Solar panel fixing

[Molly 3]

Witch is the safest solar panel fixing ,the small footprint metal brackets, or the larger footprint plastic brackets ???

 

[rugbyken]

personally barry the biggest surface area to apply the bonding to due to flexing one of my central bkts on a 370W panel has come adrift but the other 7 are holding it plus i put an aluminium deflector on the front which is also bonded to roof and panel ,

 

[merl]

personally barry the biggest surface area to apply the bonding to due to flexing one of my central bkts on a 370W panel has come adrift but the other 7 are holding it plus i put an aluminium deflector on the front which is also bonded to roof and panel ,

That's interesting Ken. Where has the bond broke exactly? Is there still adhesive on the van roof, the bracket or the panel? And what adhesive did you use?
I've seen a video on YT where the adhesive simply peels off of a plastic bracket and I know plain old sanitary silicone sealnt doesn't adhere to some plastics.

 

[rugbyken]

my hymer collects rainwater pooling around the central skylight not a massive amount but it was the bkt next to it that has failed whether due to flexing or poor preparation can’t say, but it’s a big panel been like it for several years since we fitted it at a meet strawberry fields i think can’t remember which sikaflix it was but the recommended one at the time

 

[Mr and Mrs Tupcox]

We used a 100×50 ali 90deg angle on ours on full width and a 200mm center one, on 300w panel solid as a rock .sikoflex 522

 

[TJBi]

Witch is the safest solar panel fixing ,the small footprint metal brackets, or the larger footprint plastic brackets ???

Might depend on how you plan to secure the brackets. I have plastic brackets screwed to the roof. I noticed recently that the brackets are starting to crack, and examination revealed that the installer had not utilised any sealant/adhesive. No evidence of any rainwater incursion, but the potential in the near future for the brackets to fail. If I was starting from scratch, I would be looking at metal brackets using both screws and adhesive.

 

[merl]

my hymer collects rainwater pooling around the central skylight not a massive amount but it was the bkt next to it that has failed whether due to flexing or poor preparation can’t say, but it’s a big panel been like it for several years since we fitted it at a meet strawberry fields i think can’t remember which sikaflix it was but the recommended one at the time

And which adhesive bond has broken?
Adhesive to the van roof?
Adhesive to the panel?
Adhesive to the bracket?

 

[rugbyken]

van roof i could of course lower the brkt where it bolts to the panel but unfortunately it’s too close to the skylight which only raises and lowers so no access i’m confident the other fixings are secure enough as i say been like it many years now

 

[Molly 3]

Might depend on how you plan to secure the brackets. I have plastic brackets screwed to the roof. I noticed recently that the brackets are starting to crack, and examination revealed that the installer had not utilised any sealant/adhesive. No evidence of any rainwater incursion, but the potential in the near future for the brackets to fail. If I was starting from scratch, I would be looking at metal brackets using both screws and adhesive.

It doesn't happen very often but they have been known to fly away.

 

[merl]

Well I personally used short lengths of Ali angle. As you can probably make out from the picture I drilled several holes to allow adhesive to squidge through and in my head increase the hold??
Anyway I go up now and again to make sure they're still sound and give them a real lift with all my mite but the van roof bends. I think I could lift the van with them. Slight exaggeration perhaps but I'm dead confident with them and no screws either.
I reckon time spent on prep is very important and like Ken suggested probably why one of his didn't stick to the van roof properly.

 

[Vanterrier]

And which adhesive bond has broken?
Adhesive to the van roof?
Adhesive to the panel?
Adhesive to the bracket?

Or if its a seven van it could be...

the paint To the primer...

My 2010 Ducato suffered from lifting paintwork so not much point in using adhesive to stick to dodgy paint.
I used a combination of screws and adhesive on brackets and had a wind deflector in front.

Better safe than sorry

K

 

[Molly 3]

Or if its a seven van it could be...

the paint To the primer...

My 2010 Ducato suffered from lifting paintwork so not much point in using adhesive to stick to dodgy paint.
I used a combination of screws and adhesive on brackets and had a wind deflector in front.

Better safe than sorry

K

Kens van is an A class ,

 

[nabsim]

Witch is the safest solar panel fixing ,the small footprint metal brackets, or the larger footprint plastic brackets ???

Don't know how you really say with is safest Baz, from what I can see its mainly down tp preparation and using the right adhesive. I used 4 x plastic corner brackets and 2 x longer plastic brakcets on the sides of my panels. They are solid plastic (or whatever blend of chemical elements they are) I believe you can get hollow ones with less surface area where they glue to the roof.

After contacting Sika Tech they advised I used 252i Architectural (I am almost sure but nobody act on that, check with them yourselves) which in 2018 was £24 a tube

Everything properly scuffed/cleaned and plenty adhesive so there was a good pad left between roof and bracket.

Last checked in January and everything still looking good

 

[wildebus]

Something I do with all mounts that I am sticking down - be they the metal 'Z' Brackets (my personal preference) or the large plastic mounts - is get a sander with a high grit on it and get the surfaces that is to be stuck together nice and rough before cleaning both and then sticking. These plastic mounts typically still have remains of the mould release agent and if not cleaned off properly will never stick down securely. The very process of sanding is sure to get rid of all that

As far as Sikaflex goes, the current popular option seems to be 522 (https://amzn.to/3MZoTxd) but something else that I am not sure is widely used, party due to its cost (>£300/Litre) is the Sika Activator (https://amzn.to/4l7Qucm).

my hymer collects rainwater pooling around the central skylight not a massive amount but it was the bkt next to it that has failed whether due to flexing or poor preparation can’t say, but it’s a big panel been like it for several years since we fitted it at a meet strawberry fields i think can’t remember which sikaflix it was but the recommended one at the time

This reminds me about an installation a couple of years ago for AndyJanet. Can't actually remember the date but I can tell you it was in the proper Wintertime. Fitted the panels to the roof using the metal brackets and Sikaflex. The next 2 days alternated between the brackets being under water due to the amount of rainfall and covered in snow and ice.
Wasn't the ideal installation conditions clearly but had to be done due to time constraints and as far as I am aware those panels are still secure

 

[Molly 3]

Thanks for all comments I have a flexible panel on now which I feel is the safest , I am aware of the drawbacks of flexipanels including short life span that now needs changing , so it's make my mind up time but due to too many candles can't hack roof work so I will have to open my wallet Bazz

 

[wildebus]

Thanks for all comments I have a flexible panel on now which I feel is the safest , I am aware of the drawbacks of flexipanels including short life span that now needs changing , so it's make my mind up time but due to too many candles can't hack roof work so I will have to open my wallet Bazz

If you get a decent semi-flexible panel, then they last fine. the Downside is that decent ones are notably more expensive than glass panels.