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Ultimate Flexible Solar Panels - successes and warranty replacements


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#21 RC Pilot Jim

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Posted 26 October 2015 - 04:34 PM

Rusty. sorry for your solar problems. There have been problems so Renogy removed the Flex panels from their line up because they have been unable to find and rectify the problem.

 

They are giving folks there money back. You need to contact the Renogy factory,and talk with Tech support because they will need you to run tests with a multi-meter to verify the panel is bad and not the controller or the battery.

 

To Test out put yourself,  park the truck in the sun at noon unplug the panel from the roof conector  use a multi-meter to test the voltage. It should be between 15 - 16 volts (because it is glued to the roof). Normal is 19-20 volts.

 

You don't say the age of the camper. The batteries are warranted for 3 years. Any auto shop will be able to test the battery for you.


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#22 TravelAmateurs

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Posted 12 November 2015 - 04:53 PM

attachicon.gif2015-07-04 10.25.10.jpgI picked up a used Hawk last fall and installed a trimetric and 2-100 watt renogy flexible panels on the roof this spring. Worked great in spring and early summer but now they don't work at all. Didn't have a chance to use the camper in July and August but keep it parked in a carport. 

 

Don't really have time to troubleshoot or deal with this now but I am kinda bummed. spent a lot of time and money on this......plus I glued them to the roof with silicone caulk....lot's of it!  I am new to this and thought solar panels were reliable!

 

We were able to get our panels refunded without taking them off the roof.  Ours are seriously glued down with 3M VHB Tape and 3M 4000 adhesive.  We stopped by the Renogy facility and had a technician test the panels and break off the junction boxes.  I wonder if they would allow customers who have dead glued-down panels to mail in the small junction boxes rather than the whole panel. You may want to take off the old panels at some point, but figured I'd pass along the info.


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#23 DrJ

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Posted 12 November 2015 - 05:04 PM

My prior setup had 3 different glued on panels which worked perfectly for over 1.5 years (still going today).

 

However, I tried with my new camper to repeat this and had terrible luck.

 

The panels that I purchased had the junction box and solar cables on the bottom of the panel.

This made it essentially impossible to glue the panel completely down.

 

And on the very first trip I took, both of my new panels took flight. :angry:  :(

One was completely ruined, the second one appears to be useable still

 

I am working on making it a portable panel as a back up if I ever needed it.

 

I believe these glue on panels work great and are a great solution for our campers.

But there have been some drawbacks.

 

And don't forget the rigid panels are not without drawbacks too.

You need holes in your roof (or to use the Yakima racks like I did)

They can be very heavy to get enough solar power (mine weighs 40 lbs - I actually broke a plastic piece of my front lift panel the first time I tried to lift the roof. Now I have 40lbs roof lift assist in front and back and it's no big deal)


Edited by DrJ, 12 November 2015 - 05:05 PM.

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#24 SB_Surf

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Posted 13 November 2015 - 03:15 PM

Latest from Renogy Sales on Nov 11, 2015...

 

 

We have no set date for the reinstatement of this panel. I can assure that our engineers are working hard to bring it back and solve the design issues you mentioned, because of the popularity of the panel.

 

We also are not shipping out any of the leftover stock.

 

We appreciate your patience and your interest.

 

Phone: 800.330.8678 ext. | Fax: 888.543.1164

Twitter|Facebook|Linkedin: Renogy

 

GetFileAttachment?id=AQMkADAwATM3ZmYAZS0


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#25 rustytinbender

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Posted 17 November 2015 - 03:34 AM

Contacted Renogy and they said they would refund me the money if I would send them the panels. I said it seemed like a waste to ship the panels back and asked if I could just send photographic evidence that they were removed. They are checking and will let me know. So far it appears they have excellent customer service, I'll let you know if it works out.


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#26 rustytinbender

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Posted 17 November 2015 - 03:44 AM

So if I get my money back for the dud flexible panels I think I will buy 2 rigid 50 watt and make them into a foldable portable panel and try glueing a rigid 100 watt to the roof.  My roof is already messed up from removing the old panels and judging by the way the 3m double face tape and silicone caulk held on the flexible panels I don't think it would be any problem to securely glue a rigid solar panel between the on the top between the roof vents catching the supporting ribs of the 4wc frame appropriately. Has anyone tried this?


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#27 billharr

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Posted 17 November 2015 - 04:13 PM

I would not glue the whole panel. I would do the 3M tape install on supports like Photohc did no holes.

 

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#28 DonC

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Posted 17 November 2015 - 04:37 PM

Rusty - do you have Yakima tracks?  If so, its easy to mount to those.  Seems like more and more people are done with the flexibles - a great idea, but the tech is just not ready.


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#29 rustytinbender

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Posted 18 November 2015 - 03:21 AM

Thanks for the advice. I am not that worried about gluing a panel to my roof beacause it's not pristine, in fact it's a mess. I bought my 2011 hawk last fall and it had hail damage, now after glueing the panels down and tearning them off it's not pretty. I'd attach a photo but can't figure out how.....so I am a sheet metal worker and worked for a few years at a pharmaceutical plant installing metal wall panels, shelves adn stuff and we could't put holes through for fasteners. I learned that the 3m tape just had to hold things up until the silicane caulk set up and then its not coming down. I was thinking if a glue a regular panel to the roof I could make and fasten an air deflector to the leading edge. Don't know if I want to poke holes inthe roof to mount a yakima rack.  Anyway I would like to see more about what Photohc did if you could send me alink I would appreciate it. 

 

Although I rarely post I researched this site extensively for all the work I did and would like to thank you. I did post some pics of my setup back earlier this year, I think in July on a site for those of us on the east (or midwest in my case) side of the country.


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#30 rustytinbender

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Posted 18 November 2015 - 03:29 AM

Here is the link to my setup, it's on page 11

 

http://www.wanderthe...?hl=mississippi


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