UPDATE: Late last evening I went and popped the back panel off the Renogy solar panel to verify if the wire truly was Tinned copper and it was!! Like so many had mentioned. I updated the description and may show a short video for those interested. Sorry for the quick over look. Updated 6 month and 1 year will come later.

I appreciate how quickly you give the information- No BS and you jump right to the next point. I'm a fan. Thanks

Diodes, soldered in with straight leads, will experience mechanical stress between the diode chip and the attached leads, as they expand and contract with heat and cool cycles. If you have a diode failure and have to replace them, put a bit of an S bend in each lead, before you solder it in, to give the leads some springiness.

Great review. I would have never in a million years guessed that the Harbor Freight Panel would outperform the Renogy.

I've had four Renogy 100 watt panels on my 5th wheel roof for 8 years now. Absolutely no problems or issues, including being in two hail storms and traveling over 50k miles. They are great!

I purchased 6 harbor freight panels when they had them on sale for only $89 each. Changed all the connectors to MC4. I like the aspect size of the harbor freight. It seems easier to orient on a ground mount. I also like that the Harbor Freight panels have the plastic protectors on the corners.

Aluminum? Pretty sure that is tinned copper. Not aluminum. PV wire has a lot of strands and feels like aluminum, but it's just how tinned copper with lots of strands feels like. Good video!!

We use these 100w HF panels in many places all over the farm. Never had one fail, and most have been up at least ten years. But their $30 charge controller circuit boards tend to corrode rather easily.

Conclusion: Harbor freight is better...

Thanks you so much for this review. Straight to the point, no BS. Exactly how these kinds of videos should be.

I was at our Harbor Freight store when they first came out. They were $99 so I bought two of them. They are for backup. I connected them together with hinges to make a suitcase. Heavy but easy to store.

I really appreciate your presentation, easy to follow, no personal opinions, straight shown facts. Great job, hopefully others can learn from your format.

Thank- you!! This is the basic solar advice channel I need to pull it all together. First time you have popped up on my feed, but now I'm subscribed. Was very glad to see your test of the Harbor Freight panel matched up closely with my meter readings. Now I need to watch your other vids to see why I'd need to change the connectors.

Cleaner connections, Copper wire, higher amp output, same voltage range, Wow, the harbor freights, if maintained well, outperform brand name panels. How interesting. thank you for the vid. Very enlightening.

I worked for a manufacturer working on high-end prototypes, and a deviation I had to do often was swapping for a more robust connector between the solar panels and the rest of the wiring. It was common for the connectors to be the highest resistance point, thus creating extra heat, and melting the connectors, then eventually shorting and causing further, obvious issues. The fix was adding a much larger connector with larger terminals. The initial engineers expected the original connector to be sufficient, but turned out not to be in real life. Something to think about when swapping connectors. I've always been on the side of don't replace, upgrade, for things like this. Great video!

This is a godsend for Hurricane season here in New Orleans. I might even make this my new side hustle . Thank you for this amazing video.

Good test, I agree the soldered connections shows how well the solder connections are on each cell.

You had the perfect setup to test how blocking a single cell, or part of the panel effects performance. Like shading the lower 1/4th of the panel. Also another + comment on getting to the point and showing the content. Great video.

I'm a Electrician and HVAC Technician, copper is always better than aluminum they use aluminum now only for main power lines to panels or the service drop... aluminum expands and contracts when used for a conductor which causes loose connections and why aluminum for house hold receptacles or outlets is no longer used because they have been the source of many house fires when they use aluminum wire for lighting and receptacles in house wiring!... special anti oxidation and splices with aluminum to copper are used on the house's that still have aluminum wiring....and also a special outlet is sold for this also to combat the issue of aluminum wiring getting loose connections and over heating causing fires or over heating also instead of pushing the wires into the clip holes in the back it is always much better to put the under the screws minding the direction the screw turns to have the wire bent in the same direction to ensure a tight connection that will stay tight longer over the test of time ...many electrical companies and contractors though use the back clip in hole because how quick and convenient they are to install and complete the job ....time is money!...but a good soldered connection always is better just remember to use the proper solder or flux for the electrical and in areas that have water /weather etc. Use proper weather proofing of electrical even bugs or mice etc.moisutre all need to be kept from the electrical..... ...keep them dry and clean...when I was working on panels that had circuits over heating. We used Lazer thermometer to check temperatures of the electrical connections or even thermoheat video meter which is more expensive but can pinpoint all the connections quickly that are overheating. ..have a good day y'all! Stay safe and respect the power of ⚡⚡⚡ electricity ....it only takes about 2 amps to disrupt the beat of a human ❤️. Many batteries can be well over 100 amps and if you ! Used welding with stick electrode and grounding clamp to what your welding and it grounded...could stick weld metal but would be dangerous as it would be a direct short on the battery and it could overheat or explode.. from hydrogen gasses...so under some circumstances even a 12 volt batteries can be dangerous enough to kill someone! Work safe and fare thee well!

