Renogy No Longer Carries the Flex Solar Panels

HomeOnWheels · 08-30-2016, 04:12 PM

I was about to order the flex panels online from Renogy but, to my surprise, they no longer carry them. I called and talked to a sales rep and was told there is a quality issue with the power output with a couple of batches, and they have decided to stop carrying them altogether. When I asked what happened to the sold panels, he said if they are performing okay then they are okay

I don't know if Go Power has or will have the same problem but at this time it is safer for me to order the rigid panels.

Rich.M · 08-30-2016, 05:05 PM

I originally had the flexible renogy panels on my Solera. They worked well initially but after a few months the power output was much lower and seemed like one or more diodes were failing. I received my recall notice about the same time and accepted the rigid eclipse panels as replacements. They work very well and are sturdy ( we went thru a dime sized hail storm without solar breakage, the hengs vents not so well) Probably only need 2*100 watt panels unless a lot of electronics. I would not get the flexible panels. Upon removal, I found yellowed areas where the panels were heating from the leaking diodes back feeding the cells. The flexible panels were against the roof and a fire risk. The new ridged panels keep the cells off the roof and prevent fractured wafers causing the overheating cited in the recall.

HomeOnWheels · 08-30-2016, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich.M

I originally had the flexible renogy panels on my Solera. They worked well initially but after a few months the power output was much lower and seemed like one or more diodes were failing. I received my recall notice about the same time and accepted the rigid eclipse panels as replacements. They work very well and are sturdy ( we went thru a dime sized hail storm without solar breakage, the hengs vents not so well) Probably only need 2*100 watt panels unless a lot of electronics.

I followed your discussion on another thread at Forester forum and found it extremely helpful as well. Thank you! Have a few more questions:
1. Sticky feet are holding strong? No need to re-strengthen them? Any additional improvement besides sticky feet?
2. Did you wire your cables down the fridge vent?
3. With your recommended 2x100w, how many days of dry camping is possible (for just regular lights, speakers etc)?

Rich.M · 08-30-2016, 06:22 PM

The sticky feet supplemented with adhesive caulk are the way to go without drilling into the fiberglass roof. The mounts are permanent and not going without the roof. They were tested on our summer trip with hours of 75 mph driving with wind gusts to 45 mph on a few occasions, travelled thru 100+ degree temps in the 4 corners. Panels and mounts checked on return, solid, no change. No concerns. I would consider sanding the dimples a little as Hophead did in his string. The sticky feet mounts are 2 part with bolt on the outside if you need to lift the panel for maint.
I did wire 6ga from a roof top combiner box down the fridge vent. That was the best route in the 24r to my charge controller next to the steps. All wiring has 12 volt breakers and the roof top solar has a separate switch , see the "solar again string"
I have 400 watts but the eclipse panels power profile is very efficient with my pwm charger (no benefit from mppt). We are admitted power hogs but I think we could hit 100 amp hrs charge with only 3 of those panels. Other panels may not be as efficient. Currently we are limited dry camping (no AC) only by water supply and waste tanks. If you don't charge 3 iPads 3 iPhones, and run cell booster with the lights , fans and tv then 200 watts will work fine, 300 if not sure. I was concerned initially about the heavier panels but they have not been a problem, lighter than a third battery, and held up well during our run in with the hail storm in Colorado. Incidentally all of the skylights did well, no cracks. Only "bullet holes " were in the hengs vents. I am replacing those with the fantastic vents with the polycarbonate covers. I do recommend the samlex 30 amp controller, it gives a nice flush mount without hitting the kitchen drawer next to the steps.

raptor · 08-30-2016, 07:47 PM

Would you upload pictures? I like to see how you installed them.

Rich.M · 08-30-2016, 07:55 PM

Many of my photos are on this string.
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...in-105452.html

HomeOnWheels · 08-30-2016, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich.M

The sticky feet supplemented with adhesive caulk are the way to go without drilling into the fiberglass roof. The mounts are permanent and not going without the roof. They were tested on our summer trip with hours of 75 mph driving with wind gusts to 45 mph on a few occasions, travelled thru 100+ degree temps in the 4 corners. Panels and mounts checked on return, solid, no change. No concerns. I would consider sanding the dimples a little as Hophead did in his string. The sticky feet mounts are 2 part with bolt on the outside if you need to lift the panel for maint.

What is the dimension of each of your panels and how many sticky feet did you use per panel? If I get 2 x 100w panels, each measures 21.3 x 47 and weighs 16.5 lbs. Four sticky feet enough for each? They are costly, about 20% of the total cost.

Rich.M · 08-30-2016, 08:10 PM

Here is one of the final mount - sticky foot covered over with adhesive caulk then final coat of self level dicor when all dry and cured.

Rich.M · 08-30-2016, 08:16 PM

4 feet on the smaller eclipse panels works well, those panels are only 20.7by 40.8 in 15 lbs The feet are worth the labor savings and you need the "wings" to go over with the adhesive caulk which is giving much of the adhesion.

HomeOnWheels · 08-31-2016, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich.M

4 feet on the smaller eclipse panels works well, those panels are only 20.7by 40.8 in 15 lbs The feet are worth the labor savings and you need the "wings" to go over with the adhesive caulk which is giving much of the adhesion.

Sounds good. I'd rather be on the safe side.
Did you tilt the panel?
I see the Z brackets Renogy sells actually have large surface area than sticky feet. I wonder if it's easy to buy 3M VHB tape and turn those Z brackets into sticky feet? For the same price, I can get at least twice as many Z brackets as sticky feet.

