Harbor Freight 100 Watt Solar Panel Kit

[Delmar]

Am seriously looking at the Harbor Freight 100 Watt Solar Panel Kit to supplement the 400W HQST poly panels on my golf cart during a hurricane. Why I am so interested:

1. I understand amorphous panels work better with clouds. Can anyone confirm? After a hurricane it can be cloudy for a few days and noticed the poly panels have reduced output.
2. Cheap, can buy 100W for $160 using my 20% coupon including connectors and lights. Inexpensive toy learning experience.
3. Flexibility. Includes four panels that I can wire in series for my 48V golf cart, or wire in parallel for my 12V office battery.
4. Lightweight and portable with integral mounting stands. The four HQST panels are heavy if I buy a 2nd set.

My MakeSkyBlue SCC has a 2nd set of terminals to easily connect the HF in parallel and not use the crappy supplied PWM.

 

[DThames]

I am afraid you might "learn" to avoid Harbor Freight solar kits.

 

[Delmar]

My low expectations will be inline with the low price. Do you have direct experience with the kit?

 

[Brewman]

In my experience with HF is there stuff works but not good for long time use. If it meets safety standards, it's at the lower end. For testing and learning it's a cheep wat to go but when you are ready to build your finished system don't use any of that HF stuff.

My two cents.

Dan

 

[DThames]

My low expectations will be inline with the low price. Do you have direct experience with the kit?

Someone gave me some panels that look like those. They are several years old. Measuring them and looking up current panel sizes of this type, they should be 20-25watts each. I have three of them. One has zero output and no sign of a broken wire. The other two combined are about 12watts (together!!!). They look okay but just don't output anything worth the space.

 

[JohnLM]

There is a HF in my area not too far a drive, and when I went to check them out, (the 4-panel 100-watt kit) it was very heavy. I was like, "wow! no way!" And they were large for the size and weight and wattage I could not justify getting them for my purpose and use. I just recently purchase the Windynation online for in-store pickup at Homedepot.

WindyNation 100-Watt 12-Volt Slim Polycrystalline Solar Panel for RV, Boat, Camping, Off-Grid SOL-HD-100LP-01-HD - The Home Depot

WindyNation's low profile design solar panel is ultra-slim coming in at only 0.67 in. thick. Using a custom designed aluminum frame we were able to achieve a robust, streamlined, and ultra-slim beautiful

www.homedepot.com

 

[Delmar]

In my experience with HF is there stuff works but not good for long time use.

Yes just for testing and learning, will be stored in the garage most of the time. Plus the very rare hurricane that knocks out grid power.

the 4-panel 100-watt kit) it was very heavy. I was like, "wow! no way!"

WindyNation panels are the same price as my HQST, but at 8 lbs are about half the weight. Wish I would have seen those first.

And to clarify above: can buy 48V for $160 using my 20% coupon. Otherwise would require $300+ for conventional panels but I would also get 400W.

Still would like feedback on amorphous panels, regardless of brand.

 

[Grumpy 49]

Saw that HOME DEPOT has a NATURE POWER 180 watt panel with a 12 amp PWM Controller on sale for a lot less money. Anybody have feedback on the #50180 panel???

 

[MetalSpine]

That seems like a great buy. Anyone have an opinion if not any experience?

Saw that HOME DEPOT has a NATURE POWER 180 watt panel with a 12 amp PWM Controller on sale for a lot less money. Anybody have feedback on the #50180 panel???

 

[HRTKD]

I would take the HD kit over the HF kit any day. I wouldn't try to charge a flashlight from a HF solar system. Seriously, most of their stuff that involves air or electricity is crap. I've tried a few air tools from there and finally gave up and bought quality Bostitch equipment. The few things I buy at HF do not involve air or electricity. Nitrile gloves, tire chocks and hand tools that my life doesn't depend on.

 

[Deleted member 165]

Harbor Freight knows it's lane, and you should know it too. It's cheap, and it's cheaply made. Good for some things, not for electricity.

 

[PatBlack]

I have that HF 100 watt system. Let me answer generally first for all interested readers, and then about your specific application.

If you knew absolutely nothing about solar and wanted to learn what lowest end solar panels are and what a lowest-end PWM charge controller is, this might be the thing. But if you wanted to actually accomplish much more than powering the 3-watt 12v light bulbs, save your money and buy better stuff. It really is a toy. I paid $144 for mine on sale a few years back, but then you need a battery and an reasonably sized inverter and some cabling if you want to use the power at night and use AC power, so then you're in for couple hundred more dollars.

