Work Vlog - Replacing Burnt Up Solar Panels With No Warranty

Removed 22 FreeVolt Solar panels that were starting to burn up and installed 12 Sunpower panels that are known for their efficiency and reliability. Check this work vlog to learn about the process and how things went.
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Brandan Sirrine or individuals in this video assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any information contained in this video. These videos are created for entertainment purposes. Safe practices are recommended when working with solar panels, batteries, power tools, any electrical equipment, and electricity in general. Solar panel and battery systems should not be installed or serviced by anyone that is not an experienced licensed electrician. Because of factors beyond the control of Brandan Sirrine, no information contained in this video shall express or imply a warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage, or loss that may result from improper tools, equipment, or information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user.
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[@mobayguy]

Dude - Hats off to you! Thanks for the informative video. But what impresses me most is your positive attitude and strong work ethic. Wish you success in all you do. 👍🏼

[@Joe-Skier]

Always funny to see how much "renewable green energy" goes into landfills.

[@happycamper1372]

Windmill blades go into the Nevada desert. Ridiculous.

[@jcm8413]

I am a carpenter, and I put a couple of panels on the roof of my van (mounted on hinges). I can run all my tools of the inverter. Chop saw, table saw, compressor and batteries are always full!

[@aarontracy5160]

Great content. I grew up in that area and live out of state now. Seeing the terrain and foliage brings back many memories. Also makes me appreciative of not dealing with snow, and more importantly all the drivers that can't drive in it. Keep up the great work.

[@IntenseGrid]

scraping aluminum on the grippy steel sounds horrible! Please put down some cardboard or old carpet.

[@johnhouli3450]

Brandan your knowledge is amazing I just found your channel. Where did you learn your job. Amazing for such a young person

[@duotronic6451]

I would love to hear the behind the scenes story. Original cost of system. Was it financed. Etc. At least it was fixed well. ❤❤❤

[@solargoat]

Thanks for the video idea.

[@orrinkelso9295]

I can relate to your customer. I installed solar on my roof in 2007. The roof I put on in 1990. Last year I decided to replace the roof but at 71, did not want to do it again. The company that I hired to do the roof, helped me get the solar off the roof. Then 2 days later after they installed new roof, helped me get the panels back up to the roof so I could reinstall them. As they were installing new shingles, I was putting the rack mounts back into the same holes they came out of. The same day they finished the roof, the panels were reinstalled and system working again. I Enjoyed watching your video.

[@weewillywanka5904]

Just subscribed. Love your videos. Love your personality. I'm just now getting interested and learning about home solar. And you are right about Utah. What a glorious place.

[@interace2]

I work in PV module manufacturing in the USA. Micro-cracks cause hot-spots. Impact guns during installs cause micro-cracks. This is a HUGE mistake installers make. Hot-spots start fires. Hot-spots are so hot they melt the solder while the busbars on the cells are hot and thermally expanded, and when the hot-spot goes away the solder hardens before the busbar shrinks. Now there are expanded busbars soldered to the surface of the cell, they are longer than they were from the factory and in a different position. The busbars / bus-wires soldered to the cells are just coated copper and expand much more that the cell itself. Now when it gets colder outside the busbar shrinks and cracks the cell. This is the reason why we see that most of the PV failures are happening in the winter season.

[@anthonydavis9382]

did an excellent job explaining that. i have ZERO clue about this stuff but that makes complete sense.

[@davidgrenis638]

THANK YOU FOR KEEPING THESE TO JUST 15 TO 20 MINUTES

[@sbramel93]

I just purchased name brand new 540W bifacials for $180/each - local pickup.

[@therevoman]

Just purchased all the components for my self-install solar system for SanTan and highly recommend them

[@ItsEricSmart]

5th Video I watched, GREAT video!

[@RCRoads]

Excellent job on the video. Working and filming is not that easy. You even recorded your truck from above on your drive in. Awesome narration as well. Keep em coming.

[@thomasharrison899]

FYI: Panels have come down a lot. You may be able to get new ones with a warranty for around the same money. Prices have been steadily dropping.

[@MitchOfCanada]

I wonder if panels damaged were from snow shoveling? banging ice damns at the bottom? Would love to see some sort of roll/tarp system like crazy carpet over panels after production stops, and then it rolls down off the roof. We do it for snow all the time with just poly. slides right off. im going with a small 3kw setup with 20kwh battery and EG4 6k unit. Selling back to the grid pays 80% less.

[@timcat1004]

Recently my Enphase envoy was telling me that two of my panels were performing poorly. M250s. Enphase sent me three new modified IQ7's. Turns out it was corrosion in the MC4 connectors. Jinko panels 9 years old, connectors going bad and the diode covers are all falling off. 9000 watt system. I did diy.

[@bee4pcgoldrule.007]

Enphase q cords plug n play. Super weather proof.

