jms28
Active Member
Hi all,
We had 4 x Solara SM225M mounted on the front of our Cranchi Mediterranee 40 for many years. Two of them obviously broke down and have already been removed, but the other 2 are still working fine. The two broken ones were mounted years before and were also of a different generation I think, hence the big difference in their condition (before the question comes up).
In any case, we're now looking for suitable replacements. The SM-Series is no longer being produced and both the M-Series and Power M-Series have very different dimensions unfortunately (current panels have approx. 80 x 64cm/ each). I would actually prefer sticking to Solara, but the new measures could make this rather difficult if I chose to only replace the two broken ones. So my first question is: Does anyone recommend other manufacturers of flexible solar panels that might be worth looking into, both re size and quality?
Alternatively, I'm thinking if I should try to carefully remove the working ones to use elsewhere, e.g. on the roof of a Golf Car we have to keep the bats afloat or as a semi flexible solution on the roof of the boat, if and when needed. But that could get tricky without damaging them. Still, I'm quite tempted to give it a try and then replace the entire system with something like 3 x Solara S525M35 panels from their newest Power M-Series generation. Placed next to each other horizontally, that would more or less cover the exact same area: 163.5 x 125cm VS. 160 x 128cm. The obvious advantage would be the sizeable difference in power output and the the uniform look! On that occasion I would also like to fix the deck, as is obviously looks HORRENDOUS at the moment
Meaning, cleaning and polishing the underlying polyester surface and install the cables etc. properly this time (I love my father, but...
) On that note: am I the only one questioning whether it's a very good idea to install solar panels directly on the deck? They obviously get quite warm in the sun... Did you guys prepare the underlying surface in any way before mounting?
What do you guys think?
Many thanks in advance!
We had 4 x Solara SM225M mounted on the front of our Cranchi Mediterranee 40 for many years. Two of them obviously broke down and have already been removed, but the other 2 are still working fine. The two broken ones were mounted years before and were also of a different generation I think, hence the big difference in their condition (before the question comes up).
In any case, we're now looking for suitable replacements. The SM-Series is no longer being produced and both the M-Series and Power M-Series have very different dimensions unfortunately (current panels have approx. 80 x 64cm/ each). I would actually prefer sticking to Solara, but the new measures could make this rather difficult if I chose to only replace the two broken ones. So my first question is: Does anyone recommend other manufacturers of flexible solar panels that might be worth looking into, both re size and quality?
Alternatively, I'm thinking if I should try to carefully remove the working ones to use elsewhere, e.g. on the roof of a Golf Car we have to keep the bats afloat or as a semi flexible solution on the roof of the boat, if and when needed. But that could get tricky without damaging them. Still, I'm quite tempted to give it a try and then replace the entire system with something like 3 x Solara S525M35 panels from their newest Power M-Series generation. Placed next to each other horizontally, that would more or less cover the exact same area: 163.5 x 125cm VS. 160 x 128cm. The obvious advantage would be the sizeable difference in power output and the the uniform look! On that occasion I would also like to fix the deck, as is obviously looks HORRENDOUS at the moment
Meaning, cleaning and polishing the underlying polyester surface and install the cables etc. properly this time (I love my father, but...) On that note: am I the only one questioning whether it's a very good idea to install solar panels directly on the deck? They obviously get quite warm in the sun... Did you guys prepare the underlying surface in any way before mounting?What do you guys think?
Many thanks in advance!
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