OffGridForGood
Catch, make or grow everything you can.
LOL!, my own CST has given a green-light the next expansion: a third inverter this summer, followed by more PV and two more DIY batteries LOL.Oh it's gonna happen!
Solar panels mounted on roof, questions about wiring and proper mounting
- Thread starter joesmith123
- Start date
EastTexCowboy
Solar Wizard
It helps when the boss is onboard
joesmith123
New Member
Yes ok I am thinking the system will be in the 200-300 volt range
sungoldpower can operate in the 200-400 volt range
Yes, what is a rough plan for wiring them up using series/parallel to do this properly?
I'm thinking: as I am installing them, wire about 5 to 6 panels in series to make 250 volt output
Then later on once I understand the rest of the setup, I would those 10/11 strings of 250 volt wires and do what you guys tell me
Am I sort of correct here?
joesmith123
New Member
I'm not even to finding anything for 25 cents a watt, including used
Buying new is not smart in my opinion, shipping and taxes add way up
Wiring: Yes please let me know roughly how I will be wiring them to make them work later
My idea so far: wire them up as I am installing them in series, wire 6 at a time to make the 250 volt output
Later: you guys tell me what to do with the 10-11 strings
I definitely do not want to take them off again later
joesmith123
New Member
Yes, I am considering maybe just doing half the job, and focus on the side getting hit by sun the hardest
joesmith123
New Member
But someone let me know the detail of the wiring:
each panel: 43.2 volts
wire 6 panels in series: 259.2 volts
Thats my plan for when I start installing them, later on you guys tell me what to do with the 10 strings of high voltage arrays
Is that a good plan so that I dont have to take the panels off later and rewire?
each panel: 43.2 volts
wire 6 panels in series: 259.2 volts
Thats my plan for when I start installing them, later on you guys tell me what to do with the 10 strings of high voltage arrays
Is that a good plan so that I dont have to take the panels off later and rewire?
Ampster
Renewable Energy Hobbyist
Sounds like you are in the correct voltage range of your inverter.
joesmith123
New Member
Yes thank you
What I'll do is wire 6 of them in series, then leave that +/- wire hanging on the side of the shed
That way I wont have to take off the panels, and the wire will be just be hanging on the side of the shed
Later: put holes in the side of the shed and run the wire inside
Later on: take those ten/eleven 250 volt arrays and install them properly of how you guys guide me
Am I going in the right direction?
joesmith123
New Member
I'm looking now at those "sungen" panels
Forget tax/shipping, anything new is gonna be $1 a watt
Yes I know it would produce more power for longer etc
But it would cost me 5 times as much
For about $2500, if this gives me 5 years of even half the stated wattage (5500 watts), its still worth it and better than any other option
Yes I know I can spend $10K and have 15 years of power
But what if these panels last 10 years, and are a quarter of the cost?
I still think those sharp panels is a good choice, dollar for dollar
Forget tax/shipping, anything new is gonna be $1 a watt
Yes I know it would produce more power for longer etc
But it would cost me 5 times as much
For about $2500, if this gives me 5 years of even half the stated wattage (5500 watts), its still worth it and better than any other option
Yes I know I can spend $10K and have 15 years of power
But what if these panels last 10 years, and are a quarter of the cost?
I still think those sharp panels is a good choice, dollar for dollar
Hedges
I See Electromagnetic Fields!
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2020
- Messages
- 20,695
Blemished Canadian 250W Solar Panel | SanTan Solar
These Canadian 250W Solar Panels have water intrusion, which has caused discoloration on the vinyl and busbars. Please see pictures for more details.
www.santansolar.com
$45, 250W (STC rating, may be less aged), that's $0.18/W
Not necessarily recommending this one, just an example.
There are probably some new panels in the $0.50 range. But I consider used at $0.25 a better deal, unless some are severely degraded.
You pay for shipping. I have pallet(s) delivered to freight terminal, get them with my pickup.
joesmith123
New Member
Blemished Canadian 250W Solar Panel | SanTan Solar
These Canadian 250W Solar Panels have water intrusion, which has caused discoloration on the vinyl and busbars. Please see pictures for more details.
