I have 2 of those connected in series to my Victron mppt charge controller and it works great. I bought the panels for $80 each during a promotion and am impressed with the performance.
Thanks everyone, knowledge is key. Youall are the first to give me straight answers I needed. I need 40v for my pecron 1500w power station. And lead batteries with charge controller, to DeWalt1000watt inverter is not strong enough to make a pot of coffee. 1500 is great.
I have the 100w, 4 x 25w, kit in parallel with the single 100w panel. I changed out all of the 16awg wires that came on the panels with 10awg wiring and replaced the sae connectors with MC4 connectors. Still using the Harbor Freight 30a PWM controller with 10awg wiring to three of the 35ah batteries running in parallel for estimated 105ah. Battery wiring all 4awg cables. Best full sun days I am getting 9 - 9.7a input to the system. Panels are mounted on a ground frame set at 45 degrees for half the year and I just set them at 40 degrees today for the winter. I am located in North Central Minnesota.
thanks for video...Their 100w panels are good. 22.3v straight off the panel. The h.f.charge controller is a deterrent for newbies. Always buy more powerful equipment if you can.
I’ve been contemplating a second panel and this just sold me on it. Because of a huge tree in my yard, I get the sun in two different different directions, but only one at a time. After 1:00 or so, my panel is just about fully shaded. Gonna add a second panel in another area (that is shaded in the morning) for 3 more hours of sun.
I had them out today terrible weather here raining bad over cast and with 2 panels I was able to harvest over 10aH over about 10 hours just turning the panels every few hours….what was amazing was I seen over 230 watts @15A
Harbor Freight Panels are using 14 Awg wire. Each panel puts out 5+ Amps, so theoretically four panels placed on a Hub will put out 20 Amps. Of course, you never actually reach 20 Amps, but you'll probably reach more than 15 Amps, maybe 16 or 17 Amps. With that in mind, 14 Awg wire is for 15 Amps and 12 Awg wire is for 20 Amps. The wire specification is wrong when you consider the potential amperage that four panels can put out.
The "do not connect in series" thing is probably based on the current limits in the panel. Wires are designed to carry a specific amount of maximum current, even the wires inside the panel. By connecting them in series it is easy to overload or exceed this current limit inside the panel and break your panel.
I'm loving my hf panels so far. Mine are setup in parallel. My concern is, I don't run a whole lot off the system, in fact 100 watts probably would have been more then plenty for what I need. I use maybe 10% of what I have in total. So after searching with no luck, I'm curious, what happens if the solar sits idle or doesn't get used. I've heard some different things, some say it's fine, no harm...... Some say it's not good to let the system sit idle at 13.0 - 14.4 volts all the time, some say it can wear batteries down fast if they are not used very much, as apposed to using them with a load daily.......so there are some really confusing signals going on as to what really is the truth. Maybe you could do a video on your finding of letting a setup sit idle or very very little usage. I've been hunting and searching for some kind of answer, but have yet to find anything very concrete.
Don't use AGM Batteries if you're letting them sit idle, without using them for a long time. They'll die out. Their capacity will diminish until they're useless. The solution is LiFePO4 Batteries that will last up to 10 years. The only draw back is the Battery Management System (BMS) in each battery. An EMP will knock them out and render them useless, ie. a nuclear detonation or several nuclear detonations, or a CME from the sun. You'll need to build a Faraday Cage to store them and protect them from an EMP. I'm told that they should be stored at 70% charge for longer life. To charge a 100AH LiFePO4 Battery, you should have at least 15 to 20 Amps input from Solar panels - that's 3 or 4 Harbor Freight 100 Watt Panels on their Hub, then to the Controller.
yes, you should be fine, but we recommend putting a fuse on the hot side between panels and the controller and the controller to battery that will protect the system if you're running an inverter size the wire and fuse according to your demands
Been working on my H.F setup. currently running the original Amorphous kits, 300 watts on east side and another 100 west through one kits charge controller. All it does is power a single light and charge my phone when outside. I put two power wheel 10AH 12 volt batteries in it for the kid's playhouse. I have a dirty plan in place to run 1 controller per 400 watts, with 20amp fuses before the controllers, they have 20 amp fuses soldered into the controllers, which kind of sucks but should save the controller from current overload. Hopefully I can get another 8 panels on sale to add to my 12 I have now, but with the 30% price increase since their July 2020 launch, I have slowed my purchases for new panels. Also waiting on a sale for the new 2000 watt Pure sine wave inverter they just launched as well. I believe H.F are going to be getting more into this solar than people realize and look forward to seeing MPPT controllers soon. Not saying they will but with what they did in this past year with their current lineup I would not be surprised.