Here's why it's bad:
- the solar panels have plastic frames. they will easily break if you try to mount them. tighten a screw too tight through the frame and it cracks. real solar panels have metal frames
- at 7200 feet in the sunny, clear sky desert and 2 years of using them, my 4 x 25watt panels combined together have never put out more than 34 watts total. The most they have ever generated is 230 watt hours in a day. That's not enough power to do very much. It will run some 12v lights, nothing much more.
- the manual for the charge controller is useless. I still have no idea what the various modes are. I now I just use charge controller as a DC switch and don't have it control any battery charging.
- it's bulky for what it does.
- when it's cloudy is produces almost nothing, even tho amorphous is supposed to be better
- in 18 months of using panels and logging the data, they have produced a total of 48kWh. So in a place with 300+ days of sun, I'm averaging less than 90 Wh a day.

If you want it as an emergency lighting system, to charge a phone and a laptop, it can do that.

So now my question is, why do want to run around in a golf cart during a hurricane?!

But seriously, for your application, I think you can do better. I've not run mine in series so I can't speak to that. Good you are not thinking of using the supplied charge controller. The panels are heavy for your application, about 10 pounds each and makes more like 8 actual watts per panel peak sun rather than the nominally rated 25. I don't think you will get much usable production if anything on cloudy post-hurricane days. Not enough to do much with a big 48v golf cart battery bank. I haven't had a cloudy day in the 30-day look-back period to verify, but if I recall correctly I get like 40 Wh total from the 4 panels combined on a cloudy day.

Hope that's helpful.

 

[MobyHome]

The HF glass is weak and the plastic frame doesn’t hold up well. I have two cracked panels but they still work. Wouldn’t recommend.

 

[DASH]

Will Prowse has some videos of inexpensive and easy to build solar systems, that can actually produce a fair amount of power. As for myself, rather then get several of the cheap 100 watt panels, I got myself 2 new 335 watt solar panels (I'm only currently using one) for $110 a piece.

Santan Solar has a solar kit, that includes a quality mppt contoller, one 250 watt solar panel, mounting brackets for the solar, wiring, and manual circuit breaker for $165.

 

[Haugen]

I always laughed when I saw the solar panel kit at HF. Just having done research on solar panels for my home, I could tell that the panels were too big and heavy to be quality products. Thank you @PatBlack for sharing your experience and confirming my suspicions.
There are several brands of solar suitcase available that would be a nuch better choice. I know of several people who are satisfied with the Renogy kit.

 

[AE4KR]

I bought the HF kit last year to charge a battery to run a CPAP machine in the Mohave Desert. It worked for my application, but yes - it's a toy. My 100 Ah flooded lead-acid battery lasted the two nights I needed it, but the output from the panels was inadequate to top it off each day.

The manual for the HF kit advises to expect a drop of 25% in output after six months. The open-circuit voltage of the panels is about 25v, and best power (or "least-worst" power?) happens at about 18v. The PWM controller doesn't tell you much about what's happening; I use mine in the second mode, which essentially tries to charge the battery to 14.6 volts (but can't actually get there.)

Given their inconsistent performance panel-to-panel, I would expect putting them in series would be a really bad idea. One of the panels with an appropriate regulator might be nice for charging a cellphone in the wild. If adding a big, 10-pound, fragile panel to your pack was something you really wanted to do.

On a positive note, the blue LEDs on the panels look swell at dusk.

 

[PatBlack]

The user manual explicitly states do not wire the panels in series.

 

[MrNatural22]

1 100w mono panel 15lbs and an inexpensive PWM charge controller maybe 16 oz. $100+$20=$120 16lbs total plus two 20’ lengths of 10g solar wire with connecters maybe $10=$130

vs 4 heavy weak cheap disposable panels that produce laughable 100w of power all together $180........

Use the extra $50 you’ll save towards a Walmart LA deep cycle battery.
Learn solar basics with the choice that produces enough power to charge a useful battery and will last for years. ? My.02

 

[Delmar]

Thanks everyone for the very helpful comments.

Per my OP the panels are to supplement my four 100W HQST. Intent is to learn if amorphous panels work better with clouds. Looks like not.

So now my question is, why do want to run around in a golf cart during a hurricane?!

During a hurricane and extended grid-down will power the cart FLA battery set and my 2700W UPSverter. For more detail click here.

The user manual explicitly states do not wire the panels in series.

Not being able to connect in series for 48V to my SCC is a deal breaker. Unless it meant the crappy included PWM cannot handle panels in series.

 

[TheGriz]

There is a HF in my area not too far a drive, and when I went to check them out, (the 4-panel 100-watt kit) it was very heavy. I was like, "wow! no way!" And they were large for the size and weight and wattage I could not justify getting them for my purpose and use. I just recently purchase the Windynation online for in-store pickup at Homedepot.

WindyNation 100-Watt 12-Volt Slim Polycrystalline Solar Panel for RV, Boat, Camping, Off-Grid SOL-HD-100LP-01-HD - The Home Depot

WindyNation's low profile design solar panel is ultra-slim coming in at only 0.67 in. thick. Using a custom designed aluminum frame we were able to achieve a robust, streamlined, and ultra-slim beautiful

www.homedepot.com

Yes...agree. The four panels are relatively very heavy. And the four panels together are considerably bigger than a single 100 watt panel. I have the kit now and am upgrading currently.

