Broken Glass Of Solar Panel

[bargemast]

Today probably wasn't not the best day for me as I discovered that one (or several) scrote(s) managed to break the glass, looking like several spider webs, of 1 of my 250 W solar panels.

 

Would it be possible to make a repair to the panel with something like a thin layer of plexiglass, or whatever else, or is it better to dump it ?

 

Dumping it would be very hard as it's only 3 mth old, and it's not covered by my insurance.

 

Thanks in advance for any good ideas.

 

Peter.

[cuthound]

Firstly I would check to see if they still work. On a sunny day like today how many amps is it putting into your batteries? If similar to before the damage, then I would consider covering with something clear preferably glass as it is unaffected by UV.

[b0atman]

Alternative is lexan

well slightly would magnifying glass increase the solar power ?

[Ally]

We had one delivered that was shattered. It was immediately replaced, but a friend had the shattered one for his boat. We had it covered with half a sealed unit by a friendly local double glazing firm. He gets approx 1/2 to 2/3 solar from it against a perfect one the same.

It was a laminated panel, so would still have been watertight, but this looks better and protects the crackles from getting ingrained dirt and thus further reducing the power available.

[onionbargee]

I think your mistaken, a loose brick fell off a bridge and smashed it. One owned by CRT. A shocking piece of negligence !

[bag 'o' bones]

I assume its one of those encapsulated units where each layer is bonded to the next?

 

If so, even if the panel still works moisture might eventually get in and destroy the circuitry.

 

Could try encapsulating the damage layer using a piece of picture frame glass perhaps?

[MtB]

I think your mistaken, a loose brick fell off a bridge and smashed it. One owned by CRT. A shocking piece of negligence !

 

 

Encouraging fraud.

 

Disgraceful.

[bargemast]

Thanks for your suggestions so far.

 

To give you a better idea of the seriousness of the damage, see the picture.

 

I can't look at it myself without tears in my eyes.

 

 

Peter.

Edited June 16, 2015 by bargemast

[DHutch]

Bastards.

 

I know nothing about how these pannels are made, or can be repaired. But as above, I think if I was going to do anything it would be to bond something suitably clear and durable over the damaged area or the whole pannel with a suitable clear+durable adhesive.

 

The enemy I expect will be keeping water out, and the patch becoming damaged via UV or scratching if not up to the required spec.

 

 

Daniel

[ditchcrawler]

Would the clear flexible sheet they use to stop glass shattering do it, something like this http://activewindowfilms.co.uk/safety/84-safety-security-window-film-clear-glass-protection-anti-shatter-uv-rejection-sticky-back-175-micron.html

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Safety-Security-Window-Film-Clear-Glass-Protection-Anti-Shatter-76cm-x-2m-/161600067386

[DHutch]

I expect you could do a very lot worse.

 

 

Daniel

[bargemast]

Would the clear flexible sheet they use to stop glass shattering do it, something like this http://activewindowfilms.co.uk/safety/84-safety-security-window-film-clear-glass-protection-anti-shatter-uv-rejection-sticky-back-175-micron.html

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Safety-Security-Window-Film-Clear-Glass-Protection-Anti-Shatter-76cm-x-2m-/161600067386

 

Hi ditchcrawler, thank you very much for these links, that stuff looks very good but probably more as a preventive means than for repairs (bodge) as you have to sray a liquid on the glass which wouldn't do the solar connections that are exposed now not much good.

 

Also you have to press them onto the glas with a sort of plastic scraper to remove air bubbles, and that would damage the plastic sheet as there are many sharp edges on the glass as it is now.

 

I also asked a glass place (Ally's suggestion, thanks for that too Ally) if they could provide me with a new sheet of glass to cover the mess, but they're not interested as they say it will never be a satisfying repair, and it will cost quite a lot anyway.

 

So from that point of view your plastic sheet would be a better (much cheaper) option, I'm hoping that I can sell some gear to get the money to pay for a new panel, and bite the bullet, as that's probably the only real solution in the long(er) run.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter.

[tree monkey]

BSP of this parish bought a damaged solar panel and used some sort of resin to paint over the surface, it filled in the cracks and dried clear.

although there was a slight haze after it worked remarkably well.

I will point her in the direction of this thread

[BlueStringPudding]

Hello. Just got Monkey's message. Yes, a few years ago I saw a bargain solar panel on ebay which had crazy paved glass on it. Still chucked out a good 50v or so. So I did some research online and read about someone who'd successfully sealed theirs and prevented any glass pieces from dropping out.

 

So I used what he used which is a one part, air drying, clear car lacquer. Brush on rather than spray so it goes into the cracks in the glass and seals them. Goes on very thin so easy to apply. Needs quite a few layers - I did 6 or 7.

