A good friend of mine has just gifted me something amazing.
20 Longi LR4 360W panels.
Wow. I’m lucky to have the friends I do.
The reason my friend had all of these panels is because solar installations have an aesthetic side. The professional installers have to handle a lot of panels, and a lot of panels get carried in and out of vans, buildings, storage shelves, and back again before they make it onto peoples’ roofs. However, people buying PV panels for their houses want them to look nice. Well, then scratches won’t do.
Each of these panels has a little bit of handling damage, but hardly anything I would blink at. As I unloaded my truck I tested each one, and they all had a good open-circuit voltage. Ready to be installed!
Now I need to find a place to put them all…
That won’t be a problem. 
I’ve bought really cheap “scratch and dent” appliances in the past. You got the ultimate deal on solar panels! 
Very cool. I couldn’t remember, was it you or Molten who built an electric Spitfire? I know Greg Locock was involved in building an EV car with solar panels for a distance driving record. Was thinking a panel on the trunk of the electric spitfire could be interesting (but would worry about its endurance).
That was Molten Metal from the ET forum. Yes I drooled and fawned, at the time. :)
But I still haven’t yet plunged into the EV world, even as a consumer.
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Outstanding deal. i constantly hear from individuals about a “deal” they made. I guess i need to pay more attention to where these deals can be made.
ya got me curious . . .
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are you considering installing these panels in addition to existing system to increase power generation or otherwise?
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if installed in addition to existing system, would there be any impacts to keeping battery storage power levels nearly fully charged? Perhaps add batteries?
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If otherwise, i assume this means another battery rack and invertor.
Oh yeah, I’m getting an EV too.
I should get the biggest EV I possibly can, since the fuel will be free!
In fact, I said exactly that. After Pierre and I finished loading my truck, and the whole prospect of what I can do with them settled into my head, I told Pierre “when I get the EV, you’ve put fuel in it forever”.
Very cool. A colleague and friend from work (now ex-work) has a Rivian pickup, and thinks it’s the best thing since sliced watermelon. Compared to the other electric pickup, it’s remarkably well behaved even in icy weather.
Whatever your choice of EV, please inform us of your research, Spar! I’m interested enough to look at hybrids, even though they are pretty newfangled to me. Full EVs are just too risky, LOL.
a local acquintance here in Thailand has a Honda hybrid and i am impressed with the vehicle operation. a couple of observations are the constant changing from power output to power generation (i.e. throttle on/off) and the acceleration is great!
Yeah, I’ve driven the Toyota RAV4 hybrid, it’s pretty seamless in use, and that car is ridiculously capable. We have the gasoline engine RAV4 for the wife’s car, but it’s also our ski car, and generally as capable in snow and mud as the Sequoia we had for ferrying four boys around. I couldn’t justify the extra cost - the improved gas mileage doesn’t save you enough money until gas prices go somewhere up around $10/gallon.