Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: DeLuce on January 31, 2018, 04:04:37 pm
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Hi everybody,
I've never done any solar panel cleans before. But this last month x3 of my customers have asked if I can clean them. From 10-16 panels.
I've read a few threads over the years about doing them.
One thing that sticks in my mind is reading about turning some switch on the bank of panels so I don't get a shock if a panel has a crack in it or something. Is this right? What switch is this (currentl?)?
Or did I misunderstand?
Thanks for any info!
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Switching it off is a waist of time as you are only isolating the power to the consumer unit the panels are always live unless it’s dark or the panels are coverd
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Hi everybody,
I've never done any solar panel cleans before. But this last month x3 of my customers have asked if I can clean them. From 10-16 panels.
I've read a few threads over the years about doing them.
One thing that sticks in my mind is reading about turning some switch on the bank of panels so I don't get a shock if a panel has a crack in it or something. Is this right? What switch is this (currentl?)?
Or did I misunderstand?
Thanks for any info!
just clean them.you ll be fine.ive cleaned a fair few since going WFP.i did get little shocks up my right arm when poling some panels once but it was probably static electricity!...im still alive anyway.... :)
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SS was on here the other day giving out advice.
Calling Ste, can you advise op please. :-*
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SS was on here the other day giving out advice.
Calling Ste, can you advise op please. :-*
Ss will only give advice if you go on his course , technically you should wear electrical gloves , horrible things to use sweat like mad and they will give you blisters,and rubber boots
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OK fellas. Thanks for the advice lol. I can do the rubber boots bit ;D
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The rubber boots won't do diddly squat to protect you if you get a shock from one of the panels. True story.
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Hi everybody,
I've never done any solar panel cleans before. But this last month x3 of my customers have asked if I can clean them. From 10-16 panels.
I've read a few threads over the years about doing them.
One thing that sticks in my mind is reading about turning some switch on the bank of panels so I don't get a shock if a panel has a crack in it or something. Is this right? What switch is this (currentl?)?
Or did I misunderstand?
Thanks for any info!
just clean them.you ll be fine.ive cleaned a fair few since going WFP.i did get little shocks up my right arm when poling some panels once but it was probably static electricity!...im still alive anyway.... :)
Erm, no Dazmond. You were getting electrocuted! If you knew about static electricity, you'd know why it wasn't that.
A prime example of dangerous work by untrained people, lacking knowledge of what they are working on. When will people realise that electricity kills?
You always seem a really nice guy and always give very good advice to people. On this occasion though, you are definitely wrong I'm afraid. I'm sorry to say it to you because you are one of the better guys on here.
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i had rubber soled boots on and rubber gloves on at the time which i normally have on anyway...how come im still alive then if i was getting electrocuted?its only happened on this one domestic job......ive cleaning a fair few panels over the years......
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Solar panels produce direct current, as opposed to alternating current, which is what we hve running around our houses.
When you're electrocuted with alternating current you know about it, it 'throws' you. You feel it. It hurts, but it also throws you from the object from which you got the shock.
A direct current shock attracts you to the object from which you have received the shock. If you had been shocked Daz you wouldn't have been able to release your grip on the pole you were cleaning with.
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Solar panels produce direct current, as opposed to alternating current, which is what we hve running around our houses.
When you're electrocuted with alternating current you know about it, it 'throws' you. You feel it. It hurts, but it also throws you from the object from which you got the shock.
A direct current shock attracts you to the object from which you have received the shock. If you had been shocked Daz you wouldn't have been able to release your grip on the pole you were cleaning with.
so what do you reckon it was then matt?i was defo getting little shocks up my right arm(poling arm).a bit like pins and needles.its never happened since though....
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DT's? ;D
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All I know is this what happens when you get shocked with DC current.
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Solar panels produce direct current, as opposed to alternating current, which is what we hve running around our houses.
