I have a small pile of shattered panels and they all still produce current. One that Fedex stuck a fork through the bottom of the pallet is still in use on my roof for over 3 years. They lay flat and pool full of water. Another one was poorly stacked on a pallet of mixed panels from San tan solar. They shifted in transit and the smaller panels put a corner into the lower panel. Cardboard in between the layers of different sizes might have prevented it. Two of the other panels fried traces under the glass and shattered the panel. Even with burnt traces and shattered glass they were still producing power. The shattered panel on the roof I will swap out shortly with a similar wattage panel. I bought 16 mixed panels that range from 325w to 385w were only $600. but shipping jacked it up another $640. So $1240. for 16 panels is still cheap. $77.50 a panel. I was going to beat the busted glass out of the frames and toss the aluminum in my scrap pile but I might try the poly urethane. I doubt it would hold up to UV from the sun without yellowing but it doesn't hurt to try considering I have a can of urethane already. After I pay off the Paypal credit balance for the recent pallet of panels my next purchase is an EG4 24,000btu hybrid mini split that runs directly from solar. So having a couple of coated shattered panels might be helpful. I have 13 panels left from the pallet I bought so we'll see if I need the shatteted panels or not. I forgot, one of the 13 needs to go up on the roof to swap with that shattered panel. So I have 12 to power the mini split.
@@FauxQue-yk8dt That’s good to know that you’ve been able to use a shattered panel for years and it still makes current. I wouldn’t have guessed it would go that well without protection from moisture intrusion! They say damaged panels are more likely to start a fire, so I don’t know if having one on your roof is the best idea but I would imagine it depends in part on how much voltage and current you’re running through them.
@@picocosm It's been good so far but like I said I have plans and a panel to replace it. I was mad about buying 10 new panels and 1 being shattered. Tried to get compensation from Fed Ex but they only work with the person who paid the shipping. Um that was me, they didn't offer free shipping. So I contacted the seller. Well that's why we advise you to buy a couple of extra panels in case they get broken. More BS I'm not buying panels to get broken. Anyhow they refunded me $150. so I was happy. They also said broken panels still produce. So I put the multimeter on it and they were right. I figured water intrusion would quickly corrode the traces but it's still producing. Replacing it now that I have a stack of extra panels will give me peace of mind. Solar is a risk of fire in all aspects. The MC4 connectors can arc. The screw connections in the inverter and combiner box need periodic tightening. And while rare the LiFePo4 batteries could burn. I had issues with lose wires arcing in the combiner box even though they were torqued to spec. Had to buy a torque screwdriver just to be able to torque to spec. After melting down a breaker due to arcing from a lose connection I bought a ferrule crimper and redid all of my connections. So far the ferrules have held torque. So much so I'm getting lazy again about checking the connections. Occasionally I hit everything with the Fluke laser temperature gun instead of retorquing. Now that it's on my mind I will probably check all of the connections tomorrow. It beats burning my house down
Ive done stuff like this in other applications. Look for an acrylic based resin - acrylic is almost as transmissive as the glass, and is much better than epoxy. Good luck!
Good luck with this.. great fix with the epoxy, it really helped to make the panel less obviously broken.
6 дней назад
34 ounces of clear acrylic epoxy resin can be had for $18us from scamazon and this is like what they use to fix windshield glass.. It would be best done at warmer temperatures so the epoxy can flow into every crack or done in a vacuum so as to force it in and the air out but sealing the crack long term in heat and cold outside environment could get iffy.. If shattered panels like this were free and they lasted a few years spending $18 a piece might not be a bad deal at all.. Same goes for running them bottom side up but adding some drain holes or slots would be a good idea..
I need to fix my solar panels junction box. Ripped out a wire
6 дней назад
Some are not hard to open while others are pretty much factory sealed and you will find it a real PITA because the plastic piece is completely filled with hard epoxy glue.. Mine are somewhere between the 2 extremes and I hope I never have to replace the FET's that mine have.. Good luck, you might find a few videos on your brand of panels that will get you educated to the how to..
