Solar Roof

[orange4boy]

Plexiglass is a brand name for acrylic. You can glue them together but you will need a cement designed for acrylic bonding. Weldon 3,4 or 16 will work, the 3 and 4 are water thin and have to be applied with an applicator (the 3 dries faster than the 4) and the 16 has a syrupy consistency. There is also a product called "plastic welder", I don't remember who makes it (maybe Devcon?) that would also work and probably be easier for you to find for this single project. You may be able to find the pthers locally, look in the yellow pages under plastics and see if you have any listings. Good luck, Skip

Or, you might try glazing tape. It's a butyl strip, like tar, on a roll, used to install sealed units to a window sill. It happens to stick well to acrylic and is flexible. Unlike the above Weldon products, It should also be non permanent if you ever need to take it apart again, with a little heat (a warm day in the sun) and some patience you should be able to pry it apart.

See, we can get back on track.... eventually.

[Christ]

Would there be any potential profit for Gascort in sealing the cells between two panes of acrylic or lexan?

Put a dab of silly-cone on the backs of the panels, and adhere them to one piece of acryl or lexan, then apply a bead of sealant around the panel after running your wires out from it, and firmly seal the other panel to it, so you end up with a shell all the way around your panels that is sealed from moisture. You can even vacuum and re-seal the panels if you so choose.

[orange4boy]

The silicone won't bond to the acrylic. The double layer is a good idea but more expensive. I would try the glazing tape. I've seen it in 1/16 and 1/8. Look for the thicker stuff. A good hardware store should carry it.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by orange4boy

The silicone won't bond to the acrylic. The double layer is a good idea but more expensive. I would try the glazing tape. I've seen it in 1/16 and 1/8. Look for the thicker stuff. A good hardware store should carry it.

Duh... Good point. I was going to suggest 3m mounting tape, but then I went with silly cone.

I think with mine, I'm actually going to de-skin the roof, lay in a "tray" and then lay the lexan over the cells so that everything is flush mounted and sealed, to avoid these types of problems.

[SVOboy]

Originally Posted by Christ

Duh... Good point. I was going to suggest 3m mounting tape, but then I went with silly cone.

I think with mine, I'm actually going to de-skin the roof, lay in a "tray" and then lay the lexan over the cells so that everything is flush mounted and sealed, to avoid these types of problems.

That is my plan as well.

[Christ]

Dude... seriously? You took less time to respond than I took to edit...

I'm still liking the 4 square feet (almost) of dash area that can also be used easily for something solar in Cara. It won't be making power 100% of the time, but I always park in the sun, and it wouldn't be too hard to make sure the dash is in the sun as well. The "visor" area of the windshield, as well.

[basslover911]

How many watts are you getting total compared to how many square inches are on the car right now?

[drimportracing]

Originally Posted by gascort

...it wasn't the cracks, or not solely them. It appears to be capillary action between the silicone and the plexiglass. They're both super smooth and really close together, wicking the water right in. Anyone have an idea? Something that adheres to plexiglass that won't slip off/peel off?

I haven't looked at the blog or pics so I might be missing the point so to speak but could you use polyurethane to seal the panels without using a plexiglass cover? I'm thinking of the two bottle mix that you pour on and brush out, commonly use over wood in bars. It dries clear and I suspect would preserve the panels from the elements forever, no idea as to it's transparency in the sun as most bars are in the dark. - Dale

[gascort]

drimportracing, I thought about that too - I guess if I put thick enough coat(s) on, it would protect the cells from hail - impacts too.
Good question about the longevity in UV light too.
As I already have the plexiglass (acrylic thanks, Orange4boy!) , I will try the glazing tape. Hopefully it will stick to the metal car roof!
The cells are starting to rust - going to try to tackle some of this tonight - get it opened and drying out at least before they're ruined!
DevCon is the manufacturer of PlasticWeld - you're right. I have some in the garage, but not much. I used to sell that stuff all the time at O'Reilly Auto Parts when I worked there.
Basslover, I'm not getting any watts now since it's not hooked up and they're submerged in water.... but the area on the roof is like 32x48 inches and it produces about 100W

[Daox]

If you're looking for are still looking for some electronics thing to build. A user over on EcoRenovator just posted some plans for a MPPT solar controller. This controller maximizes output from the solar panel and can increase output by up to 30%.