[EandM]

Cleaned these yesterday:

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[URL=http://s1104.photobucket.com/user/nm2018157/media/Water/Rain%20Water/Solar/IMG_2106.jpg.html]

Apart from the fall out from the oak tree on the right and the usual build up of top soil there was loads of lichen:





The customer being a resourceful chap made me this to hasten the lichen removal which worked very well:



Other than soaking, scrubbing, scraping and rinsing is there are more effective method of lichen removal ?

[Splash & dash]

We have experienced the same thing , hot water and doing it on a wet /damp day seams to make it already soft so it comes off easier , still a pain though 😬😬😬😬

[Smurf]

Hot water would defo help to soften up lichen. However for jobs like that I would have thought you would be better off using bronze wool pads instead of what the kindly farmer made up for you. http://da-components.com/product/da-multi-toolbronze-wool-pad-holder-kit/

[Og]

Rotary brush

[Smurf]

Like this maybe? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFRLMLbiBX4

[Tosh]

Hot water plus change the angle of the brush head, so initially the brushes aren’t perpendicular to the panels but more like 45°.

[Smurf]

I would imagine doing those sorts of jobs on rainy overcast days would help also. That's if your motor don't get stuck in the field.

[EandM]

I would imagine doing those sorts of jobs on rainy overcast days would help also. That's if your motor don't get stuck in the field.

Yes you're right and therein lies the paradox. The field is very marshy, as you can see by the reeds, so an ideal day of light drizzle makes it difficult to gain access to. There is no track across the field and the nearest gateway is about 200 yds away so have to pick your way across the driest bits to get there. With a full tank two wheel drive was ok but coming back with an empty tank was a bit tricky. The limited slip diff coped with most of it until I stopped to open the gate and then it was 4wd to get out. We've had two days rain now so it's going to be impossible to finish until next week.

[Smurf]

I would imagine doing those sorts of jobs on rainy overcast days would help also. That's if your motor don't get stuck in the field.

Yes you're right and therein lies the paradox. The field is very marshy, as you can see by the reeds, so an ideal day of light drizzle makes it difficult to gain access to. There is no track across the field and the nearest gateway is about 200 yds away so have to pick your way across the driest bits to get there. With a full tank two wheel drive was ok but coming back with an empty tank was a bit tricky. The limited slip diff coped with most of it until I stopped to open the gate and then it was 4wd to get out. We've had two days rain now so it's going to be impossible to finish until next week.

Sounds a nightmare. I hope you charged well?

[Marc Stock]

Always found biological wqshing powder good for removing stuff

[EandM]

I would imagine doing those sorts of jobs on rainy overcast days would help also. That's if your motor don't get stuck in the field.

Yes you're right and therein lies the paradox. The field is very marshy, as you can see by the reeds, so an ideal day of light drizzle makes it difficult to gain access to. There is no track across the field and the nearest gateway is about 200 yds away so have to pick your way across the driest bits to get there. With a full tank two wheel drive was ok but coming back with an empty tank was a bit tricky. The limited slip diff coped with most of it until I stopped to open the gate and then it was 4wd to get out. We've had two days rain now so it's going to be impossible to finish until next week.

Sounds a nightmare. I hope you charged well?

Provided that the weather conditions don't change it is a very nice job.  The panels do need considerably more attention than normal but apart from that, the vehicle is ideal, the view is awesome, the field is very quiet and peaceful and access to the panels is straightforward. Snakes can be an issue there but we should alright until March. The only hazard is the Ram that lives in the fenced off area around the panels as he is genuinely psychotic and attacks anything !  As long as there's Tea and R4 comedy I'm quite happy.

[Smurf]

I would imagine doing those sorts of jobs on rainy overcast days would help also. That's if your motor don't get stuck in the field.

Yes you're right and therein lies the paradox. The field is very marshy, as you can see by the reeds, so an ideal day of light drizzle makes it difficult to gain access to. There is no track across the field and the nearest gateway is about 200 yds away so have to pick your way across the driest bits to get there. With a full tank two wheel drive was ok but coming back with an empty tank was a bit tricky. The limited slip diff coped with most of it until I stopped to open the gate and then it was 4wd to get out. We've had two days rain now so it's going to be impossible to finish until next week.

Sounds a nightmare. I hope you charged well?

Provided that the weather conditions don't change it is a very nice job.  The panels do need considerably more attention than normal but apart from that, the vehicle is ideal, the view is awesome, the field is very quiet and peaceful and access to the panels is straightforward. Snakes can be an issue there but we should alright until March. The only hazard is the Ram that lives in the fenced off area around the panels as he is genuinely psychotic and attacks anything !  As long as there's Tea and R4 comedy I'm quite happy.

Can I ask Is that a solar steve sub contract jobbie  or one you picked up yourself?

[EandM]

I would imagine doing those sorts of jobs on rainy overcast days would help also. That's if your motor don't get stuck in the field.

Yes you're right and therein lies the paradox. The field is very marshy, as you can see by the reeds, so an ideal day of light drizzle makes it difficult to gain access to. There is no track across the field and the nearest gateway is about 200 yds away so have to pick your way across the driest bits to get there. With a full tank two wheel drive was ok but coming back with an empty tank was a bit tricky. The limited slip diff coped with most of it until I stopped to open the gate and then it was 4wd to get out. We've had two days rain now so it's going to be impossible to finish until next week.

Sounds a nightmare. I hope you charged well?

Provided that the weather conditions don't change it is a very nice job.  The panels do need considerably more attention than normal but apart from that, the vehicle is ideal, the view is awesome, the field is very quiet and peaceful and access to the panels is straightforward. Snakes can be an issue there but we should alright until March. The only hazard is the Ram that lives in the fenced off area around the panels as he is genuinely psychotic and attacks anything !  As long as there's Tea and R4 comedy I'm quite happy.

Can I ask Is that a solar steve sub contract jobbie  or one you picked up yourself?

 It's just a regular customer of mine with a farm.  He owns the 214 panels outright and uses them as a domestic supply and sells any surplus back to the grid.  The installation is live online so monitoring before and after outputs in real time should be interesting.  50KW is the target and they are around 45KW at peak times during the Summer.