@M1ST3RHYDE I got it on Ebay, but I started using the EVA later because it was cheaper and easier to use. I have a video on here of a home made vacuum oven made from foil faced foam board showing how to melt the EVA . Just look thru the rest of my uploads. It cost almost as much to make a panel now as you can buy them for though.
@shartne I was getting it from a local steel supplier but they no longer sell to the public. The last stuff I got was from Speedy Metals. But you should email them for a price quote.The price on the aluminum angle iron is way different from one place to the next. I was getting 50 ft from the steel supplier for about $65. Everyone else is more than double that.
@studioJAC64 I'm probably all done making panels, the price is getting low enough on commercial ones now that it costs just as much to make them yourself. The bubbles only seem to be a cosmetic issue as far as output goes. I have 4 enphase inverters on my garage mounted panels and they are all almost exactly the same wattage.The one with the most bubbles actually puts out the most. :-)
@shartne 37 volts It works fine and seems to be holding up to the weather just fine also. Only thing I've noticed the aluminum frame is getting a coating on it. So maybe I should paint or clear coat the frames after the panel is done. The new panels I made are all larger . 72 and 60 cell panels.
wiboater I see that your having problems with air bubbles and you probably have found a fix. Just incase you haven't, I would try to use something that would vibrate the panels as they set up. Wouldn't have to be anything expensive just something to work out the air as it sets. Great stuff your doing .
@crazydriver88934 The glass is tempered glass. As far as I know store bought are glass but they are made with glass that has no iron in it.It doesn't have the greenish ting at the edge like regular glass. It's called white glass, It's expensive to buy.
I got the aluminum from a steel supplier. 50 ft. for $56. at that time, Now it's up to $65. for 50 ft. Glass came from old storm doors. I cut the aluminum in a radial arm saw with a carbide blade.
Huge sale! 4 days only. DIY solar panel kit $99. PV frames $39. Solar panels $129. Make your own solar panels and find all your diy solar products at solar-deals(.)com.
Ive tried two methods the first I poured the slyguard on the glass and then applied the cells which ended up looking like yours with the air bubbles. The second method I use now is to set the completed series of cells on to a 1/4 inch abs plastic sheet. Then I slowly pour over the slyguard and finish it off with a paint brush to evenly distribute the slyguard. After a couple days at room temp the panel is ready to enclose.
what meterial have you used between the galss and the solar cell. also at the of the solar cell. Have you tried to use vacuum to get red of this air bubbles.see this video in youtube "Vacuum laminated solar panel"
very nice module. I made mine out of the same stuff except the solar cells. I had soma air bubbles like yours does bus a few less. were did you get your cells? I'm wanting to make my next module with mono-crystalline solar cells but I'd pay 2times the price.
@wiboater4 were did you get the solar cells? I'm going to buy 72 for about $150-$190 but if I can get a better price then it will go to my solar tracker fund. I think I'm going to start posting vids of this stuff.
@redstrike88 just search for Everbright solar. On Ebay or google it. they have a website also. If you notice the more you buy the cheaper they get. They send extra cells to cover some breakage when your putting them together.
This panel has 1/4 inch tempered glass. It really makes a nice rigid panel. The other panels I built using 1/8 inch storm door glass. There is some flex to them but they are also bigger 75 inch by 34 inch. I tested all my panels ant this one put out less wattage than the others. That might be because ot the thicker glass since there is a slight tint from iron in the glass.
remember to look for Armadillo Liners web page , they have some items that will help covering the cells too . Not sure if it will work tho. Will test it soon. Also sylgard sell other products that might help too and the price is nice, so look around b4 trowing your money away.
well done , dont worry about few bubbles. Mark has a video showing how he do his panels and he use a table with a hole in it with the size of the glass that way you can go under the table and check for bubbles. sharp looking solar panel anyways.