@@DIYKAI Ok I am doing a bit of a follow up. Got a 8750 predator generator. The 12 volt battery is a 1.6AH lifepo4 battery, used for the starter, is made by Sky rich. It could actually be in the works for a Thunderbolt lithium solar battery. Its all gonna depend on the market for said products, which is getting competitive as of late.
I just ordered a 5000 W continuous inverter and I want to get two of these panels. Can I hook three panels up using a 40-watt controller with to 109AH lead-acid deep cycle batteries? I don't know what I can use this power for but I would like to connect my television at home to keep that from raising my electric bill.
I loved this panel I used to own one, had to take it back for 2 reasons. Number one is the SAE connector, I was gonna use this for a Bluetti AC200p, but they use the MC4 Connectors, so I thought no biggie, I'll just get an adapter, then I found out I would need about 3 of these Panels minimum and that was the deal breaker. I'm not gonna get 3 of these with 3 adapters, so much of a hassle, plus I heard that sometimes the polarity is wrong when you try to use adapters and requires another small device to reverse the polarity. The panel itself seems high quality and I love the stands that come with it......but still......
yes you are absolutely correct! I plan to cut the SAE plugs off I may actually rewire the whole panel from the junction box....today in bad weather it peaked at 234W two panels in parallel 15A I was really impressed. I am experimenting with them daily lol
@@bobbader4789 SAE will work just check the polarity we have noticed that the HF connections are wired backwards for some weird reason.. Don't run over 400W or so SAE switch over to MC4 its safer
This answered my question perfectly. I've had the 100 watt kit for about 3.5 years now, but sadly I think my panels are falling. I'm getting at peak 3.0amps on a sunny bright day, and floating seems to be 12.8 -12.6 volts with a max battery voltage of 13.1 During the evening or a day like in your video I am getting around .08 -1.0, that's not exactly ideal for charging. I am using a harbour freight 35ah agm battery, and a renogy 40a mttp controller, as the one with the kit went bad. I've been looking at these for a few weeks now and was curious if you could run them in parallel, because that's what the solar setup I have now is running. I was also curious if I could use the existing wires and just hook up two 100 watt panels instead of four 25 watt panels. You are doing EXACTLY what I am going to do, and ironically the measurement of the 100 watt panels is slightly smaller area than the 4 25 watt panels I have now, so I'll be gaining 100 extra watts in the same area I did have a question though. Do I have to plug the other two connectors with anything, or just leave them and just hook up the two? Thanks for your video, it was exactly that I needed to make my choice.
@@DIYKAI the four 25 watt panels come with the 4 to 1 wiring harness which is what I'm going to be using, so it saves me from having to re-wire anything, I'll just use the exsisting setup. Using the new 100 watt panels, I will have two of those (100 watts x 2) and will be using two if the four hookups. That will leave two hookups left. Being as in not electrical savvy, I wasn't sure if I needed to put some sort of plugs in those, put tape on them, or what.
Ah got ya yes the can stay unhooked and taping them is best to keep corrosion out….just monitor the wires because they are quite thin but do the job…we eventually upgraded to a better connection set up….but it did just fine with 2 100w hf panels and 2 of the older kits basically if you stay around 400w those wires are fine anymore and you would want to upgrade
@@DIYKAI Awesome thanks. Looks like I have my weekend job then LOL. I'm pretty excited seeing as how I'll gain 100 extra watts, in the same space/area, and without having to worry about wiring, that job shouldn't take long at all. Just hope my homemade rails will fit the extra width, I'm pretty confident it will. That and I'll be able to really put my new 40a Renogy Elite solar controller to work
@@alpha_y2k438 sweet good luck and keep us updated our Renogy system has worked flawlessly for 8 months now so we will have a vid showing the total set up
Everything HF sells solar is mostly crap except for the panels….the 400w hub places it in parallel. When you wire multiple panels in series, their output voltages add together, and their output current remains the same. Conversely, when you wire numerous solar panels in parallel, their output currents add together, but their output voltages stay the same.