 

[Metalophile]

I must be really old because I bought the earlier version of the Harbor Freight panels maybe about 14 years ago. They do have metal frames, but I only have 3 of them, and together they were advertised as 15 watts apiece for a total of 45 watts. I used them for a couple of years just to keep my 12v deep cycle lead acid battery topped off in case of emergency or power outage. For that purpose they worked. However, just yesterday I bought 4 x 260 Watt polycrystalline panels which were used - 4 years old apparently from a solar farm that didn't make it. $100 apiece. Now, those are some real panels I can play with!

I do still have those older Harbor Freight panels. A couple of months ago I dusted one of them off and installed an Anderson Powerpole connector on it so I could actually use it. I hooked it to a DC-DC buck converter and set the converter to 14 volts and trickle charged my wife's 2nd car's battery that she doesn't drive much. It still trickle charged the battery at 12.6 volts and 0.7 amps in not quite full sun, so at least it is still useful for something. And if someone steals it off my driveway, no big loss. I also have a DC converter board with USB sockets, and I want to convert one of the other panels to a phone charger or to charge a phone power bank. I'm trying to think of another application for these. Maybe mount them on my kid's swing set, put a ~20AH lead acid battery and a cheap harbor freight plastic ammo box, and use it to run LED landscape lighting at night?

 

[Grumpy 49]

Claim is that old solar panels never totally "die". May lose some of their output, but still puts out some juice. Think that a set-up like those used to charge game feeders, is a great use of "old" panels. Mounting on a swing set, with some type of tilt adjustment, sounds like a great idea. Tilt "up" for Summer, and "down" for Winter, would be a cheap way to increase output. Only suggestion is to buy a new controller (PWM?). Please post pictures of your "Swing Set Mount" after you get it built.

 

[Metalophile]

Claim is that old solar panels never totally "die". May lose some of their output, but still puts out some juice. Think that a set-up like those used to charge game feeders, is a great use of "old" panels. Mounting on a swing set, with some type of tilt adjustment, sounds like a great idea. Tilt "up" for Summer, and "down" for Winter, would be a cheap way to increase output. Only suggestion is to buy a new controller (PWM?). Please post pictures of your "Swing Set Mount" after you get it built.

It's not really a mount. The swing set has monkey bars on top, which my kids don't use, so I was going to lay two panels along the monkey bars. I just need some way to secure them there in case of high winds. I just now put it out with a DC buck converter with USB sockets. I'm charging a phone battery bank.

 

[Tallguy]

So, I will be boondocking in Southern FL next winter for about 3 weeks. My only power needs are about 8-11aH each night for a cpap machine and about 15 aH per day for a small dc frig. I just got my hands on most of a HF 100w kit(3 of the panels) and 3 panels of a 45w HF kit. I have a 100aH LA battery. Can I wire the 3 15w panels in parallel with the 3 25w panels? I also have a renogy 100w setup w/20amp controller. I was rhinking of using the HF stuff w/ my 100aH battery. I should get 4 nights on the cpapwithout any charging and still keep the battery above 50%. I am not sure how much battery to use for the frig as a. Most draw will be during the day and b. The frig is mostly there for refreshing adult beverages and I have a backup cooler, but probably either a cheap35aH LA or something from Craiglist. Am I unduly optimistic?

 

[AE4KR]

That 8 - 11 amp-hours sounds really low for a CPAP unless it has no provision for warming or humidifying air. The small Peltier fridges draw about 3 amps when running, in my experience, but they run almost continuously. The 100 AH battery might be up to the task if you can unplug the fridge at night when using CPAP. Be careful not to use more than half the battery's rated capacity to avoid shortening its life. The weak link in your plan will definitely be the panels. My HF "100-watt" set is not adequate to replace a full night's CPAP drain in the desert sun in September.

If the HF panels have been used much at all, they'll be well below their rated output. I'm coming up on a year with my "100-watt" set; the four panels together will charge my 12V 100 amp-hour SLA battery at about 4.5 amps, or nominal 55-ish watts, in peak sun. I use the battery to run low-power communications gear, and charge the battery about once a week.

My next purchase is going to be used 250-watt panels from Santan Solar to build a 24-volt-based backup system for the home fridge. I'm considering using a pair of 12V, 198-Ah SLA batteries which float on grid power between outages, and figure micro-cycling the SLA will allow them a long life.

Regarding combining your various panels, I'd check the open-circuit voltages in peak sun. If they're reasonably close, they should be OK in parallel, and if you have the original 100-watt PWM controller from the "100-watt" set, it should be able to handle them all together at their age-degraded output levels.

What's that old joke? I was afraid someone would steal my HF panels off my patio, but I came outside and looked this morning, and someone had seen them and dropped off four more!

(Sorry, had to!)