100 watt solar panels

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Comments

  • littleharbor2
    littleharbor2 Solar Expert Posts: 2,039 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Helps to buy local.

    2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old  but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric,  460 Ah. 24 volt LiFePo4 battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.

  • Solray
    Solray Registered Users Posts: 246 ✭✭✭
    There are a lot of companies going out of business and selling their stock of new panels for next to nothing these days, you can get great panels for pennies per watt.
  • Dcmike
    Dcmike Registered Users Posts: 21 ✭✭
    little update . i was told i could cut the diodes out and see if that helped i did not do anything 
  • Solray
    Solray Registered Users Posts: 246 ✭✭✭
    Why didn't you try it at least?

    Dcmike said:
    little update . i was told i could cut the diodes out and see if that helped i did not do anything 

  • Dcmike
    Dcmike Registered Users Posts: 21 ✭✭
    edited July 2017 #36
    Solray said:
    Why didn't you try it at least?

    Dcmike said:
    little update . i was told i could cut the diodes out and see if that helped i did not do anything 
    they are under warranty did not want to loose my money they were bought on may 5 of this year 

  • Solray
    Solray Registered Users Posts: 246 ✭✭✭
    I thought the company you bought them from told you you could to see what happens? If it was anyone other than the company that has the warranty, the fact that some random person said you could is irrelevant and was not necessary to post. I interpreted it as 'a person with the authority to act as an agent of the manufacturer' told you this.
  • Dcmike
    Dcmike Registered Users Posts: 21 ✭✭
    Solray said:
    I thought the company you bought them from told you you could to see what happens? If it was anyone other than the company that has the warranty, the fact that some random person said you could is irrelevant and was not necessary to post. I interpreted it as 'a person with the authority to act as an agent of the manufacturer' told you this.
    when i wrote the update windy nation had given me the permission to do it 30 minutes prior to that post
  • Solray
    Solray Registered Users Posts: 246 ✭✭✭
    ahhh
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    It is very possible for panels to pass the Voc+Isc test and not work well at Vmp+Imp (the "real" test). If you have one or more weak cells in the panel (look for "different" cells in the panel--Color, lifted traces, staining, etc.). It is also possible that you have dirty/corroded/loose connections in the wiring somewhere.

    If the junction box is one with a removable cover--There are two or three diodes inside (bypass diodes). If you have one or more bad diodes (shorted), you can temporarily, remove/disconnect the diodes and run your test again (bypass diodes let the current go around "shaded portions" the panel to prevent damage to the "dark" cells).

    http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/diode/bypass-diodes.html

    Bad bypass diodes can be replaced.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset