Testing Cracked solar panels. Are they any good?

No video

Testing Cracked solar panels. Are they any good?

Рет қаралды 48,414

5 жыл бұрын

I have some cracked solar panels with varying degrees of damages. Today I will put them to the test and see if they are any good. I'm thinking about fixing them and put them to good use but I need to know if they are still working or not. If they do, how well do they work? Let's find out.

Пікірлер: 52

@francoisguyot9770 9 ай бұрын

Excellent! Nice camera work, slow scrolling without much shacking. The audio is clear without distracting music aside from transition. The content is clear and concise, straight to the point with analytical explanations of the problems of each panels. Perhaps a good way to approach labs condition , would be to test each panel at sun peak , noon, with panels pulled from a much cooler place like your garage? Another suggestion would be that you post the link on the video for the sealing / repair process if you have done so. Thanks

@fluorescentblack4336 2 жыл бұрын

This is a really great video. Good to see someone actually testing different amounts of damage and showing the results. Thanks for the upload!

@AhmedAdly11 3 жыл бұрын

Cool video! Most important is not to mix them with good panels since they will reduce the performance of the entire system. They can be used for smaller independent projects.

@wetube3004 7 ай бұрын

Really? Why is that?

@AhmedAdly11 7 ай бұрын

@@wetube3004 I had a few panel blow off my boat and got smashed on the way down. They still worked alone for charging small batteries, but when connected to the others they seemed to make them work at their own capacity. I think it has something to do with difference in voltage.

@daveluxton8317 2 жыл бұрын

You mentioned your test load was a heating element from a stove(?) Assuming this was from an AC unit. Currious what the power consumption was. I am currently testing the exact same thing with 315 and 445w broken panels hoping to use for direct water heating with a DC heater element. The tricky part is trying to match the resistance. Nice thorough testing BTW. Enjoy your videos.

@up4open763 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the information. Please be more when careful touching those broken panels in the future, since I am told the volts and amps are still high enough to do severe harm. Resist the temptation to probe a finger into damaged areas when the panels are in full light.

@shivamprakash8194 3 жыл бұрын

With a multimeter, you can only see the two extreme ends of the power curve(Short circuit and Open circuit. However, a solar panel with a compromised glass can have a close enough open circuit voltage and short circuit current. where it struggles is at the fill factor of the power curve, by that I mean the Pmax is very low. In my experience, I have seen them an average between 55 and 70 % of the nameplate value. All I am saying is if you connect a cracked panel to the string of other pannel on your solar farm or your rooftop all the panels in the series string will be bottlenecked by one compromised panel.

@kunalagrawal9976 3 жыл бұрын

Hey, I've connected 3*300Wp panels but one of them broke(stone). The broken panel gives 24v while others give 35v. When all are connected in parallel together it gives 33v. Should I keep using it? (It has been working like this for more than a 1.5 years)

@shivamprakash8194 3 жыл бұрын

@@kunalagrawal9976 Hey Kunal, You might want to remove the broken panel from the circuit. When you connect pannels in series the current of the bad panel becomes the bottleneck of the system and if you connect the panels in parallel the voltage becomes the bottleneck of the system. in any kind of bottleneck you limit your MPPT inverter to operate beyond the bottleneck threshold. Meaning, the good panels in the circuit will have reduced performance. Also, another reason to not use the broken panel is - it's a fire hazard.

@justinrobinson9583 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this video. I like that you spent time to explain the damages. Impressive the voltage is still very very good.

@besamjohn 5 жыл бұрын

Really helpful to see this thanks!

@isaacsellers700able Жыл бұрын

My cracked renogy 100watt panel got at least 50 watts the other day with no issue. Of course it's not water proofed though so I can only use it occasionally. Also I put scotch shipping tape all across it to keep the cracked glass safer.

@soulmechanic2717 4 жыл бұрын

Very helpful. Thank you!

@saadomar1101 5 ай бұрын

so which is best to water proof the glass tops, a. Resin b. Strong Plastic adhesive c. Varnish d. Another Glass layer on top with resin on corners

@oldmgbs2 5 жыл бұрын

If you can find a varnish or something that can withstand the UV, it would fill in around those cracks and make it almost clear again and waterproof the holes. As far as the tabbing, you might be able to remove some of the white backing and jumper across the burnt or open spots and reseal it. I think these panels can be repaired and used for a long time. Good luck!

@woooweee 5 жыл бұрын

something that will survive uv and the heatcycles while remaining clear, that's going to be tough.

@sophiegrisom 9 ай бұрын

What about rainwater getting in thru the cracked glass? Perhaps not a big concern in the Mojave Desert, especially if ground-mounted where a short-circuit and sparks doesn't risk roof damage. Amazing that the crazed panel still worked 90%, though that appears about right to the eye judging from the sunlight scattered back.

