Good morning gang have just returned from nannup only to be told that my solar panel has been flapping in the wind, can any one give me a definitive answer as to which silicon to use to reattach it to the roof. PS panel has 6 equally spaced brkts (steel) of which only one side has detached.
16' Series Solar
- Thread starter coys 53
- Start date
Ive used a polymer adhesive for mine, but Sikaflex 291 (marine sealer/adhesive) or Sikaflex 227 (auto sealer/adhesive) is commonly used. Both the Sika's are polyurethane not silicone. Screw the panel to the brackets, and glue and screw the brackets to the roof and proper surface prep is vital. If the panel is loose I suspect swapping the steel for alum angle would be a better long-term solution. Both Sika 291 and 227 adhere to alum and fibreglass well, but in all cases testing your application first is always advisable.
If one side has detached, and the adhesive has lifted off one surface that indicates wrong adhesive or poor preparation. Either would suggest the other side wont be far behind it.
If one side has detached, and the adhesive has lifted off one surface that indicates wrong adhesive or poor preparation. Either would suggest the other side wont be far behind it.
Which adhesive did you use and what size of screws do you recommend
Alan
I favour Soudal TRex SMX Polymer adheasive over polyurethane. I find that its more usable on i broader range of surfaces. SMX Polymer is also an effective sealant, and UV stable. I just used metal screws which bite ok in the thin fibreglass sheeting. The screws are a little peace of mind, but mostly to apply a bit of pressure to the adheasive joint whilst it cures.
Ill grab a pic of mine tomorrow
I'm not sure what the idiots who replaced my roof after the hail used but I do know they used alloy brackets which had a step in them so the panel would sit on it, so they screwed the panel to the bracket and glued and screwed it to the roof, the idiots screwed the bracket onto the panel thru the bottom of the panel frame so to remove panel you have to unscrew and break the glue bond to the roof......I have a cunning plan but hope I don't have to use it.. Looks like they used the Sikaflex adhesive as 2 years down the track the exposed bit is looking sunburnt with cracks much like the stuff I used on old van, was supposed to be the ants pants but I wasn't impressed.just cant recall which one.
I didn't have any handy but metho did the same job, mainly just mentioning don't use a solvent like thinners etc as some have used, on tin vans it will remove the paint and depending on age of a glass van may not be good for it either and possibly leave a residue anyway,so turps, thinners etc not good to clean surface .
My original single factory panel was glued and screwed only to the floating roof skin and it had substantial scope to shake and twist with the loose roof skin . The panel only attached with 2 x 100mm shorts of 40x40 alum angle on each end. Both of the angles on one end were themselves angled up from the roof because clearly the angles had been fixed to the roof before the panel being attached and spaced about 8mm less the panel length, which in turn forced the angles to distort as the panel was forced into the smaller space. Jayco use the cheapest nastiest sealant/adhesive they can find (via an industry provider, and corroborated by everything else Jayco does) and despite every incompetent effort to limit that panels survivability and longevity, before it was retired it defied the odds and successfully endured 50k km of wind and1000s of kms of corrugations.
The problem with using metho to clean something is that it is an oil based product so while the spirit part evaporates, there is a tiny film of oil that remains.
I think white spirit would be a better choice. (also good for dry cleaning)
Don't waste good metho, which needs to be chilled and mixed with orange juice.
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C'mon Duckman, Old Spice is the go.......how about wet and dry with metho....dont laugh it works.
It stained your lips and made the teeth black !
But with a bit of a rub they would come up shiney
and thats not all, some great lower deck humour comes to mind but being off topic as well as possible just Off I will leave it.......sorry @coys 53 I'll will try to bring this unruly mob back to order...................It stained your lips and made the teeth black !
But with a bit of a rub they would come up shiney
When I get home I will be making some new brackets up to fit my new panels to the roof, being a tin roof I have been tossing up to go screws or large rivets with an adhesive but fastening the panels so i can remove it leaving the brackets in place........ In an emergency I reckon " No More Gaps" is really up there with them for sticking things down like the proverbial, it will take away part of a wall if not carefull.
I just can't make up my mind to convert my 2 x 110w panels into a portable and putting my 120w portable on the roof or not but then it may not fit on boot or my cover so may pass..............
On the bright side it would make spit polishing much more efficientIt stained your lips and made the teeth black !
But with a bit of a rub they would come up shiney
The pte / clear covering on my flexible panel is becoming very opaque - probably due to inadequate uv protection. I have tried headlight cutting/polish compound with some success but accidentally noticed an application of liquid wax produced remarakble but temporary results. Has anyone tried to restore the panel surface?