Solar panel care

[john007]

Silly me I engaged the inverter to use a soldering iron. The fridge started and 30 plus amps showed as the discharge. The system did not recover and two new batteries later I am back to normal, what ever that is. Searching for the lack of import from the solar panels, 400 watts in total, I discovered , again that the surface on a flexi had gone green. Scraped clean, WD ... applied and back to a good charge rate. My thoughts are that to prevent the very thin covering of the panel one could start off with a thin acrylic sheet as protection. The alternative would be to apply a coat of varnish. I repaired a panel when the glass broke and lost maybe 10 %. Any thoughts, sensible ones please.

[john61ct]

Buy quality framed glass rigid panels, never "semi-flex" type.

Do not put anything over cells, just clean with water, or at most add a little vinegar and Dawn.

[LoudMusic]

I agree with John. Flex panels are not your friend.

[Lake-Effect]

I have a few rigid portable panels that i just throw on a cockpit seat to top up the battery when I'm away. My care tips? Wipe'em if they're dirty. Put them away in the winter. That's it.

[thomm225]

I sit on one of my main rigid panels when I dock and have stood on the edge of it raising the outboard after getting the boat sailing properly and under autopilot.

I have another 50 Watt rigid panel I unhook when not actually using the boat and throw/store in the V berth. I have two more 20 watt panes hooked up but are kept in the Port Lazarette until needed.

Rain cleans the panels or I hose them down when I rinse the boat periodically.

The panel on the Aft Lazarette is 7-8 years old