Rich.M · 08-31-2016, 04:35 AM

The problem with Z brackets is the one piece design if you want to lift the panel later. You won't be able to remove on the roof side and there will be very little room to get 2 wrenches under the panel for each mount. At some point you may have to lift one for debris or replace a diode. The sticky feet are 2 parts and adjustable height. The bolt is on the outside, what you can't see in the picture is the nut welded on the back bracket. Very easy to bolt on and off. I see what you mean about surface area but I think most of the strength comes from the adhesive caulk rather than the vhb tape. The Z brackets will not allow as much coverage on the panel side. It might be fine but I can only comment on what what I have used. My panels are flat mounted, there is no ladder on my Rv and I am not going on the roof and risk a fall over a few amp hrs. The panels put out plenty of power flat mount hitting 6 amps each in full sun ( higher than rated ). I originally placed extra panels to make up for shade and flat mount losses but they seem to be less than expected.

HomeOnWheels · 09-02-2016, 05:20 PM

Was curious about the flex panels that FR puts on the rigs so I contacted Brian Clemens (who is now GM of Dynamax). He said they use Go Power or Zamp flex panels at Dynamax, and use 3M VHB tape plus self-leveling sealant for attachment. He does not recommend drilling because the roof is only 1/4 - 3/8" thick.
I've already bought Renogy 2x 100w rigid panels (direct from Renogy with 5% discount), 12x sticky feet from RV solar stores, and 3M marine sealant 5200, Dicor and Eternabond tape from Amazon. Think I'm all set

Rich.M · 09-02-2016, 07:08 PM

Post a follow up when you are done with your review of the no drill bonding. One other tip, I suggest a 12v breaker in the battery case on the line to the controller. It will protect the circuit and easy to reach to turn off charge controller. I bought mine on amazon.

HomeOnWheels · 09-03-2016, 02:54 PM

Will do.
I bought a 30A fuse for battery per Renogy's recommendation. Now wonder if 30A is too high?

Rich.M · 09-03-2016, 03:09 PM

I use a 40 amp breaker with my 30 amp controller. The controller has built in" protection circuit " that kicks in at 40 amp. The breaker is really there to protect against catastrophic failure and a welding situation from a short. Your breaker is probably right for your 200 watts at about 11 -12 amps . Also there is something called cloud edge effect when the sun comes out from behind a cloud on a partially cloudy day. Solar out put can reach 125% of panel rating. I've seen that happen on my panels at high noon. Did you choose a controller ?

HomeOnWheels · 09-06-2016, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich.M

I use a 40 amp breaker with my 30 amp controller. The controller has built in" protection circuit " that kicks in at 40 amp. The breaker is really there to protect against catastrophic failure and a welding situation from a short. Your breaker is probably right for your 200 watts at about 11 -12 amps . Also there is something called cloud edge effect when the sun comes out from behind a cloud on a partially cloudy day. Solar out put can reach 125% of panel rating. I've seen that happen on my panels at high noon. Did you choose a controller ?

Yes I bought the 200w RV kit from Renogy that comes with Adventurer-30A PWM Charge Controller. I didn't upgrade or change any component, only added two fuses.

Yesterday I spent less than three hours wiring all the cables. It was much easier than I expected for my W model. I will post a step-by-step procedure and photos once I'm completely set up. Basically I wired the cables down the fridge vent from roof top (easy), opened the panel on the side (outside) to catch the cables, removed caulking to expose the hole for the propane line (easy), wired cables down to the compartment for water heater below stove (easy), then from inside coach, followed the drainage pipe to under the sink where controller will be mounted on the other side (easy). To wire the battery cables I had to work from both top and bottom to remove a lot of caulking to expose a hole for wires connecting battery and power control box. The hole is behind the heat/AC duct in the corner so it was tricky (hard). Finally, working underneath the coach, I wired the battery cables through another (uncovered) hole on the battery compartment.
This method requires just two holes to be drilled, one on side panel where controller is mounted outside for cables to go inside, and one on the bottom panel of the sink for the battery cables to go down to the lower compartment where the drawer is.
The sticky feet will arrive today. I will start sanding, cleaning, mounting the feet, and finish panel installation, cable connections within the week.

An interesting observation, while I was at my RV storage, I got on the roof and looked around. I didn't see a single solar panel on any of the dozen units around me. I was surprised.

Rich.M · 09-06-2016, 05:17 PM

Your moving along quick. A few thoughts/suggestions on mounting. I would not sand too much. Take down the peaks a little but don't leave yourself with and eggshell of fiberglass. I have a permanent bond without sanding.
Fit and adjust feet to the roof before removing the tape backers. Put panel on blocks and carefully remove tape from all feet. Lower as one piece, preferably with a helper due to the size of the panel. You won't be able to move or lift it once the first foot touches.
The 3m VHB tech specs state 90% bond in 24 hours. May want to wait at least that long before adhesive caulk layer in case the tape needs exposure to oxygen.
Go over the the top of the sticky feet wings as well as the sides with the adhesive caulk. It is more like epoxy than "caulk" after it sets and will brace as well as bond the foot.
I used dicor after 2-4 weeks to allow full cure. The dicor gives a smooth finish, keeps UV off adhesive and seals edges from water intrusion. Be sure to get the dicor along the inside edge of foot under panel.

Looking forward to your pictures and post of your install. I'm sure there are forum members who are considering this method and want to hear another opinion on the install.

HomeOnWheels · 09-27-2016, 05:00 PM

I will post a more detailed DIY procedure but here is a quick update. I finished installation of a 200W Renogy rigid system two weeks ago, and immediately took it to a 10 day dry-camp test. I'm very happy to report that the system worked flawlessly. At times it generated up to 8.6A power and kept house batteries charged. The panels are fixed on roof with sticky feet, marine sealant and dicor. I checked multiple times after driving high speed on highway, on bumpy road, fast turns etc, the panels are very firm

You may also like: