Solar panel repair?

[Nurseandy]

Thought about that (or a perspex sheet,). I think getting a sheet of glass (toughened?) the correct size would be expensive and hard to attach. Sheet of perspex could be an option, double the price though (£30 vs £15) and ensuring a watertight seal could be an issue, although the use of an adhesive sealant would be the way forward there.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Thought about that (or a perspex sheet,). I think getting a sheet of glass (toughened?) the correct size would be expensive and hard to attach. Sheet of perspex could be an option, double the price though (£30 vs £15) and ensuring a watertight seal could be an issue, although the use of an adhesive sealant would be the way forward there.

Windscreen adhesive

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arbomast-SEALE ... 8686362638

[Yorkshire Andy]

Ps is this for the septic / bio tank?

[Nurseandy]

I've pulled the trigger on the resin, £16 from Amazon. It appears to be a pretty common repair judging from Google search.
Yes for bio digester. Pump is in place & running from 130ah deep cycle battery. Topping up the battery periodically with car battery charger.
I've built a breeze block enclosure with a concrete slab lid and piled up soil around it like a burial mound to deaden the sound, I'll plant some geraniums on it to pretty it up. Appears to be working well so far........

Well, apart from the er, fragrance released from quite literally stirring the 5h1t. Was expecting that though and warned the neighbours (who live about 300 yards away but walk the dog past our house everyday) and it should settle down in a few days/weeks/months

[Nurseandy]

Let us know how it goes.

Well so far it's very encouraging. Applied a layer of clear resin over the surface of the solar panel, it's taken nearly 72 hours to dry (temp has dropped significantly recently, 5° overnight rising to max of 10 in the day).
Finish is very good - smooth & clear. I've just placed the panel outdoors on the ground between some buildings, weather is overcast/light rain and its giving me 14.5v
I'll leave it out in the weather for the next few days then mount on the roof at the weekend.

[jennyjj01]

14v is a bit low.
You need to measure the short circuit current in a bit of daylight to see if it's really working. It won't harm it to short it with your amp-meter.

Sounds like a good repair though. Well done.

[Nurseandy]

Replacement panel arrived today so I could do a side by side comparison. Bright sunny day, panels lying side by side flat on the lawn in direct sunlight, new one produced 22v, repaired one 20.5v. That'll do me although the epoxy resin has gone a bit cloudy over the last few days, hopefully there'll be no more degradation.

[jennyjj01]

Replacement panel arrived today so I could do a side by side comparison. Bright sunny day, panels lying side by side flat on the lawn in direct sunlight, new one produced 22v, repaired one 20.5v. That'll do me although the epoxy resin has gone a bit cloudy over the last few days, hopefully there'll be no more degradation.

Andy, It's only the current that matters. It could be very high resistance and still show that 20V but be unable to push any current. Just saying... check short circuit current before roof mounting it.

That said... I think you fixed it and will have great results.

How big was the smashed area?

[Nurseandy]

Ah, right, thanks jenny. I'll check the ampage later today. I'm also using an old piece of household flex to connect the repaired one as well. I'll try swapping over to thd proper lead to see how much difference that makes.
With regards to the broken area - all the glass was shattered (think 1970's car windscreen) so the whole panel is epoxied. I have got some photos which I'll try to post

[Nurseandy]

Yeah, you're quite right jenny. Tested the ampage of the repaired panel and it's approx 2/3 of the new panel. Not brilliant but still a useful addition to the array for a few minutes work and fifteen quids worth of epoxy.
Also tried swapping over the proper connecting cables with the jury rigged household flex which surprisingly made no discernible difference.
Off to make some brackets now to mount them on the shed roof.