$1 A WATT SOLAR PANEL DIY part 5 Solar Cell Mounting ENCAPSULATION
This is the final step for this process. The resins are at the following links below. The sellers do not advertise them as solar encapsulation resins BUT because we are NOT from encapsulating, they will work. The resins stay sturdy for years. RESIN OPTIONS FOR BACK COATING: www.aeromarineproducts.com cgi.ebay.com Also search RTV urethane shore 75-80
Related Products:
@noferblatz
The 2:1 is by weight (I did not mention by volume)
Reason I used a scale vs a graduated beaker
There is a big difference in some resins but not in this type. 1 gallon jug : 1/2 gallon jug.
Many resins are now designed to be either – or:
directions included =196 net oz. mix 2:1 by weight or volume
@subscribeforcandy This method is back only, front is glass. This makes the UV exposure to the resin less of a factor.
thank-you for clarify the “wet” aspect of the first mix, that makes sense now. I would have tried to use it all (I hate waste).
@GREENPOWERSCIENCE Dan. I’m making some panels of my own too (have 3 now 26″x36″ 36 cells 65 watt). I’ve gone with complete wood housing with 1/4 inch glass on top. This has been the best I can find thus far because aluminum, fiberglass, other plastics are way to expensive. Do you have a vid on just panel/housing construction? Maybe some different ideas? The panels I have made look really good, but as far as longevity, I don’t know. lol I could email you pics if you want.
when the series began I thought it would be total encapsulation in resin. doesn’t it defeat the purpose to use glass on the front? Why put the resin in the back at all?
@GREENPOWERSCIENCE Nice, 39 usable watts for a total cost of $48
For about $1000 (about 20 panels) I can power my small AC guilt-free during the entire day.
Thanks for the video.
@tankmdg Moisture would fog the front it has to be sealed tight.
@Vim281 A video testing the panel would be great!
@Den0Q I am kind of wondering about the front of the panel myself, wouldn’t air get in there and cause posture issues? For the cost, is there any reason not to just encapsulate the entire cells, even if there is some loss. At that build price, pretty cheap if it doesn’t last “forever”.
@chicoarraes You don’t really even need clear resin, Dan alluded to the idea of showing off the design of this one. The resin is to keep the cells from having to deal with rain, water, snow, dust or whatever. It also looks like it helps with the structural integrity of all of the cells. You want clear glass because if the resin is exposed it’ll yellow and cleaning it would be nigh impossible, glass you can just rinse down. I do reckon there’s a hail problem though with non-tempered glass.
@carnini The air gap is too small. Condensation is a percentage of the air trapped at the time of sealing. Most professional factory sealed panels, do not front encapsulate. I have purchased about 30 pro panels and none are front encapsulated. Front encapsulation is generally a DIY option only. If you break a pro-panel, peel the tempered glass off the cells are freely exposed front stuck on a backer film.
@carnini good point. I dont know
@GREENPOWERSCIENCE ahhh, that seems like it would make sense especially if you did it on a low humidy day! With this option, it looks like the product cost for encapsulation would be minimal, a good DIY solution.
My cheap chinese panels appear to have no encapsulation… There’s just an adhesive white sheet stuck over them.
It is VERY important to remove the layer of air between the glass and cells. Sunlight on the path to the cell crosses several boundaries between materials with different refractive indices. Air+glass, glass+air, air+silicon(cell). At each boundary a part of the energy is reflected back. If the air layer to replace high-density material having a refractive index close to that of glass and silicon, the energy loss due to reflections decrease. Remains only one reflecting boundary – Air+glass.
@peppeddu your math is off a little that panel even with broken cells should have around 65 watts or else the series wouldnt be titled less than 1$ a watt solar panel
You can see that in those places where you epoxy got into the space between the glass and cells, cell color became more intense. Just in these places the light passes to the cells without reflections. In industrial production to eliminate the air gap used vacuum lamination with EVA film. In a homemade battery can be used epoxy.
what about making a knot on the cord on the inside of the frame then it will be in place and then there’s no need for the screws and straps
Cool video
@carnini cooled in water with a large Fresnel lens pointed at it. powering up a device of some type. : )
Thanks for the vid. choosing the right resin seems to be a ruff task. On the resin, to get the bubbles out ( I have not tryed it yet) a vibrating sander to get the bubbles to go to the top?. I have done it on cement forms to get the air out.
use latex gloves and your hands to spread the resin. Also a blow torch will pop any bubbles. just do not hold it in one place. Use the torch in a sweeping pattern.
Used max clear on a project yellowed with in one year. Not sure if I did something wrong, or had a bad batch. Otherwise was not to happy with the product if that is what happens after a year. Hope you see different results, and/or had better experiences in the past with this product.
POLYURETHANE CLEAR COAT NONE YELLOWING HIGH GLOSS 1-QRT,
CLEAR UV PROTECTIVE TOPCOAT FOR WOOD METALS & COATINGS. Now they have a product to combat this. Have no sound on this computer sorry can’t follow the videos correctly. You may of mentioned this. Looks like a nice project and a quality build.
Nice. And long would this panel last for?
@sirHOAX
Yes, actually all resins
even the overpriced
SG and 6100
1kg for $40+ 1:10 ratio solar encapsulation silicones on Ebay yellow in a year.
Btw 1kg is nowhere near enough to coat 36 cells.
Maxclear is still structurally sound. The front coating is not the way to go.
All 2 part resins yellow. All uv cure resins yellow, all colorants fade. We have tested outdoor products for the printing industry. even true UV inks fade after a few months. The sun is a monster:-)
Normally I do not read post on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very compelled me to check out and do it! Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thanks, very great article.