oldjohnt Posted November 1, 2022 Report Share Posted November 1, 2022 Hey Glenn and others, speaking of solar panels and mounting, these flexible flat glued down on roof units (for whatever reason???) caught on fire YIKES I chose traditional rigid mounted 1.5 inches ABOVE the roof for air circulation and cooling underneath. I think that has advantages including increased solar energy harvest by operating cooler but I have no data to confirm that. John T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl&Rita Posted November 1, 2022 Report Share Posted November 1, 2022 We've never recomended flexible panels. The price per watt was the biggest reason, but the lifespan of the installed panels quickly became the main reason. Their first set lasted a year, so let's replace them with the same. SMH. Quote I have been wrong before, I'll probably be wrong again. 2000 Kenworth T 2000 w/N-14 and 10 speed Gen1 Autoshift, deck built by Star Fabrication 2006 smart fourtwo cdi cabriolet 2007 32.5' Fleetwood QuantumPlease e-mail us here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlennWest Posted November 1, 2022 Report Share Posted November 1, 2022 They never seemed like a good deal to me. Don't see the attraction to them. This is eye opening though. Quote 2003 Teton Grand Freedom towed with 2006 Freightliner Century 120 across the beautiful USA welding pipe.https://photos.app.goo.gl/O32ZjgzSzgK7LAyt1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RV_ Posted November 1, 2022 Report Share Posted November 1, 2022 Wow! That video was eye opening in both the roof protection and the flimsiness of flexible panels. Thanks for the post. You may have saved some folks a lot of money and trouble.🙂 Quote RV/Derekhttp://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.Retired AF 1971-1998 When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Heiser Posted November 1, 2022 Report Share Posted November 1, 2022 I never recommend flexible panels either. There are some very specific installations where they would be your only choice, but generally they area bad idea. This is just one example of why they are a bad idea. Quote 2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift 2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard 2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan 2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage) 2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)My First Solar Install ThreadMy Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the buildMy MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet! chadheiser.com West Coast HDT Rally Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldjohnt Posted November 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2022 Iffff you can believe what they said the panel manufacturer told them as to the cause of the fire????????? I still feel safer with an air and cooling gap between panel and RV roof (mine is 1.5") PLUS I believe the efficiency improves if the panels run cooler........Im stickin with what I have now on my 4 panels but hey its anyones choice... John T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyretired Posted November 2, 2022 Report Share Posted November 2, 2022 6 hours ago, oldjohnt said: Iffff you can believe what they said the panel manufacturer told them as to the cause of the fire????????? I still feel safer with an air and cooling gap between panel and RV roof (mine is 1.5") PLUS I believe the efficiency improves if the panels run cooler........Im stickin with what I have now on my 4 panels but hey its anyones choice... John T As you may already know most panels have the numbers on them to calculate the voltage at a given temperature. Most panels start at around 75C and add or subtract voltage by whatever the temperature diffence is. The cooler the panel runs the higher the voltage. Quote Randy 2001 Volvo VNL 42 Cummins ISX Autoshift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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