 

The fumes are spectacular though, so be warned! I applied it in my studio inside the boat to ensure it remained clean and dry between coats. I hadn't realised how strong the fumes were even with the doors and windows open and the dividing door to the bedroom closed. Next day I was drunk and falling over and headachey from the fumes!

 

It remained inside the boat for a number of days even though the lacquer was dry, till I next had a weekend to work on it. When Monkey turned up the next weekend he was knocked back by the fumes as soon as he opened the door! I wasn't even able to smell it by then so I hate to think what I'd done to myself with it!

 

Anyway - the lacquer worked well. The panel chucked out around 48v so hadn't lost much. And of course it was now waterproof. Used it like that for a few years. Only changed it when I wanted to increase the bank of panels but I couldn't get additional panels of the same voltage - otherwise I'd still be using it now.

 

I'll try and find a link to the sort of lacquer I used...

 

Edited to add: can't seem to find it online but if anyone knows about car paints you can probably find the stuff.

Edited June 17, 2015 by BlueStringPudding

[bargemast]

Hi BSP and tree monkey, thank you very much for this suggestion, that's sounds like being worth giving it a try,if it worked for you it may work for me too.

 

I'll try to find a place that can supply me with some of this clear car lacquer.

 

If I can get some of this stuff, I'll do the work outside with plenty of fresh air around me, the panel is too big to bring it inside my boat anyway (164 x 99 )

 

Cheers,

 

Peter.

[cuthound]

What about using a car windscreen repair kit? Might take a while though with all of your cracks.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005I4ZBXE/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=569136327&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B005J3ZG1Q&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=16RS53P636Y6D45RYWT1

[Beaker]

 

well slightly would magnifying glass increase the solar power ?

 

No.

[Neil Smith]

What about fibreglass resin, its 2 pack so goes really hard and would only need one coat as its thick and dries clear.

 

Neil

[bargemast]

What about using a car windscreen repair kit? Might take a while though with all of your cracks.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005I4ZBXE/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=569136327&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B005J3ZG1Q&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=16RS53P636Y6D45RYWT1

 

A kit like this one would be perfect if it was only a smaller impact, but in my case I would most likely need too many of these kits to do the repair (bodge) and that it would cost almost as much as a new panel, but without ever being as good as a new panel.

 

Thanks for this suggestion anyway, much appreciated.

 

Peter.

[bargemast]

What about fibreglass resin, its 2 pack so goes really hard and would only need one coat as its thick and dries clear.

 

Neil

 

I was talking to someone yesterday who had done a much smaller bodge with epoxy resin on a solar panel, he said his repair didn't last very long, maybe due to the constantly changing temperature, or it could be that he didn't use the proper mixture, although he told me that he tried this method as he worked quite a lot with epoxy resin.

 

Peter.

[MtB]

I bet the stuff Puds used to fix hers was high build cellulose car wheel lacquer, such as this:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-Lt-Cellulose-Wheel-Silver-Hi-Build-Car-Paint-Ready-For-Use-Celly-/331584538685?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4d33fa883d

 

 

MtB

[bizzard]

Yes Peter I reckon MTB's clear lacquer should do it. Either cellulose or clear Japanese lacquer, preferably sprayed on. Super glue brushed over it would probably also do it, but the amount needed would be expensive. I restore antique toys now and then and when I have an old diecast Mazzac toy that is crazed and crumbling away I paint the inside with super glue which fills all the crazy cracks and reinforces the whole thing, makes it all nice and strong and playworthy again.

Or what about stretching cling film over it.

Edited June 18, 2015 by bizzard

[bargemast]

Hi Mike, thanks for this link, that could have been the sort of stuff BSP used with success.

 

bizzard, I think you're right about the probability of the too high cost using super glue because of the fairly huge amount I would need.

 

The cling film would be perfect price wise for my available budget, but I'm afraid that it wouldn't last very long, and I don't fancy having to redo the cling film every other day, apart from that it's not a bad idea.

 

Peter.

[BlueStringPudding]

Trouble with spray is I'm not sure it would get into all the cracks nor would it necessarily prevent any chippings of glass becoming loose. My brush on stuff was definitely effective and fairly cheap. I used the leftover to varnish some of my roses and castles paintings I'd done too. Great stuff. Mine came in a metal bottle - dunno if that suggests anything about what it was made of.

[MtB]

Trouble with spray is I'm not sure it would get into all the cracks nor would it necessarily prevent any chippings of glass becoming loose. My brush on stuff was definitely effective and fairly cheap. I used the leftover to varnish some of my roses and castles paintings I'd done too. Great stuff. Mine came in a metal bottle - dunno if that suggests anything about what it was made of.

 

No reason not to brush on the stuff I linked to.

 

The metal bottle suggests you had something different though, I agree...

Metal bottle = tin?