About a week after posting the above note in multiple sailing and solar energy related Internet forums (mid-December, 2006) I received a message from Solara AG informing me that they would replace the panels. They blamed Solara Energy (the US distributor) for not doing anything to help me. They also claimed that the warranty period for the panels is 2 years and not the 20 years listed on web sites in the USA, Australia and Great Britain. I wonder how all of these sites got the same wrong information? I also wonder how they compete when their competitors have warranties in excess of 20 years? Anyhow, they offered to replace the panels if I paid half of the shipping from Germany. This works out to 100 Euro or about $132 US. Considering that these panels cost me $2000, this was a bargain and I immediately agreed. Someone from customer service contacted me and sent invoice. I noted that the invoice was for a single panel instead of two and questioned this. The customer service person said that they would check on this and get back to me when the manager who approved this got back to the office. A week went by. I sent more e-mail questioning what's going on. Nothing...More e-mail from my side...nothing. I keep sending e-mail to everyone who was corresponding with me and nothing comes back. So at this point I'm stuck again. Other than flying to Germany and coming back with the panels (they actually suggested this :-), I don't see any solution. In case you have any doubts about the veracity of my reporting of the events, I've created a web page with all of the e-mail correspondence with the various parties. It's even color coded so you can easily see who sent what to whom. You can find it at http://www.geoffschultz.org/Solara/e-mail.shtml . I'll be headed off cruising to the Turks and Caicos at the end of February and it looks like I won't have working solar panels again. To me this is incredibly bad customer service and anyone who is thinking about purchasing solar panels manufactured by Solara AG should take this into consideration. -- Geoff Here is a link that might be useful: Solara e-mail link

In no particular order because it was hard to narrow down my top ten choices: [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/an-artisan-kitchen-at-a-briarcliff-hilltop-contemporary-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~1258941) [Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by New York Architect Fivecat Studio : Architecture [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/maui-plantation-kitchen-traditional-kitchen-hawaii-phvw-vp~80595) [Tropical Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/tropical-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2108) by Hawaii Kitchen And Bath Tervola Designs [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/nashville-kitchen-traditional-kitchen-nashville-phvw-vp~1531964) [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by New York Appliances EuroChef USA [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/ilve-ranges-across-the-country-contemporary-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~1531967) [Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by New York Appliances EuroChef USA [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchen-transformation-traditional-kitchen-burlington-phvw-vp~382930) [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Burlington Architect Smith & Vansant Architects PC [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-traditional-kitchen-phvw-vp~616049) [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Atlanta Kitchen And Bath Yorktowne Cabinetry [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/fully-furnished-traditional-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~43523) [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Boston Kitchen And Bath Rob Kane - Kitchen Interiors Inc. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/vrabel-traditional-kitchen-chicago-phvw-vp~50681) [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Chicago Architect Michael A. Menn [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/warmington-and-north-traditional-kitchen-seattle-phvw-vp~98831) [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Seattle Kitchen And Bath Warmington & North [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/debra-campbell-design-traditional-kitchen-seattle-phvw-vp~94203) [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Other Metro Interior Designer [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/shingle-style-home-in-hanover-nh-victorian-kitchen-burlington-phvw-vp~106086) [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Burlington Architect Smith & Vansant Architects PChref='http://www.houzz.com/pro/debracampbelldesign/debra-campbell-design'>Debra Campbell Design

Jerzeygal, I can't answer your question because, believe it or not --- I don't work for Garden State Soapstone and never have!!! lol. (Frankly, there's a whole lot more I've been squirming to say about all this, but I've also promised myself to refrain from getting into a silly internet forum shoot-out for no good reason.) My suggestion to anyone who thinks they may have an interest in Original PA/Green Mountain Original PA is to work with whatever reasonable, trustworthy, competent and experienced supplier of the stone they can find. In my case, the supplier/fabricator nearest to me, and who also fit that bill was Jay Tauber at Garden State Soapstone. (And, in typical GW fashion, I've chosen to recommend a good vendor experience/product to others.) I must say that I've also heard especially good things about Bucks County Soapstone as well. HTH

Thank you for posting that. Interesting reading and great list. We have been feeding our pup Eagle Pack Holistic for about 8 months now and we're big fans. Nice to see it made the list. :)