Solar panels and Chinese English

[Bushtrekker]

Collected the solar panel and charge controller yesterday and just opened the boxes. Given the amount of stuff that's made in China these days you would think there woudl be a good market for someone to translate intructions into real English, but they don't seem to bother as long as they are selling you there goods. I bought locally, so at least I can phone up the supplier if I get stuck, but I still think that for what it would cost they could at least make the effort to translate, especially the bit about not connecting the panel without covering it first, which doesn't appear in the instructions and which wouldn't have occurred to me if I hadn't been told.

At least now I've got the panel, but am not looking forward to working on a roof which is moving 9 feet off the ground...

 

[Apache Two]

Collected the solar panel and charge controller yesterday and just opened the boxes. Given the amount of stuff that's made in China these days you would think there woudl be a good market for someone to translate intructions into real English, but they don't seem to bother as long as they are selling you there goods. I bought locally, so at least I can phone up the supplier if I get stuck, but I still think that for what it would cost they could at least make the effort to translate, especially the bit about not connecting the panel without covering it first, which doesn't appear in the instructions and which wouldn't have occurred to me if I hadn't been told.

At least now I've got the panel, but am not looking forward to working on a roof which is moving 9 feet off the ground...

Stop worrying it's not the falling off that hurts it's the stopping at the bottom:mad1:

 

[Bushtrekker]

I'd rather not fall off at all.

Unfortunately I had a stroke about three years ago and looking down when I'm working tends to affect my balance. I've just been having another look and I think I need to ring the supplier, who luckily are about 30 miles away in Bromsgrove. I know the kit is good as VWAlan and others buy kit from there, but it would be useful if a simplified list of fitting kit was made available before purchase, because I'm looking at five metal brackets with no obvious point of attachment, no screws and no pre-drilled holes in the frame which might give me a clue as to where and how they are meant to fit. These kits are advertised as easy to fit, which they probably are as it's not a complicated process, but it would be useful if they didn't just assume that everyone has a knowledge of whether specific solar cable is needed to feed from the control box to the battery and minor details like that.

 

[Apache Two]

Unfortunately I had a stroke about three years ago and looking down when I'm working tends to affect my balance. I've just been having another look and I think I need to ring the supplier, who luckily are about 30 miles away in Bromsgrove. I know the kit is good as VWAlan and others buy kit from there, but it would be useful if a simplified list of fitting kit was made available before purchase, because I'm looking at five metal brackets with no obvious point of attachment, no screws and no pre-drilled holes in the frame which might give me a clue as to where and how they are meant to fit. These kits are advertised as easy to fit, which they probably are as it's not a complicated process, but it would be useful if they didn't just assume that everyone has a knowledge of whether specific solar cable is needed to feed from the control box to the battery and minor details like that.

Sometimes they think it's self explaining when it's not...
Good luck with the phone call to them..:wacko:

 

[groyne]

Are the instructions written in Chinglish or Engniese? My wife can translate one but not the other, or so she says.

 

[vwalan]

hi. i usually pop rivet the panels to long brackets .i dont like short brackets .just my thoughts .personally i have never bothered to cover over the panels just get on and do it . i mount mine length ways and have a continous bracket across the front and rear .didnt fancy low branches hooking underneath the panels .
this should give you the idea .i now have removed the cross bars and fitted another 3 panels . only ever carried a boat on the roof on the bars . stopped that now .i also like to enter the vehicle on the side with the cable .think going in the roof is asking for a leak.
but positve to positive etc all the way through to the reg then down to the battery . the reg as pics on it explaining .

 

[Bushtrekker]

Thanks Alan

I've just been out to B&Q to get some aluminium angle to make a more secure connection and I thought the same about driling holes in roofs, so I'm siting the panel near the drivers door. This will allow me to come down off the roof and drill the entrance hole through beneath the overhang and straight into the electronics and battery housing beneath my seat. I managed to get some Sikaflex from a local boatyard this morning, only to spot that it was out of date and it's raining here now, so I'll get the brackets done and fitted and put the panel on as soon as it's dry for an our or two.