06-29-10, 04:17 PM | #1 |
Lex Parsimoniae
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Contamination under glass? (PV panels)
I've been looking at some Stain-like discolorations on my panels..
(Actually in my panels, under the glass, on the cells). When you look close (last pic), the stains looks little like a red-brown rust color on the silver conductors and it makes the cell surface look darkened in areas it covers. Here's some pics.. Is this normal, for less expensive panels? Comments please.. |
06-30-10, 02:28 PM | #2 |
Lex Parsimoniae
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Four SPM125P panels
Here's a pic of all four panels, as seen from a distance.
Not only are there stain lines, the panels look oddly different from each other. Brownish, instead of the light blue (as shown on Ebay & importer website). The little 'stain' lines look a bit like water-marks from rain drips, but they under the glass. They are bonded in permanently. |
08-26-10, 02:10 PM | #3 |
Lex Parsimoniae
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August 2010 update
I was out taking some pics with the new Red Rock tracker module and noticed the lines (of contamination?) appear to be getting darker. These panels were purchased on Ebay from UL-Solar, Solar Panels at UL SOLAR, Inc Online Store they were imported by Solar Panels The importer has informed me "They are not suppose to be like that.", but said power levels won't be affected. They asked me if I would like to return the panels and get new ones. I'm a bit reluctant to ship these and chance getting shipped (undamaged) from the west coast (to the east coast). |
08-26-10, 04:02 PM | #4 |
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Has a google search revealed anything about what it might be?
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08-29-10, 11:04 AM | #5 |
Lex Parsimoniae
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I'm not sure how they 'laminate' glass on top, but I'm guessing they use
something similar to a vacuum bag rig, to pull all he air out. Maybe that process was leaky? Or maybe the adhesive used had some contaminates in it? The stains make them kinda look homemade to me.. |
10-15-10, 09:41 AM | #6 |
Lex Parsimoniae
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With the cooler weather, I'm starting to see about 95% of the rated output of DC watts.
That's into a fixed 10 ohm load. So, I can't help but think MPPT might help the array achieve even more power out, especially under less than idea conditions. Overall, I'm pretty happy to see this amount of power delivered into a simple 10 ohm load. So, I want to take a philosophical view of the ugly panels. I'm going to look at these stain lines as a theft deterrent. Since anyone looking at them is going to think, "What's that? Are these defective?".. Hey, it might work!! |
10-15-10, 01:04 PM | #7 |
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Are there weep holes or any sort of venting for the panels? It could be moisture in the panels that needs to escape.
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10-15-10, 02:44 PM | #8 |
Lex Parsimoniae
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Don't think so. They cook these things in a vacuum oven. So, there shouldn't be any gaps inside the sheet. Here's a vid showing the manual version of the assembly. |
11-29-10, 04:55 AM | #9 |
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I would be worried about the power producing capacity with those stains on..
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11-29-10, 07:14 AM | #10 |
Lex Parsimoniae
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When it's cold and sunny, power is not a problem. I'm amazed how well these work.
They can hit well over 500w.. http://ecorenovator.org/forum/solar-....html#post9767 |
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