Thank you for making it easy to understand for someone who doesn't know much about the solar panels. I have portable panels but I'm thinking about adding one panel to trickle charge my house battery. This video helps me a lot.

Most Excellent presentation! Almost ordered a Renogy panel to go with rest of Renogy system. So glad you posted this. Many thanks!

Well prepared, straight forward presentation! Thank You for giving us just the honest facts! Well done!

I bought 8 HF 100 watt panels and installed them on top of my south facing patio cover (4 x 6 inch timbers). I have two arrays of 4 panels each in series giving me 80 volts. These two branches are in parallel. These charge my EcoFlow Delta Max which I use to power my entire house. I am getting 760 watts out of this array starting at 1115 until 1600 or so in San Diego. This is enough to recharge my EcoFlow Delta to 100% in 6 hours. I am experimenting going off grid every other day. So far so good since setting this up in May of this year. I kept the SAE connectors but I removed the aluminum stand arms. Using 2 x 2 alum angle for stationary mount. Very pleased with those HF panels especially when they go on sale.

Good, America years 2076 , 300 hundred years old.Hope this environmentally friendly Solar system can help all Citizens.NEED to learn basic skills to install .Thanks sharing.

I love the editing on this you're doing an amazing job! The bus is coming out so beautiful! Ashton you are such a good sport you all make me laugh. Till next time, God bless.

Just incredible technology. I am just blown away how far solar has progressed, and it's getting better and better! Thanks for sharing!

Interesting test. I'm impressed with the HF panels meeting and exceeding the Renogy ones. Thumb up.

This video sold me on the HF panels. I installed 2 of them on my skoolie last weekend after picking them up on sale for $89/ea. They work great. Thanks!

I’m really happy to see this video because I just bought the same set up. Thank you for your time and effort.

Quick and to the point 👍. We're still trying to figure out what we want for a solar system at our off grid cabin and this helps. Think i may go with the harbour freight panels. Thanks.

Great review. I bought 6 - 100 watt harbor freight panels when they were on sale for $99. Also bought a Bluetti AC200 max and 4 370 watt Santan Solar panels. Ready for power down and retreat living off grid.

Thanks! You are way easiest to listen to than Will! Helped in my decision making

Thank you for this test. I keep thinking about buying a kit for my outdoor shed.

As a retired electrician 14 awg copper carries more load than aluminum of the same size. The Rinergy may do better if they increased the aluminum wire to 12 awg and soldered all the connections. Good test though thanks.

The solder vs crimp debate is easy. If it moves crimp, if it's stationary solder. When a stranded wire is soldered it becomes solid. If it flexes often stresses can cause the soldered wire to snap. Boats, car, motorcycle wiring gets crimped for me; with a coat of oxguard for corrosion

I got 4 sets of the older model 8 years ago, still going strong. Nice to see the 100w it was pulling....

Absolutely the best no bs review. Thank you.

I see a lot of people here commenting on the Renogy panel being better because they "know" it will be better over time. Perhaps that's true but until the theory is tested it remains merely an opinion. Plenty of guys use HF air tools without issue for years while doubters claim their Snap On's will last three times as long. Again, perhaps that's true but at three times the price what's the difference? Obviously these panels don't have that big of a price difference so it may be a wash. Also, the type of copper is a factor. Copper is a better conductor but if not OFC free or very well insulated it will corrode and become brittle and then snap after several years. But that can happen to aluminum as well.

I bought the Harbor Freight panel for $99. I have only used once while dry camping. It did a great job of charging up the batteries on my RV. No regrets so far.

Thanks

I’m no fan of HF but one who deals a lot with with electrical, HF stepped up their game.