[@Mr.GuyRebat]

Super dope video bro. Glad I decided to check out your KZbin content too I like the longer videos

[@solargoat]

Thank you bro!!!

[@andrewb8548]

We used to get florescent tubes from the electrician at factory I worked at. They replaced every tube every 12 months. The ones that were on 24/7 he junked. The ones that were on 5 minutes since last year were 6 beers for 40 of them.

[@stormtrooper88]

i have 2 100 watt panels on the roof of my van setup to keep the batteries of my outside wheelchair charged. i have a smaller wheelchair for the house i keep charged from 2 more panels on my patio. love solar as it saves me several hundred dollars a year. i also dont have to worry if the power goes out and i get stuck with no way move about. thanks for sharing your adventures in solar.... put that seatbelt on bud. i lost my grandmother in a headon when she went thru her windshield and almost tore her head off.

[@Astinsan]

its lightning.. When I worked on the stuff in NC.. the panels would get struck. It would take out more than one. Optimizer strings are even worse.

[@anthonydavis9382]

Your videos makes me miss working. I haven't worked in about 2 years since i mangled my foot. I can't wait to get back to work.

[@1mw4tch1ng]

Homeowners think having the solar panel closet to the roof or flushes to the roof is the best looking but they don't think solar panels need to breathe otherwise when they get hot the efficiency drops by 10-20% of the rated output.

[@anthonydavis9382]

Wait, that man paid YOU to do the job and he's out there busting his butt to help you? That's the American spirit!

[@SolarizeYourLife]

It would be nice if you showed what mounting system people are using…

[@rileyrichins2244]

Solar goat is five stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ tanks again, shoveling snow will now be easier than it has ever been

[@solargoat]

Thank you Riley!

[@independenttntn3276]

I love your channel dude. Getting ready to set up my own system and thinking I'm going to be sending back these Renology 200W panels and instead going with a panel in the range of 400-500W as these low wattage ones are not only ridiculously priced, but their power output just doesn't compare to the larger panels.

Disadvantage to bigger panels is that you need more mounting points as they are way bigger.

[@TediBare]

i'm hooked thank you again and again and again I'm hooked I subscribed thank you. You're part of the one percent man I love you.

[@Useitorloseit1]

Did anyone tighten the loose roofing screw?

[@tonytoes2]

please do not drive and record .. I just got word of a friend hitting a person while driving and filming the accident went from simple accident to malicious assault with a vehicle . a simple accident would limit to 100k ish but because of the filming it turned into a 1.7 million limit and jail time. trail iis still on going

[@tonytoes2]

i notice the cam was in your hand

[@samfish6938]

in europe new panels are $60 china is dumping them

[@solargoat]

Yikes…. Wonder if that’s a bad thing

[@allanfifield8256]

Quality?

[@johnhouli3450]

Sir what type of used panel would you use for a extremely high salty in the air. Home in Caribbean 2 blocks from ocean. I’m thinking of buying a Solar Generator in future for really on Air Condition 4 mini splits. Electricity is very expensive over there. Thank you. I’m thinking of the refurbished ones just like 3 of them for possibly the ecoflow system Delta Pro 3 or the Ultra this system down the road would take care of power outages and or running the AC units.

[@nathandriever9913]

I’d like to see a video on some different RSD solutions , great content btw 👍

[@solargoat]

Thank you!

[@pigpunter4395]

where do you buy your products(panels, racking etc) from?

[@antoniogrijalva2038]

CED green tech

[@solargoat]

This was from santan solar

[@poogy3]

Lived in Salt Lake from age 3 to about 33. Miss the Fishin, Huntin and a few other things. Beautiful country around there. Don't miss the Cult people much. That whole Wasatch front is now just a giant cluster mess. I subscribed!!! Great stuff. Good for you doin your own thing!!! Looks like your path is paved in solar panels and gold.

[@robertmiranda8602]

how many different types of roofs you installed on?.. (tile, gaco, shake, concrete etc)

[@solargoat]

Usually comp but tile, metal too!

[@rickhinojosa5455]

Nice video. Please take this advice....stop looking at your camera while you are driving. I won't get all technical on you but in my own research it is a HUGE problem that people are having accidents because they are looking at their cameras or looking on their phones too much. To make the point clear, in the old days we would look at our dash panel, radio, a/c controls only a relatively few times in a drive. So even though there was risk in looking away from the road, it wasn't done NEARLY as much as it is done when making videos. I know guys will tell me they have done it/do it all the time and never had/have a problem. Little do they realize they have been fortunate and it's only a matter of time that behavior will "pay off" with an otherwise avoidable accident. 🙏

[@David_L3]

What was the brand of the original panels? So, you cut the number of panels, cut the wattage & kept the inverter. Did you need to pull permits?

