How to build a Solar Panel from Solar Cells DIY Part 3

[umiryuzaki90]

What do you do after you finish building the solar panel what do you hook the wires too? Inverters?

[msungs]

I unfortunately lost you with how you connected the solar panels in series. At the end of video two you have connected two rows together. How did you connect the third row. That was important to me. Can you please explain how you did that. Did you put sealant over the tabs?

[JohnSmith18989]

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To save money you have to build your own Solar Panels.....

To know how...Jus t go to Google and give a search for...

"Top DIY Solar Panels"

Remember to click the First Result (Skip The Advertisements)

[thra5herxb12s]

@JohnSmith18989 In the UK we can get 80w solar panels on ebay for around £100 including delivery. US and Canadian import tarrifs put the price right up,the Government should waive tarrifs on goods like this that benefit the country. Solar panels are getting cheaper every year. Making your own might be fun,but they cant beat the durability of a factory produced item that comes with a warranty.Check out my vids on cheap solar panels.

[LivingInTheVortex]

How do you clean the solar cells after tabbing them? I have tabbed about 100 cells and they have finger prints and flux on them. but I am not sure how or if I should clean them before I continue. I see you sell the cells, do you also sell the tabbing, buss wires and flux? Oh ya what about the diode? do I even need one if I am not hooking to battery's but going direct to my well pump? how do I find one and know what kind to get for my panel, the panel will have 60 cells in it.

thanks for the vids

[LOPEZdJUNGLIST]

PROPER JOB

[salemramsey5]

amazing:)

[ilanmordechai]

Great Job! Do you overlap your C channeling on the corners?

[andrewjgify]

Enjoyed your video .Do you have any problems with condensation?

[magprob]

I'd like to thank you for taking the time to school us on building solar panels. Yours look great, and I am ready to tackle it. Thank you.

[magna59]

Great vidi ...... have you found out how they grade the cells ? I presume there is some system like the rings on resister components & the like. Did you have any problems with trapped moisture in the panel, as you generated a bit of a gap ?

Regards Bob

[bhaikhurram1]

hello dear nice work can you tell me the one cell specification how voltage and watts??????

[tattoosk8r]

what about condensation build up inside your glass? You should vacume seal and or epoxy the cells to the glass so no air inside your case.... just a thought

[1990suzuki]

if i use an concealing kit like sylgard 187 do i need to use the silicone or any of that?

Thanks.

[singerray1]

Do you really need glass on the back side? Why can't you use something like plywood?

[dbokelly]

Like so many others.....I would like the info on your solar cell supplier. Your videos are excellent......anxious to make my first panel. Once assembled, how fragile is the complete panel?......transportable/mobi­le for a travel trailer or motor home????

[DJControllerC]

Do u have any problems with the backing warping or bending? I used thick plexi glass on mine and it warped :( :( was following the advice of an ebay manual by livingOffThaGrid

[TheSonOfLibertys1776]

what kind of out put you getting on these panels? im guessing cost on that panel is about 40.00 ..... is the accurate??

[hamodig]

how do you know which is positive and negative when wiring it to the grid ? thanks

[Antizionist4life]

It looks like he is making a delicious cake!! Lol..

[grady1610]

I felt you could have given a better detail of the cell layout - I don't feel I am confident that I can do - is somehthing missing?

[ParapaDrifter]

@ 5:25, that 'icing' you put on the cells, has it dried?

[Hubscrown]

Awesome video. Sleep for the weak. I saw this video at midnight too. Creative men works at midnite.

[Coughtry]

Why not use Epoxy?

[Aws8819]

hey you didn't expalin how you made the + & - come one man that confused me?? in the last video you had only one line in this one you have 2? expalin please

[TheAsylumSound]

i missed the part to connect the cells in series...........i'm kinda missing that in detail

[prettybear765]

i like your video but the excesive use of silcone i wouldnt call beautiful bro that makes a decent panel look kinda amateur there is a much cleaner profesional way to acomplish that

[anglianchannel]

how did you insulate the pos and neg terminals when you installed the c chanel around the edge?

[kaneofdarkness]

I really enjoyed the tutorial, especially the commentary "sleep is for the weak" I've actually just recently ordered my very first 40 polycrystalline solar cells, and as a solar enthusiast in Germany with no experience I'm expecting many complications on the horizon. A mentor would be extremely helpful. Any chance I could possibly troubleshoot some of my questions with you via email? Thx again for the excellent video.

[TheLeenajaved]

i seen your vidios i like it but i want to know what material are used for solar panel and how to conect the tabs. please write me soon. thinks

[Hartloop100]

Hi how do you install this panel can you upload a Video for us and show us how you conect it all up

Top video on making this

[JoshABand]

Ive been working on my solar panels for a while now, and i have seen some videos where people use sylgard to encapsulate their panels. what are your thoughts on this. what thickness of C channel do you use for your panels, and how do you insulate the corners?