Yes, you should be ok is it fused on the hot side? Also, what controller? The hub is rated at 400W it does get warm if you're running that much so at 200W you should be just fine
I had poor performance in parallel. Even used their big round multi-input combiner. It's just a parallel connection for all inputs. I tried 1-2-3 panels. Got around 85/140/160 W for each of the configurations. So the parallel thing doesn't really work very well. When I connected all three in series, I got about 260W from the set of three. I was running them through a Victron smartcharger 100/20. So it was just about at it's limit. I guess I posted on your other video. Pardon me if this is redundant.
Have one I cut the end plug off put MC4 plug then I plugged in to my solar generator and it was putting out 104 watts for one panel what I didn’t like is the red wire was negative and the black was positive it is a 24v panel that was my fault so now I may use it as a 3rd string in my 400watt solar system or just buy a second and start another system just learning wish I had got into solar sooner good luck
its a learning curve but worth it......yes unfortunately most Chinese panels have the lead colors switched I have seen...not sure why maybe just QC/QA issues lol
Nice how quick does it charge? We just got a Renogy premium kit at a crazy price and are setting it up hopefully it’s good those are 4 100w in series 40a mppt dual voltage
Dec 5th. 4 panels in series Two sets then hooked in parallel to controller 8 panels total Started at 0900 at 50% Ended at 1300 at 100% So 4 hours. Max wattage observed 400 Lowest wattage was at 0900, pulling 31 with 1 set of 4 series and 53 watts with both sets hooked up, before sun was over the house. Increase leg length to get better angle on sun, not sure how much it helped.
Hello! I am looking at this unit and wondering if you might look and tell me if these HF panels would work with it? And… is there anything else I need to get it going? Thx so much! Love your videos! ☺️🌻
Yes, they can work but are not a direct hook up as the HF panels are an SAE style connection and the power station uses a DC type connection. You can get an adapter though
Well, I am very torn between a bigger unit like Ecoflow or Bluetti, but thought I could always use a small one now to shorten my learning curve while waiting for the best one to go on sale.
there are cheaper panels, that produce just as good or better, in which you don't have to do any modding. why pay 109 for a harbor freight and do modding when you can get one for like 80 or 90 something and not have to worry about buying extra adapters and the work involved to get it to work with other non SAE things.
yes now that the price is up I wont be getting anymore I got them when the price was like 82 bucks with my coupon....these are one of the few that have legs...I normally cut the SAEs off and make my own lol
I’ve got 3 of these solar panels. They are running into a thunderbolt hub. Running them into 4 120amp hour agm batteries. I’ve been through 2 cheap controllers. What controller would you suggest.
you would want a 30A on the positive line going from the controller to the battery one like this is good: amzn.to/3aYBP3H on the positive side of the hub you this should be fine: amzn.to/3cDooX4 as for the inverter that depend on the have you have and power your drawing
Wanted to see what connecters. That never showed. Harbor freight uses a single plus and minus connecter. For two panels a "Y" connecter is needed. They don't supply them. Found them on line and that is the only way to connect both without cutting wires.
@@DIYKAI, dang...not sure what that is..... Ive got 2 panels that I wanted to connect together but that warning scared me. Also didnt expect to see these sae connections
@@robertdonnelly7897 ok do you know what you will be powering? what type of battery do you have ? and charge controller type? this will help us to determine what route is best for you
20A is over kill for 2 panels you can go with a 15A but we strongly suggest rewiring things as the wires from the HF panels are small....also the hub can only support a max of 400W but it gets hot so we switched to bus bars and are much happier nothing get to hot anymore
Thank you for this video! Can you tell us what charge controller you have settled on? I have the Harbor Freight panel now. Can I run a second 100 watt panel (wired in parallel with proper controller) that is not a HF panel, or do I have to use the same model? Thanks again.
Your welcome! So we went with a cheap Amazon (PWM) one you want one that can handle 20A or so….if you decide to got over 400w then I suggest an MPPT charge controller as it will be more efficient…
Hi, new subscriber here. Thank you for your videos. I have 4 of these HF panels and plan to get mppt controller. i understand the volts going from panels into controller can fluctuate due to weather Temperatures. Do you have an idea what the highest incoming voltage would be? I want to purchase the right size controller so I don’t fry it. I appreciate your help because I don’t know anyone locally who is knowledgeable on solar.
