to be lightweight. 

This power station weighs just under 64 lbs, which is too much to lug around. Luckily, it comes with a great set of wheels and a retractable handle, so it’s easy to roll around. If you need to lift it, the good news is that the recessed carrying handles are really solid. 

Just remember, lift with your legs, not your back.  

Other than that, you can control the whole power station via a smartphone app, and it runs surprisingly quietly for its size thanks to the proprietary Canyon nine-sensor cooling system. 

How Many Ports Does Jackery 3000 Pro Have?

The Jackery 3000 has plenty of output ports for normal use:

Every set of ports has its power button so you can turn off the group you’re not using. 

How to charge the Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro?

You can charge the Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro in three ways: from a wall outlet, by solar panels, and from a 12V car outlet. 

Wall charging

Considering the capacity, the Jackery 3000 Pro charges surprisingly quickly, thanks to the 1800W AC charger. Plugged into the wall, I managed to top it off in less than 2.5 hours!

That’s what I’d expect from a solar generator half its size!

Another great thing about the AC charging cable is that there’s no power brick. As with the Jackery 2000, they managed to fit it into the box. 

Solar charging

You can charge the Jackery 3000 with an impressive array of 6 x 200W SolarSaga portable panels. With this setup, the manufacturer claims the charging time is under 3 hours. 

Now, let's take things back to Earth. If you want to get near the promised 2.8 hours of solar charging, you need a couple of three things:

• 6 SolarSaga 200W solar panels
• Clear, unobstructed sunlight
• To position the panels so that they make the best use of available sun

Let’s assume that you don’t have the first two, and after a bit of trial and error, manage the third thing right. 

Don’t get me wrong, the SolarSaga 200W is a great portable solar panel. It’s just that they cost $699 a piece, and the 4-fold design is a pain to get to stand in place. They just love falling down, and the wind is not helping. 

A solution is to fix them to an RV or a cabin roof, but then you lose the flexibility to orient them toward the sun. 

I’m saying that in a real-life scenario, you’re more likely to use two 200W solar panels or several smaller 100W panels, in which case, you can expect to fully charge it in about 8 hours.

While this setup won’t get you super-fast solar charging, leave them in the sun all day, and your Jackery 3000 will be full whenever you need it. If you’re using it for RVing or van life, you don’t have to worry about charging, as it’ll continually take charge as you hit the road. 

Car charging

Talking about hitting the road, you can charge the Jackery 3000 through a standard 12V car port, but in this case, you’ll have to wait for 35 hours to get 100%. Not very practical, but hey, better to have it than not. 

Is Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro really portable?

Jackery calls the Explorer 3000 Pro “portable,” just like the Explorer 500 or 1000 models. I guess when the pair of wheels and extendable handle come into play, the portability claim is in question. 

The Jackery 3000 Pro is not exactly portable in a way that you can carry it with your camping gear. However, its flight-suitcase design makes it very portable on reasonably flat and solid surfaces. 

I mean, for the capacity and power it offers, it doesn’t take that much space in my trunk — about as two stacked shoeboxes. 

Also, I love that there are no protruding parts, so even if you need to haul the 3000 Pro a bit up the trail, it won’t snag into any undergrowth. 

I’d worry more about the SolarSaga 200W panels, which are portable enough to carry and fit into the back of your truck, but it’s a bit of a struggle to get them to stand freely. The smaller 100W SolarSagas are much easier to set up, but then you’d need more of them to collect the same amount of sun wattage per hour. 

All considered, the Jackery 3000 Pro is one of the best-balanced high-power solar generators in terms of capacity and mobility. 

Is Jackery 3000 Pro Right For You?

With plenty of capacity, power, and reasonable mobility, I’d say that the Jackery 3000 Pro is an excellent choice for a range of power needs. 

It might be overkill for an average low-tech camper like myself, but it earns 5 stars for the RV or van living role. 

The 3,000-watt output and 3,024-watt-hour capacity, coupled with a powerful solar charging potential, make it an outstanding option for an off-grid cabin as well. 

Finally, I wouldn’t think twice about getting one as a home backup power or a power source on an off-grid work site. 

Things I Liked About Jackery 3000 Pro 

The Jackery app — finally!

