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Buying solar panels

Neil2

By Neil2
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Neil2 Veteran

Neil2

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I need to buy a solar panel around 150w for the new boat. It already has the wiring, controller etc. I've never bought a panel as the current boat already had one installed so any advice on what to get/who to buy from/how much to pay would be appreciated.

 

 

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Neil2 Veteran

Neil2

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Crikey, I have the receipt for the 120w panel that came with our present boat it was £550, that was seven years ago.

 

Only problem with Bimble is the time factor, I really need something I can get on a next day delivery basis.

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MtB Veteran II

MtBDonate to Canal World

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Crikey, I have the receipt for the 120w panel that came with our present boat it was £550, that was seven years ago.

 

Only problem with Bimble is the time factor, I really need something I can get on a next day delivery basis.

 

I placed an order with Bimble yesterday and it all arrived today! (More panels, bigger controller and some general stuff.)

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tonyt40 Collaborator

tonyt40

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Controller you mean, presumably?

 

The 20A Tracer (to go with my 24v battery bank).

I was looking at the 30a tracer (12v system). They seem to get a good review and are a good price. The guy I got the panels from sold Outback units but he wanted £259 for them.

 

I am going to fit them In a few weeks when I have collected all the bits.

 

If you need MC 4 crimping tool try Maplin. They have them reduced to £4.96!! I reserved on line. The staff couldn't believe the price when I went to pick them up.

Edited by tonyt40
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Neil2 Veteran

Neil2

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I placed an order with Bimble yesterday and it all arrived today! (More panels, bigger controller and some general stuff.)

 

That's just good fortune Mike, - the way Bimble schedule their deliveries you could get a rough idea of when the stuff would arrive, but they don't do a next day service on demand.

 

I was looking to get delivery to the marina, but the price difference is so great compared to other suppliers I could swallow the £15 surcharge to Scotland and wait for them to arrive at home.

 

What I don't understand is why there should be such a huge range of prices across the market, I don't see any claims by those selling panels at twice the price of Bimble that they are vastly more efficient. I guess most of these things come from the same place ie china with different labels?

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Chewbacka Veteran

Chewbacka

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That's just good fortune Mike, - the way Bimble schedule their deliveries you could get a rough idea of when the stuff would arrive, but they don't do a next day service on demand.

 

I was looking to get delivery to the marina, but the price difference is so great compared to other suppliers I could swallow the £15 surcharge to Scotland and wait for them to arrive at home.

 

What I don't understand is why there should be such a huge range of prices across the market, I don't see any claims by those selling panels at twice the price of Bimble that they are vastly more efficient. I guess most of these things come from the same place ie china with different labels?

If you can sell em for the high price, why not?

Same as Waitrose and Lidl customers.

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Electronics Gongoozler

Electronics

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Best panels on the market are Panasonic (Sanyo) they are mix of amorphous and crystalline they work better in low light (i.e UK Winters)

and give more output then mono or poly based panels, are they worth the extra price , depands the value you put on having more energy

from the sun.

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rusty69 Veteran II

rusty69

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Best panels on the market are Panasonic (Sanyo) they are mix of amorphous and crystalline they work better in low light (i.e UK Winters)

and give more output then mono or poly based panels, are they worth the extra price , depands the value you put on having more energy

from the sun.

We have four Sanyo/Panasonic on Mr Rusty

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MtB Veteran II

MtBDonate to Canal World

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in what way?

 

Trivial but annoying.

 

The spec says they come factory wired with flyleads terminating with MC4 connectors.

 

Mine didn't.

 

No MC4 connectors, no leads, just a junction box on the back containing three screw terminals and no instructions regarding which to use.

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MtB Veteran II

MtBDonate to Canal World

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this was a different batch from the manufacturer, I guess, not that which was described. .

 

 

Quite likely. But they have ignored my complaint.

 

An apology would have been in order even if they didn't want to send the missing four flyleads and connectors I thought I was buying with the panels.

 

As it happens I have the cable and connectors in stock so it's not a big deal to me, but someone ordering what they thought was the all the necessary components to make a complete solar installation would have been caught out.

 

It's just not good customer relations. They get lauded on here as the best place to buy and my experience has not been good. It started off with them trying to charge me £75 delivery and blaming my PayPal account for the error. We sorted that out eventually, then the panels came with missing flyleads. I am, I imagine, a 'problem customer' by now.

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Alan de Enfield Veteran II

Alan de Enfield

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Trivial but annoying.

 

The spec says they come factory wired with flyleads terminating with MC4 connectors.

 

Mine didn't.

 

No MC4 connectors, no leads, just a junction box on the back containing three screw terminals and no instructions regarding which to use.

 

I had EXACTLY the same when I bought one for the Golf-Cart.

 

'They sorted me out' by telling me which terminals were which, as it happened I had 'over-ordered' on cable so it wasn't a problem to wire it up.

 

I mentioned the fact that it should have had 'tails' but was told that somewhere in the 'small print' it mentioned that there wasn't 'tails', and the description where 'tails' were mentioned was not related to the specific panel I had ordered.

 

There are two models, and depending which you order alters 'what you get'

 

  • VSP-50P/VSP-100P junction box only
  • VSP-150P junction box + pre-wired 1m cables with SOLARLOK PV4 connectors

 

It was not what I thought but it wasn't the end of the world, I got what I ordered and not 'worth making a fuss about'.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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