@jubankta1627 2 жыл бұрын

Thank You so very much for this video!!I found it very informative!!!

@someguyO2W 3 жыл бұрын

Really valuable. Thanks.

@xinqiaozhang7513 3 жыл бұрын

very good video

@christophernunn943 Жыл бұрын

To weather proof panel, could it go into a box with a glass top?

@Solipsfilm 4 жыл бұрын

Use uv resistant epoxy on those panels, will fix them up nicely!

@boathemian7694 3 жыл бұрын

Where can you find this?

@unionse7en 2 жыл бұрын

@@boathemian7694 AFAIK there is no, clear ,UV resistant epoxy boat builders apply a UV resistance "spar" varnish over the Epoxy to provide UV protection to the epoxy. People have tried varnish directly on the panels , only to have it yellow and peel off. Search for "Progressive Epoxy Polymer + India Spar Varnish"

@boathemian7694 2 жыл бұрын

@@unionse7en yes you are correct. I’m a boat tech and have never seen uv resistant epoxy either.

@awaytodothings 11 ай бұрын

UV resistant epoxy won’t allow the sun to get through to it….

@realestateinfonet9041 Жыл бұрын

Awesome video! Thank you very much for the information!

@fun_ghoul 5 жыл бұрын

I'd try some kind of automotive "magic scratch fix" stuff on a small area, and see if that improves optical clarity. If it does, do a whole panel (or at least a significant portion of one), and see what the meter says after that. Of course, take care to not cut yourself!

@fun_ghoul 5 жыл бұрын

If you do live in the South, or at least somewhere sunny, you might consider just sealing the BACK of the usable panels so you can deploy them on sunny days, and fold them over for inclement weather. Like you said, it'll be hard to find a material that will withstand the UV and temps these things must endure, but that won't be a problem if the "cover" only ever sees rain and clouds.

@akashkumar9144 3 жыл бұрын

Wil mppt charge controllers help bring out best from this solar panels when converting to smaller systems say 12 or 24volts

@knightofcydonia1192 2 жыл бұрын

This is an excellent question.

@methods-SE 2 жыл бұрын

Good job. Sometimes keeping it simple is the best bet. Anybody can reproduce the test you performed without spending a bunch of money. That is Science! Scientific Method for certain.

@richardrecto7639 Жыл бұрын

Gudevening, how did you repair the burned cells of panel? Tnx

@juncusbufonius 3 жыл бұрын

Ah I see you never published a video on sealing them. Didn't work? Who knows, we don't.

@pteckhausen Жыл бұрын

Hi, great video! Have you found a way to seal the creacked cell? I have the same problem and Im looking for the best way? You would just use a special foil?

@qaching Жыл бұрын

hi man how does a solar panel crack like that? could it be a slingshot thing?

@gunlover1955 2 жыл бұрын

Can solar cells be replaced can you take a cell out from the back and replace just one there must be a way to repair a panel?

@milvolts1 5 жыл бұрын

Where did you get all the solar panels by the way?

@Enjoytheinbetween 2 жыл бұрын

I’ve got 2 new 200w panels that were crashed during shipping, guess I should just throw them away?

@fun_ghoul 5 жыл бұрын

Is that a Southern twang I hear in your voice?

@maru-orochigaruyasha2532 5 жыл бұрын

Hello there good sir,came across your channel here,im looking to find myself some solar panels for salvaging like you did here in this video,would you happen to know of any places that i could look into for scraping solar panels? looking into using some for recharging small power bank i have for any situation regarding power outages if grid was to fail or possibly emp attacks,that way i have solar to have power to bring into my small power bank wen sun is out just like it has been for a few days now,im also building my own panel as well with smaller units from solar lights and taking the solar panel out of them to use for building the panel im creating.

@SailingSarah 11 ай бұрын

Can you change the glass?

@forrmol 4 жыл бұрын

Did you try to protecte them with something ? Something with UV protection.did you do the next video?

@knightofcydonia1192 2 жыл бұрын

Where do you keep getting these SunPower panels!?

@Kistilan 4 жыл бұрын

Doesn't look like he tried to seal it at all.

@MinecraftAndMoreRandomness 5 жыл бұрын

could that 60 volts shock you?

@vuaeco 5 жыл бұрын

For the most part, no. But it might if you're wet and it depends on where on your body that touches the wires.

@aznative_ 3 жыл бұрын

60 volts of electricity could shock you. But when he tested the voltage he did it on an open circuit. Meaning it's not under any kind of a load. If he would have checked the voltage when it was under load when he connected it to the heater it would have been significantly less. So the fact that the voltage drops under a load and the fact that it's not pushing many amps you're not going to get a shock.