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Ultimate Flexible Solar Panels - successes and warranty replacements


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#41 RC Pilot Jim

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Posted 22 June 2017 - 03:30 PM

Reminder on the flex panels...The ones that failed were manufactured by Renogy. They took them off the market and refunded everyone's money..to everyone's satisfaction. Many of us replaced them with the Renogy rigid panel.

 

Reports by "Kodachrome"  on the "HQST" flex panel and "enelson" on the  "Global Solar" are positive.

 

Does anyone else have any positive feedback on any other type of flex panel?


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#42 Stalking Light

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Posted 22 June 2017 - 04:37 PM

I have had great results with my GoPower flexible panels made by Carmanah, I have 2 of their 100w panels in addition to my 100w Zamp rigid and also use the GoPower controller.


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#43 Esus

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Posted 13 July 2017 - 02:42 PM

To follow up on the failures with flexible solar panels - have things improved?  Has anyone experienced any failures with the Solar Cynergy 120W panels: https://www.solarblv...roducts_id=3083

 

Or was this problem primarily limited to the renogy panels?

 

I have two of the Solar Cynergy panels and an HQST 50 watt. No issues with either so far. 


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#44 rando

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Posted 10 August 2017 - 05:46 PM

I took a gamble and now have two solar Cynergy Panels that are working well, but have only had them for a couple of months.   The weight saving was too tempting.  Glad to hear the solar cynergy panels have worked OK so far for others as well.  They are installed on the roof, but with weld-mount like studs, not glued/taped down. 

 

FYI I had a failure on a 100W HQST flexible panel on my prior camper. 


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#45 michgoblue

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Posted 10 August 2017 - 09:25 PM

I installed 3 of the 120w Cynergy panels on my previous camper last year and have 2 on my current camper.  So far so good!


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#46 ckent323

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Posted 30 September 2019 - 07:52 AM

I have read many mixed reviews of flexible solar panels in both RV and Marine/Boating forums.

Does anyone have flexible solar panels that have been operating for over 3 years?

If so I am wondering about the following:

Name of Manufacturer
How was the solar panel mounted (is there air flow under it? Is it directly glued to the roof? or something else)
Has the solar panel been exposed to freezing temperatures
What is the rated panel output in watts
Are you seeing any degradation in output? If so how much?
Are you seeing any degradation in appearance of the panels? If so how much?
Do you leave them on the vehicle full time or do you remove them in the off season or do you somehow protect them when you are not "on the road"?
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#47 Old Crow

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Posted 30 September 2019 - 03:10 PM

I have read many mixed reviews of flexible solar panels in both RV and Marine/Boating forums.

Does anyone have flexible solar panels that have been operating for over 3 years?

If so I am wondering about the following:

Name of Manufacturer
How was the solar panel mounted (is there air flow under it? Is it directly glued to the roof? or something else)
Has the solar panel been exposed to freezing temperatures
What is the rated panel output in watts
Are you seeing any degradation in output? If so how much?
Are you seeing any degradation in appearance of the panels? If so how much?
Do you leave them on the vehicle full time or do you remove them in the off season or do you somehow protect them when you are not "on the road"?

 

I'm not sure if this is helpful but your post reminds me of a Safari Condo Alto trailer I toured in a campground in Maine two weeks ago.  The owners were from the Washington, DC area and were just packing up after 11 days off-grid at that campground to head home.  The trailer has two flexible solar panels adhered to the curved roof.

 

I mentioned the problems we've read of with adhered flexible panels and asked the owner if he had had any issues. He said, no, those are the originals and he has had them five years and no problems at all.  He's also a regular reader of the forum for Altos and doesn't remember seeing anything about the problem.

 

This morning I called one of the Alto dealers in London, Ontario and asked about them. The panels are indeed adhered to the roof and he said they did have a batch of bad panels about three to five years ago... but no problems with them since.  He didn't know who the panel manufacturer is.

 

I took a quick snapshot as I walked away from it and you can (barely) see the panels and the curve of the roof. 

 

(Click to enlarge)

 

Attached File  AltoAtFreeportME.jpg   113.32K   40 downloads

 

Also-

 

According to this web post, the panels used by Safari Condo for the Alto are made by Global Solar.

 

I believe the main forum for Alto owners is a Facebook group called "Altoistes".  It's a closed group but I understand it's easy to join if anyone's interested in exploring this further. 

.


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#48 rando

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Posted 30 September 2019 - 04:32 PM

To update - both my solar Cynergy panels failed in a hail storm.   At least one string of cells in each panel died in the storm, leaving each panel at half current.    I have since reverted to a 160W rigid panel and folding portable panel.     

 

To be clear, this was a major hail storm with golf ball sized hail - several thousand dollars worth of damage done to the Tacoma the camper was mounted on, and the camper roof looks like the surface of the moon, but no leaks.   About half or two thirds the houses in our neighborhood have roof top solar, and talking to our neighbors, only a few of them lost roof top panels in the same storm, so clearly the glass panels faired much better. 

 

I took a gamble and now have two solar Cynergy Panels that are working well, but have only had them for a couple of months.   The weight saving was too tempting.  Glad to hear the solar cynergy panels have worked OK so far for others as well.  They are installed on the roof, but with weld-mount like studs, not glued/taped down. 

 

FYI I had a failure on a 100W HQST flexible panel on my prior camper. 


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#49 Stokeme

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Posted 02 October 2019 - 10:31 PM

This is timely for me. I don’t typically look up to “Ultimate”. I have 2 Solar Cynergy (Solar Blvd, now defunct), 120W panels, so far, so good. Mounted on an alum tube frame, good airflow. Panels have a warped a tiny bit but nothing compromised. Definitely exposed to freezing & heat, no issues. 18 months no cover, did unplug roof solar last Winter. Recently bought Camper/Truck cover for this Winter. I can not speak to output/efficiency then or now. I know enough about what I want, but am conservative about what I don’t, I am a recipe electrician. My 2 panels were ~$120 ea. (I should have purchased 2 more when they were liquidated @$89 ea) I also have a folding 100W flex portable. All my panels are import commodity.
My alum tube frame was welded by a friend, it only weighs ~5lbs. I want to get panels that are equal in size so they will fit my frame. I am eying Alaska in 2 years. I can fit 3 up top on the roof frame (Grandby). I am 12V only with horizontal fridge, heater, LED’s & very small H2O pump. For Alaska I’ve thought about a generator, don’t want to, or get/bring solar replacement materials. I want to stay live, keep the wife warm, when really off the grid.
Rando, Did you have issues with the weight increase on the roof/uplift? You probably know the output with 160W glass vs 240W flex? Can you compare? Hail aside, would you go back to flex? Craig, what do you use now? I figure I have 240W @15lbs on roof, 5lbs/panel & 5lbs/frame.
I am looking at this panel for back stock, same size, looks exactly like the Solar Cynergy. 120W is same size as 160W?
https://www.amazon.c...BEEYE72YY&psc=1
This one below has a different surface, ETFE vs PET, claims greater efficiency, any thoughts?
https://www.amazon.c...1_t2_B07JMQG7Q5

My first thoughts were that I was ok replacing cheap panels every few years. I just don’t want to lose power when I need it.

Edited by Stokeme, 03 October 2019 - 03:48 PM.

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#50 DonC

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Posted 02 October 2019 - 10:52 PM

strokeme - where did you get the truck/camper cover?  do you have a link?

 

I am one of the early adopters of flexible panels, went through 6 panels in about a year.  This was when the recommendation was to glue them down - made an absolute mess of my top.  Have had rigid panels for years now with no issue.  I'm sure they have improved but I'm not going back...


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