Hello!

[Bela's Mom]

Just a couple of pictures of the panel and the grateful recipients!

 

[Renogy]

I bought Renogy panels and controller a year ago and am still loving the products.  

My cousin recently went with of a group to Costa Rica to learn about and install solar systems in rural homes to power lights, water pumps, etc.  While looking through the pictures I noticed a box of solar panels and the name on them was ......Renogy!

Glad to see you on the forum!

Hey Jo,

We're glad that you're still loving our products, making sure that customers are satisfied is one of our top priorities.

And wow, that's great to hear! Thank you so much for letting us know and for sharing those photos with us!

All the best,
The Renogy Team

 

[ttpadilla]

So, I'm here in a very remote area at lake Shasta and decide I'd better hook up my suitcase solar panel, but the writing is not connected to the controller, and even though I have 18 different screwdrivers, none are tiny enough to fit the screws in the controller so that I can secure the wires myself. Nothing you can do to help me, but maybe you could make sure that future products are fully assembled so this doesn't happen to anyone else. I was going to write a glowing review of this product, but I guess that will be on hold until I can actually use it. Unfortunately, I'll have to leave this gorgeous campsite much earlier than planned...

 

[ttpadilla]

Wiring, not writing

 

[GotSmart]

So, I'm here in a very remote area at lake Shasta and decide I'd better hook up my suitcase solar panel, but the wireing is not connected to the controller, and even though I have 18 different screwdrivers, none are tiny enough to fit the screws in the controller so that I can secure the wires myself.  Nothing you can do to help me, but maybe you could make sure that future products are fully assembled so this doesn't happen to anyone else. I was going to write a glowing review of this product, but I guess that will be on hold until I can actually use it. Unfortunately, I'll have to leave this gorgeous campsite much earlier than planned...

That is why I have 15 boxes of tools!

The connection to a Renogy controller is the one weak point I have discovered.  There is a better way of hooking up the wires than the difficult to see and use connections. I had to take a powerful flashlight to see how the clips worked.  

Perhaps spring loaded clips? Perhaps larger openings and screws?  Look at how Bluesea does these connections.  Installing ends is easy, and provides a more positive connection. I will never have to deal with any connections to my fuse block unless I need to change something. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001P6FTHC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

 

[Renogy]

So, I'm here in a very remote area at lake Shasta and decide I'd better hook up my suitcase solar panel, but the writing is not connected to the controller, and even though I have 18 different screwdrivers, none are tiny enough to fit the screws in the controller so that I can secure the wires myself.  Nothing you can do to help me, but maybe you could make sure that future products are fully assembled so this doesn't happen to anyone else. I was going to write a glowing review of this product, but I guess that will be on hold until I can actually use it. Unfortunately, I'll have to leave this gorgeous campsite much earlier than planned...

Hi Nana4Twins,

We're sorry that you're unable to connect the charge controller at the moment and won't be able to stay longer at the campsite, but the leads for the 100W Solar Suitcase comes disconnected for safety reasons. If the leads were connected and the panel was pulled out into the sunlight and the two alligator clips were to touch, they would short the panel which can be a safety hazard.

Also, Chris Travels has also just posted his video on the solar suitcase here:

All the best,
The Renogy Team

 

[ttpadilla]

I think if the alligator clips were disconnected from the Anderson plug (?) And / or one of the clips had a sock over it just in case that might reduce the likelihood of that happening. BUT, I am happy to say that someone happened by with every tool possible in his arsenal, and this is an amazing panel! I love it, and am very happy to recommend it to everyone I know

 

[Renogy]

I think if the alligator clips were disconnected from the Anderson plug (?) And / or one of the clips had a sock over it just in case that might reduce the likelihood of that happening. BUT, I am happy to say that someone happened by with every tool possible in his arsenal, and this is an amazing panel! I love it, and am very happy to recommend it to everyone I know

Hi Nana4Twins,

We'll definitely keep that in mind, thank you for your feedback! But, we're extremely happy as well that someone was able to help you out and you were able to prolong your stay. We hope you continue to enjoy your Solar Suitcase, feel free to message us if you ever have any further questions about it. Also, if you take a picture of your setup and share the picture on our forum, you'll receive $5 store credit at renogy-store.com.

All the best,
The Renogy Team

 

[ccbreder]

Perhaps I'm wrong and have missed something. While Renogly is a good company with a fine product. I don't see anything on our forum where they give any helpful information. Only, Call us here's our number. Look at this sale item. Stuff like that is mostly advertizing. Maybe they can start a thread that answers questions and provides information directly to the forum. Or do a real how to article on the main blog.

