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What a zoo :)

I called Friday; their website lists a bunch of different numbers to try. So I called all of them. Nobody answered any of the phone numbers and each one had it's mail-box full.



I tried again Saturday. After 4 calls I got through to a person. he explained that their computers had crashed and they lost their inventory, they had not idea of how many panels were left or which ratings.



I called again Sunday. After a few calls I found one number that did not have a full mail-box, the guy said that they were re-doing inventory and to call back in 30-minutes.

That set the pace for the entire day. Every half-hour I called.

Sometimes I had to make a series of calls to finally get a human.

Once I got a guy who said he was the owner of the company, that an inventory was being done and to call him back in a half-hour. Thankfully by then I had all of the phone numbers in my cellphone's memory.



Each time when I did get through to a human, voice I asked "Is your re-inventory done yet?" Mostly they said no, I could hear them yelling to somebody in the background, and they would come back to say it would take another half-hour.

Once when I asked "Is your re-inventory done yet?" the guy was mad and asked who I was and why I kept calling his office. I explained the process I had been going through, and that the owner had said to try back in a half-hour. So I was calling every half-hour to check on the inventory. I could hear background noise and then he said it would take "another half-hour".

Once I got a guy who laughed and said I was doing it exactly right, to keep calling every half-hour until their inventory was done.

Late in the afternoon, I got a female who spoke broken English. We were only barely able to understand each other. She said the inventory was done, but she did not know which panels were available. She thought that the 200W panels were still available, but then seemed to think that I wanted 200 of them. I only wanted 20. It took a while.

She took down my email so I could verify the purchase order. That was fun, I spelled out my email address, with her repeating back to me each letter. She messed it up the first two times, it took us going through my email address three times with me saying a letter and her repeating it back to me; before she finally got it right.

I got the email right away, and I corrected my name and shipping address. What I seem to have gotten is 20 of the 215W panels. Shipping is $500. Ouch.

Monday I got a call from them. They were clearing their messages :)



I appreciate the OP for telling us all about the sale. Thank you!

I am in the process of building a garage now, and really can not afford to buy much more then just these panels at this point. I think that I may need another 20 panels in the near future, but you get what you can afford. ;)
 
Sorry you had so much trouble F.B.

I guess I got lucky. I called the (602) area code number on the website and talked to a man named Ron. If you can reach him, he's sharp as a tack. Said he'd been doing solar for over twenty years. Being in Arizona, I tend to believe him.

All in all, it went smoothly for me. I did have the same phone troubles last week when I started until I called the 602 numbers.
 
Sorry you had so much trouble F.B.

I guess I got lucky. I called the (602) area code number on the website and talked to a man named Ron. If you can reach him, he's sharp as a tack. Said he'd been doing solar for over twenty years. Being in Arizona, I tend to believe him.

All in all, it went smoothly for me. I did have the same phone troubles last week when I started until I called the 602 numbers.
I fully understand how it could happen. And I could just picture the stress those guys were under.

We were laughing about it. I am glad that do not have to work through a crisis like that myself.

I am happy to have gotten in on the 'deal'. ;)
 
They arrived today !

:) :) :)

I now have twenty 220watt panels :)

Mine too! 24 215w panel's. They have Evergreen's sticker on them. Nice panels. Nicely made and strong. Now I've got to get to work.
 
We were in the middle of a big roofing project [adding 2500 sq ft of roof onto our home]. A 3-bay garage connected to one side of our house, and an 8ft extension porch that wraps the other three sides of our house. The South side and East side are both clear greenhouse grade. Spending so much to build the footers, posts, beams, rafters and finally the roofing, we did not want to run out of funds before we finished the project. When suddenly this thread came along.

We had just barely enough money to buy 20-panels.

No money left over for a charge-controller or batteries or invertor. In due time, we will get each component and get it all installed. So while it is great that they arrived, they now sit covered in snow. No need to unwrap them, until I am ready to install them.

As it turned out, I was not able to finish the roofing before winter arrived anyway. About 1/4 of our rafters are bare, snow and ice are stuck to them and high winds make it entirely too dangerous to try to walk up there. The season for roofing is past.

On a farm all things are done according to the appropriate season.

This is not outdoor building season.

We just finished hog butchering, and have not completed lard rendering yet.

This is planning the next year's crops season, and fruit tree pruning season.

Soon will be maple tapping, followed by fiddleheads, and then mud-season followed closely by manure-hauling, bed prepping, and I seriously need to cut some paths through forest and build fencing.

I might not get back to finish the roofing until July.

The solar panels? I have no idea when. Hopefully August, but I am on a limited budget here.
 
glad that you were not chomping at the bit waiting on the panels. I know when I finally spend the dough, I will be very excited and counting the days til they arrive.
I am planning like you are as far as getting the pieces one step at a time. if the panles were not such a good deal I would probably get the battery bank set up first, then inverter and just charge the batts off the grid, but those panels at .78 or .87 I forget which sound like a great price. I just cant see waitin 2 months for shipping

you sure have a big to-do list.
 
To be off-grid self-sufficient sustainable is a big to-do list.

Is there any better way to prep?

:)
I agree, in 4 years when I retire I cant be having any electric bills.

right now my electrical preps are a diesel and a gas generator, with a well for water, I need to assure long term electric to pump the deep well.

I am thinking about 20 panels 200w. my south facing metal roof is about 28ft x 20ft and I would like to fill er up.....

I am still trying to figure out where to store a large batt bank, dont want it cold during winter and losing a lot of capacity but indoor space is limited.
 
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