Yes, I've tried to read all the other used panel threads. Through reading those I have decided buying used panels may be worth the gamble as many people have had great success. Check for physical damage, snail trails, micro cracks etc, and also test for voltage and amps.
The sole remaining question I have is about brands. It has been mentioned that brand and warranty are important decision factors in addition to physical inspection and electrical testing.
So...are there any specific brands that people like, or any to specifically avoid? Many names I have seen I recognize such as Q-cells, Trina, Canadian Solar, Jinko, Samsung, Yingli. Some I don't know anything about such as Phono Solar(expensive), Stion (commercial grade?), Solar World, Silfab. Most of these are priced at about $0.27-$0.35 per watt based on original panel specs. Obviously price per watt changes if only testing at 80-85% capacity.
And what kind of warranty am I looking for? I'm assuming people are talking about original warranty on the panels, not a warranty buying them used.
I'm currently leaning towards some Q-cells 330w panels that are claimed to be producing 100% output for $90/each.
There's also a guy in Knoxville (Jay's Solar) that appears to have lots of different panels on a rotating basis selling for super cheap...sometimes less than $0.20 per watt. However, that is about a 5 hour round trip drive for me, so I was wondering if anybody had used him? I think people said they're pretty good and reputable.
Thanks
The sole remaining question I have is about brands. It has been mentioned that brand and warranty are important decision factors in addition to physical inspection and electrical testing.
So...are there any specific brands that people like, or any to specifically avoid? Many names I have seen I recognize such as Q-cells, Trina, Canadian Solar, Jinko, Samsung, Yingli. Some I don't know anything about such as Phono Solar(expensive), Stion (commercial grade?), Solar World, Silfab. Most of these are priced at about $0.27-$0.35 per watt based on original panel specs. Obviously price per watt changes if only testing at 80-85% capacity.
And what kind of warranty am I looking for? I'm assuming people are talking about original warranty on the panels, not a warranty buying them used.
I'm currently leaning towards some Q-cells 330w panels that are claimed to be producing 100% output for $90/each.
There's also a guy in Knoxville (Jay's Solar) that appears to have lots of different panels on a rotating basis selling for super cheap...sometimes less than $0.20 per watt. However, that is about a 5 hour round trip drive for me, so I was wondering if anybody had used him? I think people said they're pretty good and reputable.
Thanks
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