Cleaning solar panels (1 Viewer)

[peterc10]

How do you people clean your solar panels when touring?

In our previous motorhome we had large hinge up Heki roof lights so we could pop our head and arms out and wipe the solar panels clean every so often. New motorhome also has large roof lights but they are the wind up type, which just go up and down horizontally, so only about a 6" gap all round. The solar panels are either side of the roof light, but I just can't get the hand out far enough to do anything.

I do not want to carry a long ladder and our extending washing brush won't work from the outside, because I need one with an angled joint.

Any sensible suggestions welcome please. Non-sensible ones OK as long as they are very funny.

 

[Camdoon]

Have 4 sons, once a year, one of them is thrown up and not allowed down until the panels are clean. "Every so often.." is once a year for me.

 

[peterc10]

Have 4 sons, once a year, one of them is thrown up and not allowed down until the panels are clean. "Every so often.." is once a year for me.

I can throw myself up there once a year to give them a clean. But they get very dirty in between. They are horizontal with little lips so dirty rain water tends to pond, as well as dust settling. After a couple of weeks the amount of muck builds up and makes them a lot less less efficient, and most of the time I am on Aires or wild camping so rely upon them more.

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[WSandME]

Our previous van had a rear ladder, and aluminium checker plate in the roof, so ideal.

However, we didn't have solar panels!

Present van has panels, but no ladder or checker plate.

So I bought a telescopic ladder from ebay and I'm happy with it for cleaning the whole van, and round the house. I modified it a little by glueing a soft foam strip to the top so it won't scratch when leaning on the van. Fits nicely in the van's garage and doesn't weigh much.

 

[Just smiffy]

I'm in the same predicament now Peter and I've thought that when traveling around I'll be looking for suitable places to park just for the purpose of cleaning the panels... next to terraces, walls and such, even another motorhome with a ladder on the back..

I have seen in France special lorry/motorhome type car washes with raised platforms, they would be free to use if only wiping the panels clean...

 

[BreweryDave]

There's always someone else wth a ladder,

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[tonka]

Large step ladder and do it when at home. Maybe once a year..
Other than that, wait for it to rain a lot..

 

[peterc10]

Thanks for suggestions so far. What I was really looking for was something that was 2 or 3 foot long and thin that I could poke out of the rooflight. Or something longer (6 or 8 ft long) with an adjustable swivel bit about 2/3rds along so that I could use it from outside.

 

[peterc10]

I'm in the same predicament now Peter and I've thought that when traveling around I'll be looking for suitable places to park just for the purpose of cleaning the panels... next to terraces, walls and such, even another motorhome with a ladder on the back..

Garry, from what I can remember you are a bit shorter than me so may have a bit more difficulty.

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[DavidG58]

I think you have too much time on your hands Peter

Ours gets done every other year or so, but I will pop up and look this weekend now you have worried me as well

Will look at before and after readings on solar controller to see what difference it makes presuming the sun conditions don't change

I doubt you would be able to get enough downwards force on anything long enough to reach, you need to be up there and do it (technically you don't need to be at all, it is all in your head)

Buy another panel to compensate for the losses

 

[BreweryDave]

Ours gets done every other year or so, but I will pop up and look this weekend now you have worried me as well

Maybe explains your previous battery issues

 

[peterc10]

I think you have too much time on your hands Peter

Ours gets done every other year or so, but I will pop up and look this weekend now you have worried me as well

Will look at before and after readings on solar controller to see what difference it makes presuming the sun conditions don't change

I doubt you would be able to get enough downwards force on anything long enough to reach, you need to be up there and do it (technically you don't need to be at all, it is all in your head)

Buy another panel to compensate for the losses

David, At the moment I do not have enough time on my hands. When we start rolling through Europe next week then I hope I will have more time to think about these things more, but then it will be too late to buy anything.

In the old van cleaning them seemed to make a difference to the amount of amps flowing. Our van is parked so that we can see the roof from our bedroom, and I am surprised at how dirty the panels get. Happens more often in the summer, when we get some dirty rain picked up from other dryer parts of Europe and North Africa. Still after Brexit we can control our borders better so that won't be a problem will it.

If the thing is wet enough it does not need much pressure to clean it - that is what we found on the previous motorhome. Maybe a long brush with a water feed through it and an articulating arm would do it, if only I could find one.

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[Stealaway]

I can stand on the seats a poke mi head out the roof light while the wife passes me the wet brush from inside. Bit of a faff but we only need to do it once a year.
My biggest problem now is that because of the solar panels, I can't climb out the roof light to clean the roof. I can perch precariously on the garden fence and reach most of it - except a two foot square patch on the far side of one panel. That bit looks disgusting.

 

[Ridgeway]

Is there a need to clean them when touring ?

I only clean mine a couple of times a year.

 

[peterc10]

I can stand on the seats a poke mi head out the roof light while the wife passes me the wet brush from inside. Bit of a faff but we only need to do it once a year.
My biggest problem now is that because of the solar panels, I can't climb out the roof light to clean the roof. I can perch precariously on the garden fence and reach most of it - except a two foot square patch on the far side of one panel. That bit looks disgusting.

View attachment 155316

Thanks Alex, but I already have that type of brush. Your rooflights must be different to mine because there is no way it can be stuck out through them. As I say they only rise about 6" above the roof, all round.

I have no problem as home. I can use a step ladder to get high enough to use that type of brush, or I can use a ladder to get on the roof and clean them by hand. Did the latter last week and cleaned the whole roof as well. I just know the panels are going to get dirty when we are off to Europe for 6 weeks or so next week.

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[gus-lopez]

parked here 2or3 days is tops without cleaning due to dust etc. Moving along is a shade better.

 

[peterc10]

Is there a need to clean them when touring ?

I only clean mine a couple of times a year.

See 2nd paragraph of my post #12.

 

[peterc10]

parked here 2or3 days is tops without cleaning due to dust etc. Moving along is a shade better.

Yup, and I am heading your way soon.

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[Camdoon]

... What I was really looking for was something that was 2 or 3 foot long and thin that I could poke out of the rooflight. ...

Doing that was when my problems really started

 

[Stealaway]

I just know the panels are going to get dirty when we are off to Europe for 6 weeks or so next week.

So am I - on Sunday. We'll have to have a cleaning day, taking turns to sit on each others shoulders.

Heading down the west of France to Bordeaux and following the river south to the Med - see you around?

 

[Kevan]

Have 4 sons, once a year, one of them is thrown up and not allowed down until the panels are clean. "Every so often.." is once a year for me.

I throw the wife up, she's only 62 and a lot lighter than me, made a lovely job of cleaning the roof and panels.

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[peterc10]

So am I - on Sunday. We'll have to have a cleaning day, taking turns to sit on each others shoulders.

Heading down the west of France to Bordeaux and following the river south to the Med - see you around?

We are leaving next Thursday or Friday. Vague at the moment because I want to leave it as late as possible to buy a 10 ticket Frequent Traveller account with Eurotunnel. We will probably be heading for Bordeaux and then over the Pyrenees into Spain. After that who knows? At the moment we may well head across to Valencia to the Med, then wend our way South West and end up in Portugal somewhere. Our plan is that vague at the moment and will depend upon the weather.

If you see a grey 65 reg Hymer B678 with a MHF windscreen sticker then knock the door because it may well be us! And after a few drinks I may be up for sitting on your shoulders and cleaning all the panels I can reach.

 

[peterc10]

I throw the wife up, she's only 62 and a lot lighter than me, made a lovely job of cleaning the roof and panels.
View attachment 155327

I tried that last spring. But decided to do it myself this time round.

 

[Silver-Fox]

Park under a low bridge and lean over
Not recommended for you though @Smith and Sharp No offence intended

Go to France and offer free roof travel to an illegal for return blending roof

Cut the roof off for easy access maybe Make sure you have plenty of sikaflex if using this option

Drive under lots of low hanging trees

Have a sponsored roof clean day

I'll see if I can think of more helpful suggestions later

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[Silver-Fox]

I throw the wife up, she's only 62 and a lot lighter than me, made a lovely job of cleaning the roof and panels.
View attachment 155327

Do you hire her out and if so how much?
Just for information purposes obviously

 

[Robert Clark]

How do you people clean your solar panels when touring?

In our previous motorhome we had large hinge up Heki roof lights so we could pop our head and arms out and wipe the solar panels clean every so often. New motorhome also has large roof lights but they are the wind up type, which just go up and down horizontally, so only about a 6" gap all round. The solar panels are either side of the roof light, but I just can't get the hand out far enough to do anything.

I do not want to carry a long ladder and our extending washing brush won't work from the outside, because I need one with an angled joint.

Any sensible suggestions welcome please. Non-sensible ones OK as long as they are very funny.

Why do you need to clean them when touring Peter?

If they've clean before you leave then they should be good for a reasonable trip.

We've never cleaned ours en route and find them fairly clean on return. Though I do clean this roof every time I wash the van.

Ps New water filter is working great and discovered it's the same one that @Armytwowheels uses in Morocco

 

[peterc10]

Ps New water filter is working great and discovered it's the same one that @Armytwowheels uses in Morocco

Robert thanks for that. Bought it, with by-pass plug, and ordered some 3/8" fittings from Ebay with that can be used with the pipe I have got. Trouble is that they have not been delivered and I am getting worried they will delay my departure next week.

Where did you get your fittings from - was it local to us? I want ones that will insert into the filter and have a serrated hose stem for inserting into my flexible pipe and securing with a hose clip. Looks like this one

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[Robert Clark]

Robert thanks for that. Bought it, with by-pass plug, and ordered some 3/8" fittings from Ebay with that can be used with the pipe I have got. Trouble is that they have not been delivered and I am getting worried they will delay my departure next week.

Where did you get your fittings from - was it local to us? I want ones that will insert into the filter and have a serrated hose stem for inserting into my flexible pipe and securing with a hose clip. Looks like this one

I bought my fittings on EBay and they arrived within a few days.

Did you invest in the little pipe cutter too?

If you look on the manufacturers website you may find a local stockist, however I was advised by my local plumbers merchants that the smaller pipes used for water filters were only sold to water filter suppliers.

 

[Robert Clark]

Thinking outside the box
How about asking Pozzitano if they have any ?

 

[Revolvor]

If you want something a bit less 'scratchy' you could get one of these:

I bought one of these and have just cleaned my Solar Panel with it, leaning out of the skylight. It's a tight fit to go under the panel, but will fit with a push.

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