anyone happy with their dokio portable panels? i'm not...

[doublegregg]

Please disregard that advice...it is incorrect (or a simple mistake) and I even posted a correction in that other thread.

To test the amps a solar panel can put out at your location in your level of sunlight, in other words maximum current (more or less), you will need to short the panel thru an ampmeter. This is not a 'bad idea', it is the way it is done. 

In fact the ISC rating on the panel label means: I (which means current) Short Circuited.

TY tx2... 
yeah, i'm just looking for a way to get a basic value of whether a panel itself, alone, is probably 'good' or not.... sounds like the voltage and current short circuit values are reasonable, and convenient, start points. this is assuming abundant sun --- we're talking, noon, panel pointed right at sun, clean panel, etc...  i saw a video that said if the panel is high wattage, maybe make the connection to short it while the panel is shaded... to avoid a large spark, but otherwise no precautions necessary.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Certainly if a person was dealing with really LARGE panels, then there might be a need to use more refined methods than just touching the leads together. Either partial shading, laying the panel over or tilting it, or using a high current switch with stepped loads might be called for. 

But the point is that solar panels are not batteries and when they are shorted, they can't put out hundreds of uncontrolled amps if the entire panel is rated at, say, 10 amps. 

You are not going to melt the wire insulation, start a fire, or burn down the neighborhood by shorting the leads for 10 seconds to do a test.