When you're electrocuted with alternating current you know about it, it 'throws' you. You feel it. It hurts, but it also throws you from the object from which you got the shock.
A direct current shock attracts you to the object from which you have received the shock. If you had been shocked Daz you wouldn't have been able to release your grip on the pole you were cleaning with.
so what do you reckon it was then matt?i was defo getting little shocks up my right arm(poling arm).a bit like pins and needles.its never happened since though....
You might have had a stroke.
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Solar panels produce direct current, as opposed to alternating current, which is what we hve running around our houses.
When you're electrocuted with alternating current you know about it, it 'throws' you. You feel it. It hurts, but it also throws you from the object from which you got the shock.
A direct current shock attracts you to the object from which you have received the shock. If you had been shocked Daz you wouldn't have been able to release your grip on the pole you were cleaning with.
so what do you reckon it was then matt?i was defo getting little shocks up my right arm(poling arm).a bit like pins and needles.its never happened since though....
You might have had a stroke.
;D
but what was he stroking at the time !!
my guess it was a twitchy nerve
Darran
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Yet again half truths and no help from steve no suprise there is it : he thinks any publicity is good he just comes o hear to try and get people to go on his web site to benefit himself and massage his massive ego
When are you going to tell has the rest of the storey about the electrocuted window cleaner ? Or will you disappear from the forum again untill you want to self promote again ?
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Yet again half truths and no help from steve no suprise there is it : he thinks any publicity is good he just comes o hear to try and get people to go on his web site to benefit himself and massage his massive ego
When are you going to tell has the rest of the storey about the electrocuted window cleaner ? Or will you disappear from the forum again untill you want to self promote again ?
I'm not answerable to you or anyone else on here. I told Dazmond what was going on. The fact that people need to ask about technicalities PROVES they should not be doing what they are doing. Whether people want to believe or agree me or not is up to them. We cleaned 1.3m panels last year with zero electrocutions of any kind. Dazmond likely cleaned a few hundred or few thousand and openly admitted he got a shock. That puts things into perspective doesn't it?
Don't paint me as a charlatan. I just know more about this subject than most others.
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When you say 'we cleaned 1.3 million panels last year' would it also be fair to say you subbied out the cleaning of 1.3 million panels to be cleaned as opposed to 'the staff we employ on a full-time basis cleaned 1.3 million panels'?
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Yet again half truths and no help from steve no suprise there is it : he thinks any publicity is good he just comes o hear to try and get people to go on his web site to benefit himself and massage his massive ego
When are you going to tell has the rest of the storey about the electrocuted window cleaner ? Or will you disappear from the forum again untill you want to self promote again ?
I'm not answerable to you or anyone else on here. I told Dazmond what was going on. The fact that people need to ask about technicalities PROVES they should not be doing what they are doing. Whether people want to believe or agree me or not is up to them. We cleaned 1.3m panels last year with zero electrocutions of any kind. Dazmond likely cleaned a few hundred or few thousand and openly admitted he got a shock. That puts things into perspective doesn't it?
Don't paint me as a charlatan. I just know more about this subject than most others.
Steve,
I've defended you on here in the past.
You regularly point out that solar panel cleaning can be dangerous.
Your failure to post (to the best of my knowledge) even a single word on how to mitigate that risk may be at least part of why you receive the reception you do. It's a forum.
Vin
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Steve - so Daz reckoned he got a shock even wearing rubber gloves and boots - how would this be possible without the current being earthed ?
Vin makes a great point regarding the forum
Darran
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Yet again half truths and no help from steve no suprise there is it : he thinks any publicity is good he just comes o hear to try and get people to go on his web site to benefit himself and massage his massive ego
When are you going to tell has the rest of the storey about the electrocuted window cleaner ? Or will you disappear from the forum again untill you want to self promote again ?
