Kyocera KC120-1 10 panels for $50 - I bought these but how do I repair them?

[elias1693]

I purchased ten Kyocera KC120-1 panels for $50 bucks off craigslist. The guy said they were warrantied out and already had been replaced with good panels but Kyocera told him to dispose of them. They've been collecting dust in his garage so I haggled the price from $150 to $50 and he agreed.

I tested all the panels for volts and amps. My results are below. Most panels had a slight bulge near the top edge. When you press the bulged bubble from the back the panel strength increased which leads me to believe the soldered connections were bad.

I already have a 3.9kw system which was installed professionally by Sun Solar here locally. I cannot tie into that system because the inverter is 4kw and is almost maxed out and I'm pretty sure if I did I would void that warranty so I do not want to touch that system.

Can I repair these panels and create another grid tied system? I would like to repair these if possible and maybe add onto them with newer solar panels and use another inverter which would increase my solar capacity for my home.

Results from testing:
Panel 1
18.8 Volts
4.8 amps

Panel 2
20 volts
.09 amps

Panel 3
9.5 volts unpressed
19.4 volts when bubble is pressed
4.8 amps

Panel 4
.3 volts no noticable bubbles or broken solder connections
4.8 amps

Panel 5
9.2 volts unpressed
19.2 volts when bubble is pressed
3.5 amps

Panel 6
9.2 volts unpressed
19.3 volts when bubble is pressed
4.3 amps

Panel 7
9 volts no noticeable bubble spotted
4.9 amps

Panel 8
8.5 pressing bubble did not help
3.7 amps

Panel 9
16.4 volts - Panel marked bad with marker on back
4.8 amps

Panel 10
9.5 no noticeable bubble spotted
5.2 amps

[peakbagger]

In my opinion you paid someone $50 to buy his trash. Take a big hammer, knock the aluminum rails off the sides and save the wires and dispose of the rest. Either that or put them back on craigslist and get someone else to buy them.

The panels are most likely not covered by a UL listing and I expect that legally you cant install them grid tied. Since they put out power you could maybe make a cell phone charger or a buy a small pump and make a water feature with one of the better panels.

[Sunking]

What a genius the guy you bought them from. You paid him $50 to haul off his junk. AS PT said One Born Every Day.

[Oldoldoldman]

cut out bubble, fix and overlay area. tom

[number5isalive]

LOL, that will teach you to buy used solar panels without first #1 examining them for problems (bubbles etc) #2 testing them with a multi-meter
BTW I've got some beach front property in Yucca valley.... Perhaps you might want to......Kidding..... Big deal $50.00 bucks live and learn

[Guest]

You can keep the glass atleast. Thats a great score. Glass that big can sell for 70 bucks each.

[Guest]

Got intouch with Renogy which also operates out of Canada Ontario. They said "They dont sell Tempered Glass" That the glass and other raw materials come from Thailand.

I doubt there is anybody in bloody Canada who sells Solar Tempered Glass. Canada is so far behind the world in manufacturing. only thing Canada gets right is its oil production. Jeeperes