Hi and welcome! Your welcome😁 it depends on how you plan to run them? Series or parallel? Or both..lol…what battery voltage will you be running 12,24,36? Do you plan to expand? I guess the best question is what are you trying to power and do you have plans to expand in the future?
@@DIYKAI absolute newbie at this,but I’m thinking parallel or series parallel, and 12 volt batteries-I didn’t realize they were 24 volt panels til after I purchased them- HF guys weren’t very knowledgeable about solar. I have a small off grid cabin and would like some light at night and charge batteries for power tools,hot plate for cooking. I don’t plan to expand. My husband passed 5 years ago and I’m trying to figure stuff out- I appreciate your help.
@@lynnrabe4428 something that small just for light and charging you can get away with a cheaper PWM controller they are usually good up to 400W or so. 12v is where you want to stay with a small set up.....I would go with a small pure sine wave inverter 1000W ones can be found for under $100 When solar panels are wired in series, the voltage of the panels adds together, but the amperage remains the same. So, if you connect two solar panels with a rated voltage of 40 volts and a rated amperage of 5 amps in series, the voltage of the series would be 80 volts, while the amperage would remain at 5 amps. Wiring solar panels in parallel causes the amperage to increase, but the voltage remains the same. So, if you wired the same panels from before in parallel, the voltage of the system would remain at 40 volts, but the amperage would increase to 10 amps. so based on your type of panels and what wiring you choose that will determine what type of controller you would need to purchase. Hope this helps and if you need more info please reach back out we are here to help!
yup I noticed it also it does not seem to affect anything I believe that was the first version they came out with and may have updated the cell stability??? Good ole HF lol
I have 2 of those connected in series to my Victron mppt charge controller and it works great. I bought the panels for $80 each during a promotion and am impressed with the performance.
Nice yes as I suspected they just put that warning label because the charge controller’s they sell are trash lol
@@DIYKAI And I have to admit I also tried it because they said not to!
Thanks everyone, knowledge is key. Youall are the first to give me straight answers I needed. I need 40v for my pecron 1500w power station. And lead batteries with charge controller, to DeWalt1000watt inverter is not strong enough to make a pot of coffee. 1500 is great.
How many can you connect together
I have 2 new ones and 8 old ones together no issues…. Just have to make sure your charge controller and battery’s can handle the amps
I have the 100w, 4 x 25w, kit in parallel with the single 100w panel. I changed out all of the 16awg wires that came on the panels with 10awg wiring and replaced the sae connectors with MC4 connectors. Still using the Harbor Freight 30a PWM controller with 10awg wiring to three of the 35ah batteries running in parallel for estimated 105ah. Battery wiring all 4awg cables.
Best full sun days I am getting 9 - 9.7a input to the system. Panels are mounted on a ground frame set at 45 degrees for half the year and I just set them at 40 degrees today for the winter. I am located in North Central Minnesota.
9A for 200w is pretty good
thanks for video...Their 100w panels are good. 22.3v straight off the panel. The h.f.charge controller is a deterrent for newbies. Always buy more powerful equipment if you can.
Your welcome absolutely I’m building a bigger solar generator to use the full 200w
I’ve been contemplating a second panel and this just sold me on it. Because of a huge tree in my yard, I get the sun in two different different directions, but only one at a time. After 1:00 or so, my panel is just about fully shaded. Gonna add a second panel in another area (that is shaded in the morning) for 3 more hours of sun.
I had them out today terrible weather here raining bad over cast and with 2 panels I was able to harvest over 10aH over about 10 hours just turning the panels every few hours….what was amazing was I seen over 230 watts @15A
@@DIYKAI that's nuts, but good! Mine a barely see 3amps sadly. Time to replace my panels I guess
Yes test each one and see what panel is bad we had to repair the older ones bad solder joint
Harbor Freight Panels are using 14 Awg wire. Each panel puts out 5+ Amps, so theoretically four panels placed on a Hub will put out 20 Amps. Of course, you never actually reach 20 Amps, but you'll probably reach more than 15 Amps, maybe 16 or 17 Amps. With that in mind, 14 Awg wire is for 15 Amps and 12 Awg wire is for 20 Amps. The wire specification is wrong when you consider the potential amperage that four panels can put out.
you are correct the wire leads are cheap and thin...we are using a buss bar system to connect a few of them together now much more reliable
The "do not connect in series" thing is probably based on the current limits in the panel.
