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Flexible Solar Panels


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3 minutes ago, frangar said:

Maybe it’s me but I would have thought that bolting the magnets through the holes mentioned was so obvious it didn’t need spelling out…..but of course there’s those on here that delight in needing everything explained lest they have nothing to berate a poster who might have a different idea to them 

 

Except he made no mention of bolting in his initial post. You and I both assumed that is what he meant, and a later reply shows others were not so sure. He also talked about holes at the corners but now has added that there are more holes he can use to give less room for sag and flexing. Once again another of the replies shows that others took him at his word that he was going to mount just by the corners.

 

In my view the OP thought everyone knew what he had seen in the panel specs and what was in his mind, this often happens, but unless told readers do not know. Simply not enough info freely given to provide him with a considered answer. Another example of giving info out in dribs and drabs.

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Just now, Bod said:

The other aspect of using magnets, is theft.

 

Bod

Thought of that too. The boat next to me has rigid panels screwed to brackets stuck on with Silkiflex. I could nick one of those panels in pretty quick time with the aid of a screwdriver and wire cutters. The Silkiflex joints don't look that secure either. 

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My choice has been flexi.  
They seem to be getting cheaper and better. 
Easy to stick down with some sticky shit of your choice. No pissing about with brackets. 
I was given some double sided sticky stuff which has been easy to take off to clean underneath. 
 

If you want to walk on the cabin then they’re good to have. 

As above ^ magnets will let someone take them easily. 
 

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If the OP still wants my thoughts on the subject but if not he does not need to read them.

 

He asks about magnets rated in Kg. Well a normal bag of sugar is close enough to 1 Kg of weight as makes little difference. If he ties one up with string and then judges how difficult it will be to lift it from the floor that will give him a fair idea about what 1Kg f feels like.

 

What does concern me if he is going to use multiple magnets is how he will release the magnet from the roof without bending or stretching the panel, so I don't think it would be wise to try to lift the magnet buy figures under the panel. I think trying to work a blade under the magnet to lift it from the roof would be very likely to result in roof paint damage. I think the bolt or stud that is securing the magnet to the panel would be the solution (not seen the specs for the magnet so don't know exactly how they are secured). If the panel is secured by a stud and nut then the stud could be left proud so a homemade "lifter" could be screwed onto the protruding stud, the magnet lifted with only a little flex to the paned, and a piece of wood slid underneath the magnet. Then repeat for each magnet.

 

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50 minutes ago, Goliath said:

How about magnets that are strong enough to pass through the aluminium?

 

so you in effect clamp the panel down to the steel by placing a strong magnet on the edge of the panel. One in each corner and one halfway down either side. 
 

Some scrote would pinch his magnets.

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5 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

I strongly suspect these are the semi-flexible panels, possibly with an all over aluminium backing rather than true flexible that you can roll up - apparently.

Yea that’s why I thought a magnet strong enough to pass through the aluminium backing, (usually 2mm ?). 

But as we say people will half inch them. But in principle it’s doable I’m sure. 
 

I’ve a strong magnet I got from my nephew who works in an aluminium recycling factory. They put the magnets in the molten metal to draw out some impurities. 

Or them magnets they go metal fishing  with. 

 

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7 minutes ago, Goliath said:

Yea that’s why I thought a magnet strong enough to pass through the aluminium backing, (usually 2mm ?). 

But as we say people will half inch them. But in principle it’s doable I’m sure. 
 

I’ve a strong magnet I got from my nephew who works in an aluminium recycling factory. They put the magnets in the molten metal to draw out some impurities. 

Or them magnets they go metal fishing  with. 

 

 

But doing it that way would still tend to trap moisture against the paint under the panel. I would not be happy with that possibility until it was proven not to cause any paint failures.

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47 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

But doing it that way would still tend to trap moisture against the paint under the panel. I would not be happy with that possibility until it was proven not to cause any paint failures.


fair point 

 

ive just removed two 100W panels that were stuck down over two winters with a bit of sticky stuff in each corner. 
And held well through storms

 

There was a top layer of paint that was flakey/peeling in small areas around some of the 8 corners and there was black mould under perhaps a 10” stretch along one side of one panel. 
 

The main bulk of paint work was absolutely fine and dandy. 
 

So I’d say edges with about an inch or two of ingress of some sort. 
 

Personally I wouldn’t want to stick them down with a run of sikaflex around the whole perimeter because I’d never get them off again. 

Whether it helped to just have the corners stuck down so the rest of the underneath could breath a little 🤷‍♀️ I don’t know. 
 

Ive also had a panel screwed down and the paint underneath faired even better. After 4 years. 

Edited by magpie patrick
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I got some good quality ones from renogy, because they're going on a curved roof and standard would look really ugly and be too high.

 

Not tested yet, but I'm using a 10mm gasket all the way round using sikaflex so there's a gap underneath the panels.

 

If putting onto metal... due to the heat you could stick a gasket with sikaflex to the actual panels, and then install strong magnets inside the edge of the gasket, might kill 2 birds with one stone.

