I just thought I would let people know about my experiences with this company. I read a couple of older reiviews on this forum several weeks ago about Solar Panels from this supplier. I went ahead and purchased a 200watt folding solar panel setup.
Service was prompt. Good!
I received the panels through AUS POST with a fairly short time. Good still.
When I received the panels the packaging was in a pretty poor state. The bottom was torn corners banged around a bit. Probably not so good.
When I opened the packaging everything looked ok. Sweet. Because the bag it came in was total rubbish. Similar to those material shopping bags you get in Woolies.
As it was late in the evening I tried to return the panels into the bag and blow me the bag just tore. Drats....... This could be a bad sign.
I emailed the seller Bit_deals to say that the bag had torn. They responded the next dat to say they would send me a replacement. Great..
A week later no replacement bag. HMMMMMMMM
In this time I have taken the panels out side to have a look at them. I have to say that I am not an expert on solar panels. But to say the wiring was pretty cheap and nasty is an understaement. The soldering is of a standard that I wouldn't expect from a year 8 student in a metalwork class
I emailed them about the bag and the poor quality. No response. Double hmmmmmmmmmm
About 7 emails later no response. This is bad hmmmmmmmm
I tried to post a negative review on their web page at least 4 times. For some reason it has not appeared. What?hmmmmmmm
I have had to raise a dispute through eBay and eventually send the panels back. Thankfully eBay were very prompt and have a pretty ridgid process to go through.
I think (i darn well hope so) that eBay will be refunding me the money.
Anyway, some folk have raved about these guys. I am looking for somewhere else, Maybe Kickass solar panels. Are they any good?
Sounds like another case of " do your dough bay" . When it comes to buying larger items and it ships via aust post you run the risk of bad treatment of the parcel to start with and poss breakages. But then a lot of other carriers are as bad . Not long ago I walked past a couriers pantec and heard banging and crashing . He was obviously looking for a "missing parcel" and he was throwing things around like rag dolls. I now try to avoid purchasing off Ebay unless its a smaller item . One for the above reason and two because of your problem now faced .
Bought my panels over the net same bag as yours different brand,they are 160 watt and work brilliantly,the bag was crap ,I could not care less about the bag they lay on the bed when travelling,the old panel was an 80 watt we bought a long time ago for three times the price,all solar panels are probably manufactured in the same factory in China,just with the portable panels the regs are cheap garbage,just mount a good Victron near your battery ...
Low energy developments have a good reputation, we bought our 200w panels through them and no problems at all apart from TNTs lousy service, so l can recommend them as an option for buying through , also they're situated in Melbourne if you want to drop in in buy direct or have a look
I guess it was two years ago I bought a folding 120W (2 x 60W) panels from Bit Deals on e-bay. The panels came with a built-in "MPPT controller"
The panels arrived in decent time and in good condition. I discarded the bag and made a MDF and pine box to protect them during 4WD transit.
I can no longer remember the full details but briefly:
I tested the panels in decent (but Victorian) sun using the built-in controller and no way could I get more than 3A at battery charging voltage (14V nominal). I am an electronics engineer, I know what I'm doing.
I had a spare MPPT controller so I disconnected the built-in one and hooked my spare up to the panels - now the panels were producing 10A or whatever it was. Clearly an issue with the built-in and supposed MPPT controller.
Long story short:
I had a lengthy (slightly Chinglish) correspondence with the supplier - it rapidly became clear to me they had little idea of basic electrics. Finally I cut my losses and kept the panels but used my own controller. The panels are still working well.
I will not, ever, deal with Bit Deals again.
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Currently undergoing a dispute via paypal regarding panels bought from ebay auto mart. Should have been 250w but tested by reputable solar company as only 120w Its not possible to know what the panels will do until they are hooked up. Glad I purchased through PayPal at least you have an avenue for redress
Currently undergoing a dispute via paypal regarding panels bought from ebay auto mart. Should have been 250w but tested by reputable solar company as only 120w Its not possible to know what the panels will do until they are hooked up. Glad I purchased through PayPal at least you have an avenue for redress
I must be old fashioned - for panels, I prefer to buy locally or if not, an Australian company that offers good service with a good reputation.
Andrew, did you try the panels out. As other correspondents said, it's only a bag & even a cardboard box can be cut down to house the panels. That's what mine live in. And the soldering can be redone easily.
