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| The new solar panels installed, replacing the three that fizzled out. That black one towards the back is the one we took cross country with us on our road trip and it is still performing well. Manufacturer research is key when purchasing good panels. |
While berthed at the marina in Venice, we took advantage of having an address and shipped all sorts of things: school books, boat parts, reflective insulation, solar panels (we had 3 die on us), and some other odds and ends we just couldn't find in the local shops.
In one day, we stripped the dead solar panels and installed the new ones and we were back in business!
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| Installing the new panels. We removed the plastic protective covering afterwards. The aluminum foil protects the gelcoat from any solder that may drop while working. |
The 3 panels that stopped working were sold by Greesonic and we had no response from their company. These panels were less than 7 months old! Having no choice but to replace them, we did our research and purchased from a reputable EU company. We have had a few questions about our choice of using flexible solar panels instead of installing rigid panels, and I know there is an ongoing debate over rigid versus flexible. Basically, we installed our panels on the roof, and chose the semi-flexible route, as they best fit this space and we could walk on them if needed. While opening/closing the sail bag or managing reefing lines, etc, we sometimes have to walk up there. While we usually don't step on the panels, sometimes it can't be avoided. The fact that these panels don't mind being stepped on, was the deciding factor in our choice. We think the reason the three panels fizzled out was due to poor manufacturing (which seeing as they are out of business, just confirms this). We had ordered those panels shortly after receiving acceptance of our offer on RoundAbout2 and dealing with the aftermath of the hurricanes and losing RoundAbout1. Should we have researched the company further, yes. Did we have the time dealing with all the chaos, no. We purchased through Amazon, among with all the other replacements we needed. Our recommendation is to research the vendors on Amazon, as one would do with other companies, and do what is best for your own boat.
Another project we crossed off the list was insulating the boat with the reflective insulation (it looks like aluminum covered bubble wrap). We noticed about a 10 degree drop in temp after it was all installed. We covered our hatches with it, as well (we are currently sewing outer covers and will put the insulation inside of that, instead of on the inside of the hatch, to avoid crazing of the lenses).
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| Sewing reflective window covers. |
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