@joerond Yeah, Mark's video is great. That's where I copied mine from. I used bottles of water for weights on mine but still get bubbles that won't work their way out.
i think their is a cheaper and better way to do this gcdrummer02 has video of how he put his solar panel together you might want to check it out just an idea
@iwantosavemoney It would probably be a little cheaper but I am not sure if the laminate he uses would burn. I've been getting the tempered glass pretty cheap. So that's not much cost for me. Plate glass might break to easily. With the time and money I have in the cells I wanted to make sure they would last a long time and be as safe as possible. I had seen some pictures of some that burned up. Thanks for the suggestion though I had seen his video of the laminating.
@iwantosavemoney I did mine on a table and just pulled it apart where the extra leafs go to look at it but I still couldn't get the bubbles to migrate out to the top. I tried sitting plastic bottles filled with water on each cell to weight them down last time but still got some. I did use some wax paper so the bottles wouldn't stick.
I have 3 of them now and 2 are doubles (72 cells each) I get 11 to 12 amps out of them all together at full sunlight around 12:00 oclock. I will try and post some more video when I get time. I am using an MPPT controller. The 12 amps is into the battery bank.
I have 3 of them now and 2 are doubles (72 cells each) I get 11 to 12 amps out of them all together at full sunlight around 12:00 oclock. I will try and post some more video when I get time. I am using an MPPT controller.
Please post a video, with the panel that you already made in action (using Volt/Amp meters), and see how it performs. I am starting the same project and I want to see your panel in action. Better to test your panel is putting some loads.
@davettalashley I was thinking of pouring some slygard in first next time, but that isn't going to work since I need the silicone perimeter around the edge hardened to contain the slygard once it's poured. I think maybe wraping the wax paper around the boards and weighting them sooner so the air has more room to escape. instead of completely covering the whole back side with wax paper.
@davettalashley I tried that a little when I first poured the slygard but didn't want to take a chance on really getting it hot because I was afraid of shattering the tempered glass.Some of the bubbles improved after it was outside but there are still some air bubbles. I had one small spot on the edge where the slygard never hardened for some reason.
I will eventually be taking that wax paper off the back because it would be flameable. I would like to have something back there just for looks . The regular Tedlar is to expensive so I need to find something else.
I would not have guessed that was a home made panel. Nice job. How many watts, about 100? So you made a panel for about $1.50 a watt, that's pretty good.
@sjh7132 Actually it comes to about $2.02 per watt if you figure 92 watts for the panel. But the next ones will be cheaper to build because I'm saving $33. on the cost of the glass. So they will only cost me $1.66 per watt. For me to buy two 195 watt panels at $1.82 per watt and then count shipping would cost me $2.35 per watt. So on 6 panels I'd save about $390.00 The tempered glass and the Slygard 184 are the two things that really add to the cost of building it.
I have to tell you that this is one of the best looking DIY panels I have seen.it looks like a store bought.Great job.How are the VAWTs working out.I hope the panel works out great for you.TAKE CARE.keep up the great work
@michael970 Yeah, I'm pretty happy about the way it looks for my first try. I'm still working on getting the Vawts to put out some decent amperage. Have a gear ratio on one now but it is only 2 to 1 and needs to be higher. maybe 4 to 1 or 6 to 1. The solar panels are more cost effective but don't work at night.
Yeh, I looked at building my own panels but changed my mind real quick when I got a quote for the anti-reflective, tempered glass and added the cost of the two-pack encapsulant. You really can't compete with $2.50 (or less) per watt for the chinese panels.
@sparktastic1 If you have a lot of free time and can get the glass used cheap it's not to bad, you do save some money. you have to build it to last though or your just wasting your money.
Don't forget to keep your eye on Harbor Freight. They sometimes drop the price of their 45 watt system to $170. They did that last week, but this week it's back to $250. Still, not too bad of a deal.
@wiboater4 I don't exactly disagree with you, but plenty of people don't have the time, skills, tools, place, or space to build their own panels. If you only count your time into the mix, not to mention all the other things I mentioned, the Harbor freight deal is (maybe not the absolute best deal on the internet) still ok.
@jwwm2 Check out Sunelec.com and you'll see kind of what I meant. They have some panels as low as $1.45 per watt. So you'd get that same 45 watts for $66.00 before shipping charges. But you do have to buy at least 2 panels and shipping isn't cheap. If you have a harbor freight store near you then no shipping charge and I think you get a cheap invertier with theirs too.
