Thanks Don - the renogy panel is stiff-ish (similar to say 1/8” polycarbonate) and not heartbreakingly expensive. It is not bridged over any hard spots, only suspended on the trampoline of the Bimini. I had contemplated further stiffening but didn’t want to add weight, then have to support that. We shall see how it works out! Dave
Sent from my iPhone > On Jan 25, 2021, at 8:32 AM, Don Marlin <donmar...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Coroplast won't hold up. It doesn't survive UV and when hot gets very soft. > If you use a backing, best to use Polycarbonate sheet. > It is what they use for green house panels. > > This is what I have done and it is working well. > I learned the hard way and destroyed one of my panels before that. > > Backing vs no backing is a dice roll. I have a friend who has no backing and > his panels are doing OK. > In my situation I tried coroplast backing and that failed in the first > season. > > What I do know is flexible panels are VERY fragile and will tolerate zero > abuse. The faster they are bonded > to something stiff, the less likely you have of cracking and destroying > cells. It does not take much abuse to > kill an entire panel. > > As they say...YMMV > > >> On Mon, Jan 25, 2021 at 6:44 AM Dave S via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> >> wrote: >> Joel >> Had thought (briefly) about heat mitigation, but like you I enjoy a 5 month >> season here in the Toronto area, and I doubt it's the same issue it might be >> in South Florida or elsewhere. To Josh's point - the air is moving under >> the bimini. I'm more concerned about the weight on the unsupported fabric >> over time. >> >> Worthwhile? Dunno yet. I haven't tested the setup, but really it depends >> on your objective. The 33ii has space constraints for both panels and >> batteries, and as a result my expectation is to extend the time between >> charging, not to eliminate charging. We'll see. In theory, If I were >> able to accommodate another 50w of reliable generation, windstar could be >> 100% off the grid. >> >> Cost of the panel and controller is around C$500+ (you can verify on >> Renogy.ca.) Battery choices are another consideration, and can get spendy >> quickly.. I bought two lithium group 35s totalling 220ah. if you click >> around on that blog you'll see further documentation and all the associated >> arithmetic and (excessive...lol) reasoning. This area is new to me, I had a >> lot of input from experienced folks on the list and much is shared there. >> This includes an inventory of the power consumption by item on Windstar >> which may save you (or your wife) some time. >> >> Dave 33-2 >> >>> On Mon, 25 Jan 2021 at 00:54, Josh Muckley via CnC-List >>> <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: >>> Joel, >>> >>> When the panels heat up they become less and less efficient. That's the >>> reason for controlling their heat if possible. If mounting on a fabric >>> such as a Bimini I can't imagine that adding a coroplast backing would >>> change the temperature very much since the fabric is already pretty thin. >>> On the other hand if you were planning on mounting the panels to a hard >>> surface then yes I believe there would be reason enough to add the backing. >>> On my hard dodger installation I use adhesive felt pads. Now I wish I had >>> though about coroplast. That's a great idea. >>> >>> Josh Muckley >>> S/V Sea Hawk >>> 1989 C&C 37+ >>> Solomons, MD >>> >>>> On Sun, Jan 24, 2021, 16:56 Joel Delamirande via CnC-List >>>> <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: >>>> I’ve seen on YouTube not over heat your panels >>>> They put a corrugated plastic panel underneath the solar panels >>>> It let airflow >>>> Let me know if it worth it and total cost for that project >>>> My wife just added that to my list >>>> >>>>> On Sun, Jan 24, 2021 at 4:49 PM Dave S via CnC-List >>>>> <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: >>>>> Installing a 175w solar panel on the bimini. >>>>> >>>>> https://cncwindstar.blogspot.com/2021/01/bimini-mods-for-solar-panel.html >>>>> >>>>> Dave >>>>> Windstar 33-2 >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help >>>>> with the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - >>>>> use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray >>>>> Thanks - Stu >>>> -- >>>> Joel Delamirande >>>> >>>> www.jdroofing.ca >>>> >>>> Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with >>>> the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use >>>> PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - >>>> Stu >>> Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with >>> the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use >>> PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - >>> Stu >> Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with >> the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use >> PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - >> Stu
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu
