Are you not going to fix to the roof?
I'm not looking forward to cleaning off the old sealant. I think I will lay a sheet of PPF once clean. Then stick the new panell to that.
Renogy 200W Flexi-Panel Install
- Thread starter J19WMK
- Start date
I'm not looking forward to cleaning off the old sealant. I think I will lay a sheet of PPF once clean. Then stick the new panell to that.
Heavy and bulky though
@Drive Wayne I have 2 of these and been good the last 3 years, and I payed quite a bit more than they’re now.
Don't you have a flexi solar on the roof?
My two Renogy 175 watt panels are still working after 2 1/2 yrs despite one trying to throw itself off the pop top and despite always being parked outside under the blazing, blistering UK sun, sometimes for two days in a row.
I don't notice the performance tailing off due to excess heat but there is quite a variation in panel output during the day and that can be barely in double figures when the sun has just come up despite it being a glorious morning compared to midday and these bad boys throwing around 20A into the battery with the wife and I doing our best to keep the Roamer below critical mass.
I don't notice the performance tailing off due to excess heat but there is quite a variation in panel output during the day and that can be barely in double figures when the sun has just come up despite it being a glorious morning compared to midday and these bad boys throwing around 20A into the battery with the wife and I doing our best to keep the Roamer below critical mass.
Yes but no but... it died over the weekend, currently in the poptop with a multimeter getting 0.01 volts, which the Cerbo agrees with. The panel will come back to life a bit later when cooler, and work in the morning for a couple of hours. Exactly the same as my previous panel just over 2 years ago.
Ah, so you are doing away with flexi panels bonded to the roof and just using portable.
Yep, had enough flex!
After 2 dead panels in 3 years, it's time to try something else. Rather than worry about making sure the van is pointing the best way to gather the rays, I'm now going to have to be careful on space around the van for the panels to sit, oh and cable trippage, and weeing dogs!
Busfest T6 camping 2023 and that's an awful lot of stuck on flexible panels, can't all be dead now surely?
As for parking in the right direction, defying the Kamp Commandant and underlings is a sport and about the only act of defiance you can't get fined for...
Honestly impressed with my new Renogy 220 watt suitcase portable panel, certainly sucking some sun today, good value at £229 with a £70 voucher from Amazon.
What are you using to create the gap?
Primarily just the bead of Sikaflex. I did put a few rubber spacers underneath to stop me pushing the panel down too far but I wouldn’t bother next time.
Sika give instructions how to apply a triangular bead that gives an even bead when compressed. I did a 10mm high triangular bead and then the weight of the panel plus a gentle run over with a hand compressed it to about a 5mm gap. Leave for 24 hours and job done.
This is a job I will be doing shortly and your posts have been very helpful.
I dont know whether to use Sika 522 or 3M VHB tape. Any issues with lifting since fitting? Also did you place anything on the panel to weigh it down whilst the Sika cured?
Sorry, just seen. I considered the tape too but it doesn’t give as big a gap. Cleaner to apply though.
I’ve had zero movement or deterioration of the Sika despite the van living outside (snow, ice, rain, sun…) and lots of high speed driving. I did place a few items (bottles of water and some wood) on top while it set, primarily because it has a slight curve across the roof and I wanted to stop the edges lifting. Don’t over do it though or you’ll reduce the gap. I used Sikaflex 552 after lots of research on their site. It was the best mix of UV resistance, primer less, flexibility, application depth etc I could find.
In preparation for putting a Renogy 200W flexible PV panel on the SCA pop-top roof of my campervan, I did fair bit of research to determine the optimum approach. Following what many campervan and motorhome owners have done, principally in the USA and Australia, I’ve decided to fix the PV panel to a sheet of 10mm twinwall polycarbonate with Sikaflex 522, let it dry, then stick the sandwich to the roof panel with 3M VHB LSE-110WF double-sided adhesive tape. The rationale for this approach being twofold, firstly, that the air gap created by the twinwall sheet should prevent excessive heat build up of the panel and therefore extend its operational life, and secondly, unlike Sikaflex, the VHB tape can be removed cleanly and easily from the pop-top surface without damage or leaving marks should it ever be necessary.
Sounds good. Out of interest, why didn't you use the VHB tape to fix the panel to the twinwall?
Simple. I’ve already got a few tubes of Sikaflex in the garage, it’s cheaper than VHB tape and I doubt if I’d ever need to worry about pulling the PV panel off of the twinwall.
Pete j.c
Member
Could I please ask how you secure the scanstrut gland to a pop top. Is it screwed only or bonded.
