Got my first solar panel rack put together

[Crowz]

I finished putting the first of the eco-worthy solar racks together. Ive got to pickup the concrete footers for them tomorrow. Better made than I expected actually and was fun assembling



I will only be able to put two of the 450 watt renogy's on each rack.

 

[42OhmsPA]

What made you go with the ecoworthy over regular unistrut / superstrut?

Ps. Nice M12 ratchet.

 

[Crowz]

What made you go with the ecoworthy over regular unistrut / superstrut?

Ps. Nice M12 ratchet.

Well it had to be on the ground and the two choices I ran across were the ones ss has and the eco worthy. I went with the eco. I didn't see anything else to buy on amazon or what I googled. Plus it sure was cheap. $100 a rack.

Thanks on the M12. I had the M18 impact on it to start with and it seemed a tad ridiculous so switched out when doing the final assembly.

 

[wildbillpdx]

I've got six of these (four already assembled) but I have a problem mounting my panels. They are old (18yrs) Sanyo HIP-200BA3 panels and they have a "lip" on them so the mounting clips won't work. I'm making my own from aluminum stock I got at one of the big box stores. The stock is 1 inch wide with 1 inch legs around a central slot. I found dimensions for the original clips for the panels as 1" x 1" x .5" (depth). Made two so far and it seems they will work. Just trying to standardize the process with a drill press and miter saw. Once I get those made I can install 3 panels per rack.

 

[Texas-Mark]

I finished putting the first of the eco-worthy solar racks together.

I was just looking at those. Can you please tell me the width of the horizontal struts. I did not see it on the listing.

 

[Crowz]

The large bars running left to right show 3000 mm's in the manual which according to the converter thing is 118.11 inches.

 

[Crowz]

I've got six of these (four already assembled) but I have a problem mounting my panels. They are old (18yrs) Sanyo HIP-200BA3 panels and they have a "lip" on them so the mounting clips won't work. I'm making my own from aluminum stock I got at one of the big box stores. The stock is 1 inch wide with 1 inch legs around a central slot. I found dimensions for the original clips for the panels as 1" x 1" x .5" (depth). Made two so far and it seems they will work. Just trying to standardize the process with a drill press and miter saw. Once I get those made I can install 3 panels per rack.

I'm hoping my panels will work with the brackets it came with but I need to get the rack mounted to the concrete footers in the morning before I can put them on it.

I'll post how it goes mounting wise then. I can't get 3 on mine because the 450 watt panels are to large for more than 2.

 

[Texas-Mark]

The large bars running left to right show 3000 mm's in the manual which according to the converter thing is 118.11 inches.

Thanks. I asked because they advertise it as a 4 panel mount, but the pics look like you could fit 5 100w panels. Mine are 21.1" wide, so 5 should fit. But that would also require another set of panel brackets. Not sure if those are readily available.

I'm hoping my panels will work with the brackets it came with

Can you post up some pics of the brackets?

 

[Crowz]

Thanks. I asked because they advertise it as a 4 panel mount, but the pics look like you could fit 5 100w panels. Mine are 21.1" wide, so 5 should fit. But that would also require another set of panel brackets. Not sure if those are readily available.



Can you post up some pics of the brackets?

I can later its pouring rain right now

 

[cs1234]

$100 a rack.

Dang, they are $132.59 on my amazon.

 

[Texas-Mark]

Dang, they are $132.59 on my amazon.

I find that stuff I have in my "saved for later" tends to change price pretty often. I'll let things sit there and wait until the price goes down. But that is a hit or miss.

 

[Crowz]

Dang, they are $132.59 on my amazon.

I won a bid on ebay for them is what made me bite. I was watching them on amazon for awhile and they are around $160something.

I looked just now and I'm seeing the $132 on sale.

 

[Crowz]

Wife and I just finish putting the footers down for the rack and marked them for drilling. Rain keeps starting over and over so hard to get anything done today.

 

[Crowz]

Just finished mounting the rack to the concrete footers. Here's a pic of right before combat started

 

[Crowz]

Wife informed me she doesn't feel like helping me mount the panels today and I can't blame her its been a looooong day and very hot.

I'll get them mounted tomorrow before I start installing the generator hookup stuff.

 

[Crowz]

We got the panels on the racks today and they fit perfect and worked great. I'm waiting till tomorrow to take pics because the panels are dirty from laying on the ground beside the rack before installing and need washing.

 

[Crowz]

Here is a shot of the panel mounted on the rack. Yes I need to cut grass. Hopefully the storms will stop long enough to cut it this week.





After the wife gives her blessing on where this will go I will use mobile home tie down screw in pegs to secure the back legs of the mount in place. Should keep it from blowing away I hope.

 

[Texas-Mark]

I decided to go ahead and get one of these racks. I probably could have made one myself a bit cheaper, but less work to just buy a kit. I was able to fit five 100 watt panels on it, but I still need to try and fine some more inside brackets. I left two off for now, which will be fine for my use (circled in red). I probably should have put the legs a little closer together because it sags a little in the middle. But I can fix that when/if I find more brackets.

Oh, I also plan to mount the legs to some "skids" so I can drag it around as needed.

 

[Crowz]

I decided to go ahead and get one of these racks. I probably could have made one myself a bit cheaper, but less work to just buy a kit. I was able to fit five 100 watt panels on it, but I still need to try and fine some more inside brackets. I left two off for now, which will be fine for my use (circled in red). I probably should have put the legs a little closer together because it sags a little in the middle. But I can fix that when/if I find more brackets.

Oh, I also plan to mount the legs to some "skids" so I can drag it around as needed.

Looks good. I will probably use these on my 100 watt panels too. Sorry I didn't get the pics of the brackets posted for you but I guess you don't need them now that you have the rack

 

[Texas-Mark]

I did find some compatible brackets. One of the reviews said these are almost identical (just a little longer). I plan to probably get two more of the racks, so this 10 pack will work out fine.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B99JLZ2C