cheap solar cells on ebay

Jay64 said:
Veloman, you should really get those parts at Lowe's instead of the orange box. :lol: :lol:
Click to expand...


Ugh, I went to Lowes the other day, and yes I do like it a little better than HD. The problem is that Lowes means biking a section of busy road, the route is a little hillier, a tad farther.... but actually it's a safer area for locking my bike up. I locked it up to a wooden picnic bench they had out front under their overhang.... it was nice being able to lock it in the shade as it was 95 degrees that day. Of course, no business here in CT has actually bike racks, so i can't really use my U-lock, only my cut-through-in-15-seconds-cable-lock. Yeah yeah i could buy a huge chain...


I really need to find the silicone or something to use in that way. I have the plywood, plexiglass and all the cell wiring stuff.
 
That Silicone should have been in Lowes. GE II. Nothing else. Comes in Caulking tubes. Not sure where to find the thinning agent ??

Something I have been thinking about is, we quit using Silicone in the Home remodeling work we did for years. Went to Polyseamseal. It's water based, or, cleans up with water, anyhow. Sticks better than Silicone.

Don't know about the heat affecting it. Thinning with water would work, and, it comes in clear. Goes on white, but, dries clear ??

Some Chemically minded person might do a search on properties of that stuff ??
 
Harold,

I went to the hardware store today, and they had 2 kinds of GE clear silicone. One had Silicone I on the label. The other didn't have anything other than the notation "Crystal Clear" and it said you could clean up with water. I've never used any silicone that could be cleaned off using water. Is that the right one? Is water maybe a useful thinning agent?

I also found very thin UV resistant Lexan locally. The interesting thing is that the UV protection is only on one side, with it clearly labeled which side was up and why. The only problem is that It is corrugated. It's cheap enough at $12/sheet to give it a try to see if I can flatten it with some heat. I need most of a sheet of corrugated plastic for something around the house anyway, so I'll get a sheet and use a scrap for testing. I'm still trying to source some UV resistant clear epoxy locally, which shouldn't be too difficult since it's commonly used on surfboards. Hopefully I'll be testing something soon, so it's time to track down and order a good charge controller.

If we get some good sun, which has been rare for a few weeks now as evidenced by our grass growing slowly, I'll be able to test the UV blocking ability of this lexan using laminating epoxy I already have that quickly yellows in the sun.

I've decided against trying to get a transparent epoxy with fiberglass layer on top of the cells. After reading about how tricky it is for the guys that do those beautiful wood strip kayaks, I want to keep things simple. Hopefully the thin lexan will provide enough protection on top of the cells, and then it will be easy to get plenty of rigidity and strength with epoxy and fiberglass cloth on the backside for panels for mobile use.

Getting closer to build week. :D

John
 
Never heard of water thinable Silicone. Doesn't mean it does not exist. The stuff I was referring to is Latex based, as is most all water based stuff.

I bought some of that UV resistant stuff, and used a sheet on my Solar Dry Kiln. Can't tell it from the opaque stuff, after 2 years ?? it's awful thin, too. Might be good for you, though.

I bought a Charge Controller KIT from a guy in Ohio, right after I bought those cells. I then paid a guy he recommended to put it together. It's set at 14.4 V, to keep from overcharging the battery. It then dumps the charge load to a bunch of Resistors. I'm just gonna dump to more batteries :roll: :roll:

Probably paid too much, but, the guy has been REAL helpful on other matters. It's also being used by several guys and they ALL swear by it. Might even be adjustable to do higher voltages ?? I could ask if you want. ??
 
Harold in CR said:
Never heard of water thinable Silicone. Doesn't mean it does not exist. The stuff I was referring to is Latex based, as is most all water based stuff.

I bought some of that UV resistant stuff, and used a sheet on my Solar Dry Kiln. Can't tell it from the opaque stuff, after 2 years ?? it's awful thin, too. Might be good for you, though.

I bought a Charge Controller KIT from a guy in Ohio, right after I bought those cells. I then paid a guy he recommended to put it together. It's set at 14.4 V, to keep from overcharging the battery. It then dumps the charge load to a bunch of Resistors. I'm just gonna dump to more batteries :roll: :roll:

Probably paid too much, but, the guy has been REAL helpful on other matters. It's also being used by several guys and they ALL swear by it. Might even be adjustable to do higher voltages ?? I could ask if you want. ??
Click to expand...

So the corrugated lexan turned white? Are you sure the correct side was up? Any chance it was something from the wood side? It looks like I'll have to order online after all.

The charge controller kit deal may be fine, but I couldn't trust my precious lithium packs to anyone not a manufacturer of charge controllers, especially since I want one that puts out exactly 81V.
 
I'm sure I put the panel on correctly. The kiln is not closed up airtight, so, I was surprised it did that.

