3 mm gap between panel and roof stops overheating .
Another failed solar panel
- Thread starter Salty Spuds
- Start date
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- Tags
- solar
Yeah
Oof! That's nasty! At least mine are on a pop top so, don't need to worry about rust.
@Salty Spuds Thanks for posting your install pictures at the start of the thread. I’m thinking of installing along similar lines.
What are the two longitudinal black stripes under the panel for? I can’t tell clearly from the pictures, but is there another coating/layer under the panel as well (roof protection)? It looks like the rear of the panel is mounted on the raised edge of your pop-top, was that to create an air gap under the panel? What did you do with your cabling after it went through the hole in the back of the pop-top? As far as I can tell you just bonded the aero mounts to the roof and the panel fits into the mounts? And finally, what wattage panel did you got for?
What are the two longitudinal black stripes under the panel for? I can’t tell clearly from the pictures, but is there another coating/layer under the panel as well (roof protection)? It looks like the rear of the panel is mounted on the raised edge of your pop-top, was that to create an air gap under the panel? What did you do with your cabling after it went through the hole in the back of the pop-top? As far as I can tell you just bonded the aero mounts to the roof and the panel fits into the mounts? And finally, what wattage panel did you got for?
1, the 2 black stripes are the remains of the vinyl wrap that was put on the cover the footprint of the original flexible panel that failed. So purely cosmetic.
2, the extra layer that you can see is where I cleaned off the glue from said original panel, the new rigid panel covered it up. Again, cosmetic.
3, the aero brackets sit just inside the raised lip, not on it. The panel sits in the brackets & there is an air gap between the panel & the roof created by the brackets.
4 I reused the original cable that was fitted by Reimo. I put MC4 connectors on the end to connect to the panel. The connections are under the panel & cable tied up out of the way. The cable passes through the roof on the outside of the canvas & passes through the canvas in the OSR corner of the roof.
5, the mounts are bonded to the roof with “sticks like sh*t” which it does. The rear bracket actually sat over the cable exit hole, so I drilled a hole in the bracket foot to match up with the existing hole in the roof to pass the cable through.
6, Panel is 150W
If you zoom in, you can see the air gap between the panel & roof along the side of the panel.
Apart from one of my Renogy flexible panels making a bid for freedom last year and having to be glued back in place to continue the holiday we've been ok with them.
2 X 175 watt panels on a sunny day and after the plastic substrate fractured on one end of one during the escape attempt we get this sort of input...
Busfest club camping back in 2023 shows quite a few flexy fanboys, fair to say many owners just fit and forget.
2 X 175 watt panels on a sunny day and after the plastic substrate fractured on one end of one during the escape attempt we get this sort of input...
Busfest club camping back in 2023 shows quite a few flexy fanboys, fair to say many owners just fit and forget.
just a hole, but I sealed it up with some more Sticks like..