Wires are designed to carry a specific amount of maximum current, even the wires inside the panel. By connecting them in series it is easy to overload or exceed this current limit inside the panel and break your panel.
Also the limit is the HF controllers they suck
I have 3 connected in series with no issues.
@@scottmork9598 are you using the HF controller?
@@DIYKAI No. I use a victron 100/20.
@@scottmork9598 figured lol the only reason HF says no series is because of the cheap controllers they sell lol
thank you for all the information
Your welcome
I'm loving my hf panels so far.
Mine are setup in parallel.
My concern is, I don't run a whole lot off the system, in fact 100 watts probably would have been more then plenty for what I need. I use maybe 10% of what I have in total.
So after searching with no luck, I'm curious, what happens if the solar sits idle or doesn't get used.
I've heard some different things, some say it's fine, no harm...... Some say it's not good to let the system sit idle at 13.0 - 14.4 volts all the time, some say it can wear batteries down fast if they are not used very much, as apposed to using them with a load daily.......so there are some really confusing signals going on as to what really is the truth.
Maybe you could do a video on your finding of letting a setup sit idle or very very little usage.
I've been hunting and searching for some kind of answer, but have yet to find anything very concrete.
Sure we can make a video we have let them sit and have let them charge the battery and keep it topped off there are many factors
Don't use AGM Batteries if you're letting them sit idle, without using them for a long time. They'll die out. Their capacity will diminish until they're useless. The solution is LiFePO4 Batteries that will last up to 10 years. The only draw back is the Battery Management System (BMS) in each battery. An EMP will knock them out and render them useless, ie. a nuclear detonation or several nuclear detonations, or a CME from the sun. You'll need to build a Faraday Cage to store them and protect them from an EMP. I'm told that they should be stored at 70% charge for longer life. To charge a 100AH LiFePO4 Battery, you should have at least 15 to 20 Amps input from Solar panels - that's 3 or 4 Harbor Freight 100 Watt Panels on their Hub, then to the Controller.
the solar controller is a pwm 30a no fuse at this time
yes, you should be fine, but we recommend putting a fuse on the hot side between panels and the controller and the controller to battery that will protect the system if you're running an inverter size the wire and fuse according to your demands
Been working on my H.F setup. currently running the original Amorphous kits, 300 watts on east side and another 100 west through one kits charge controller. All it does is power a single light and charge my phone when outside. I put two power wheel 10AH 12 volt batteries in it for the kid's playhouse. I have a dirty plan in place to run 1 controller per 400 watts, with 20amp fuses before the controllers, they have 20 amp fuses soldered into the controllers, which kind of sucks but should save the controller from current overload. Hopefully I can get another 8 panels on sale to add to my 12 I have now, but with the 30% price increase since their July 2020 launch, I have slowed my purchases for new panels. Also waiting on a sale for the new 2000 watt Pure sine wave inverter they just launched as well. I believe H.F are going to be getting more into this solar than people realize and look forward to seeing MPPT controllers soon. Not saying they will but with what they did in this past year with their current lineup I would not be surprised.
Yes it was a good deal when it first came out now Amazon has the lowest price and you don’t have to leave home lol
We also have the HF setup on a little house and now we run 800w Renogy system with lifepo4 it’s been amazing
@@DIYKAI Ok I am doing a bit of a follow up. Got a 8750 predator generator. The 12 volt battery is a 1.6AH lifepo4 battery, used for the starter, is made by Sky rich. It could actually be in the works for a Thunderbolt lithium solar battery. Its all gonna depend on the market for said products, which is getting competitive as of late.
Having a back up gen is always good…our renogy kit put out 2.33 kW today I was amazed
Good Information 👍⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TY
I just ordered a 5000 W continuous inverter and I want to get two of these panels. Can I hook three panels up using a 40-watt controller with to 109AH lead-acid deep cycle batteries? I don't know what I can use this power for but I would like to connect my television at home to keep that from raising my electric bill.
yes with a 40w controller you can handle 3 panels no problem.
@@DIYKAI Thank you for replying!
@@therajuncajun6487 your welcome
I forgot to ask were do I put these fuses if these 2 - 100watt are hooked into the hud????
