@shartne Well, it didn't last. One of the cells broke in the high heat and that broke the connection. In the process of opening it up and trying to fix it more cells broke so I junked it. You are the expert now my friend! Carry on! Thanks for the comment. I enjoy your videos.
I have most of the materials and held out on the glass and encapsulation method so far. I must see a non Slyguard/EVA system out in the weather for months before Ii commit to that version. How's it going so far and how much weather has this been exposed to? Also did you measure the VxA at the beginning to compare with after being outside for a few months?
@koolb2112 It has held up just fine but I expect the glass to break eventually due to hail. I would also use 10 AWG wire if I were to do it again as I have seen 8A spikes. The FRP also gets very hot since it is thick vs a thin backing such as tedlar or eva. That heat severely reduces watts. I now can get commercial panels delivered for about $1.75/w so DIY is hard to justify.
Did you do your soldering with the cells layed face down on the glass then glue the FRP on? Biggest problem I had was being careful not to break cells when moving them around. Are those 3 X 6 cells a little thicker than the 5 X 5 s?
@wiboater4 No, I soldered a string of 10 cells firstt, then laid them on top of the FRP after applying a small dab of silicon on the FRP in the center of where each cell would go. I just used a 6" x 36" piece of cardboard to carefully transport each string to the FRP.
It Looks great but i really wanted to see how you did the EVA vapor barrier thats where i am on the line whether to use Sly guard Liquid Silicon or Eva Laminate as a vapor barrier for the cells because as nice as that looks it will get condensation inside it and subsequently malfunction please keep us posted and see if ya missed a video
@ormonddude The EVA with shipping is almost the same price as the syl gard. The sylgard 184 is probably easier to use but I did have air bubbles when I did mine but I used 5 X 5 cells . weight the cells with plastic water bottles or soda cans filled with water til the sylgard is cured.
It Looks great but i really wanted to see how you did the EVA vapor barrier thats where i am on the line whether to use Slyguard Liquid Silicon or Eva Laminate as a vapor barrier for the cells because as nice as that looks it will get condensation inside it and subsequently malfunction please keep us posted and see if ya missed a video
I like how straight the cells are. You never showed how you soldered them. I'm wondering how you soldered the bus wire and didn't melt the frp. Very nice looking job!
@MrHorsetail This is me, Fearless, using another account as I am out of town for a week. I built the 10-cell strings using a straight-edge clamped to a spare piece of glass as a guide. I then moved the strings to the FRP for gluing. As mentioned, I made light pencil mark guides on the FRP so that the positioning would be spot-on. Just measure it all out first.
wow you did a great job on that how is it doing still. You should make a bunch of those.
shartne 8 months ago
@shartne Well, it didn't last. One of the cells broke in the high heat and that broke the connection. In the process of opening it up and trying to fix it more cells broke so I junked it. You are the expert now my friend! Carry on! Thanks for the comment. I enjoy your videos.
Fearlessthinker 8 months ago
I have most of the materials and held out on the glass and encapsulation method so far. I must see a non Slyguard/EVA system out in the weather for months before Ii commit to that version. How's it going so far and how much weather has this been exposed to? Also did you measure the VxA at the beginning to compare with after being outside for a few months?
koolb2112 1 year ago
@koolb2112 It has held up just fine but I expect the glass to break eventually due to hail. I would also use 10 AWG wire if I were to do it again as I have seen 8A spikes. The FRP also gets very hot since it is thick vs a thin backing such as tedlar or eva. That heat severely reduces watts. I now can get commercial panels delivered for about $1.75/w so DIY is hard to justify.
Fearlessthinker 1 year ago
That is a nice looking panel.
wiboater4 1 year ago
@wiboater4 Thanks.
Fearlessthinker 1 year ago
Did you do your soldering with the cells layed face down on the glass then glue the FRP on? Biggest problem I had was being careful not to break cells when moving them around. Are those 3 X 6 cells a little thicker than the 5 X 5 s?
wiboater4 1 year ago
@wiboater4 No, I soldered a string of 10 cells firstt, then laid them on top of the FRP after applying a small dab of silicon on the FRP in the center of where each cell would go. I just used a 6" x 36" piece of cardboard to carefully transport each string to the FRP.
Fearlessthinker 1 year ago
It Looks great but i really wanted to see how you did the EVA vapor barrier thats where i am on the line whether to use Sly guard Liquid Silicon or Eva Laminate as a vapor barrier for the cells because as nice as that looks it will get condensation inside it and subsequently malfunction please keep us posted and see if ya missed a video
ormonddude 1 year ago
@ormonddude The EVA with shipping is almost the same price as the syl gard. The sylgard 184 is probably easier to use but I did have air bubbles when I did mine but I used 5 X 5 cells . weight the cells with plastic water bottles or soda cans filled with water til the sylgard is cured.
wiboater4 1 year ago
It Looks great but i really wanted to see how you did the EVA vapor barrier thats where i am on the line whether to use Slyguard Liquid Silicon or Eva Laminate as a vapor barrier for the cells because as nice as that looks it will get condensation inside it and subsequently malfunction please keep us posted and see if ya missed a video
ormonddude 1 year ago
@ormonddude Per part 1 the EVA or Sylgard is too expensive so I went with a silicon sealed cavity with minimim air instead. So far so good!
Fearlessthinker 1 year ago
I like how straight the cells are. You never showed how you soldered them. I'm wondering how you soldered the bus wire and didn't melt the frp. Very nice looking job!
MrHorsetail 1 year ago
@MrHorsetail This is me, Fearless, using another account as I am out of town for a week. I built the 10-cell strings using a straight-edge clamped to a spare piece of glass as a guide. I then moved the strings to the FRP for gluing. As mentioned, I made light pencil mark guides on the FRP so that the positioning would be spot-on. Just measure it all out first.
Schweizer135 1 year ago
It came out nice, you will have to put it in the sun for a day and see what happens.
VWRabbitdiesel 1 year ago
Excellent job. Well design and quite professional. I bet you'll get good longevity out of the it.
wtam69 1 year ago