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Old 01-17-2016, 07:29 PM   #1
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Renogy pulls their flexible panels from the market

This is just a heads up in case there are some of these still out there on eBay, Craig's List, etc.

Had these on my SMB for a very short time before it was stolen. It was their 200w "boat kit". Likely getting a replacement van pretty soon so I went back to Renogy's site to see what they had in stock. Didn't see any flexible panels of any kind, so I wrote them to ask what was going on. Their response:


Hello Greg,

Thank you for contacting Renogy. Due to the recent failure rate of the lightweight panels we received from our last batch, we have decided to pull them out of our inventory in order to redesign them and fix any issue the previous model had. The Lightweight Panels, are currently undergoing a design change and we currently are estimating the panels to be available in the summer of 2017.

Best Regards,
Evelyn Hernández
Customer Service Supervisor
2775 E Philadelphia St., Ontario CA 91761
909-517-3598 | 800-330-8678

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Old 01-17-2016, 07:41 PM   #2
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I wonder what the failures were? I had a flexible panel on my boat and one day it began smoking, nearly catching fire. Hopefully they solved that problem years ago.

Oh yea, New van? Do tell......
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Old 01-17-2016, 07:45 PM   #3
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I wonder what the failures were? I had a flexible panel on my boat and one day it began smoking, nearly catching fire. Hopefully they solved that problem years ago.

Oh yea, New van? Do tell......
I'm looking at some things PM sent.

I'd like to know what the failures were too. I think they carried a 10-year warranty. They must have been getting a lot of returns. Interesting that they think it will take them a year and a half to get these panels back on the market.
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Old 01-17-2016, 08:05 PM   #4
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Thanks for sharing. I was thinking I would go with that style soon but maybe I should wait.
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Old 01-17-2016, 08:31 PM   #5
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Thanks for sharing. I was thinking I would go with that style soon but maybe I should wait.
Yeah, has to make you wonder about all the other companies selling 100w flexible panels since they all look absolutely identical to what Renogy was selling. My first guess would be cooling issues since there's no air flow under the panels. I read one or two accounts of flexible panels delaminating. 75% percent of Amazon reviews for Renogy's flexible panels were five stars though.

I was dead set on going flexible again just because they were so lightweight (1/4 the weight of rigid panels) and so easy to install. The extent of my DIY mounting hardware was only screws and velcro. Might have to rethink this myself.
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Old 01-18-2016, 01:58 AM   #6
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You'd think it would be because most of em are made for boats & failures are high because people walk on them but I never set anything on my Solara's. They failed. Those things were expensive to begin with not to mention the price of installing a new set of glass panels.
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Old 01-18-2016, 09:54 AM   #7
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You'd think it would be because most of em are made for boats & failures are high because people walk on them
Mine were tied to the pilot house roof and never walked on. They did start de-laminating too, and the edges started coming apart. It's glass panels for me now, just installed a third one.
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Old 02-01-2016, 08:51 PM   #8
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A lot of us had the renology 100w flexible panels mounted on our four wheel camper roofs. Many people experienced failures. A few received warranty replacements, and the replacement sets failed. Their instruction said they could be mounted directly, via adhesive, Velcro, screws etc. Customer support was asked about power loss due to heat and direct mounting and they said it would be minimal. The four wheel camper roofs are thin aluminum.

Personally I had two of the 100 watt flexible panels mounted, and two 50w flexible panels, all wired in parallel. During the summer performance was good, 15-16 amps charging in the sun. Performance dropped off drastically toward the end of fall, and I suspect mine quit working. I rarely saw more than a few amps charging (likely from the 50w panels).

It is unfortunate because as they are small, thin and light. I was really excited about them. Since they have been great about refunds and now a recall, I just ordered 2 "standard" or rigid 100w panels from renology and will be returning the flexible panels when I get home. Unfortunately 1 standard 100w panel weighs more than 300w of flexible panels.

Renology has not told anyone (that I'm aware of) what exactly is causing the failures. They are not recalling the 50w panels as I was told on the phone today. Still I would be leery of buying any of the similar looking flexible panels at this point.
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Old 02-01-2016, 09:40 PM   #9
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A lot of us had the renology 100w flexible panels mounted on our four wheel camper roofs. Many people experienced failures. A few received warranty replacements, and the replacement sets failed. Their instruction said they could be mounted directly, via adhesive, Velcro, screws etc. Customer support was asked about power loss due to heat and direct mounting and they said it would be minimal. The four wheel camper roofs are thin aluminum.

Personally I had two of the 100 watt flexible panels mounted, and two 50w flexible panels, all wired in parallel. During the summer performance was good, 15-16 amps charging in the sun. Performance dropped off drastically toward the end of fall, and I suspect mine quit working. I rarely saw more than a few amps charging (likely from the 50w panels).

It is unfortunate because as they are small, thin and light. I was really excited about them. Since they have been great about refunds and now a recall, I just ordered 2 "standard" or rigid 100w panels from renology and will be returning the flexible panels when I get home. Unfortunately 1 standard 100w panel weighs more than 300w of flexible panels.

Renology has not told anyone (that I'm aware of) what exactly is causing the failures. They are not recalling the 50w panels as I was told on the phone today. Still I would be leery of buying any of the similar looking flexible panels at this point.
I agree. I was looking at the marine kits at Solar Panels and Kits for RV, Boat, Trailer, Camping, Cabin, Home, & Power Station, Emergency| HQST Solar but they are literally the same photos the Renogy used to have up on their site.

Getting close to closing on my replacement van and it's a pop top unlike our old one which had the fiberglass top. The only advantage with the fiberglass top was ease of mounting - weight is the concern with the pop top, but I'm thinking I gotta go glass this time. Looking at three or four 100w panels.
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Old 02-01-2016, 09:46 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brianjwilson View Post
A lot of us had the renology 100w flexible panels mounted on our four wheel camper roofs. Many people experienced failures. A few received warranty replacements, and the replacement sets failed. Their instruction said they could be mounted directly, via adhesive, Velcro, screws etc. Customer support was asked about power loss due to heat and direct mounting and they said it would be minimal. The four wheel camper roofs are thin aluminum.

Personally I had two of the 100 watt flexible panels mounted, and two 50w flexible panels, all wired in parallel. During the summer performance was good, 15-16 amps charging in the sun. Performance dropped off drastically toward the end of fall, and I suspect mine quit working. I rarely saw more than a few amps charging (likely from the 50w panels).

It is unfortunate because as they are small, thin and light. I was really excited about them. Since they have been great about refunds and now a recall, I just ordered 2 "standard" or rigid 100w panels from renology and will be returning the flexible panels when I get home. Unfortunately 1 standard 100w panel weighs more than 300w of flexible panels.

Renology has not told anyone (that I'm aware of) what exactly is causing the failures. They are not recalling the 50w panels as I was told on the phone today. Still I would be leery of buying any of the similar looking flexible panels at this point.
I'd have to agree. I was looking at the marine kits at HQST Solar but they are literally the same photos that Renogy used to have up on their site.

Getting close to closing on my replacement van and it's a pop top unlike our old one which had the fiberglass top. The only advantage with the fiberglass top was ease of mounting - weight is the concern with the pop top, but I'm thinking I gotta go glass this time. Looking at three or four 100w panels.
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