Hello to the group from not-so-sunny Eastern Canada.
Just to share my experiences in trying to obtain local products to use while building a solar panel in an effort to cut down on the up-front costs.
I obtained several aluminium doors for free- they were a wealth of useful material I used to build a typical 36 cell panel using 3x6 inch cells. The frame easily builds 1 panel and with 2 doors there's enough to build 3 panels. The glass is tempered (although you should check it to be sure) unless it was replaced with ordinary windows glass at some time in the past.
To cut the frame, I replaced the wood cutting blade with a metal cutting blade and easily made the mitered corners on my miter saw. The glass measures 28x31 inches and the cells fit nicely on the glass and into the reconstructed frame. The old door has 4-90 degree angle supports that can be used again for the new frame.
The re-built frame also has the added advantage of having a nice outside nailing flange that would fit into some form of supporting framework for additional panels.
I ran an ad on the local internet swap shop for free doors and was quite successful in finding some.
Just to share my experiences in trying to obtain local products to use while building a solar panel in an effort to cut down on the up-front costs.
I obtained several aluminium doors for free- they were a wealth of useful material I used to build a typical 36 cell panel using 3x6 inch cells. The frame easily builds 1 panel and with 2 doors there's enough to build 3 panels. The glass is tempered (although you should check it to be sure) unless it was replaced with ordinary windows glass at some time in the past.
To cut the frame, I replaced the wood cutting blade with a metal cutting blade and easily made the mitered corners on my miter saw. The glass measures 28x31 inches and the cells fit nicely on the glass and into the reconstructed frame. The old door has 4-90 degree angle supports that can be used again for the new frame.
The re-built frame also has the added advantage of having a nice outside nailing flange that would fit into some form of supporting framework for additional panels.
I ran an ad on the local internet swap shop for free doors and was quite successful in finding some.
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