Solara solar panels still in business?
Geoff Schultz wrote:
"Mark" wrote in news:1154196147.968142.103460
@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
Been trying to find a supplier for Solara bendable glue-on solar
panels. The SM225m model is a perfect fit on a slightly curved hatch
dodger on my boat, and I need the thinness of the SM series panels
because of clearance and aesthetic issues.
Is Solara a going concern? I've called their headquarters and East
Coast site numbers a dozen times the last few weeks, only get voicemail
with full inboxes so you can't leave a message, a sign of a dead or
dying company. The only place I've seen these things (besides their
glossy website brochures) is on Ocean racing Open class boats, like
Volvo 70s and Ellen Macarthur's boats.
There's a few websites that claim to market them, but I'm not excited
about shipping from England or Germany :-) I'm in San Diego, and would
prefer to examine one before plunking down my $600. I've looked for
similar panels (marine grade, flexible steel backing, no frame, about a
24"x30" form factor) to no avail.
I forgot to note that I have 2 SM225M panels that failed within a year of
installation...that was 1993. I'm still in the active process of trying to
get them exchanged, Thus my knowledge of the US distributor, etc. The
panels seem to be very well made and Solara is very interested in my failure.
One panel is conpletely dead and the other only outputs when it's cool
(cloudy days, when the sun is just coming up, etc.)
The panels seem to be well built have have great output. My problem is that
they don't have a US distributor anymore and I've had the boat out of the
country since they were installed and they don't have a Central American
distributor. Consider these factors when purchasing.
-- Geoff
Thanks. Guess I give up.
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