Snail trail on brand new solar panels

Hi,
I just got me pack of 4 new 340W Panasonic HIT delivered and put them up for a quick test.

They seem to work alright but I don't have my batteries yet so can't really check the charging output. I'm getting about 250-ish volt with 4 in series.

Looking at them they show some discoloration and snail trail. We've been very careful carrying so I don't think we did anything wrong. Should I be concerned and contact the shop?



Thanks

That looks more like mechanical damage than what is usually called a snail trail on cells. It might be the surface of the sheet that the cells are in was mishandled. Let the place of purchase know, but it could be that your panels are class B, visual imperfections but no impact on production / life span etc. Not sure if Panasonic sells class B though.

Panel construction

Thanks for that. I dropped them an email. Let's see what comes back.

Stupid noob question: Can I actually leave them outside like this (still connected in series) I should disconnect the panels from each other or even cover them up? At least they should be fine in the rain I just wrapped the connectors.

I'll put them on my camper soon.

Thanks

If you are worried about damage due to those marks, its fine to leave them in series, just not connected to a load, but I don't think you would have any problems actually using them.

was just wondering if there's a best to not connect panels together if they aren't connected to a load. But actually shouldn't matter since the circuit is still open. They'll stay out in the grass and in the sun without load.

I already had my EASun (like MPPSolar) AIO connected (batteryless) and charged my laptop off the inverter for a test. They seem to work fine.