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Is this risky? SanTan used panels with backside vinyl cracking, tested good, no signs of moisture

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cdevidal

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Good price per watt. Is this a risky buy? I might be doing ground placement and moving them around, so I may be sometimes handling them. I could caulk the cracks if necessary. Task is to power a mini-split while the sun shines, very minimal battery charging.

Used SST Series 230W 60 Cell Poly Solar Panel – Cracked Vinyl, $38.00
"These are used 230W panels. The mfg labels have been removed. Panels have been tested and have good output. The vinyl has airside cracking (backside), but have no signs of any moisture intrusion on the panel. The EVA moisture barrier appears to be intact. (see pictures for reference)"

Comes with SanTan limited one year warranty.

Scratched-2.png
 
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I’m sure others will chime in. I‘m a solar noob so take what I say with a grain of salt. I bought their 240 watt panels for $40 recently In person. The salesman on site (commissioned I believe so had an incentive to push me to more expensive panels) advised me that in a place like Arizona that cracking isn’t really a problem at all. It can be a problem in wetter climates. He said he has heard some people using flex seal successfully to seal them up. I felt it was an acceptable risk for me at 16 cents a watt. Space is not a problem for me so even if the output is significantly lower, I can add more panels.
 
What was original brand? Trina Solar panels were recalled and some have made it back to market used. Watch below...


If going into purchase informed and mount where possible short/fire can be contained...to each their own. Would not mount them on a structure of any sort.
 
Gizmo740 said:
What was original brand? Trina Solar panels were recalled and some have made it back to market used. Watch below...


If going into purchase informed and mount where possible short/fire can be contained...to each their own. Would not mount them on a structure of any sort.
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Thanks for posting that. The comments on the video were an informative read. I googled and couldn’t find any reference to a Trina Solar panel recall.
 
Gizmo740 said:
Sorry, fire may have been too harsh. "Thermal event" is the official description.

www.businessinsider.com

Tesla solar panels have become a nightmare for some homeowners, especially for one Colorado woman whose roof went up in flames

Tesla customers from Maryland to Arizona with Tesla solar panels have said they were left frustrated as they wait on the company's repairs.
www.businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com

Probably don't see much as there were multiple Walmart installations involved also.
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As so Trina is a supplier is a supplier to Tesla. Tesla didn't do its work. It makes you wonder how many new panels also suffer from these problems, especially the cheap ones bought on Ebay and Amazon.
 
I thought maybe Flex Seal, or the white elastic mobile home/rv roof sealant, might work as long as the panel looked ok.
 
If they are already corroded, it won't magically make it any better, but 'might' limit any further moisture intrusion and slow the process. I was thinking of going the cheap $40 panel route on pop's deer cabin.
 
cdevidal said:
The salesman actually said that, that people who buy these use Flex Seal.
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I’ve only seen flexseal in poorly conceived repairs- think old camper roofs- and many of those subsequently failed again.

The Henry elastomeric “brilliant” white roof sealant I’ve use personally a bunch of times with 100% aged success. On roofs.

Available at Home Depot for ~$30/gal. That’s what I would use at a minimum.

A maybe better choice (I wouldn’t use the Henry below the waterline, def not flexseal!) would be the loctite branded polyurethane window and door caulking- at better ACE stores and Home Depot $9-ish/10.2oz tube.

(Absolutely DO NOT use silicone caulking. If it’s an actual deep crack it could DOA the circuitry strips in the panel at worst, at best it will make the expected follow up repair ineffective because it probably won’t stick by adhesion, just stiction )
 
12VoltInstalls said:
The Henry elastomeric “brilliant” white roof sealant I’ve use personally a bunch of times with 100% aged success. On roofs.
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Yeah good call, I am going to be using Henry Tropi-Cool for my roof, might as well just slather on a little on the rear of the panels when I do.
 
I've got 30 of these 240W panels from SanTan. The sticker doesn't say "void if removed", but it covers a Trina bar code that has been struck out. I haven't installed them yet, but they look to be in very good condition...fingers crossed.
Solar panel 1 copy.jpgSolar panel 2 copy.jpg
 
Standahl said:
I've got 30 of these 240W panels from SanTan. The sticker doesn't say "void if removed", but it covers a Trina bar code that has been struck out. I haven't installed them yet, but they look to be in very good condition...fingers crossed.
View attachment 105798View attachment 105799
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I have 16 I've been using for 3 years from Santan. Work perfectly. I have 4 on a mobile trailer and they get driven around weekly. The "bouncing" around on the mobile installation has not affected their performance.

These are perfectly good panels removed from operation in most likely California. Just replaced with 450 or 500-watt panels.PTZFront_Wichita, KS, USA_main_20220607141604.jpg
 
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Standahl said:
I've got 30 of these 240W panels from SanTan. The sticker doesn't say "void if removed", but it covers a Trina bar code that has been struck out. I haven't installed them yet, but they look to be in very good condition...fingers crossed.
View attachment 105798View attachment 105799
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I used 10 of these panels on my travel trailer for the better part of the year and the only complaint is that they don’t hold up well when a tree falls on them. They did absorb most of the impact and saved my camper from catastrophic damage. I swapped them out with 270w lg panels that I was able to purchase for less than shipping from San tan solar. I live to far away from AZ
 
I was going to buy 14 of these, but the shipping cost was 3X the cost of the panels, and I just couldnt justify that. I think they could be easily sealed back up.
 
Hogheavenfarm said:
I was going to buy 14 of these, but the shipping cost was 3X the cost of the panels, and I just couldnt justify that. I think they could be easily sealed back up.
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I have sealed up 18 of these so far. They make 80% rated power with good sun. They shipping is unreasonable really. Luckily I live $100 away ? ? (2hrs)
Here's a video of 4 I just did. I have many other videos of these panels for anyone interested
 
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