@jwwm2 Don't buy Harbor Freight stuff. Its junk. I learned my lesson through buying 2 of their 45 watt kits. I have watched the amorphouse chinese made panels degrade to a meesly 5 watts apiece. Their 90 watt rated panel is not churning out 30 watts total and it seems to still be degrading. You get what you pay for and I wanted to warn ya. The DIY panels are a much better deal.
Is it not that the main drawback to air bubbles that it reduces output so
much as over time the air will corrode the solar cells?
fatmanplaying 1 month ago
@fatmanplaying I'm not sure on that, I think because there doesn't seem to be any moisture in mine that won't be a problem.
wiboater4 1 month ago
Where did you find that much Sylgard 184 for that price? I got .5kg for $60 but I need alot more than that. thanks for any help.
M1ST3RHYDE 3 months ago
@M1ST3RHYDE I got it on Ebay, but I started using the EVA later because it was cheaper and easier to use. I have a video on here of a home made vacuum oven made from foil faced foam board showing how to melt the EVA . Just look thru the rest of my uploads. It cost almost as much to make a panel now as you can buy them for though.
wiboater4 3 months ago
where did you buy your aluminum?
shartne 3 months ago
@shartne I was getting it from a local steel supplier but they no longer sell to the public. The last stuff I got was from Speedy Metals. But you should email them for a price quote.The price on the aluminum angle iron is way different from one place to the next. I was getting 50 ft from the steel supplier for about $65. Everyone else is more than double that.
wiboater4 3 months ago
Awesome job for a first attempt. Looks great for a first attempt. The bubble technique will get better after time. Great Job!
studioJAC64 4 months ago
@studioJAC64 I'm probably all done making panels, the price is getting low enough on commercial ones now that it costs just as much to make them yourself. The bubbles only seem to be a cosmetic issue as far as output goes. I have 4 enphase inverters on my garage mounted panels and they are all almost exactly the same wattage.The one with the most bubbles actually puts out the most. :-)
wiboater4 4 months ago
Looks like a pretty good panel. How does it work?
shartne 6 months ago
@shartne 37 volts It works fine and seems to be holding up to the weather just fine also. Only thing I've noticed the aluminum frame is getting a coating on it. So maybe I should paint or clear coat the frames after the panel is done. The new panels I made are all larger . 72 and 60 cell panels.
wiboater4 6 months ago
wiboater I see that your having problems with air bubbles and you probably have found a fix. Just incase you haven't, I would try to use something that would vibrate the panels as they set up. Wouldn't have to be anything expensive just something to work out the air as it sets. Great stuff your doing .
cptlarry 7 months ago
what about hail are store bought panels made from glass too?
crazydriver88934 8 months ago
@crazydriver88934 The glass is tempered glass. As far as I know store bought are glass but they are made with glass that has no iron in it.It doesn't have the greenish ting at the edge like regular glass. It's called white glass, It's expensive to buy.
wiboater4 8 months ago
what about hail are store bought panels made from glass too?
crazydriver88934 8 months ago
I got the aluminum from a steel supplier. 50 ft. for $56. at that time, Now it's up to $65. for 50 ft. Glass came from old storm doors. I cut the aluminum in a radial arm saw with a carbide blade.
wiboater4 9 months ago
I got the aluminum from a steel supplier. 50 ft. for $56. at that time, Now it's up to $65. for 50 ft. Glass came from old storm doors.
wiboater4 9 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Huge sale! 4 days only. DIY solar panel kit $99. PV frames $39. Solar panels $129. Make your own solar panels and find all your diy solar products at solar-deals(.)com.
SolarXpert 1 year ago
nice i been buying panels off ebay.. never tried to make one been thinking about it.. mabe after i finish my last solar heater.
BrainEatingZomb1e 1 year ago
Ive tried two methods the first I poured the slyguard on the glass and then applied the cells which ended up looking like yours with the air bubbles. The second method I use now is to set the completed series of cells on to a 1/4 inch abs plastic sheet. Then I slowly pour over the slyguard and finish it off with a paint brush to evenly distribute the slyguard. After a couple days at room temp the panel is ready to enclose.
