Found a 5" crack on underside of solar panel... Problem? (1 Viewer)

[JCruse]

I can just barely catch a fingernail on it and it doesn't appear to cut through any of the black "traces" - it runs mostly between two cells - but it's so hard to tell. I'm wondering what those more learned than I think I should do about this. I don't know how long it's been there and I wouldn't want it to grow any. The panel 'seems' to be working well, but since I only just got a CC with readout capability I don't know what the output was like before. Playing around with the new CC I only ever saw about 50W output so far.

Should I epoxy it? And if so what product would you recommend?

 

[YvesNL]

Well, as long as it works it should be okay.
Check the specs of your solar panel, and see if you've lost any ouput.

It might be a good idea to epoxy the panel to keep it from further damage.

I would add a schottky (low thereshold voltage) diode to the broken solar cell (bypass diode).
If that particular cell fails (loose cell, not the whole panel), you will still have some output.

This picture illustrates the fix:

Be aware that a bypass diode can limit the output of your solar panel.

Some more information on bypass diodes can be found here:
What is a bypass diode? | CivicSolar

 

[JCruse]

Thanks Yves. It's a hairline crack so no way to wire up anything through it. Good to know for the future though.
Yeah I saw as much as 73W being pulled from the 100W panel after a particularly high use night, and many 40's and 50's other days, so I think the panel is operating normally. I worry about moisture getting in and corroding or corrupting something inside since it's often salty air and even beach mist and fog. I was hoping someone would know a good epoxy for glass. There are many out there but with very mixed reviews. And I don't think I should silicone it if I'm going to use some bonding agent in the future.