Cataclysm-dda: Installed solar panels repairable, but not while in inventory

[Regularitee]

Solar panels cannot be repaired as an inventory item, but can be repaired while installed.

Swappable storage batteries cannot be repaired while installed, but can be repaired as an inventory item.

[keyspace]

Batteries in particular are covered in #19451.

[CoroNaut]

I also believe they should all be able to be repaired, it was changed from being able to be repaired not long ago.

It is intended that in the long run, batteries won't be repairable at all. (don't quote me on that, I remember seeing it but can't find it)

[Regularitee]

It is intended that in the long run, batteries won't be repairable at all.

I hope not. That doesn't make much sense given that literally everything else can be repaired. You can fix security cameras with duct tape, or a 120mm smoothbore cannon with a welder, so having batteries alone being the odd one out seems rather arbitrary.

Particularly since real-world electric batteries are repairable. While traditional lead-and-acid batteries may not be repairable, electric cars often use a bank of power cells instead. So when the electric car battery dies, it's most often a case of just one of the many cells being dead -- and so repairing a battery is as simple as removing and replacing the malfunctioning cell in that set. There are some youtube videos demonstrating it, if I recall.

[bdgackle]

If we can craft lead acid batteries then we should be able to repair them. This is 19th century technology.

Failure modes of a lead-acid car battery are cracking of the plastic case, subsequent loss of electrolyte, sulfur migration from electrolyte to plates, shorting between plates, and disintegration of plates as they change to various lead salts and oxides.

Sealing up a plastic case is a no-brainer. Electrolyte replacement is a common home repair. Finding shorted plates and fixing would be easy with a hacksaw and patience, plus something hot to reseal the plastic case. You could presumably distill the sulfuric acid back from contaminated electrolyte with a glass or stainless container and a rubber hose.

Recovering the various oxides and smelting them is also backyard chemistry. Melting down the lead plates and oxides, followed by adding something like sawdust as a sacrificial oxidant should get you back to pure lead using campfire temperatures.

Safety note: NEVER try to melt down actual car batteries in real life. The combination of calcium and sulfuric acid at high temperatures can catalyze the formation of arsine and stibine from the antimony and arsenic used to harden the plates. These are WWII era nerve agents, and can kill you at very low concentrations. Probability is low enough to ignore for game purposes, but too dangerous where real human safety is a factor (for context, I melt down a lot of lead for various hobbies, and have done fun things with concentrated sulfuric acid. I am not chemical-phobic. I still won't mess with car batteries at high temps). I know that is off-topic, but I don't want to contribute to anyone's death...

[Leland]

19451 is the issue for repairable batteries. This issue will be regarding the solar panel part of OP's description

[kevingranade]

Is this still the case?

[81Denton]

@kevingranade This is still the case on build 9084. The solar panel item is designated as not repairable, but it can be repaired once installed into a vehicle.