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Warren
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If you don't get it done today, there's always tomorrow!
Hi, yep I gave the panels a tes. Im not a full bottle on the solar stuff. The regulator was glued to the back of the panels so that when set up you actually had to get down and under the reg to see the reading. Each time I checked it it was on or around 12.5 12.7. At one stage 13.2.
Initially I thought the same! Its only a bag, then I checked the soldering and it was crap, then realised the wire for the connection was about the same diameter as my beard hair. If that was the quality they expected was good enough then I was not keen to trust the quality of the panels.
i think I might try the Kickass panels. At least they have a phone number and a really cool video
HI
Remember the panels are only assembled by money hungry Monkeys .
From an Australian assembler ,well known . Panel arrived Sharp trifold 195w clearly had been out of alloy suit case, yes alloy case ha ha . Out of stk of bags . Most corner protectors split . Gravel inside .
Replacement arrived . Anyways check all connections ,many were loose even once they had been crimped in the anderson plugs .
My cheap EBay panel is working great ,I paid 500 dollars years ago for my 80 W panel,its been replaced with an eBay panel of 160W $ 170 and its putting in heaps of power ,theres probably heroes out there that spend a lot of extra dollars to buy a Chinese panel from an Aussie company,my loyalty is to my own back pocket ,the internet is the way things are going and its fantastic..
Hi
Expect some postal damage with solar panels ,its almost normal .
Expect undersize wiring . Only a few suppliers u can actually specify the size MIN 8mmSq cable .
Many ebay sellers not all but most sell garbage regulators underperforming and/or not waterproof
Transport /storage bag case is not great quality lucky dip no matter where u get it from
Ebay sellers
vic off road
sunyee
bitdeals
offroad 4x4 supa centre video /utube proof of output
Remember better quality panels are a performance advantage . The cells are name brand but still assembled in China .
Size of panel typically is representative of output. China 100% made panels can under perform or overstate performance in advertising .
Consider nothing under 160watt for portable set . Fixed 120--160watt x2 min.
Aussie batteries/ solar did return panels at there cost which they completely organised .
HI Quality only as good as warranty. Try and get warranty out of some Ebay sellers . Lucky dip ...
Buying a solar panel is hardly a very technical thing thats going to give trouble...
my ebay panel is absolutely perfect and I would not hesitate in buying another,most of the worlds younger population and quite a few of us oldies use the internet and save heaps and hardly if ever have a problem..
-- Edited by Ron-D on Thursday 30th of August 2018 08:20:06 AM
HI Once u have bought quality and cheap garbage I vote for either whatever suits your application and budget . Picking panels depends on many other factors as well . All panel suppliers give lucky dip results
In my case I had fixed maxed out real estate 1x 195 set and then added 1 x portable 195w set heavy enough to move . NO MORE PANELS NEEDED --Maxed out..
Panel shape suited camper roof , needed high output .Portable unit is a Trifold easier to carry .So suited me and the cost was fair to reasonable . Purchased 5 yr ago approx. Output upto 28+ amps when batts flat [MPPT 390w ].That's with a Ep solar // Tracer controller . Who said Chinese stuff does not work !!
Since my purchase ebay panels are even cheaper ,would not hesitate now big range of physical sizes and wattages . expect to add 8mmsq cable cheap enough now to add a dc/dc charger of either 25-30-40amps also
-- Edited by swamp on Thursday 30th of August 2018 04:47:26 PM
Good news is I got my refund, thanks to eBay refunding postage and the cost of the solar panels.
I would not buy my panels from Bit_deals, Bit too and other Bitsomething company on eBay.. service is terrible, quality poor.
have a look at Blue Apple Solar (Home of 12volt) Based in South Australia. I found them at a caravan show, service excellent, and bonus, someone answers the phone if you have idiot questions. Very happy with the half doz. purchases I have made from them. half in person and half over the phone or on line.
Bit Deals had a great rep yrs ago, but I think they might have changed hands around 18mths ago. After having a few issues with a few products and not getting anywhere via messages to the seller I put in a PayPal complaint. Sorted very quickly but now Bit Deals have banned me as a buyer :lol:
OzPlaza and SunYee aka Vicoffroad have been and still are great to deal with and quick to sort any problems. Autoelec aka Bairnsdale Auto Electrical are always reliable as well, so not all Evilbay sellers are bad news and PayPal is there as a backstop if things to go to plan
T1 Terry
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