I loved this panel I used to own one, had to take it back for 2 reasons. Number one is the SAE connector, I was gonna use this for a Bluetti AC200p, but they use the MC4 Connectors, so I thought no biggie, I'll just get an adapter, then I found out I would need about 3 of these Panels minimum and that was the deal breaker. I'm not gonna get 3 of these with 3 adapters, so much of a hassle, plus I heard that sometimes the polarity is wrong when you try to use adapters and requires another small device to reverse the polarity. The panel itself seems high quality and I love the stands that come with it......but still......
yes you are absolutely correct! I plan to cut the SAE plugs off I may actually rewire the whole panel from the junction box....today in bad weather it peaked at 234W two panels in parallel 15A I was really impressed. I am experimenting with them daily lol
@@DIYKAI this is what I’m considering or SAE all the way to the charge controller
@@bobbader4789 SAE will work just check the polarity we have noticed that the HF connections are wired backwards for some weird reason..
Don't run over 400W or so SAE switch over to MC4 its safer
Yes! Please do a video on the battery box? Thank you!
Decided to go a different route the box was very heavy unfortunately
@@DIYKAI oh OK.
Anxious to get my feet wet without wasting time and money 💰! 🤔
May we ask what are you end goals? What are you trying to power? That way we can get a better understanding of you needs
This answered my question perfectly.
I've had the 100 watt kit for about 3.5 years now, but sadly I think my panels are falling. I'm getting at peak 3.0amps on a sunny bright day, and floating seems to be 12.8 -12.6 volts with a max battery voltage of 13.1
During the evening or a day like in your video I am getting around .08 -1.0, that's not exactly ideal for charging.
I am using a harbour freight 35ah agm battery, and a renogy 40a mttp controller, as the one with the kit went bad.
I've been looking at these for a few weeks now and was curious if you could run them in parallel, because that's what the solar setup I have now is running.
I was also curious if I could use the existing wires and just hook up two 100 watt panels instead of four 25 watt panels. You are doing EXACTLY what I am going to do, and ironically the measurement of the 100 watt panels is slightly smaller area than the 4 25 watt panels I have now, so I'll be gaining 100 extra watts in the same area
I did have a question though.
Do I have to plug the other two connectors with anything, or just leave them and just hook up the two?
Thanks for your video, it was exactly that I needed to make my choice.
Thanks for watching and glad it helped. What connectors are you referring to?
@@DIYKAI the four 25 watt panels come with the 4 to 1 wiring harness which is what I'm going to be using, so it saves me from having to re-wire anything, I'll just use the exsisting setup.
Using the new 100 watt panels, I will have two of those (100 watts x 2) and will be using two if the four hookups. That will leave two hookups left.
Being as in not electrical savvy, I wasn't sure if I needed to put some sort of plugs in those, put tape on them, or what.
Ah got ya yes the can stay unhooked and taping them is best to keep corrosion out….just monitor the wires because they are quite thin but do the job…we eventually upgraded to a better connection set up….but it did just fine with 2 100w hf panels and 2 of the older kits basically if you stay around 400w those wires are fine anymore and you would want to upgrade
@@DIYKAI Awesome thanks. Looks like I have my weekend job then LOL.
I'm pretty excited seeing as how I'll gain 100 extra watts, in the same space/area, and without having to worry about wiring, that job shouldn't take long at all. Just hope my homemade rails will fit the extra width, I'm pretty confident it will.
That and I'll be able to really put my new 40a Renogy Elite solar controller to work
@@alpha_y2k438 sweet good luck and keep us updated our Renogy system has worked flawlessly for 8 months now so we will have a vid showing the total set up
I have 4 HF panels, the 400w connector and a jackery battery, what am i missing? it wont push the panels together only 1 at a time
Everything HF sells solar is mostly crap except for the panels….the 400w hub places it in parallel.
When you wire multiple panels in series, their output voltages add together, and their output current remains the same. Conversely, when you wire numerous solar panels in parallel, their output currents add together, but their output voltages stay the same.
Depending on the size jackery you have they are limited on the amount of power they will input. Check the specs on your jackery.
I have 2 - 100watt connected to the hub with a 30a charge controller is this ok??????
Yes, you should be ok is it fused on the hot side? Also, what controller? The hub is rated at 400W it does get warm if you're running that much so at 200W you should be just fine
I had poor performance in parallel. Even used their big round multi-input combiner. It's just a parallel connection for all inputs. I tried 1-2-3 panels. Got around 85/140/160 W for each of the configurations. So the parallel thing doesn't really work very well. When I connected all three in series, I got about 260W from the set of three. I was running them through a Victron smartcharger 100/20. So it was just about at it's limit. I guess I posted on your other video. Pardon me if this is redundant.