I'm not answerable to you or anyone else on here. I told Dazmond what was going on. The fact that people need to ask about technicalities PROVES they should not be doing what they are doing. Whether people want to believe or agree me or not is up to them. We cleaned 1.3m panels last year with zero electrocutions of any kind. Dazmond likely cleaned a few hundred or few thousand and openly admitted he got a shock. That puts things into perspective doesn't it?
Don't paint me as a charlatan. I just know more about this subject than most others.
Steve,
I've defended you on here in the past.
You regularly point out that solar panel cleaning can be dangerous.
Your failure to post (to the best of my knowledge) even a single word on how to mitigate that risk may be at least part of why you receive the reception you do. It's a forum.
Vin
I've never been one to knock others but really, to say "this is potentially dangerous" while not giving a few suggestions to make it safer flies in the face of what this forum and shared information is about.
One theory as to why Neanderthals became extinct concerned their inability to share information.
Have we learned nothing?
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Someone who comes on a forum and insinuates the average Joe is playing with fire when he carries out a cleaning task but apparently has the solution to avoid that risk and then makes a conscious decision not to divulge that solution is just a self centred cock.
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The rubber boots won't do diddly squat to protect you if you get a shock from one of the panels. True story.
So why was that one of the items of ppe you suggested on the course then ? Have you now changed you mind ?
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I think this website of Solar Steve's is interesting.
http://www.cleansolarsolutions.com.au/
Just watch the operatives cleaning this massive array on the roof of some very big industrial unit.
I see one of them is cleaning and holding the pole with his bare hands - no protective insulation gloves. A few are wearing Wellies and one other appears to be wearing work boots which probably have steel toecaps. One operative is seen carrying a safety harness so I'm guessing he will be cleaning panels on the edge of the roof.
I see nothing out of the ordinary with regard to specialised protection of operators against electric shock.
They also are using a variety of brushes to do the job.
.
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I think this website of Solar Steve's is interesting.
http://www.cleansolarsolutions.com.au/
Just watch the operatives cleaning this massive array on the roof of some very big industrial unit.
I see one of them is cleaning and holding the pole with his bare hands - no protective insulation gloves. A few are wearing Wellies and one other appears to be wearing work boots which probably have steel toecaps. One operative is seen carrying a safety harness so I'm guessing he will be cleaning panels on the edge of the roof.
I see nothing out of the ordinary with regard to specialised protection of operators against electric shock.
They also are using a variety of brushes to do the job.
.
Exactly the man is a scaremainer the big I am why can he not be banned from this and all other forums he’s just a bigheaded fool
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I think this website of Solar Steve's is interesting.
http://www.cleansolarsolutions.com.au/
Just watch the operatives cleaning this massive array on the roof of some very big industrial unit.
I see one of them is cleaning and holding the pole with his bare hands - no protective insulation gloves. A few are wearing Wellies and one other appears to be wearing work boots which probably have steel toecaps. One operative is seen carrying a safety harness so I'm guessing he will be cleaning panels on the edge of the roof.
I see nothing out of the ordinary with regard to specialised protection of operators against electric shock.
They also are using a variety of brushes to do the job.
I sat here thinking what a long video it was when it dawned on me that it's on auto-repeat :)
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I'm no big gun in industry. I just work to get a decent living, not bothered about being a leading light! Having X amount of people working for me.
But what gets me on this subject, is what's already been mentioned on this thread and on SS thread of self-congratulatory piffle, that you ask an important Q about a perceived risk and the "leading expert" in the field presents no, that's zero, practical info.
It's got to be a scam, hasn't it?
After all, what expertise do you really need to clean a panel that creates electricity from the sun? It's a big window on the sky! It's quite a simple contraption isn't it?
It's not like it's a beautiful created Honda V4 with gear-driven cams!!! ;D
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The rubber boots won't do diddly squat to protect you if you get a shock from one of the panels. True story.
So why was that one of the items of ppe you suggested on the course then ? Have you now changed you mind ?