$45, 250W (STC rating, may be less aged), that's $0.18/W
Not necessarily recommending this one, just an example.
There are probably some new panels in the $0.50 range. But I consider used at $0.25 a better deal, unless some are severely degraded.
You pay for shipping. I have pallet(s) delivered to freight terminal, get them with my pickup.
Yes that looks good
But, once I went to checkout to see the shipping cost, it says "local pickup gilbert arizona"
The drive alone there and back would negate all the savings
Plus I would have to take off work, etc and lose even more
its 15 hour drive one way from me
joesmith123
New Member
I'm leaving soon to go get the sharp panels
I will be maybe wet sanding them and polishing, and waxing them before getting them up on the roof
First I'll install the side with tremendous sun and get those going the way you guys instruct me to
I know there may be a better deal out there, but if it requires me to travel really far, its very expensive for me to leave work
Shipping anything nowadays is going to cut into the value of it
Half of my shipments nowadays either get stolen by the neighbors, or the mailman cant find the address etc
And the cost to hire anyone to do anything nowadays is insane, hence why I am here
My hands are tied, I'm deeply tired from upkeep
I'm just hoping for the best
I will be maybe wet sanding them and polishing, and waxing them before getting them up on the roof
First I'll install the side with tremendous sun and get those going the way you guys instruct me to
I know there may be a better deal out there, but if it requires me to travel really far, its very expensive for me to leave work
Shipping anything nowadays is going to cut into the value of it
Half of my shipments nowadays either get stolen by the neighbors, or the mailman cant find the address etc
And the cost to hire anyone to do anything nowadays is insane, hence why I am here
My hands are tied, I'm deeply tired from upkeep
I'm just hoping for the best
Hedges
I See Electromagnetic Fields!
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2020
- Messages
- 20,695
They quote shipping.
My order last December, one pallet to a freight terminal in San Jose, cost $359 shipping, which added 4.6 cents per watt (that hurt, because the REC panels cost me 12 cents per watt during a sale!)
Costs are way up compared to 3 years earlier.
The cost for multiple pallets may not be a multiple of that figure.
I've received 25 or so panels per pallet.
Yup.
Several reasons I prefer to pick up at freight terminal.
Use Craigslist, and eBay sorted by distance, to find things close.
Call local installers, ask if they have leftover new panels or taken down old ones from jobs. They would otherwise dump to liquidators like Santan.
I was shopping for ESD flooring, found it 5 miles away in a Craigslist posting.
(That after eBay merchant ignored multiple requests to re-quote shipping by something other than Priority Mail.)
My order last December, one pallet to a freight terminal in San Jose, cost $359 shipping, which added 4.6 cents per watt (that hurt, because the REC panels cost me 12 cents per watt during a sale!)
Costs are way up compared to 3 years earlier.
The cost for multiple pallets may not be a multiple of that figure.
I've received 25 or so panels per pallet.
Yup.
Several reasons I prefer to pick up at freight terminal.
Use Craigslist, and eBay sorted by distance, to find things close.
Call local installers, ask if they have leftover new panels or taken down old ones from jobs. They would otherwise dump to liquidators like Santan.
I was shopping for ESD flooring, found it 5 miles away in a Craigslist posting.
(That after eBay merchant ignored multiple requests to re-quote shipping by something other than Priority Mail.)
OffGridForGood
Catch, make or grow everything you can.
The main risks on those Sharp panels are:
Some do not produce at all - testing could remove those from the mix.
They work but are severly degraded, resulting in very low production = higher cost per Watt
They work okay but for a short time, resulting is low production, time spent trying to find which panel in a six panel string is the problem one.
Imagine 64 panels up on a roof, a few have dropped out, - now try to find which ones, and pull them out from the others without removing many others just to gain access - ETC has a good suggestion on this, leave access lane between every double row. If you have a sting of 6 PV and one fails, you remove that one - make up a short MC-3 cable extension to get the other 5 producing, okay, that string can't be combined with a string of 6, you need them to match if they come together in a combiner box.