 

(I don't know what I'm using for the gasket yet, some type of flexible but hard plastic/pvc, open to suggestions 😅)

Edited by Dockeroo
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On 21/05/2022 at 22:30, Dockeroo said:

I got some good quality ones from renogy, because they're going on a curved roof and standard would look really ugly and be too high.

 

Not tested yet, but I'm using a 10mm gasket all the way round using sikaflex so there's a gap underneath the panels.

 

If putting onto metal... due to the heat you could stick a gasket with sikaflex to the actual panels, and then install strong magnets inside the edge of the gasket, might kill 2 birds with one stone.

 

(I don't know what I'm using for the gasket yet, some type of flexible but hard plastic/pvc, open to suggestions 😅)

Leave an air gap if you are going to use Sikaflex “all the way round” otherwise the trapped air under the panel will bubble up on hot days and the cells will fail.

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The only benefit I can see with normal flexible panels is that they can lie flat on the roof, raising them negates this advantage.

 

I use unisolar stick down which have been excellent, hard to get hold of nowadays but some are currently available on ebay. I would snap them up if ivwas you.. you can actually walk on the unipolar although not advisable on a regular basis.

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, reg said:

The only benefit I can see with normal flexible panels is that they can lie flat on the roof, raising them negates this advantage.

 

I use unisolar stick down which have been excellent, hard to get hold of nowadays but some are currently available on ebay. I would snap them up if ivwas you.. you can actually walk on the unipolar although not advisable on a regular basis.

 

 

 

The other main benefit is that they are curved, and sit nicely on my curved roof.

 

And rasing them 1cm with a curve is not noticeable and much better than them raised 10cm at each side with the thikness/mounts/curve.

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15 minutes ago, Dockeroo said:

And rasing them 1cm with a curve is not noticeable and much better than them raised 10cm at each side with the thikness/mounts/curve.

 

Having to stand 4" high at the sides sounds  a lot to me, your roof must have a very high curve. My rigids stood about less than 1" high at the sides but admittedly they were narrowish panels to give a small walk way and rope lay either side.

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19 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Having to stand 4" high at the sides sounds  a lot to me, your roof must have a very high curve. My rigids stood about less than 1" high at the sides but admittedly they were narrowish panels to give a small walk way and rope lay either side.

Not a great curve, but even mounted flat they are about 8cm, standard frame is 4cm then the mounts

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21 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Having to stand 4" high at the sides sounds  a lot to me, your roof must have a very high curve. My rigids stood about less than 1" high at the sides but admittedly they were narrowish panels to give a small walk way and rope lay either side.

Mine sit on the roof on 4 rubber door stops, not even fixed down and survived all the gales for the past 6 or 7 years

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8 minutes ago, Dockeroo said:

Not a great curve, but even mounted flat they are about 8cm, standard frame is 4cm then the mounts

 

The depth of the frame on mine was about 25mm so standing about 50mm to the top of the frame at the side and maybe 30mm in the centre. Would the ones you looked at be house type panels, I would exepct them to have a deeper frame for the more exposed position.

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14 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

The depth of the frame on mine was about 25mm so standing about 50mm to the top of the frame at the side and maybe 30mm in the centre. Would the ones you looked at be house type panels, I would exepct them to have a deeper frame for the more exposed position.

Thats a nice slim profile, still stick out too much for my ocd though 😅 I find they ruin the look of my boat.

I ordered 2 different sets, 100w panels, 1 set was 4cm, sent them back, 1 set was 3cm.

Then I decided I wanted to sacrifice efficiently for looks as they were very ugly, and also hard to mount sideways over a curve. 

One of the other main reasons I didnt mention was because I was worried about leaving the boat moored along the canal toqpath for weeks at a time (leasure mot livevoard)

 

I think flexible silicone stuck solar panels are less obvious to a potential theif and actually harder to get off without damaging them, all you need is an angle grinder and a minute.

Edited by Dockeroo
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1 minute ago, Dockeroo said:

Thats a nice slim profile, still stick out too much for my ocd though 😅 I find they ruin the look of my boat.

I ordered 2 different sets, 100w panels, 1 set was 4cm, sent them back, 1 set was 3cm.

Then I decided I wanted to sacrifice efficiently for looks as they were very ugly, and also hard to mount sideways over a curve. 

Fair enough, not a decision I would have come to because electricity is valuable but if looks matter it is understandable.

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15 hours ago, XLD said:

Leave an air gap if you are going to use Sikaflex “all the way round” otherwise the trapped air under the panel will bubble up on hot days and the cells will fail.

If you use Sikaflex all the way round except for an air gap the trapped air under the panel will soon become trapped water, and rust will follow.

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6 minutes ago, David Mack said:

If you use Sikaflex all the way round except for an air gap the trapped air under the panel will soon become trapped water, and rust will follow.

True, been there and witnessed that. How did the water get in? No idea, the seal was still good all round when I took the panel off but luckily it was stuck to vinyl so no blistering paint and rust.

I wonder if one bought rigid panels whether you could shape the bottom to follow the roof curve, they would still be pretty rigid once attached to the roof in my mind's eye. Would depend on just how curved your roof is - mine is fairly shallow.

Edited by Slow and Steady
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