[nachdowa1]

These are very nice videos, I got really interested in making some for my house, could you please share me your solar cell supplier. Thanks

[anonku77]

Where do you buy your solar cells. I see some sellers on eBay but would like your input from your experience if you have a buyer you get them from. Thanks.

[mixcatcom]

@anonku77 If you need some shoot me an email I get them around $1.5 per cell like in this video.

All the best,

-Pete

[devinity101]

@mixcatcom what's your email address so I can ask you where you buy these?

[electricsuperduty]

@mixcatcom

Just wondering how the panel looks now, can you give us a look?  Did the air that was trapped in the panel during assembly turn to moisture and turn the cells brown? Thanks.

[forrestmunden]

@mixcatcom Where did you get them for $1.50?



[bmin2709]

@mixcatcom how many volts per cell?

[anonku77]

Where do you buy your solar cells. I see some sellers on ebay but would like your input from your experience if you have a buyer you get them from. Thanks.

[mixcatcom]

@anonku77 If you need some shoot me an email I get them around $1.5 per cell like in this video.

All the best,

-Pete

[Tomatopie0]

What did you use for the negative & positive tabs?

[1smokeNMirrors]

Very good and detail video...thank you. Can you share with me where you purchase you solar cells for $1 - $3? Thanks so much

[mixcatcom]

@1smokeNMirrors If you need some shoot me an email I get them around $1.5 per cell like in this video.

All the best,

-Pete

[soyb7]

What size C-Channel do you use at 9:06?

[shahjee273]

@mixcatcom so where I can buy inexpansive solar cell.Thanks for the inf.

[mixcatcom]

@shahjee273 Shoot me an email I can give you some details.

Thanks,

-Pete

[tradergee1]

Why did you only connect the first 2 collumns with the thicker tag?

[mixcatcom]

@tradergee1 Just the connecting bars I did thicker.. Now I use a thicker ga all the way around.

All the best,

-Pete

[JustinTn27]

I have a couple questions here.i see that u can build the panels and all but,what about the box on the side of the house that moves the energy into the home and the batteries that store the power??only asking because i am very interested in making my home alot more energy efficent.

[mixcatcom]

@JustinTn27 Take a look at my grid tie inverter video from more info on that.

Thats the easiest way to go.

All the best,

-Pete

[barttles1]

reat video. You explained perfectly and great presentation.You showed how easy it can be done in properly placing your cells and soldering them. Great learning for your DIY solar project. You can find how to make solar panels yourself also by visiting The Guide to solar site at Again great info

[mixcatcom]

@barttles1 Thanks for the kind words.. Lots more to come.

-Pete

[mixcatcom]

@honkydudeman I think that would work well.. Let me know how that works out.

-Pete

[bobteamverify]

very vague on the wire of the bus wire, skipped some important information in middle and at the end.

[mixcatcom]

@bobteamverify Check out my other videos on solar panel creation..

All the best,

-Pete 

[Justmyside]

I know its more expensive, but if ur going to go through all this work,why wouldn't you use copper for ur bus line & tabbing wire.Were talking small values here, quality matters,why use tin when its not near as good as a conductor as copper.When you are soldering you should advise people who are not familiar with the process that you want a "shiny" solder joint. A "dull" joint means you did not get a good bond "unwanted resistance", ( another term for it would be "unwanted noise" for radio etc).

[honkydudeman]

@Justmyside i wondered about using copper ?you can buy 8meter rolls in poundshops ,speaker wire?a hell of a lot cheaper than tabbin wire ?and would ordinary paste flux work?pete uses similar?flux pens expensive+not much flux in them ?,,,

[lancerooke]

I'm guessing that you used the 1/2 inch c-channel. My question is this (because I just made a panel with the same c-channel) : How do I mount it to my roof? What materials do I need and how do I do it?

[mintweb21]

If you install it on the roof, do you ground it to avoid lightning strikes? After seeing my cousins house get hit by lightning, I install my solar panels away from the house.

[0lookouthollywood0]

Quite honestly I dont see how the panel he just put together would work.In the wiring of the cells at the bottom he brought them all out positive when it should have been pos neg pos.Also, I dont understand why he would have used one strand of bus wire and another strand of tabbing wire on the same cell.

[ehsgsni]

Thanks for sharing.. very useful DIY video..

can u pl. tell me where can i buy cheap solar cells?

[vichalas]

Hi may friend

where did you buy the flexi pvc in the back of the panel????

Who you named, to try to finded in internet???

Thanks

[lishep]

@vichalas

He tells you in How to build a Solar Panel from Solar Cells DIY Part 2.

Home Depot. He even shows you the ID lable.

[anglianchannel]

how many volts would you reccomend to wire a solar panel in series before you would switch to parrallel? is there a limit ? if so how you wire a solar panel for maximum output? Great video,

[worseto]

He has some good ideas but he is lacking a little in skill but this vid will give alot of people who have never thought of this before some inspiration to try .I home now is virtual hybrid home with combination of electrc, solar, and kerosene. i am getting excited about new nano solar cells. The DIYer will about be able to go off grid completely. Also cost is much less .