I am surprised how well the Harbor Freight panel did in this comparision. It also revealed how many panels I would need to power up one roof top a/c for my fifth wheel trailer! That would come to 17 panels!

I have bought both, and the Harbor Freight panels give me a little more volts and amps, but I also like the Renogy panels!

Thank you for having the time and equipment and knowledge to use me decide. Great video!

Another great video! Big THANKS to you for taking your time and educating us. Blessings!

Second independent review I've seen comparing these same panels, with the same result. I may have to take back everything I ever thought bad about HF. One interesting comparison that might cost a few bucks is a destructive test (how well they would hold up in a hail storm). Thanks OP for the thoughtful review and time it took to publish it.

A 1 year follow up would be nice. These things tend to degrade the most during the first years and Renogy is supposed to be the better brand.

Please do some long-term follow up findings on these panels. Glad I found this video. Very good information!

Quick and complete. Well done.

I just tested both the Harbor Freight and Renogy panels again with sun out very bright! The Harbor Freight are running a little over 100 watts, 5.2 Amps, and 20+ volts, and the Renogy is running a little over 80+ watts each, but they are not side by side, so it is not a complete accurate test, but the Harbor Freight panels are testing a little better wattage!.

Thanks for the thorough tests. I have wondered those 2 panels compare. I have 6 of the Harbor Freight panels that I purchased when they had a coupon that let you buy up to 4 (they let me get 6) at $89. I use them for my travel trailer with a Victron charge controller and also for my Bluetti E55 and AC200P. I changed some of them to MC4 connectors and left the sae plugs on 2 of them and use adapter cables. The Bluettis each came with cables to use MC4 for input. They work great in series or parallel and in good sun consistently give the rated output, occasionally a bit more. I am very impressed with the quality and performance of them.

Thanks for the trade-off

Thank you for being an honest man...

Another excellent episode! In general, the quality of all solar panels has improved over the years. Also pretty likely HF doesn't make their own panels, and there aren't a huge number of manufacturers out there. Might both come from the same plant. Also note that IR thermometers can get very inaccurate if not held close enough, and if not held at something close to 90*. They can also produce very different and inaccurate readings if the surface finish is shiny vs matte. For comparisons, just put a piece of black electrical tape on both objects to remove that source of error from reflectivity.

I bought one of those harbor freight Thunderbolt 100 watt panels for my Bluetti solar generator and it works so well that I bought a second one and for less than half the price of most other brands.

Great video! Clear, concise, and helpful!

Great review! And surprising too! I guess HF has been improving their products on the down low. Keep up the good work!

Excellent job, thanks. I'll take copper and solder over crimped aluminum any day. I've tested solar panels and never seen one at spec like that. Good to know.

All wire connections that are to be considered as permanent should always be soldered. A well done solder joint will always have less resistance than a slide connector / butt connector and resistance is your enemy especially when power delivery is your goal.

What a wake-up on panels. Thank you.

I have a similar HF looking HSQT panel. These panels, at least the HSQT are lighter and easier to move. So I made it a point to not buy longated panels in the future. When I move them for storage, I just tie them together. And I can carry each set on one hand. So I'm moving four instead of two longated panels. They are really almost like carrying a kit.

Aluminum degrades fairly quickly when wet. I lived at a couple of different campgrounds who had used aluminum wire on the meter boxes and there were major problems either white corrosion at connectors or anywhere it was exposed to moisture although it was run in plastic conduit there were problems

Thanks COOP ...

Great comparison. Thank you.

The soldering on the Harbor freight is sloppy, but, as another poster stated, aluminum " cant" be soldered. Actually, it can, but it takes extra heat and some skills that most companies dont want to pay for. The Aluminum wires will corrode quickly.

Copper wire and the solder connections are superior to the aluminum wire with crimped connections. Also the gasket seemed to be seated better.

Thank you

I have four of the really old 25w panels from HF. They have been charging a small lead-acid battery and powering lights in our shed for at least 6 or 7 years, with no trouble at all.

Cool informative Video. I would think new Copper will be more efficient than aluminum wire new to new but over time and exposure it would be interesting to see if the copper had more energy transfer loss as any corrosion may develop. Also an upgrade to either of these would be to use marine tinned wire especially if its used in Damp to wet exposure over time. Being IP67 rated I would say Tinned wire for longevity if you use in damp to wet environments.

