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Old 08-26-2017, 01:01 PM   #1
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Clean your solar panels!

I knew my solar panels (and by extension, my trailer) were filthy from gazing down on them during a ferry passage at the beginning of the month. So this morning I cleaned the panels using windshield washer fluid and a squeegee on an extension pole, while standing on a ladder. I checked my battery monitor before and after and it appears that I'm getting 1/3 more amps coming in than when the panels were dirty.

I cleaned them quickly as to avoid attracting the attention of a park ranger, so the sun moved less than five degrees in the sky. I think most of the increase in charging amps was from the cleaning. So boondockers-- clean your panels!
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Old 08-26-2017, 01:52 PM   #2
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Thanks Mike. I've wondered about using 303 on the solar panel to help prevent the inevitable hazing that seems to appear over time on panels as they age. I think the 303 anti-UV might slightly reduce solar pass thru the surface but might be worth the trade- off long term with helping to prevent the hazing. Thought from any of our solar gurus?
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Old 08-26-2017, 02:39 PM   #3
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Mike,
Why would a park ranger make you feel like a criminal for cleaning your solar panel?

Tom
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Old 08-26-2017, 02:47 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StarvingHyena View Post
Mike,
Why would a park ranger make you feel like a criminal for cleaning your solar panel?
Tom
Some campgrounds prohibit washing RVs. A ranger might see me standing on a ladder with cleaning implements and think that is what I was doing, or not bother to distinguish between washing a trailer and cleaning its rooftop panels, officialdom being what it is. I was just playing it safe.
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Old 08-26-2017, 05:45 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Lewis View Post
I think most of the increase in charging amps was from the cleaning. So boondockers-- clean your panels!
Definitely. I heard recently that a study showed that dirt and other fine particulate can reduce solar panel output by up to 50%.
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