0lookouthollywood0 1 year ago
what meterial have you used between the galss and the solar cell. also at the of the solar cell. Have you tried to use vacuum to get red of this air bubbles.see this video in youtube "Vacuum laminated solar panel"
fje04 1 year ago
very nice module. I made mine out of the same stuff except the solar cells. I had soma air bubbles like yours does bus a few less. were did you get your cells? I'm wanting to make my next module with mono-crystalline solar cells but I'd pay 2times the price.
redstrike88 1 year ago
@redstrike88 I got the 5 X 5 cells on Ebay from Everbright solar. It was a kit includes the tabbing wire, bus wire and flux.
wiboater4 1 year ago
@wiboater4 were did you get the solar cells? I'm going to buy 72 for about $150-$190 but if I can get a better price then it will go to my solar tracker fund. I think I'm going to start posting vids of this stuff.
redstrike88 1 year ago
@redstrike88 just search for Everbright solar. On Ebay or google it. they have a website also. If you notice the more you buy the cheaper they get. They send extra cells to cover some breakage when your putting them together.
wiboater4 1 year ago
Great job !!!! panel looks very professional :)
peeinginthewind 1 year ago
This panel has 1/4 inch tempered glass. It really makes a nice rigid panel. The other panels I built using 1/8 inch storm door glass. There is some flex to them but they are also bigger 75 inch by 34 inch. I tested all my panels ant this one put out less wattage than the others. That might be because ot the thicker glass since there is a slight tint from iron in the glass.
wiboater4 1 year ago
remember to look for Armadillo Liners web page , they have some items that will help covering the cells too . Not sure if it will work tho. Will test it soon. Also sylgard sell other products that might help too and the price is nice, so look around b4 trowing your money away.
joerond 1 year ago
If that sealent is a liquid, you need to vacuum bag it so that it draws out all the air bubbles.
Berkut13 1 year ago
@Berkut13 wouldn't the sylgard wreck the vacuum bag? I suppose it would peel off since it is silicone. Do they make them 3ft X 6 ft.?
wiboater4 1 year ago
@Berkut13 great idea , will keep it in mind for when ever i do my solar panels , thanks
joerond 1 year ago
well done , dont worry about few bubbles. Mark has a video showing how he do his panels and he use a table with a hole in it with the size of the glass that way you can go under the table and check for bubbles. sharp looking solar panel anyways.
joerond 1 year ago
@joerond Yeah, Mark's video is great. That's where I copied mine from. I used bottles of water for weights on mine but still get bubbles that won't work their way out.
wiboater4 1 year ago
i think their is a cheaper and better way to do this gcdrummer02 has video of how he put his solar panel together you might want to check it out just an idea
the cheap guy
iwantosavemoney 1 year ago
@iwantosavemoney It would probably be a little cheaper but I am not sure if the laminate he uses would burn. I've been getting the tempered glass pretty cheap. So that's not much cost for me. Plate glass might break to easily. With the time and money I have in the cells I wanted to make sure they would last a long time and be as safe as possible. I had seen some pictures of some that burned up. Thanks for the suggestion though I had seen his video of the laminating.
wiboater4 1 year ago
@iwantosavemoney I did mine on a table and just pulled it apart where the extra leafs go to look at it but I still couldn't get the bubbles to migrate out to the top. I tried sitting plastic bottles filled with water on each cell to weight them down last time but still got some. I did use some wax paper so the bottles wouldn't stick.
wiboater4 1 year ago
I have 3 of them now and 2 are doubles (72 cells each) I get 11 to 12 amps out of them all together at full sunlight around 12:00 oclock. I will try and post some more video when I get time. I am using an MPPT controller. The 12 amps is into the battery bank.
wiboater4 1 year ago
I have 3 of them now and 2 are doubles (72 cells each) I get 11 to 12 amps out of them all together at full sunlight around 12:00 oclock. I will try and post some more video when I get time. I am using an MPPT controller.
wiboater4 1 year ago
Hello there. Nice panel by the way.