[DJControllerC]

@VWRabbitdiesel possibly with monocrystalline cells I know they give off more energy than the standard polycrystalline cells but this is just a guesse

[VWRabbitdiesel]

@DJControllerC no answer yet. I dont think part 4 is going to happen. usually they do all this work and people follow it and the builder finds out the panels does not work as designed. and you never see another video. one more guy was making one with a aluminum frame you saw it in the sun for 30 sec. and that was it never to be herd from again.

[yeremy838]

izskataas negliti, bet es ari pirmo paneli tadu uztaisiju....

[DJControllerC]

I posted a comment about a half hour ago and it has not shown up- so I will try again: I have never seen this type of backing used before on a panel- how did you hear about it? How much success have people had with it over a span of 2 years or more? What size is it sold in? How much is it? I used thick 3/16 thick plexiglass for my backing and it warped all to hell :( (posted vid of warpage on my utube page)

[MrRCleary]

Have you had any moisture issues with the panels? Am only asking because no EVA or Sealgard 184 was used to seal the cells.

[HanoverFist1970]

Very nice, thanks for taking all this time to help others, to help themselves.

[howrard]

very cool Pete ! I will be watching more of your video's

[NOOOLABEMUSIK]

m,an thask kake....good job............

[SiqFuqDubstep]

is there a step missing here between video 2 and 3? all of a sudden your cells are all connected and you have caulking already applied. looking like there's caulking on the thicker tabbing wire? how long was that tabbing wire at the bottom there in the end? sorry total noob just trying to get an idea. thanks for video 1/2 i really have a solid idea now thanks to this....

[joerond]

the silicone you used will allow the cells to expand or contract with the weather changes ??

[MrHorsetail]

Pete, You really should let this panel weather and see how it turns out before making more of them. It could be a disaster going through the winter and spring. You're really good at doing this kind of thing, and I enjoyed watching, but I'm thinking it will be a disaster. I'm letting one go through the winter myself to see how it weathers, and I already know it will not last long after learning more about building them to last. The guy who commented about the moisture inside is correct.

[MrScooter80]

in your video you said you had a good solar cell contact,you gonna tell us who it is?

[islaguy100]

I like how your putting your panels together. Looks easy and clean.

How do you get rid of the moisture inside the panel after its sealed up? When I built my panels I get moisture inside because of the silicone drying. I have to put vent holes and I put a small computer fan to suck out the moisture. After a few days of the fan running it days inside and I can seal up the holes. After that I have no gotten any moisture inside.

[ReinhardvonHolst]

Stole some of those solar panels off my neighbour's roof this morning;

It was daylight robbery.

[jbranstetter04]

I agree with everything you said in the video, except when you said that it was "beautiful" (the caulking).

[Schweizer135]

What specific caulk are you using? Great vids.

[govinda1pk]

Awesome video sir :)

[davidrrrd]

real cool!

[themightyjoseph]

How did you learn how to build one of those? Did you take a course on how to build one of those? How can i learn how to build one?

[mixcatcom]

@themightyjoseph I just looked around on the net and saw how easy they hook up. They I tried with one that had only broken cells and this is my first with full cells. If you watch the video playlist on this channel you will see from the start to the end on how to setup these solar panels.

All the best,

-Pete

[davidrrrd]

how much cash per watt?

[mixcatcom]

@davidrrrd Just over $1 per watt.

[edstar83]

Turned out great Pete!

[mixcatcom]

@edstar83 Thanks, its only my 2nd I built so they should get better and better.

Its not as tough as I thought.

-Pete

[Prohumani]

good work mate ;-)

[mixcatcom]

@Prohumani Thanks glad you enjoyed it.

All the best,

-Pete

[greenback001]

Pete, you definitely put in an effort on this job.

[mixcatcom]

@greenback001 It takes time but its worth it when you can save this amount of money.

All the best,

-Pete

[CTOL1]

Interesting

Looks like your using Siliconized acrylic latex caulk?.

It may have "cure creep", if it does, that is to say, shrink on cure, could crack the cells. A two part sealant is preferred, failing that, electronic grade RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanization) would be the next best to use as in your application.

Bath/general purpose type silicone caulk contains acidic acid (vinegar smell) And are conductive till cured & may corrode metal, where the electronics grade will not.

Great Job!

[mukwah1111]

@CTOL1 Oh oh ! Wondering if Pete will consider redoing that caulk........

[mixcatcom]

@mukwah1111 No worries this is non conductive non corrosive..

I will try to get it installed today and show the process.

All the best,

-Pete

[mixcatcom]

@CTOL1 No this is non conductive non corrosive, I looked at many caulks before I picked this one. Thanks for pointing that out..

Hope you have a great weekend,

-Pete

[LosAngeleno1959]

Wow! I bet you'd make a great Cake decorator to bro.

[mixcatcom]

@LosAngeleno1959 lol thanks... I might have to look into that.

Hope you enjoy your weekend,

-Pete