A failed panel once removed will need a similar size and capacity panel to go in it's place. (physical dimensions and output)
You may be better off to get spares while you are getting these Sharp panels, at least you would have a pool of spares to work with of same sizes and output, I would suggest they should drop the price for you based on taking 64 plus spares, maybe allow you to test later and return for credit any that fail testing, to save the time of doing all the testing on day of pick up.
There are some videos and threads about older cracked PV panels leading to fires (not saying the sharp panels are cracked), I don't know enough about it to comment here, other than to say it would be a concern to me if the roof with the PV will also have people living under it.
Some do not produce at all - testing could remove those from the mix.
They work but are severly degraded, resulting in very low production = higher cost per Watt
They work okay but for a short time, resulting is low production, time spent trying to find which panel in a six panel string is the problem one.
Imagine 64 panels up on a roof, a few have dropped out, - now try to find which ones, and pull them out from the others without removing many others just to gain access - ETC has a good suggestion on this, leave access lane between every double row. If you have a sting of 6 PV and one fails, you remove that one - make up a short MC-3 cable extension to get the other 5 producing, okay, that string can't be combined with a string of 6, you need them to match if they come together in a combiner box.
A failed panel once removed will need a similar size and capacity panel to go in it's place. (physical dimensions and output)
You may be better off to get spares while you are getting these Sharp panels, at least you would have a pool of spares to work with of same sizes and output, I would suggest they should drop the price for you based on taking 64 plus spares, maybe allow you to test later and return for credit any that fail testing, to save the time of doing all the testing on day of pick up.
There are some videos and threads about older cracked PV panels leading to fires (not saying the sharp panels are cracked), I don't know enough about it to comment here, other than to say it would be a concern to me if the roof with the PV will also have people living under it.
joesmith123
New Member
I totally wish I had the privilege to do these tasks
I'm in emergency mode, I'm spending $300-400 a month on gasoline to run the generator prius, on top of that a full time job that eats all my energy
Most of the time I am working at night with a headlight trying to fix the situation
I simply do not have the time/energy to wait for a good deal, or travel really far to potentially get a better deal
I gotta take the risk and go get them, install them, and hope for the best
joesmith123
New Member
I have the pickup truck and trailer ready to go them now
I am taking a tester and will do the test like I showed in the video in previous post
Edit: during the test, I'll look for current to be around 5.5 amps, and the voltage to be around 43.2
This is a facebook marketplace deal and he probably doesnt do any warranty
I'll just test them as I load them, and if the numbers are lower than stated, I will negotiate right there on the spot
Spares: Yes, in my head, getting a bunch of the same panels is good for this reason, matching sizes and matching voltages
Cracked PV panels: I will be inspecting them one by one and try to get the best looking panels
OffGridForGood
Catch, make or grow everything you can.
As I said earlier, you know your situation better than we do. Do what you need to do, we each have offered our input, but this is your money, your life your decision. I truely hope the panels are decent and you get good use out of them, and solve your urgent issue concerning generators.
On cash private deals, I have found a nice thick stack of $100 bills is a great incentived for the seller to negotiate.
My favorite is put $2,000 in an envelope (and the rest in your pocket) see it they will accept 2,000 for 74 panels...when people see the cash, especially if they feel you just might drive away, they often strike a deal.
On cash private deals, I have found a nice thick stack of $100 bills is a great incentived for the seller to negotiate.
My favorite is put $2,000 in an envelope (and the rest in your pocket) see it they will accept 2,000 for 74 panels...when people see the cash, especially if they feel you just might drive away, they often strike a deal.
joesmith123
New Member
haha yes, he has already said he cant go lower than 2600 for 65 panels
I'll keep you guys posted, I might even upload videos of the test if something weird is happening so you guys can comment
Ampster
Renewable Energy Hobbyist
Is there a reason you have not mounted your inverter yet?