Please post a video, with the panel that you already made in action (using Volt/Amp meters), and see how it performs. I am starting the same project and I want to see your panel in action. Better to test your panel is putting some loads.
thanks!
papakeys 1 year ago
@davettalashley I was thinking of pouring some slygard in first next time, but that isn't going to work since I need the silicone perimeter around the edge hardened to contain the slygard once it's poured. I think maybe wraping the wax paper around the boards and weighting them sooner so the air has more room to escape. instead of completely covering the whole back side with wax paper.
wiboater4 1 year ago
@davettalashley I tried that a little when I first poured the slygard but didn't want to take a chance on really getting it hot because I was afraid of shattering the tempered glass.Some of the bubbles improved after it was outside but there are still some air bubbles. I had one small spot on the edge where the slygard never hardened for some reason.
wiboater4 1 year ago
I will eventually be taking that wax paper off the back because it would be flameable. I would like to have something back there just for looks . The regular Tedlar is to expensive so I need to find something else.
wiboater4 1 year ago
I would not have guessed that was a home made panel. Nice job. How many watts, about 100? So you made a panel for about $1.50 a watt, that's pretty good.
sjh7132 1 year ago
@sjh7132 Actually it comes to about $2.02 per watt if you figure 92 watts for the panel. But the next ones will be cheaper to build because I'm saving $33. on the cost of the glass. So they will only cost me $1.66 per watt. For me to buy two 195 watt panels at $1.82 per watt and then count shipping would cost me $2.35 per watt. So on 6 panels I'd save about $390.00 The tempered glass and the Slygard 184 are the two things that really add to the cost of building it.
wiboater4 1 year ago
I have to tell you that this is one of the best looking DIY panels I have seen.it looks like a store bought.Great job.How are the VAWTs working out.I hope the panel works out great for you.TAKE CARE.keep up the great work
michael970 1 year ago
@michael970 Yeah, I'm pretty happy about the way it looks for my first try. I'm still working on getting the Vawts to put out some decent amperage. Have a gear ratio on one now but it is only 2 to 1 and needs to be higher. maybe 4 to 1 or 6 to 1. The solar panels are more cost effective but don't work at night.
wiboater4 1 year ago
Yeh, I looked at building my own panels but changed my mind real quick when I got a quote for the anti-reflective, tempered glass and added the cost of the two-pack encapsulant. You really can't compete with $2.50 (or less) per watt for the chinese panels.
sparktastic1 1 year ago
@sparktastic1 If you have a lot of free time and can get the glass used cheap it's not to bad, you do save some money. you have to build it to last though or your just wasting your money.
wiboater4 1 year ago
Don't forget to keep your eye on Harbor Freight. They sometimes drop the price of their 45 watt system to $170. They did that last week, but this week it's back to $250. Still, not too bad of a deal.
jwwm2 1 year ago
@jwwm2 That's $3.77 a watt. at the $170 price That's really not a good deal.
wiboater4 1 year ago
@wiboater4 I don't exactly disagree with you, but plenty of people don't have the time, skills, tools, place, or space to build their own panels. If you only count your time into the mix, not to mention all the other things I mentioned, the Harbor freight deal is (maybe not the absolute best deal on the internet) still ok.
jwwm2 1 year ago
@jwwm2 Check out Sunelec.com and you'll see kind of what I meant. They have some panels as low as $1.45 per watt. So you'd get that same 45 watts for $66.00 before shipping charges. But you do have to buy at least 2 panels and shipping isn't cheap. If you have a harbor freight store near you then no shipping charge and I think you get a cheap invertier with theirs too.
wiboater4 1 year ago
@jwwm2 Don't buy Harbor Freight stuff. Its junk. I learned my lesson through buying 2 of their 45 watt kits. I have watched the amorphouse chinese made panels degrade to a meesly 5 watts apiece. Their 90 watt rated panel is not churning out 30 watts total and it seems to still be degrading. You get what you pay for and I wanted to warn ya. The DIY panels are a much better deal.
Shadow69Steel 1 year ago
Comment removed
Shadow69Steel 1 year ago
some of the air bubbles got smaller or disappeared later on during the day.
wiboater4 1 year ago