For this model, Jackery has finally decided to catch up with the competition and offer a great mobile app that works both on iOS and Android. The app is really easy to set up:

Turn the unit ON, and you’ll immediately see the WiFi and Bluetooth icons blinking on the power station display. The unit automatically connects to the app, which allows you to control all the critical features. 

Ok, to be completely honest, this app doesn’t have all the features of the competitors, but it allows you to see all the power going in and out, turn the outlets on and off, and perhaps most interesting, you can control when the power station goes into a sleep mode — you don’t want that to happen in the middle of the solar charging, do you?

Lightweight battery

The Jackery 3000 Pro uses a lithium-ion battery, which is pretty much the same type of battery Jackery’s been using since day one. Now I understand that lithium-iron-phosphate batteries are all the rage these days and that many buyers are expecting those, especially at this price point.   

But consider this: if they wanted to make this solar generator with lithium-ion batteries, it would have to weigh at least twice for the same power output.

Jackery has designed this power station with portability in mind because that’s the feedback they get from their customers — they want their units to be portable. 

True, lithium-ion has gotten the reputation of being easier to catch fire, but that only happens if you damage the cells. 

Considering how solid this generator is, you’d have to shoot it with a gun, smash it with a sledgehammer, or run your car over it. Either of these scenarios is less likely to happen. After all, a lithium-ion battery is what’s in your phone and all the power tools. 

Yes, a lithium-iron battery like the one in the EcoFlow Delta Pro will give you more recharge cycles — 3,5000 compared to Jackery’s 2000, but that doesn’t mean that when you recharge the Jackery 2,000 times, it’ll stop working. It simply means you won’t be able to charge it to its full capacity. 

Scopes for Improvement for the Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro 

Call me spoiled, but the large flat top surface of the Jackery 3000 Pro would be perfect for two wireless charging pads, such as those at the Bluetti AC500. 

So far, Jackery hasn’t issued one power station with wireless charging pads. But hey, there's a first time for everything. Just as they made the 3000 Pro model the first one that comes with a mobile app, they could’ve used the spacious flat top to include a pair of wireless charging pads. 

Pros and Cons of  Jackery 3000 Pro 

Jackery 3000 Pro Alternatives You Can Consider

EcoFlow Delta Pro

The EcoFlow Delta Pro is a similar power station to Jackery 3000 in many aspects. It’s similar in size but way heavier — 99 lbs vs. 64 lbs — due to its lithium-iron-phosphate battery. 

However, if the weight isn’t an issue, you’d be happy to hear that the Delta Pro has 3,500 lifecycles compared to Jackery’s 2000. 

And if 3,600 watt-hours of capacity isn’t enough, you can expand the Delta Pro with two expansion batteries and triple the capacity. 

However, the biggest advantage of the EcoFlow Delta Pro is the ability to use a wide range of solar panels. To get the maximum charging speed for Jackery 3000, you need 6 SolarSaga 200W panels. Using the Delta Pro and only two 455W LG solar panels, I managed to get 770W of solar charge and fully charge the generator in about 4.6 hours. 

Bluetti AC500 + B300S

The Bluetti AC500 is another high-powered solar generator worth considering as an alternative. It has a similar capacity of 3,072 watt-hours but delivers much more power: 5000 watts vs. 3,000 watts of the Jackery. That’s comparable to some home solar systems! 

To support that power output, the AC500 can be expanded with 5 more 3,072Wh batteries for a total of 18,432Wh. With enough solar panels to charge it, this is enough for 24/7 home backup. 

However, that kind of power doesn’t come cheap — $11,897 for the full setup. 

In reality, not many users would be ready to pay that kind of money. 

FAQ

Conclusion

The Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro is the most powerful and most advanced solar generator in the Jackery lineup, yet it managed to stay as portable as possible. 

I dare say the 3000 Pro is the most portable power station for the wattage and capacity it delivers I’ve had the chance to test. 

Following the Jackery tradition of plug-and-play solar products, the 3000 Pro is easy to use and is built to last many years. 

It lacks the battery expansion capability of its main competitors, the EcoFlow Delta and the Bluetti AC500, but in my opinion, it’s a much better-rounded solar generator for the price of $3,990 — especially if we consider that the competitors cost much more. 

If you need plenty of power for your RV, an outdoor cabin, or an off-grid work site, you’ll hardly find a more suitable power station than the Explorer 3000 Pro. 

The Best Jackery Explorer 3000 Pro Deals