Broken cell

[Kuna]

Fist time learning to tap cells and broke a cell. Please see the picture.
It is broken itot two pieces. I can still tap it
Question: If I finished tapping of thease two pieces together what I will get.
A 6X6 cell or two different cells and will damage my full panel by dropping voltage or current?




IMG_2707.JPG

[inetdog]

Fist time learning to tap cells and broke a cell. Please see the picture.
It is broken itot two pieces. I can still tap it
Question: If I finished tapping of thease two pieces together what I will get.
A 6X6 cell or two different cells and will damage my full panel by dropping voltage or current?




[ATTACH]8147[/ATTACH]

It is generally not possible to repair a broken cell with tabbing wire. Even if you get close to nominal current the cell is not likely to last as long as the others.
Your best bet is to leave it out of your panel construction.
Yes, a cell with a lower current than all of the rest will limit the power available from the panel, even when you are using bypass diodes. You are better off with the lower panel voltage resulting from a missing cell than with a kludged panel.

It is a good idea, when starting out to build your first panel, to buy between 10% and 50% more cells than your design calls for. They are very fragile.

[PNjunction]

The catch-22 is that building a panel is NOT A GOOD IDEA for learning solar as your FIRST project - that is if you are serious.

With no commercial panel experience behind you, one has no idea of how well or how poorly their diy project really is. The biggest cost is really your education, which is now skewed by substandard part performance leading you to false conclusions, like just tabbing broken cells together.

[bcroe]

My experience is, its a lot easier to get a panel together with 3 X 6 cells, because they don't
break as easily as a 6 X 6. Bruce Roe

[Kuna]

It is generally not possible to repair a broken cell with tabbing wire. Even if you get close to nominal current the cell is not likely to last as long as the others.
Your best bet is to leave it out of your panel construction.
Yes, a cell with a lower current than all of the rest will limit the power available from the panel, even when you are using bypass diodes. You are better off with the lower panel voltage resulting from a missing cell than with a kludged panel.

It is a good idea, when starting out to build your first panel, to buy between 10% and 50% more cells than your design calls for. They are very fragile.

Thanks. I got you properly. I wanted to make a 36 cell panel and as (you said,) I have ordered and received 50 cells and ready to learn and break something.Before throwing the broken cell I wanted expert's advise and you gave me, Thanks again.

[Kuna]

My experience is, its a lot easier to get a panel together with 3 X 6 cells, because they don't
break as easily as a 6 X 6. Bruce Roe

Is that correct? good to know and learn. I know that 36 pcs 3x6 also will give 18V but I wanted 36pcs 6x6 cells to produce more current. Am I wrong? But next time I will order 3x6 as per your advise. Thanks.

[Kuna]

The catch-22 is that building a panel is NOT A GOOD IDEA for learning solar as your FIRST project - that is if you are serious.

With no commercial panel experience behind you, one has no idea of how well or how poorly their diy project really is. The biggest cost is really your education, which is now skewed by substandard part performance leading you to false conclusions, like just tabbing broken cells together.

Dear member PNJunction, Thanks for your reply,
I am sorry, I am lost somewhere.
I believe that no Olympic winner has borned as a runner. How do you want me to learn to build a panel without touching a cell or tapping a cell or without building a panel. What is that DIY mean. I believe that it is not watching youtube demos. No one around me is building panels for me to watch and learn. Then how? Of cource I will damage some cells and loose some money and by the way I will learn. I know that education is not free. In which college I can learn haw to tap a cell or how to build a panel? I have to do it myself ,Of course damage something and learn.
Is there any other way to learn easily? Please advise me that how to learn to build a panel without damaging or loosing money? I am ready to follow your advice.

"My question is not a false conclusion as you mentioned. It is just a question. Please read that one more time:-

Question: If I finished tapping of thease two pieces together what I will get.
A 6X6 cell or two different cells and will damage my full panel by dropping voltage or current?

Didn't I thought about the answer? But before throwing the cell I wanted to confirm my thinking is correct from the experts like you.

I wish you encourage new members like how Bcore and Inetdog did here, without condemning and discouraging.

You said "With no commercial panel experience behind you, one has no idea of how well or how poorly their diy project really is"

To build a panel for me or to do a DIY project do I need a commercial panel experience? Is that you mean?

Please give your experienced hand to newcomers as well as beginers to Get up learn and to be experts in future.

By the way I wish to inform you as I have spent my most of the lifetime, almost 35 years in teaching and training in building construction and computer assembly and networking.

Thanks again PNjunction .

[PNjunction]

I believe that no Olympic winner has borned as a runner. How do you want me to learn to build a panel without touching a cell or tapping a cell or without building a panel.

The analogy here is that no trainer in the world would tell the runner that making his own running shoes out of old bicycle tire strips is a good way to learn how to run and win. In that case, he's not a trainer, but a trash-salesman in disguise.

To build a panel for me or to do a DIY project do I need a commercial panel experience? Is that you mean?

Yes that is exactly what I mean. Without a control to compare against, you will have no idea of how successful your project is. The only thing you will learn is how to mechanically put trash components together.

There are a LOT of trash-salesman out there selling solar JUNK, under the premise of it being for "education", or DIY.

Newcomers should read the stickies at the very least.

Again, a diy panel should not be your *first* exposure to solar.