[@David5467]

Have you ever heard of tin whiskers in electrical solder ? When the temp goes below 13C they start to grow, it became a problem after they removed lead from the solder. When you said they remove snow from there roofs there, that's when of thought of it.

[@solargoat]

So solder may have problems at cold temperatures?

[@David5467]

@@solargoat yes. Nasa still uses leaded solder for this reason. Lookup tin whiskers and unleaded solder. The automotive industry is still allowed to use leaded solder for crucial parts like braking systems and the like.

[@David5467]

Also look up why the old tin soldiers crumbled

[@wva5089]

"I don't trust the way they tipped their connectors" Because of the brand of connector?

[@solargoat]

They just looked rough… usually when they are loose and the back isn’t screwed on.

[@davidgrenis638]

WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SOLAR PANELS BEING A FIRE HAZARD THAT BRINGS TO MIND THAT WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE YOU SHOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE A CONSUMER REPORT EVALUATION OF ALL THE BRANDS THAT YOU'VE EVER WORKED WITH THANK YOU VERY MUCH DAVID ADAM GRENIS CURRENTLY IN HOUSTON TEXAS

[@tmo7734]

SunPower just filed for bankruptcy.

[@bee4pcgoldrule.007]

All my panels were $400 ea . name brands LG Panasonic. Sunpower has always been the best.

[@harveypaxton1232]

How old were the original panels? Maybe I missed it?

[@solargoat]

Maybe 8 years

[@jackcoats4146]

I heard there are solar panel recycler companies, but transport might not be worth it for them or you.

[@IntenseGrid]

What do you think the cause of the heat on the lower part of the panel? What is the best mounting system for a roof like this?

[@jungletension2835]

Good thing those solar systems have a warranty the full life of the loan And free removal and reinstallation if the homeowner needs to re-roof

[@NoahZimmerman]

Did these not have shutoff moduels on each solar pannel? I thought you needed those if they were on a roof.

[@Time-Trvlr]

Im in the early stages of designing a six panel mount to my porch asphalt roof. I have worked most my 40 year career as an electrician. My question is can I mount my elevated panels horizontal on rails running vertical attached to the ten roof trusses on 24” centers? Ive browsed a lot looking for similar mounting. I cant deduce negative engineering to this method. I enjoy your straight forward approach narrating your channel.

[@sub955]

You can mount them however you want to make them fit in the space you have. 24" centers is fine for 6 panels. You run into problems when you have more panels/rows, as you have to stagger the mounts so know one rafter takes all the weight.

[@solargoat]

I like to stagger my attachments across the rafters which would require horizontal rails for attachments but I’ve seen this done before how you describe. In general when you have horizontal panels and vertical railes it’s less material and faster in my opinion so seems you would be accomplishing this.

[@solargoat]

Thank you for the support

[@toddsmith1617]

Can you put solar panals in a backyard yard instead of a roof?

[@gematria101]

Yes, and the angle of the racking can be optimized.

[@SwensonRanch]

128 cell?? whats the voltage on those panels?

[@solargoat]

Was just over 70v! So did 6 panels strings

[@johnjamce1146]

i got that on a solar system but it was cheaply made water was sipping in an causing fire

[@DindoAndres]

I'm watching u sir from Philippines

[@AntKardano]

you look like a guy from tv series Tracker

[@davecullum9631]

Do you think used solar modules are a good value, and would purchase them?

[@bee4pcgoldrule.007]

Buy new and get a warranty .Its a long term investment. Dont buy cheap solar or used. They are fragile .There is a reason they have been removed.

[@honeybadger6127]

how often do you see panels that just fail early like this (due to design flaws)?

[@bee4pcgoldrule.007]

Its Rare on name brands .

[@IntenseGrid]

I'm jealous. I missed out on these!

[@eduardoordonez1662]

Thank you! For sharing great work

[@XboxModer702]

Great Vid man. I live close to Utah, you are right that its a treat visiting anytime I go. Good explanations too.

[@solargoat]

Thank you!

[@jeebusk]

1/4 of the price is not "pennies on the dollar" that means 10% buddy

[@Dingleberry1856]

25 pennies out of 100 pennies/dollar… why you confused.

[@michaelp.4831]

Can I recommend use of your seat belt? Interesting content. thx

[@user-dr2pg8fk2i]

Solar panel? Do you mean module?

[@tclaffey]

Yeah that's what he means, dork

[@solargoat]

No I mean solar squares lol

[@user-dr2pg8fk2i]

@@solargoat The only thing worse than a lack of knowledge is an unwillingness to correct a mistake.

[@electrodacus]

@@user-dr2pg8fk2i Both a panel and a module mean the same thing. There is a lot of confusing information on the web about this but a panel is a much more common word for what you call a module. There is cell, panel or module and a array.

[@user-dr2pg8fk2i]

@@electrodacus based on what source?