Man that sucks I’m going to try different setups to see what gives me the best. Thanks for the info
How they holding up? I'm just getting set up. Us people that want to learn, we sure do appreciate the info.
4 months now no degradation in power or output yet
Have one I cut the end plug off put MC4 plug then I plugged in to my solar generator and it was putting out 104 watts for one panel what I didn’t like is the red wire was negative and the black was positive it is a 24v panel that was my fault so now I may use it as a 3rd string in my 400watt solar system or just buy a second and start another system just learning wish I had got into solar sooner good luck
its a learning curve but worth it......yes unfortunately most Chinese panels have the lead colors switched I have seen...not sure why maybe just QC/QA issues lol
I am running 8 panels, 4 in series and then those 2 sets in parallel.
Into bluetti 200max
Nice how quick does it charge? We just got a Renogy premium kit at a crazy price and are setting it up hopefully it’s good those are 4 100w in series 40a mppt dual voltage
Dec 5th.
4 panels in series
Two sets then hooked in parallel to controller
8 panels total
Started at 0900 at 50%
Ended at 1300 at 100%
So 4 hours.
Max wattage observed 400
Lowest wattage was at 0900, pulling 31 with 1 set of 4 series and 53 watts with both sets hooked up, before sun was over the house.
Increase leg length to get better angle on sun, not sure how much it helped.
Nice we’re setting up a Renogy Premium kit hope to have a video soon on it
Get a mppt controller.
They are much better.
Yes we have a Renogy 800w kit with an MPPT
Hello! I am looking at this unit and wondering if you might look and tell me if these HF panels would work with it? And… is there anything else I need to get it going? Thx so much! Love your videos! ☺️🌻
Hello sure what unit are you looking at?
At a minimum you need a charge controller, battery, inverter, and the panels
FF Power Station CN505, 614Wh, on Amazon. Seeing some good reviews. Love your input! 😎
Yes, they can work but are not a direct hook up as the HF panels are an SAE style connection and the power station uses a DC type connection. You can get an adapter though
So, this one doesn’t do A/C without adapter? Is that how most are?
If you mean will it output 110ac yes but to charge it with solar it seems to need a dc barrel plug type
Well, I am very torn between a bigger unit like Ecoflow or Bluetti, but thought I could always use a small one now to shorten my learning curve while waiting for the best one to go on sale.
You’re a doll for helping me! I am sharing your stuff! ☺️
I have 6 of these in two strings of three
Nice how are performing?
@@DIYKAI I see no difference, other then the angle of the sun. they are almost a year old and I still get about 92%
Same here just over a year and 90%+
there are cheaper panels, that produce just as good or better, in which
you don't have to do any modding. why pay 109 for a harbor freight and
do modding when you can get one for like 80 or 90 something and not have to
worry about buying extra adapters and the work involved to get it to
work with other non SAE things.
yes now that the price is up I wont be getting anymore I got them when the price was like 82 bucks with my coupon....these are one of the few that have legs...I normally cut the SAEs off and make my own lol
I’ve got 3 of these solar panels. They are running into a thunderbolt hub. Running them into 4 120amp hour agm batteries. I’ve been through 2 cheap controllers. What controller would you suggest.
I would suggest this a great solution to a system under 400W:
amzn.to/3jUutPp
This is a good option for over 400W as this will work with 24V as well as 12v and has a 40A rate:
amzn.to/3v0wwYB
@@DIYKAI thank you brother.
No problem YW
Get a better CC and you can run in series, easy
Yup we did
What size fuse do I need?????
you would want a 30A on the positive line going from the controller to the battery one like this is good:
amzn.to/3aYBP3H
on the positive side of the hub you this should be fine:
amzn.to/3cDooX4
as for the inverter that depend on the have you have and power your drawing
Wanted to see what connecters. That never showed. Harbor freight uses a single plus and minus connecter. For two panels a "Y" connecter is needed. They don't supply them. Found them on line and that is the only way to connect both without cutting wires.
Yes unfortunately the only way to connect them is with a Y connector or to cut off the ends and connect them together with wire
@@DIYKAI Thanks for your reply. Figured that needed to be done, that's to cut wires.
