XT60 vs XT60i: what changed and which cable to buy

A third pin on a familiar plug

Amass, which makes the XT60 family, prints a specification for its XT60IE series that calls it a 2+1 pin connector. It lists 35 A on 12 AWG wire below 85 °C, 600 V DC, and a signal pin rated at 1 A. The two power pins match a plain XT60. The extra pin carries a low-current signal.

EcoFlow uses that signal to tell car charging from solar, according to its car cable listing. The manuals fit this. The DELTA 3 takes 12 V at 8 A from a car on the same XT60i port that takes panels at 11 to 60 V.

Which stations use which plug

EcoFlow's solar cable page splits its list in two. The 3.5 m XT60 cable works best with the original RIVER line, RIVER Max, RIVER Pro, RIVER Plus, DELTA mini, DELTA and DELTA Max (1600). The 2.5 m XT60i cable works best with RIVER 2, RIVER 2 Max, RIVER 2 Pro, DELTA 2, DELTA Max (2000) and DELTA Pro.

The list stops before the newest stations. The RIVER 3 manual names an XT60i port with a window of 11 to 30 V, 8 A and 110 W. The DELTA 3 manual names an XT60i port as well. The RIVER 2 manual does not name its solar port, so its connector depends on EcoFlow's own list. Anker also moved to XT60i on its C1000 Gen 2, while earlier Anker models used a plain XT60.

The plug does not tell you the window

The DELTA Pro 3 carries one input of each type, and they accept different things. The XT60 port handles 30 to 150 V and 1,600 W. The XT60i port handles 11 to 60 V and 1,000 W. Plug shape and voltage window are separate facts. A cable that fits does not show that a panel's voltage is inside the window.

Plain XT60 beyond EcoFlow

The plain XT60 is the more common solar plug outside EcoFlow. Anker's C-series manuals print XT-60 for ports that take 11 to 28 V. Bluetti's cable pages print a 25 A figure for the XT60 PV input on its larger Elite and Apex stations. The Bluetti 25 A figure and the Amass 35 A figure describe different parts. Neither is a rating for another maker's cable.

Anker's own description is more cautious. It says XT60 connectors are typically rated for 30 to 60 V DC and are not suited to high-voltage solar. EcoFlow's DELTA Pro 3 still lists an XT60 input at 30 to 150 V. A connector's typical rating and a station's printed window come from different documents, so read them separately.

What to look for in a cable

EcoFlow prints lengths for its cables: 11.48 ft or 16.4 ft for XT60 and 8.2 ft for XT60i. It prints no amp rating or wire gauge. Third-party MC4-to-XT60 cables do print one. Anker lists 25 A on a 0.5 m cable, and Bluetti lists 20 A.

A cable's rating should sit above the panel's short-circuit current. The solar panel fit checker compares that current with the station's own port limit. The full list of adapter types is in the MC4 and XT60 cable finder.