Another failed flexible solar panel

[Colin123]

Thanks to the posts here I have established that my solar panel has failed. It charges until it gets sunny then packs up. It’s a flexible 60w panel stuck on the pop top and charging 2x110 ah batteries through a MPPT Pro dual battery charger. It’s a Camperking conversion and although I’m not the original purchaser CK are looking to see if a warranty replacement is possible. Not unreasonably I’d need to pay a labour charge of course. Whilst it’s only 60w I have never had a problem with 12v power.

However, given the need for it to be replaced I’m considering a number of options.
- Replace with another 60w flexible that may fail again in a couple/few years … labour cost about £425.
- Replace with a larger panel 100w CK suggested as that’s the smallest they normally do … cost about £900.
- Replace with something like a 150w panel … probably rigid and fixed to the roof with mounting brackets. £??

My existing MPPT shouldn’t need to be replaced.

A couple of questions … is it easy enough to get the old panel off … it’s been bonded to the pop top with something. Having done that the replacement options … does something rigid in mounting brackets create any significant wind noise? Finally, the MPPT charges both leisure batteries as it has batt1 and batt2 output. Why could I not charge the 2 batteries in parallel as batt1 and then run a wire to the main van battery from batt2 to keep the van battery charged when the van is parked up for a couple of weeks awaiting its next outing?

I’m in Dorset just outside Poole so any recommendations for a fitter could be helpful!

Thanks, Colin

 

[T6ChrisO]

Hi Colin,

Id suggest the rigid route personally as they fail a lot less frequently. I have just fitted my own Renogy 200W rigid using roof bars and the mounting brackets provided by Renogy. Wired into a Victron MPPT controller.

Pics in my project thread of the panel mounted via the bars.

 

[TallPaul_S]

Firstly...

Replace with a larger panel 100w CK suggested as that’s the smallest they normally do … cost about £900.

That's a ridiculous price for removing and fitting a new panel!

As @T6ChrisO says, rigid is far more reliable - it's just more difficult to fit.

If your roof is nice and flat you can use the ABS mounting brackets:


If there's any curve though they get awkward to fit.

If your pop top can take roof bars then that's the best option to fit a rigid panel to.

 

[Howzat]

Would love to hear the justification for the £475 hike between the 60w and 100w they quoted you. Outragous.

 

[Colin123]

Would love to hear the justification for the £475 hike between the 60w and 100w they quoted you. Outragous.

That’s what I was thinking … the £425 is just the labour cost for fitting the warranty replacement using the existing MPPT. The higher cost would include the value of the larger solar panel. Seems a lot extra when the cost off the panels is compared. The wiring and MPPT would be essentially unchanged. I’m erring towards a rigid panel and diy at the moment.

 

[Sackmycook]

They're taking the proverbial at the prices you mention. Unbelievable!!!
But then again, my plumber wanted to charge me £450 to fit a shower screen door and side panel in my en-suite. Jog on pal. Did it myself in a couple of hours.
I'm sure you could do it yourself with a bit of forum support

 

[drinfinity]

I would go diy. The wiring is all in place, just uncouple the existing connections and plug the new on in its place. Removing the old panel - I would use a cheesewire approach like for car windscreens. The tools are available cheaply online. Then glue on a panel of your choice- check the maximum voltage your MPPT can handle vs the maximum voltage of your panel.

On the other questions- charging two batteries in parallel is possible but search the forum on that topic, it’s not completely straightforward.

 

[Stay Frosty]

Cheapest option as has been posted already is to grab the beast with your bare hands and tear it off the roof in a fit of rage as you think of some robbing gits trying to charge you £425 to do the same thing.
Alternatively as is often the case you could calmly remove the panel in this current scorching heat with one of those new Sabatier Teflon scrapers from the kitchen then isolate the panel leads and get online to order a new 100watt panel with leads long enough and in the right positions to be a straight swap.
As worked out in another thread these Flexi panels won't last 25 yrs so don't spend a fortune on the new Flexi panel.

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

I will be upgrading my flexi 100w panel to 360w rigid soon. So it lasts the life of the van.
If I were you and had to go through the hassle of replacing the panel anyway I would use this opportunity to do a proper upgrade.
360w panel is £166
You would need to get a bigger MPPT also but so worth the extra cost the now.

 

[Stay Frosty]

While we're getting carried away with solar panel size this is what an average days 200 watts looks like on my shunt display after going through the Renogy DCC50S with two Renogy 175 watt flexi panels on the poptop.
Note the fridge was pulling 3.5 Amps out at this point too, if they got anywhere near their claimed output something would probably melt, again.

 

[Colin123]

Many thanks for the responses ... once again the help from T6 Forum members is invaluable and appreciated!

I think I've concluded that I'll do this myself ... and it looks like many members do. The saving will fund a 5 day trip to Holland in the autumn. I've outlined my reasoning here in case it helps someone else ... or I can be told it's wrong!

Here's my reasoning ...

The attached picture shows the current 60w panel ... I know the roof needs a good clean! The recessed bit in the middle of the roof is 385mm wide. I can't find a 200w or even a 100w panel that narrow, so unless I repalce with another 60w panel a flexible panel is probably not appropriate from a fixing point of view. The MPPT controller is a "PV Logic MPPT Pro" rated at up to 15A so a 200w panel will not need a new controller. In fact I think I should be able to just plug in a new panel without changing any wiring at all, (although I may add an isolator and fuse as that seems like good practice). The panel I've been looking at is the previously recommended Renology 200w.

There seem to be 2 obvious fixing options. Those ABS corner things that are screwed to the panel and stuck to the roof, or Z brackets that are screwed to the panel and the roof. The roof clearance of wither seems to be much the same. For one I need to drill 8 holes n the roof and probably some padding insde - for the other I need some really strong glue (like Hugtight for those that read books to kids!) ... and recommendations? Another option previously recommended was fixing to roof bars - at least the holes would be outside the canvas of the pop top but does that space it very high from the roof? Any recommendation for the bars?

I had thought about changing the wiring so that the engine battery could be trickle charged from the panel ... but at £40, a 10w panel from Screwfix that plugs into the lighter socket will do the same thing and is considerably simpler to install.

 

[Linoleum Bonypart]

Awkward roof shape for a bigger flexible … I’m anti rigid panel cus they look the pits ..

 

[Stay Frosty]

Even more so on top of a poptop, would start to look like a fugly pile of boxes.
Not sure if there is such a thing as a flat Transporter roof, original or poptop most have ridges for strength and to avoid panel drumming when moving so every Flexi panel fixing to these corrugated surfaces is an adventure.
I've got two panels and I have to be honest one of them did make a bid for freedom going on holiday this year after 18 months of being trapped on the roof with Tiger Seal, it's back in place, this time using CT1 from Toolstation and a strip of stainless stuck over the blank leading edge of the panels to give them an even better chance of clinging on.

 

[Grainfoot]

I replaced our flexible panel like for like. Found a longish flexible bread knife was the best thing for getting old panel off, not easy but worked better than the windscreen cheese wire method.

 

[Stay Frosty]

Ah, the old Bond villain cheese wire technique versus the bread knife, @wallport can almost get a disklok off with a butter knife though.