Author Topic: dodgy solar panels?  (Read 3074 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline SimonTopic starter

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 17720
  • Country: gb
  • Did that just blow up? No? might work after all !!
    • Simon's Electronics
dodgy solar panels?
« on: July 06, 2018, 01:11:49 pm »
I bought 6 of these panels here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142829791758

Yes they have clearly been hanging around but I am a bit concerned about the markings inside the panels that looks like moisture to me corroding the collector wires.

Should i exert the powers of PayPal and my credit card company on this seller ?
 

Offline ahbushnell

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 732
  • Country: us
Re: dodgy solar panels?
« Reply #1 on: July 06, 2018, 08:30:04 pm »
I bought 6 of these panels here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142829791758



Should i exert the powers of PayPal and my credit card company on this seller ?
Good luck!
 

Offline SimonTopic starter

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 17720
  • Country: gb
  • Did that just blow up? No? might work after all !!
    • Simon's Electronics
Re: dodgy solar panels?
« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2018, 09:07:01 pm »
Are the panels any good ?
 

Offline SimonTopic starter

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 17720
  • Country: gb
  • Did that just blow up? No? might work after all !!
    • Simon's Electronics
Re: dodgy solar panels?
« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2018, 09:14:29 am »
Well I messaged him and got a very fast response saying that he does indeed have a pile of rejects and a pile of good ones (2 of 6 are indeed good) and the person he left in charge of shipping picked the wrong ones and he will send replacements. So hopefully all will be well and i may even end up with 4 spares a couple of which are not so bad but I'd not trust to put them in a string of 14 and have one panel fail the lot.
 

Offline IanMacdonald

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 943
  • Country: gb
    • IWR Consultancy
Re: dodgy solar panels?
« Reply #4 on: July 07, 2018, 10:14:58 pm »
If they were described as New then this is unacceptable. All depends on the description.
 

Offline Seekonk

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1938
  • Country: us
Re: dodgy solar panels?
« Reply #5 on: July 07, 2018, 10:33:07 pm »
I had two bad panels where a section in each got week.  Test the voltage across the bypass diodes.  Each panel still has a good section and I used the two good sections in series to make the equivalent of one good 12V panel.  Alas, two years later those other sections had failed too.
 

Offline SimonTopic starter

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 17720
  • Country: gb
  • Did that just blow up? No? might work after all !!
    • Simon's Electronics
Re: dodgy solar panels?
« Reply #6 on: July 08, 2018, 08:25:41 am »
Well that is under the epoxy and the wires appear corroded. I don't know if it is unmixed compound that is acidic unless mixed.
 

Offline station240

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • Posts: 967
  • Country: au
Re: dodgy solar panels?
« Reply #7 on: July 08, 2018, 08:14:24 pm »
The solar installers online have been calling these "snail trails".
Believed to be caused by microcracks in the cells during install, eg from people walking on the panels.
 

Offline SimonTopic starter

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 17720
  • Country: gb
  • Did that just blow up? No? might work after all !!
    • Simon's Electronics
Re: dodgy solar panels?
« Reply #8 on: July 08, 2018, 08:24:33 pm »
So why the colour and apparent corrosion? it does not look cracked, just like there is something wrong with the potting.
 


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf