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<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>benn and interested
others,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>
Just a side note due to benn's comment about cold water on a hot panel possibly
resulting in cracked glass. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>
My 45 degree tilt, roof mounted shop array (5KW, Solarworlds) gets covered with
snow in the winter at times...when I need the power the most (off-grid).
Even at that tilt, there are times when it takes a few days to slide. I
have a 50 Gal tank of hot water in the shop heated from the woodstove often that
time of year. The temptation was great, should I do it??</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> I
just happen to have a failed Kyocera 80-85W mod so I covered it with a foot of
snow, air temp at about 15 degrees F, connected the hose to my hot water supply
bib, turned on the too-hot-to-touch hot water (got it running hot off to the
side of the mod first) and when the water started to steam I pointed it at the
snow covered module from about 4 feet. It took about 1-2 seconds for
that hot water to penetrate the snow and hit the glass...I spiraled out from
that point until most of the snow was gone. Result: glass
AOK.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>
Yes, I then proceeded to clear my entire array of snow to collect many
ground-covered-snow-reflected KWhrs that day. The array looks fine.
My only concern since, has been maybe having compromised the frame/glass
interface/seal in some way that may not show any visual impact, yet.
Though it was a different scenario in that I was squirting hot water from the
ground below the array resulting in a pretty diffuse spray with virtually no
force to it by the time it reached it's target.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>
Jeez, the things we do for a winter off-grid KW.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Bill</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Feather River Solar
Electric</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=benn@daystarsolar.ca href="mailto:benn@daystarsolar.ca">Benn Kilburn
- DayStar Renewable Energy</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org">RE-wrenches</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, April 18, 2013 10:05
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [RE-wrenches] Cleaning
Modules</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>Corey,</DIV>
<DIV>If rain water isn't doing good enough, which it usually does depending on
angle and other factors…..</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>-pick up a window washing squeegee (like at a gas station) that you can
add a longer, maybe telescopic handle. That works great.</DIV>
<DIV>-Just use water, it works fine. There is no need for additional
chemicals or cleaners. If bird crap or dirt is particularly stubborn
just wet it, scrub it, wet it again and let it soak a few minutes, then it
should wipe right off. Keep in mind most module mfgrs recommend nothing
more than a mild detergent added to water (read the specific module
instructions). </DIV>
<DIV>-Be wary of temp differences between water and module glass. Cold
water on hot glass can cause the glass to crack. Best to wash in the
morning before the glass heats up.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>I've seen a few module washing products (automatic sprayers) advertised,
but have no first hand experience with any.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Good luck,</DIV>
<DIV>benn</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV></DIV></DIV><SPAN id=OLK_SRC_BODY_SECTION>
<DIV
style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: #b5c4df 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; COLOR: black; PADDING-TOP: 3pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; FONT-FAMILY: Calibri; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From: </SPAN>Corey Shalanski <<A
href="mailto:cshalanski@joule-energy.com">cshalanski@joule-energy.com</A>><BR><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Reply-To: </SPAN>RE-wrenches <<A
href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org">re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</A>><BR><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Date: </SPAN>Wednesday, April 17, 2013 7:20
PM<BR><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To: </SPAN>RE-wrenches <<A
href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org">re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</A>><BR><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject: </SPAN>[RE-wrenches] Cleaning
Modules<BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE id=MAC_OUTLOOK_ATTRIBUTION_BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #b5c4df 5px solid; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Greetings
Wrenches,
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>I am wondering if anyone can offer tried-and-true tips for cleaning
modules: tools, materials, methods?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>--</DIV>
<DIV>Corey Shalanski</DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://joule-energy.com/">Joule Energy</A></DIV>
<DIV>New Orleans, LA</DIV>_______________________________________________
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