Portable Solar Panels

[PsyPhin]

Sitting on the Zambezi and the Eigar has failed in the African sun on the 1st trip. You get what you pay for and this seems to be rubbish.

Looks like a puncture and air got in? Or did the plastic melt?

[Byron]

It has been used for 3 days now in fairly shady conditions and worked perfectly and today we got the first proper sun and voltage from it just dropped to zero and after inspecting it found this issue.

I would say the heat. Definitely no impact though possibly a manufacturing issue made worse by the heat.

[Basil Peetz]

I managed to buy a second hand 200W that works pretty well for me. It however came without the support rods/thingies to put it up at an angle. Any idea where I can buy these support rods separately?

[Byron]

I managed to buy a second hand 200W that works pretty well for me. It however came without the support rods/thingies to put it up at an angle. Any idea where I can buy these support rods separately?

I'm going back to a rigid panel. I have 200watt glass panels now that have saved my ass.

I'll get another set of 200watt to replace this turd.

[Serious?]

What did the supplier/retailer say?

[Byron]

What did the supplier/retailer say?

I'll see next week when I get back. It was bought online from Camp&Climb so maybe Dogbert can give his input ?

But i will update when I have more feedback though. Will happily send it in for them to take a look at as well.

I wasn't using there cheapy controller but it was plugged into a Victron MPPT so doubt it could be related to that. It looks like it has melted.

[PsyPhin]

It really does look melted but the surrounding panel seems fine. They all had the same exposure, odd.

Is it still supplying power? I can imagine that little piece would cut the overall panel by around 25% unless it broke a series connection. You should still be getting at least 50% from it.

[Byron]

It really does look melted but the surrounding panel seems fine. They all had the same exposure, odd.

Is it still supplying power? I can imagine that little piece would cut the overall panel by around 25% unless it broke a series connection. You should still be getting at least 50% from it.

Zero output because it is in series. Mate here has the solar blanket and seems to be working alright.

[Dogbert]

H there, please take the panel back to one of our shops so it can go back to the supplier, or expedite things by sending directly to our hq:

Unit 3, De Waal Park, 60 Greenville Road, Diep River Town, 7800, Tel: 061 344-3656

We will get it tested and sorted!

I'll see next week when I get back. It was bought online from Camp&Climb so maybe Dogbert can give his input ?

But i will update when I have more feedback though. Will happily send it in for them to take a look at as well.

I wasn't using there cheapy controller but it was plugged into a Victron MPPT so doubt it could be related to that. It looks like it has melted.

[Byron]

H there, please take the panel back to one of our shops so it can go back to the supplier, or expedite things by sending directly to our hq:

Unit 3, De Waal Park, 60 Greenville Road, Diep River Town, 7800, Tel: 061 344-3656

We will get it tested and sorted!

Thanks, John. I appreciate the offer.

I have just arrived back in JNB and will arrange for Courier Guy to collect it on Monday and send it to your head office.

[Byron]

A little update.

I sent the panel directly to Camp & Climb in the Cape. They called to say their supplier has inspected it and are replacing it.

It arrived at my door yesterday. I did ask about what caused the failure but the person I spoke to didn't seem too technically inclined so I dropped it.

Thanks @dogbert for the assistance. Verdict is still out on longevity of this panel but A+ for Camp & Climb for backing their products.

[garryc]

A little update.

I sent the panel directly to Camp & Climb in the Cape. They called to say their supplier has inspected it and are replacing it.

It arrived at my door yesterday. I did ask about what caused the failure but the person I spoke to didn't seem too technically inclined so I dropped it.

Thanks @dogbert for the assistance. Verdict is still out on longevity of this panel but A+ for Camp & Climb for backing their products.

I have my personal panel for 2 years now without any problems we supply these panels as part of our caravan packages and never had a return or warranty yet.

[Bex]

A little update.

I sent the panel directly to Camp & Climb in the Cape. They called to say their supplier has inspected it and are replacing it.

It arrived at my door yesterday. I did ask about what caused the failure but the person I spoke to didn't seem too technically inclined so I dropped it.

Thanks @dogbert for the assistance. Verdict is still out on longevity of this panel but A+ for Camp & Climb for backing their products.

I would really want to know the reason for the failure, otherwise trusting it on an overland excursion would be a tall order.

[Dogbert]

I would really want to know the reason for the failure, otherwise trusting it on an overland excursion would be a tall order.

It does appear as if there was a 'dry joint' caused by inaccurate stitching of the panels into the cover ie. they sewed over a part of the circuit - this can cause a fault that may not be picked up during initial testing, and use - then one day...
These are rare but they do happen - and the factory is also aware and has been taking steps to avoid this via extra qc.

[Bartman71]

I've had the hard foldable panel now for about 2 years. Mine came with the blue MPPT controller and has been fine till now. Off to KNP end of Aug so busy testing things. I connected the panel to my trailer and the voltage went over 16v... so I disconnected it and waited a while then reconnected. It seemed fine with a float charge of around 13.6v I think it was with 0 amps as batteries were full. Went back 30min later and the voltage was 17.48v with amps at 7.39amp.

Has anybody experienced this at all? I have been in contact with Dogbert about it so just wondering if anyone has noticed this before.

[kilimanjaro]

@Bartman71 see post # 240.

[Bartman71]

@Bartman71 see post # 240.

@kilimanjaro thanks. My foldable 200w Eiger panel actually came with a MPPT. As Dogbert told me privately, it was possibly in 24v mode and not 12v. One has to connect the controller to the battery first for it to read 12v then connect the panel. I did this and it behaved, but if I unplugged my fridge running via the HCdP panel and then plugged it back in again, it seemed to throw the MPPT controller and the voltage climbed. Weird. Unfortunately, I can't plug the 200w panel in via the HCdP panel as its only rated to 180w.

Fortunately, I removed the controller from the panels and placed it inside my trailer to avoid it getting wet. However, if the controller is mounted to the back of the panels, as one buys it, you can only connect to the battery as its permanently connected to the panel. So I'm not sure how it would read the battery voltage to select 12v first.

However, I'll be getting a Victron MPPT to use and keep this as a spare. Can't not have power in the bush!

[KrokODell]

Morning folks

I read somewhere (but cannot remember where) that one shouod not place this foldable panel flat on the bonnet of the vehicle.

Is this true, and if so, why is that the case?

Lying the panel flat on the ground comes with risk… dust, scratches, driving over it etc.

The bonnet, the roof of canopy would make sense at times.

I am building a foldable stand from 20mm pvc pipe. Will see how that works.

TIA

[kamanya]

I have suspected that my solar panels are not working as well as they should. I have used them once on a Richtersveld trip and then a year ago when I had them here at home trying to see if I could get them to work. I was still pissed off that load shedding ate my 200ah really good gel battery so have been waiting to save up for replacing those.

Now I have replaced the MPPT with a Victron on and got a new Blue Nova 105ah, before I mount anything I wanted to test it.



I can see that indirect sunlight I am only getting max 45 W.



if I cover each of the panels in turn, nothing happens to the overall output for the red panels but the wattage sinks to zero when do the same for each of the blue panels?







any ideas?

[DirtBasher]

Without knowing what panels they are and what wattage, it gets difficult?

1. Is the battery at least 70% capacity, this is important in the test, otherwise the Victron thinks it only need a moderate charge.
2. Have you changed the Victron to lithium?
3. Also the Victron only triggers at 16Volts and up (I’ve tested them), so covering up the panels may reduce voltage below and it won’t charge.

I see you are in Cape Town, pm me and I can assist you in testing properly.