Or educating you with
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1517957618_Bulit.jpg)
If the information you were paying to be educated with was bull5hit Id be 'asking' for my money back.
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I think this website of Solar Steve's is interesting.
http://www.cleansolarsolutions.com.au/
Just watch the operatives cleaning this massive array on the roof of some very big industrial unit.
I see one of them is cleaning and holding the pole with his bare hands - no protective insulation gloves. A few are wearing Wellies and one other appears to be wearing work boots which probably have steel toecaps. One operative is seen carrying a safety harness so I'm guessing he will be cleaning panels on the edge of the roof.
I see nothing out of the ordinary with regard to specialised protection of operators against electric shock.
They also are using a variety of brushes to do the job.
I sat here thinking what a long video it was when it dawned on me that it's on auto-repeat :)
;D ;D
Me too.
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lololol i love the tread about boots have you lot ever cleaned a solar site ???
we do a few and have sat the energy company's inductions not s.s. bull poop one
rule one
steel toe caps to be wore at all times ! yes thats right no steel caps no site entry ,
this is from the the site sparky yes very one person that worked and trained , went to collage , as all the right tickets to sign things off and they wear ? steel toe cap boots or wellies if its raining
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Can the mods please create a section for scaremainering or blowing smoke up me own jacksy, as we have for carpet and general cleaning.
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Can the mods please create a section for scaremainering or blowing smoke up me own jacksy, as we have for carpet and general cleaning.
Maybe ss could start his own forum for all his happy stubbies they could all massage his enormous ego and elevate him to a world or maybe universe solar panel expert 😂😂😂😂 I have spoken to several ex subbies one who lives near me asking why I stoped doing stuff for him told him why and he said that he had Hurd the same issues from a lot of people he to is now an ex
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Yet again half truths and no help from steve no suprise there is it : he thinks any publicity is good he just comes o hear to try and get people to go on his web site to benefit himself and massage his massive ego
When are you going to tell has the rest of the storey about the electrocuted window cleaner ? Or will you disappear from the forum again untill you want to self promote again ?
I'm not answerable to you or anyone else on here. I told Dazmond what was going on. The fact that people need to ask about technicalities PROVES they should not be doing what they are doing. Whether people want to believe or agree me or not is up to them. We cleaned 1.3m panels last year with zero electrocutions of any kind. Dazmond likely cleaned a few hundred or few thousand and openly admitted he got a shock. That puts things into perspective doesn't it?
Don't paint me as a charlatan. I just know more about this subject than most others.
Steve,
I've defended you on here in the past.
You regularly point out that solar panel cleaning can be dangerous.
Your failure to post (to the best of my knowledge) even a single word on how to mitigate that risk may be at least part of why you receive the reception you do. It's a forum.
Vin
Never a truer word spoken.
Does SS pay clean it up for advertising? As this is all it is.
Trying to milk honest working guys and use them to make his company money.
This is a forum, where we offer help and advice. I’m yet to see ANY advice from SS.
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Yet again half truths and no help from steve no suprise there is it : he thinks any publicity is good he just comes o hear to try and get people to go on his web site to benefit himself and massage his massive ego
When are you going to tell has the rest of the storey about the electrocuted window cleaner ? Or will you disappear from the forum again untill you want to self promote again ?
I'm not answerable to you or anyone else on here. I told Dazmond what was going on. The fact that people need to ask about technicalities PROVES they should not be doing what they are doing. Whether people want to believe or agree me or not is up to them. We cleaned 1.3m panels last year with zero electrocutions of any kind. Dazmond likely cleaned a few hundred or few thousand and openly admitted he got a shock. That puts things into perspective doesn't it?
Don't paint me as a charlatan. I just know more about this subject than most others.
Steve,
I've defended you on here in the past.
You regularly point out that solar panel cleaning can be dangerous.
Your failure to post (to the best of my knowledge) even a single word on how to mitigate that risk may be at least part of why you receive the reception you do. It's a forum.