Just make sure you check polarity when splicing the wires
@@DIYKAI got you, polarity counts
What connections & how to connect in parallel with the sae connectors on these new panels?
HF uses SAE but we have seen they tend to get warm during use….we cut them off and use a distribution block to run these panels
@@DIYKAI, dang...not sure what that is..... Ive got 2 panels that I wanted to connect together but that warning scared me. Also didnt expect to see these sae connections
Is this the only panels you have or are you booking to an existing system
@@DIYKAI. These are the only panels & I didnt really want to use that big round connecting hub.
@@robertdonnelly7897 ok do you know what you will be powering? what type of battery do you have ? and charge controller type? this will help us to determine what route is best for you
Is the wire from the hub to the controller good enough for the 20 amp?????
20A is over kill for 2 panels you can go with a 15A but we strongly suggest rewiring things as the wires from the HF panels are small....also the hub can only support a max of 400W but it gets hot so we switched to bus bars and are much happier nothing get to hot anymore
How do you install 2-100 watt panels to the hub????
Into what hub?
@@DIYKAI I got the harbor freight hub plus I bought a splitter for 4 panels and 10 ft. extension to fit
They just plug in
@@DIYKAI I did this and it did not work.
What exactly is happening? How is your set up? We tend to stay away from the HF controller and hubs they are bare minimum.
Do I put the 20 amp before or after the hub?????
We would suggest after on the final run to the controller
Thank you for this video! Can you tell us what charge controller you have settled on?
I have the Harbor Freight panel now. Can I run a second 100 watt panel (wired in parallel with proper controller) that is not a HF panel, or do I have to use the same model?
Thanks again.
Your welcome! So we went with a cheap Amazon (PWM) one you want one that can handle 20A or so….if you decide to got over 400w then I suggest an MPPT charge controller as it will be more efficient…
Yes parallel will be just fine
30 on big one
Hi, new subscriber here. Thank you for your videos. I have 4 of these HF panels and plan to get mppt controller. i understand the volts going from panels into controller can fluctuate due to weather Temperatures. Do you have an idea what the highest incoming voltage would be? I want to purchase the right size controller so I don’t fry it. I appreciate your help because I don’t know anyone locally who is knowledgeable on solar.
Hi and welcome! Your welcome😁 it depends on how you plan to run them? Series or parallel? Or both..lol…what battery voltage will you be running 12,24,36? Do you plan to expand?
I guess the best question is what are you trying to power and do you have plans to expand in the future?
@@DIYKAI absolute newbie at this,but I’m thinking parallel or series parallel, and 12 volt batteries-I didn’t realize they were 24 volt panels til after I purchased them- HF guys weren’t very knowledgeable about solar. I have a small off grid cabin and would like some light at night and charge batteries for power tools,hot plate for cooking. I don’t plan to expand. My husband passed 5 years ago and I’m trying to figure stuff out- I appreciate your help.
@@lynnrabe4428 something that small just for light and charging you can get away with a cheaper PWM controller they are usually good up to 400W or so. 12v is where you want to stay with a small set up.....I would go with a small pure sine wave inverter 1000W ones can be found for under $100
When solar panels are wired in series, the voltage of the panels adds together, but the amperage remains the same. So, if you connect two solar panels with a rated voltage of 40 volts and a rated amperage of 5 amps in series, the voltage of the series would be 80 volts, while the amperage would remain at 5 amps.
Wiring solar panels in parallel causes the amperage to increase, but the voltage remains the same. So, if you wired the same panels from before in parallel, the voltage of the system would remain at 40 volts, but the amperage would increase to 10 amps.
so based on your type of panels and what wiring you choose that will determine what type of controller you would need to purchase.
Hope this helps and if you need more info please reach back out we are here to help!
@@DIYKAI thank you so much for your time! I’m looking at controllers now🙂
Your welcome
Just noticed that those panels are different? I have three and they are all like the one on the right.
yup I noticed it also it does not seem to affect anything I believe that was the first version they came out with and may have updated the cell stability??? Good ole HF lol
Can u connect 4
As long as your cc can handle it
@@DIYKAI 3000 watt growwatt mppt. Should be good ?
@@DIYKAI in series parallel is what I'm thinking.....
3000w @12 or 24v? Is it the 80A one?
@@DIYKAI 2- 12volt lithium sok batteries. Thanks alot....if you have any food questions I'm the guy.