[Steve H]

Hi Guys,
I have been asked to clean a few solar panel roofs and up to now ive put it off, however, it seems daft to put it off so im having a go at them to keep the customer.
Can someone tell me the best brush to use (in there opinion of course), I know a soft brush, but best one please - thanks.
Also, price wise (I know we don't tend to talk prices on here) however, I haven't got a clue what is the going rate or how long a panel should take. If you don't want to give an approx. price, then a timescale for doing them would do, I can work it out from there for myself.
Finally, is there a best way of cleaning them ie do I need to wet them down first, so you don't scratch them. I only intend to use pure water on them, no chemicals.
There are 10 panels on one of the jobs (probs do this first) on a bungalow, so easy to get to. Panels are I would guess about 7 foot by 4 foot...
Thanks in advance guys.
Steve

[Rich Wilts]

30 quid for the job if its a bungalow.

Any brush from a WFP supplier, why do people worry about the brush so much. They'll be clean regardless, just use the brush thats on your pole when you start the day.

[dd]

A bungalow with 10 panels would take about 10 minutes at most (unless they are difficult to access), so £20 sounds like a decent price to me. It is best to use a flocked brush.

[dazmond]

i use a flocked SL DT on a 90 degree gooseneck for solar panels.this means the brush sits square on the panels for good scrubbing.

£20-£30 for 10-20 panels.theyll take less than 30 mins to clean.

[slap bash]

The thing to bear in mind is how flat the are laying and the same with conny roof . The flatter they are the more I would charge as the more angle they are the better and easier they clean.

[Jakey boy]

30 quid for the job if its a bungalow.

Any brush from a WFP supplier, why do people worry about the brush so much. They'll be clean regardless, just use the brush thats on your pole when you start the day.

Totally agree,

Just use the same brush you've already been using for the windows, no idea why people get so hung up on brush choice for things like this. They all work the same give or take a tiny bit.

[dazmond]

30 quid for the job if its a bungalow.

Any brush from a WFP supplier, why do people worry about the brush so much. They'll be clean regardless, just use the brush thats on your pole when you start the day.

Totally agree,

Just use the same brush you've already been using for the windows, no idea why people get so hung up on brush choice for things like this. They all work the same give or take a tiny bit.

if they are on the roof of a 2 storey house youll need an extreme 47 and 90 degree gooseneck to clean them properly with minimum strain and effort.i always used soft/flocked brushes for solar panels.

[Steve H]

Thanks for the advice fellas on the price/brushes, very much appreciated.
Cheers
Steve

[Jamie Thomas]

No solar steve on here

[telfordwindowclnr]

No solar steve on here

I've read it Jamie.   

We have 29 attending the UK's first solar panel cleaning training course next week.  Very exciting!

[Rich Wilts]

30 quid for the job if its a bungalow.

Any brush from a WFP supplier, why do people worry about the brush so much. They'll be clean regardless, just use the brush thats on your pole when you start the day.

Totally agree,

Just use the same brush you've already been using for the windows, no idea why people get so hung up on brush choice for things like this. They all work the same give or take a tiny bit.

if they are on the roof of a 2 storey house youll need an extreme 47 and 90 degree gooseneck to clean them properly with minimum strain and effort.i always used soft/flocked brushes for solar panels.

But it's just a bungalow.  The only alteration required if it was a house roof would be a goose neck. There's no need to over complicate this stuff.  The brush required to clean solar panels is the brush you have.  Show me otherwise if you like, but a Vikan, a Gardiners, a Tescos floor brush strapped to your pole, a Salmon brush, Peter Fogwills auto-brush, they'll all clean solar panels perfectly well.

[telfordwindowclnr]

30 quid for the job if its a bungalow.

Any brush from a WFP supplier, why do people worry about the brush so much. They'll be clean regardless, just use the brush thats on your pole when you start the day.

Totally agree,

Just use the same brush you've already been using for the windows, no idea why people get so hung up on brush choice for things like this. They all work the same give or take a tiny bit.

if they are on the roof of a 2 storey house youll need an extreme 47 and 90 degree gooseneck to clean them properly with minimum strain and effort.i always used soft/flocked brushes for solar panels.

But it's just a bungalow.  The only alteration required if it was a house roof would be a goose neck. There's no need to over complicate this stuff.  The brush required to clean solar panels is the brush you have.  Show me otherwise if you like, but a Vikan, a Gardiners, a Tescos floor brush strapped to your pole, a Salmon brush, Peter Fogwills auto-brush, they'll all clean solar panels perfectly well.

Well not really.  Micro scratches can develop from some brushes.  If a panel fails for whatever reason and gets sent back to the manufacturer, and they check it over.  If it is obvious the panel is scratched from cleaning, the blame for the failure will come back to you not cleaning properly.  It matters little what actually caused the failure, the manufacturer will come back to this.

It matters how you clean panels, what you clean them with and how you protect yourself from electric shock.

[dazmond]

no its not mate.if your cleaning solar panels on a 2 storey roof from the ground you ll need a 40-50ft extreme pole(or something of similar quality/rigidity )as anything else will bend like a banana and make it very difficult to clean them effectively.a 90 degree gooseneck helps with keeping the brush flat on the solar panels.

for a bungalow a 25 ft pole will suffice though.

yeah you can use any brush but i find a good solid flocked brush ideal.

[Rich Wilts]

30 quid for the job if its a bungalow.

Any brush from a WFP supplier, why do people worry about the brush so much. They'll be clean regardless, just use the brush thats on your pole when you start the day.

Totally agree,

Just use the same brush you've already been using for the windows, no idea why people get so hung up on brush choice for things like this. They all work the same give or take a tiny bit.

if they are on the roof of a 2 storey house youll need an extreme 47 and 90 degree gooseneck to clean them properly with minimum strain and effort.i always used soft/flocked brushes for solar panels.

But it's just a bungalow.  The only alteration required if it was a house roof would be a goose neck. There's no need to over complicate this stuff.  The brush required to clean solar panels is the brush you have.  Show me otherwise if you like, but a Vikan, a Gardiners, a Tescos floor brush strapped to your pole, a Salmon brush, Peter Fogwills auto-brush, they'll all clean solar panels perfectly well.

Well not really.  Micro scratches can develop from some brushes.  If a panel fails for whatever reason and gets sent back to the manufacturer, and they check it over.  If it is obvious the panel is scratched from cleaning, the blame for the failure will come back to you not cleaning properly.  It matters little what actually caused the failure, the manufacturer will come back to this.

It matters how you clean panels, what you clean them with and how you protect yourself from electric shock.

Crikey. Really? Does anyone know of a course I could go on to learn this kind of stuff?

[Rich Wilts]

for a bungalow

That is what the OP is talking about, there's no need to use the thread as an opportunity to advertise your vast array of Gardiners equipment. We all know you're his number one fan, we just wish you'd shut up about it sometimes. 

[dazmond]

for a bungalow

That is what the OP is talking about, there's no need to use the thread as an opportunity to advertise your vast array of Gardiners equipment. We all know you're his number one fan, we just wish you'd shut up about it sometimes.

i was just stating what i use and find most effective for the job through my own personal experience.i once had a supermax 40 that i sold on as it was very hard to clean solars/velux on 2 storey roofs because of the bend.

[Dave Willis]

What poles have you got Daz?