[the real post] Solar Panel Encapsulation

[rollandelliott]

how much does the aeromarine stuff cost? is it a flexible epoxy, or does it get super hard/brittle?

[bidaw]

Has anyone used Aeromarine 300/21??? A buddy of mine that got me hooked into this DIY Solar Panel thing has been using it the same way people here are using S-184. Great results from what I have seen of his.

[rollandelliott]

dow 6010

dow 6010 is half the price of slygard you can buy it direct from krayden, but they have a 36kg minimum order. see other post detailing bulk order of it.

[Swampwood]

Keep this one alive

[DeltaFox 25]

You have to remember that this has to be Optical clear

[Solar Friend]

Solar-Tite alternative

Hello All,

Found a interesting forum here for DIY Solar panels. I am a 24 year Engineer of electronics and communications and I am interested to make solar panels (later I will post my project).

The real problem here for DIY panels is the durability and also ENCAPSULATE the cells. We always see that the Sylgard 184 is the way to go, but it is too expensive. I got 150 solar cells (polycystaline, 0.6v, 3A) for 150 USD, including tabbing wire, Roxin flux and cables. So it is not possible that I am going to expend double or triple the price for encapsulating the cells.

I investigate the possible encapsulants for solar panels, see the list:

1- Dow Corning Sylgard 184 - http://www.ellsworth.com/display/pro...ctid=216&Tab=V (the god of encapsulant)

2- Dow Corning Sylgard 164 - http://www.ellsworth.com/display/pro...ctid=205&Tab=V (have almost same description of the Sylgard 184)

3-Dupont PV solution - http://www2.dupont.com/Photovoltaics...e20091027.html (looks promissing, release it Oct 2009)

4- The EVA - http://cgi.ebay.com/EVA-Sheet-for-So...item5d28143278 (the cheap)

As we can see in the list, the Sylgard 184 is the clear winner in some other way, just mix, cure let it happen and in 1 day, you have a hard and good looking solar panel backing, also encapsulate the solar cells.

The problem here is that we need to look for PRICE and also Durability (at least 15 years), so the question is THERE IS A SUBSTITUTE OF THE DOW CORNING SYLGARD 184 FROM OTHER BRAND? Also a cheaper one?. If we select items number 3 and 4, they are "cheap" but you need extra machinery and also extra material to seal the solar cells and the Panel itself.

So, THERE IS A SOLUTION THAT WE ONLY NEED TO MAKE THE SOLAR FRAME, PUT THE GLASS, TAB THE SOLAR CELLS AND JUST AD A MAGICAL ENCAPSULANT? Lets make this post the real encapsulant solution for all the DIY's of solar panels. The only product that is almost the same as the Sylgard 184 is item number 2 (sylgard 164), but dont specify the properties of being a PV encapsulant.

Please post prices, links and just get into the facts right away. This will help a lot of people here.

thanks!

Google .... "Solar-Tite" It looks like the same stuff as Slygard but it is about $20.00 Cheaper

[DeltaFox 25]

The Sylgard 164 is for potting , like inside your juntion box so no moister getts there. and other potting not encapsulating the cells. There is Sylgard out there that is cheeper then E-bay.

[matrixone]

Hello All,

Found a interesting forum here for DIY Solar panels. I am a 24 year Engineer of electronics and communications and I am interested to make solar panels (later I will post my project).

The real problem here for DIY panels is the durability and also ENCAPSULATE the cells. We always see that the Sylgard 184 is the way to go, but it is too expensive. I got 150 solar cells (polycystaline, 0.6v, 3A) for 150 USD, including tabbing wire, Roxin flux and cables. So it is not possible that I am going to expend double or triple the price for encapsulating the cells.

I investigate the possible encapsulants for solar panels, see the list:

1- Dow Corning Sylgard 184 - http://www.ellsworth.com/display/pro...ctid=216&Tab=V (the god of encapsulant)

2- Dow Corning Sylgard 164 - http://www.ellsworth.com/display/pro...ctid=205&Tab=V (have almost same description of the Sylgard 184)

3-Dupont PV solution - http://www2.dupont.com/Photovoltaics...e20091027.html (looks promissing, release it Oct 2009)

4- The EVA - http://cgi.ebay.com/EVA-Sheet-for-So...item5d28143278 (the cheap)

As we can see in the list, the Sylgard 184 is the clear winner in some other way, just mix, cure let it happen and in 1 day, you have a hard and good looking solar panel backing, also encapsulate the solar cells.

The problem here is that we need to look for PRICE and also Durability (at least 15 years), so the question is THERE IS A SUBSTITUTE OF THE DOW CORNING SYLGARD 184 FROM OTHER BRAND? Also a cheaper one?. If we select items number 3 and 4, they are "cheap" but you need extra machinery and also extra material to seal the solar cells and the Panel itself.

So, THERE IS A SOLUTION THAT WE ONLY NEED TO MAKE THE SOLAR FRAME, PUT THE GLASS, TAB THE SOLAR CELLS AND JUST AD A MAGICAL ENCAPSULANT? Lets make this post the real encapsulant solution for all the DIY's of solar panels. The only product that is almost the same as the Sylgard 184 is item number 2 (sylgard 164), but dont specify the properties of being a PV encapsulant.

Please post prices, links and just get into the facts right away. This will help a lot of people here.

thanks!