William,
The main concerns are physical damage to the unsupported laminate and
moisture penetration at the exposed edge of the laminate. If the frame can
be pushed back in place without breaking the laminate, you can fasten a flat
bar across the back of the module to keep the frame in place. EVA is
hydroscopic and moisture will wick into the laminate from the exposed edge.
Run a bead of silicone caulk along the edge of the laminate before securing
the frame back in place.
Joel Davidson
----- Original Message -----
From: "William Korthof" <wkort...@eesolar.com>
To: <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 1:39 PM
Subject: [RE-wrenches] module frame separation
Recently we've had a few modules (~5 year old) exhibit frame separation
from the glass...
in one case, it's minor separation of the long edge of frame on one or
both sides of a few modules... the frames seem okay and reasonably secure
when attached on the roof, but were loose during handling.
In another case, the customer is located in snow-impacted mountains.
Apparently, a sheet of icy snow pulled the bottom (short) edge of the
frame apart from the glass and side frame pieces. No damage to the glass,
but the lower edges of 6+ frames are now dangling by a thread.
I don't think the module warranties cover this problem---the power output
remains within spec and there is no evident damage to the glass. But if
we don't provide some sort of repair, the modules will break.
Any suggestions for this kind of repair?
What kind of glue would we use to reattach the glass to the aluminum
frames?
Thanks,
William Korthof
Energy Efficiency Solar
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