Solar Panel Mounting

[Rossue]

Replaced my hatch lock and instead of riveting I just used Command Hook strip- at much lower end of the scale vs. 4950 that I also have.

[Eggscape]

And then there is this masterpiece done by one of the forum members.

Personally I will be concentrating on tilting our solar towards the sun to pick all that each panel can produce.

[Rossue]

Hope he doesn't come unhinged

[7th Heaven]

Originally Posted by dstreight

FWIW/FYI, last summer I installed 4) 8020 profiles onto the front and rear roof area of our 15A using VHB 4959 (full coverage) and then 3M 5200 around the perimeter of the profiles to seal against any water intrusion to the VHB tape. Super solid.

I used the 8020 channels so I could more easily swap out panels if/when. In fact, due to the small area of the 15A roof I'll be adding a couple 200w panels using SS drawer slides mounted to the side slots of the same 8020 to augment the existing 200w panels.

Interesting Idea!
Please share some pictures

[Centex]

Killer-Watts, that!

[sherminator]

There are good details in this thread from one member mounting flexible panels with VHB tape:

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...9-a-17884.html

[h2owmn]

Wow! Bet they make one heckuva margarita!!

[Greg A]

Originally Posted by Eggscape

And then there is this masterpiece done by one of the forum members.

Personally I will be concentrating on tilting our solar towards the sun to pick all that each panel can produce.

Not quite sure why that setup would be needed. Probably better approach would be to invest in top battery bank. I’d be curious to know more about the infrastructure and daily usage on that rig.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by Greg A

Not quite sure why that setup would be needed. Probably better approach would be to invest in top battery bank. I’d be curious to know more about the infrastructure and daily usage on that rig.

Following to learn - can you explain what you mean by "top battery bank"? Thanks in advance

[Greg A]

Originally Posted by Centex

Following to learn - can you explain what you mean by "top battery bank"? Thanks in advance

With that type of solar array, I would expect a 4-6 Lithium bank, not two flooded 6v or AGM. From the picture, I don’t know what they have under the hood, which is why I’m curious.
Money is normally better spent first on batteries then on panels.

[sherminator]

Originally Posted by Greg A

With that type of solar array, I would expect a 4-6 Lithium bank, not two flooded 6v or AGM. From the picture, I don’t know what they have under the hood, which is why I’m curious.
Money is normally better spent first on batteries then on panels.

He sports a 400Ah 24V lithium battery bank.

[Greg A]

Nice, figured with that solar array he had to have a good battery bank.

[JohnE3]

Maybe Escape used VHB, but those installs may not have been the problem.

My 2012 5.0 was one of the ones that lost a panel. It was not held on with VHB tape. Rather, they used some sort of epoxy to secure 2 pieces of aluminum square tube to the fiberglass. The ends of the 100W panel were attached to the tube with bolts.

The bond failed on one side at the epoxy/aluminum Interface, with a clean break from the aluminum. The wind and leverage took care of the other side, removing the panel, tube, epoxy, and gellcoat.

This would, in any case, seem to highlight the need for proper surface preparation.

[HappyCampers]

First a disclosure: As I have mentioned before, I have retired from 3M after 38 years, mostly in adhesives, and the last 20 or so in the division that makes VHB. You will find me a fan of those products.



If you ever have a doubt on an application, the right product, please feel free to call 3M. Google '3Mhelps' and you will get directed to a website with phone numbers. Call and ask to speak with someone in technical service, concerning the products you have an interest. They will insure that you are using the right product, give some tips on surface prep and installation, etc. They might even send you a free sample!


I recommend this approach also for Command products as well.

[HABBERDABBER]

I'm not shocked that this breakage could happen. The 2 materials simply don't bond well together. A recommended technique is most aluminum fittings are bonded with a polysulfide caulk/sealant and mechanically fastened.




from a boatbuilders forum:

The Gougeon book on West System (epoxy suppliers) boatbuilding gives the drill on wet sanding the aluminum surface in mixed resin immediately prior to bonding to minimize the affects of immediate oxide formation on the aluminum surface if exposed to air.

Andy Marshall, in his handbook Composite Basics (geared to homebuilt aircraft) says if the aluminum isn't prepped with a certain mil-spec process developed by Boeing ANY bonding of aluminum with epoxy resin WILL fail. The question isn't "if", but "when", and "when" isn't predictable.


JohnE3
When I look at your photo, it appears that the gel coat- to- epoxy bond was awfully strong, having taken the gel coat and maybe some fiberglass with it at the time of failure. 3 different materials, 1 method of attachment....not optimum technique.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by sherminator

There are good details in this thread from one member mounting flexible panels with VHB tape:

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...9-a-17884.html

my son was all hot on flex panels, and installed them on his vanagon camper and on his utility trailer, and within a year had multiple panels fail from internal connection failures.

[padlin]

Could he get the bad ones off? That's the part I worried about when gluing down the flexibles.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by padlin

Could he get the bad ones off? That's the part I worried about when gluing down the flexibles.

when he had multiple panels fail on both installations, he ended up tearing the whole thing off and going to framed rigid panels mounted on standoffs.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

my son was all hot on flex panels, and installed them on his vanagon camper and on his utility trailer, and within a year had multiple panels fail from internal connection failures.

Got any notion of the panel brand / manufacturer? Just curious because 1) I'd imagine product quality can vary; 2) some folks here using Lexsun 'flexibles' for at least a year haven't raised any 'flags' (yet?).

(I've eliminated 'flexibles' from my plans, mainly because a rigid framed panel is easier to rig for tilting, at least by my scheming)

[Mark B1]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

my son was all hot on flex panels, and installed them on his vanagon camper and on his utility trailer, and within a year had multiple panels fail from internal connection failures.

Jim Bennett's Lensun flexible panels have been installed on his 5.0 for over 4 years with no issues. Mine have been on for less than a year, but so far and I am very happy with them. They have been frozen, snowed on, hailed on, and driven through all kinds of inclement weather, and are still holding fast (VHB tape) and working well. Not all manufacturers are the same and technology has improved significantly in the last few years for all types of solar panels. I read lost of horror stories about older flexible panel installation before going with Lenson, based on recommendations and some of the benefits they offered me.

It would be helpful to also know the manufacturer, model type, and age of your sons panels so prospective installers don't get the impression that they are all bad.