 

[Renogy]

Perhaps I'm wrong and have missed something. While Renogly is a good company with a fine product. I don't see anything on our forum where they give any helpful information. Only, Call us here's our number. Look at this sale item. Stuff like that is mostly advertizing. Maybe they can start a thread that answers questions and provides information directly to the forum. Or do a real how to article on the main blog.

Hi ccbreder,

I understand what you're saying, but here's something to note: The information provided in the very first post mentions explicitly that "[o]ur technical support team are best reached via the chat function on our website, their email ([email protected]), or by our company number (1-800-330-8687)." That is genuinely meant to be something helpful. I (the person who handles this forum along with many other things) might not be able to respond to a question on the forum that someone needs the answer to as quickly as our tech support can if you were to call them. This is really meant for the forum members' convenience.

As for posts about sales and promotions, it's something that we directly emailed Bob about. We're not trying to shove advertising down your throats, but please be aware that these are deals and ways to save money--isn't that a good thing for someone that is interested in a product but found it pricy before?

As for a thread on answering questions and what-not, we'd love to. We've held off on it as we weren't sure exactly what Bob would like to do with us being on this forum. There were several suggestions as to what steps should be taken, but as we weren't sure we haven't made such a thread. Also, as we stated in the first post, we are welcome to any questions forum members may have, even if there isn't a thread, we have no problems with private messages asking us for help. We try not to invade older threads about Renogy products as most questions have already been answered wonderfully by other members.

Lastly, we're still new and trying to get the hang of things. We'll do our best to do better.

All the best,
The Renogy Team

 

[akrvbob]

I'm no expert on how to run a forum, after all, I'm just a guy who loves vandwelling and wants to promote it. I've probably made more mistakes then good decisions.

But, every step of the way I always ask myself is "What's the most helpful thing to do here to help people live better lives?" So when it comes to Renogy on the forum, my only goal is whats good for the members. I know they are here to sell more product and make more money, and I'm fine with that it doesn't bother me at all!!

All that I ask is that it help the members and I believe it does in two ways:

1) We learn about sales we may want to jump on. For example, right now the Firefly is on sale for $100 off. Most of us would be better off with a suitcase and a marine battery, but if you are being kicked out of your apartment and have to live in your car, the Firefly is a great choice. You can charge it off the cigarette lighter plug and solar. If you are in a car you don't have room for a suitcase system and battery but you can probably fit the Firefly. I have a friend who lives in a Prius and uses Goal Zero systems, but this is one is $100 cheaper now!! THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT PERSON IS HELPED BY KNOWING ABOUT THE SALE! And that's all I care about.

2) We can give them feedback that will improve the products. For example, Nana4twins just ran into a problem with her suitcase system and wrote about it here. It was a small problem but created a lot of frustration for her. Hopefully Renogy will learn from that and take steps to alleviate the problem. Maybe they can print a page describing how to do it and add it to every system in the box. Maybe they can include a very cheap tool that will do what Nana needed done. Or maybe they will do nothing. But we did our part and gave them the feedback. I think that helps us all in the long run.

 

[ttpadilla]

My review of your 100w Suitcase Solar Panel just went live on Amazon. Thanks again, for a great product!

 

[Renogy]

Greetings fellow Earthlings!

Brian (henceforth known as Darlin') and I (Jesse) have just come aboard so we wanted to quickly drop in and thank you for having us!  We're both looking forward to meeting and getting to know you over the next few days, weeks, months, and..., well, let's not get cocky!  We'd like to stick around for as long as the Good Lord spares us.

Have a wonderful and spectacular day!

Jesse.

Hi Bryan and Jesse,

Welcome to the forum! If you ever have any solar related questions, specifically about our own products, feel free to send us a message

All the best,
The Renogy Team

 

[GotSmart]

Hi John,

We look forward to seeing your pictures whenever you finish.

Also, in regards to the charge controller, we are very sorry about the minor issue you ran into with it. We would like to see if there's something we can do to facilitate a fix. If you wouldn't mind reaching out to us, that would be fantastic. Please contact Charlie at [email protected], and he'ill work with you to figure out the best solution for this problem. Thank you for letting us know!

All the best,
The Renogy Team

Here is a picture of the final installation.

Before and after.  It is hard to tell it has a solar panel on it now. 

I also sent an email to Charlie. We will see what response I get.

 

[Renogy]

Here is a picture of the final installation.

Before and after.  It is hard to tell it has a solar panel on it now. 

Hi John,

Thanks for sharing your pictures with us.

All the best,
The Renogy Team