Vin
Never a truer word spoken.
Does SS pay clean it up for advertising? As this is all it is.
Trying to milk honest working guys and use them to make his company money.
This is a forum, where we offer help and advice. I’m yet to see ANY advice from SS.
Exactly very well said ,this should be looked at by the mods Evan if he does pay for advertising ,as he treats everyone with contempt and his superior attitude stinks ban the man
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See the final post of the locked Solar panel H & S thread ...
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See the final post of the locked Solar panel H & S thread ...
Ive just read the quoted post that Heir SS scribed in that final post. The guy is deluded. Out of touch. Disconnected. I fear he has in actual fact been fried, by a panel.
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Wikipedia on electrocution;
"Electrocution is death or serious injury caused by electric shock, electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The word is also used to describe non-fatal injuries due to electricity. The term "electrocution," was coined in 1889 in the US just before the first use of the electric chair and originally referred only to electrical execution and not to accidental or suicidal electrical deaths. However, since no English word was available for non-judicial deaths due to electric shock, the word "electrocution" eventually took over as a description of all circumstances of electrical death from the new commercial electricity."
Here's the interesting section about electric shock.
"The health hazard of an electric current flowing through the body depends on the amount of current and the length of time for which it flows, not merely on the voltage. However, a high voltage is required to produce a high current through the body. This is due to the relatively high resistance of skin when dry, requiring a high voltage to pass through. The severity of a shock also depends on whether the path of the current includes a vital organ. Death can occur from any shock that carries enough sustained current to stop the heart. Low currents (70–700 mA) usually trigger fibrillation in the heart, which is reversible via defibrillator but is nearly always fatal without help. Currents as low as 30 mA AC or 300-500 mA DC applied to the body surface can cause fibrillation. Large currents (> 1 A) cause permanent damage via burns and cellular damage. The voltage necessary to create current of a given level through the body varies widely with the resistance of the skin; wet or sweaty skin or broken skin can allow a larger current to flow. Whether an electric current is fatal is also dependent on the path it takes through the body, which depends in turn on the points at which the current enters and leaves the body. The current path must usually include either the heart or the brain to be fatal."
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I can't believe you locked the other thread before SS told us more about the solar energy pandemic about to strike window cleaners. ;D
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On Spruce post,
I remember our physics teacher saying, that if he was working on an electrical supply and was not 100% sure of its safety (for some reason), he would work on it while having his other free hand on his leg.
His reason was, that if he should get a shock, it would travel down his arm, across his collarbone and go down the leg where his hand rested!! It would save his heart from the shock.
I don't know if this is accurate or not, but it makes sense to me.
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On Spruce post,
I remember our physics teacher saying, that if he was working on an electrical supply and was not 100% sure of its safety (for some reason), he would work on it while having his other free hand on his leg.
His reason was, that if he should get a shock, it would travel down his arm, across his collarbone and go down the leg where his hand rested!! It would save his heart from the shock.
I don't know if this is accurate or not, but it makes sense to me.
Would he need to wear shorts as well?
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I can't believe you locked the other thread before SS told us more about the solar energy pandemic about to strike window cleaners. ;D
I agree - in fact it should be pinned for all to re visit on a regular basis
Darran
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Hell it's not rocket science if the pole is insulated current pass through it to you. You can buy heat-shrink tubing on ebay for under a tenner, insulates the whole bottom section, and keeps carbon particles off your gloves. [waterproof and insulated of course]
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On Spruce post,
I remember our physics teacher saying, that if he was working on an electrical supply and was not 100% sure of its safety (for some reason), he would work on it while having his other free hand on his leg.
His reason was, that if he should get a shock, it would travel down his arm, across his collarbone and go down the leg where his hand rested!! It would save his heart from the shock.
I don't know if this is accurate or not, but it makes sense to me.
Would he need to wear shorts as well?
Hehe, not sure about that one!! ;D