Only a thought on the kit. Just so you know where I got mine.
 
Be sure to make the corners as rigid as possible. That is where the flex will come from, and glass will break. I'm just going with Aluminum Window frames. After all, it's made to fit the glass ??

Price on GE II Silicone at Home Despot in Sebastian Fl. is, right at $6.00 a tube. Thinner is Glycerin. Just get some Pooper lubricators and melt them down with a little mineral Spirits. :roll: :lol:
 
Harold in CR said:
Be sure to make the corners as rigid as possible. That is where the flex will come from, and glass will break.
Click to expand...

That one thing I like about this profile is it has the round channel for a corner screw. I haven't seen an actual sample to see if it is too light and flexable.

Harold in CR said:
Price on GE II Silicone at Home Despot in Sebastian Fl. is, right at $6.00 a tube. Thinner is Glycerin. Just get some Pooper lubricators and melt them down with a little mineral Spirits. :roll: :lol:
Click to expand...

Have you tried this yet to see if it's workable?
 
No, I have not tried the Silicone. Just talked with my Son, in Fl., last night.

In this thread, I put info about someone that DID use it, and another guy, IN the industry, saying that is what HE would do.
 
Hey Harold, where did the glycerin idea come from? I've read about using it as a thinning agent, but it's oily. The guy you referenced uses the GEII which he found to be free of acetic acid, which corrodes the metals, and he thins it 50/50 with mineral spirits.
 
Here's the actual statement he made, John.

To thin the silicone I start with 50% silicone and 50% mineral spirits. This produces a honey consistency. If you want thinner just add more mineral spirits. Make sure you use liquid glycerin. You can purchase at just about any drugstore, just purchase some a...... I mean...... a....... suppositories. I usually ask the wife to grab some. I use 4 drops per ounce of mix. If the mix starts to thicken while your working with it just add more mineral spirits. Mix well. Have good ventilation and avoid flame and sparks. Remember this is slow drying, at least 5 to 7 days.
Click to expand...

I'm THINKING the Glycerin is used to help "Kick" the drying a little. On page 3 of this thread, is a link to that post on "Fieldlines" forum. He shows the actual use and describes it pretty well. He uses Pooper Lubricators. I also priced it in Guatuso, at the Pharmacy. Small bottle, I believe 4 oz. is 1mil colones.

I have tried to contact the guy, but, he seems to have vanished ??
 
DAMN. :shock: :shock: For THAT price I would expect a near naked Chinese Girl to come with that frame, and she would build the frame, while I watched. ??? 8) :twisted:

Have you contacted any scrap yards ?? Even Storm Doors would work, just shim the space so the glass is nearly snug, then seal with Silicone, squeezing it between the glass and Aluminum frame.
 
I ordered a slightly different size of these.

http://cgi.ebay.com/4-Solar-Panel-A...963?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3361b8d02b

They arrived today and the ends do not match the sides. Lovely, it's going to be fun time resolving this with people who don't speak English! Paypal dispute filled.

4d4f28f8.jpg
 
Man, That SUX. :shock: Maybe they used a Metric ruler and an imperial ruler ??

Even down here, I got a quote for glass and the Aluminum frame in NEW stock, for $33.00 a panel ??
 
Harold,

The difference is he lives where you can only buy ready made windows, which are close to impossible to find down here. Windows are typically hand made here on site. Advanced here is the glass shops that sell the extruded aluminum for framing and cut to whatever size you want. Of course all this is possible only because the climate is nice enough that proper double paned windows just aren't necessary.

John
 
Maybe so, John. However, even a blind man can feel that those pieces do not match up.

Yopappa, do ANY of those pieces match up ??

Is it possible to put the shorter piece INSIDE the longer piece, and maybe put a shim between them, and fasten them together ??

It IS after all, mostly for support. Looks like the important parts are a match, just don't completely fit together correctly ??
 
Correct parts arrived while I was traveling. Glass is the next item to purchase. Anything special to get? Tempered for sure.

Harold and John, where are you in Costa Rica? I was just in Puntarenas off a cruise ship. Did the tourist thing, saw the monkeys, rain forest, crocs. Neat area.
 
I'm due North of Puntarenas, about 40 miles. Takes about 3 hours to drive it, cause, you can't here from there. Roads are really limiting, out here in the Campo. I'm about 45 minutes from Lake Arenal. Place called Linda Vista- Venado. Google earth and see if you can find me.

Shoot, I got Rainforest and Monkeys all around me.
 
I've put my DIY panels on hold for a while. In the mean time I've found some completed panels on Ebay for around $2 per watt.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-120-WATT-12-VOLT-SOLAR-PANEL-Polycrystalline-/110630869179?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c21d18bb
 
Hopefully, I will have Silicone THIS Month. Got some other stuff to be sent down, also.
 
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