I have a 100 watt renogy panel that I have had for about 5 years. The glass is perfect but the silicon cells underneath have mostly fractured. It gives out less than 2 amps in full sun now. I am definitely going to replace it with the Harbor Freight panel

That's good to know. I have both the same solar panels and the Ecoflow. I got a converter kit but haven't changed the connectors on the Harbor Freight ones yet. Thanks.

Thank you for showing me how well that Harbor Freight solar panel did.....

Fascinating! One of the next steps in my pickup build is to 'solarify' the camper shell. Nice to know HFT still offers quality! :3

Copper wire is infinitely preferred over aluminum, especially when you consider LONGEVITY. Unless those aluminum connections are well sealed, they will oxidize, over time & exposure. The choice for me is CLEAR.

good to know. thanks

Thanks for making this quick and exact.

After working with electronics, off and on, through my life, I was surprised, recently, to find out that solder is a less than ideal conductor of electricity. That is why you rarely see it used in house wiring. It creates a point of resistance. The one thing with solar panels, though, is also the consideration that moisture may get into a crimped connection causing corrosion, causing resistance or failure.

Nice video and thumbs up to HF to make a affordable panel that gives us experimental guys something to work with. I bought the 100 watt four panel version and found that it was a pain to work with. So I bought the single 100 watt panel for ease of use. Would really like to see you compare the harbor freight to HF panels and see if there is any advantage, being both are the same price.

Thank you 💕

Didn't expect that outcome but glad you showed us the truth

At 2:47: crimps can be more durable than solder; solder joints can crack with time and vibration. Aluminum is not preferred however, aluminum oxides are not conductive so if the wire corrodes with age the joint can become bad. At 2:55 the diode solder joint in the middle looks less than ideal, notice how the solder is around the wire and not smoothly flowed to it, for lack of a better description. It looks like the joint wasn't heated enough during soldering, and/or they were skimpy on flux. Also for both cases using a pfet here instead of a diode would give better efficiency (less loss to heat).

As solder heats up and cools down, it will eventually crack. You can see that where VRMs, which get really hot, eventually fail at the solder joint. So crimping where they did isn't a bad thing at all.

Didn’t know HF had solar panels they seem like they are pretty good and they have the connection for my zamp solar system in my keystone passport thanks for sharing

Very clear and informative comparison.

Would love to see simultaneous reading with identical resistors as load. There is too much changing to actually compare. and ... watts IS amps x voltage!

Cool to see the HF panel actually putting out 100 watts. Impressive.

Great video. FAST and to the point.

Great comparison. Thanks. 👍

I have a few of the Renogy panels and they are great.

It could be the connections. Soldering is more secure and copper conducts the same, but with less heat transfer.

Great comparison testing. Thanks for the video

Having both a Renogy and Newpowa panel , It's the same way , more cells makes more usable power. Made with I hadn't bought the Renogy because the Newpowa panels where 2 years old when compared

I’ve had numerous soldering classes in the USAF and after. They always say to start with a good mechanical connection, then solder. They both should crimp then solder.

Cells are arranged in parallel strings, and each series string can only deliver as much current as its weakest link. So if a bird craps on a single cell (blocking its exposed area) which drops its max amperage from, say, 1.5A down to 1.1A, the entire string will be limited to 1.1A. So more strings in parallel would be more resistant to a single cell's upset.

Very good. Info. Quick and easy to understand. No b.s. was appreciated.

That was very interesting and showed unexpected results. Thanks for posting. Barry

Aircraft and spacecraft always use crimp connections because they are more reliable than solder. Solder can crack and break. That Harbor freight panel works surprisingly well! I use a Baldr 120 folding panel to charge my 2 Bluetti's. I have a EB70 and the new EB3A. LOVE the new display on the EB3A!

The Renogy crimped their wire connections because you can't solder aluminum wire. It would be better if they used copper wire in their units.

I like how fair you are with the panels same angle time temp

Good review. I actually have both brands. 4 Renogy 100watt "flexible " panels and 4 Harbor freight 100watt "glass" panels. The Harbor Freight out performs the Renogy panels. These are set up in two strings of 400watts. One powers my Inergy Apex (with TWO Flex batteries), and the other powers my "Power Cart" with 4 6v 240Wh batteries in series/parallel. Separate solar controller (Epever 40amp) and power out to a Renogy 2000w pure sine wave inverter/charger.