How far from your array to your existing building ground? The ground rods might not be needed for your situation.
I actually don't know the answer SW. I'm erring on the side of caution. Pulled the rods for an old electric fence so I thought I'd use them. The distance from the grounding rods to my solar room is about 70 feet. I plan on driving an extra one just outside the room. Your thoughts are appreciated though ... thx
It's generally recommended to not have any auxiliary ground rods on your system. You just need to make sure your panels/racking equipment/enclosures and such are all grounded back to the main building ground.. assuming that the solar system will be connected into that same buildings system. You just run that ground cable along with your PV + and PV - wires.
Looks great! First attempt looks like a pro
I thought the same. I bought an 18" auger for my tractor. The hole needed to be a little less than 4' deep. After 2 broken shear pins and a hole that slanted about 15 degrees I realized this wasn't going to work out as planned. I'm to old to be using post hole diggers for very long. Good question though ...
Thanks bro ... need all the encouragement I can get : )
I did have a little concrete left over so I just buttered the bottom with the remaining mix. Stabilized them somewhat...
Understood. Thx. Can I use solid 6 awg along with the PV wiring or should I do something like 6 awg THHN stranded wire? Your comments are appreciated. All new endeavor for me : ) An after thought .... would it be ok to use solid copper for ganging the panels together and use stranded AWG from the combiner box to the solar charge controller?
I have mixed thoughts on that. Being a newbie I don't know the answer. It almost seems like it would be easier to adjust the panels and frame if they were smaller. If they were all connected I'd have to have a half a dozen helpers to change the angle of all of them put together. I may not be seeing the entire picture though ... appreciate your input. Thx
True that. I didn’t notice they were adjustable.
I opted for the REC Solar REC420AA-PURE-R Alpha Series 420 watt panels. A Norwegian company that had good reviews. I bought a few bags of concrete from Lowes but after calculating the amount of mix I'd need I changed my mind. Too old : ) Having the concrete delivered wasn't that much more expensive than buying individual bags and mixing it myself. I had them mix it thin with chips which will make it tight and strong. I wound up using 2 cubic yards for the (12) 12" x 4' sonotubes. Having done it once I feel more confident doing it again if I chose to expand my array. My biggest mistake was allowing a rain storm to fill my trench with about 8" of water. Had to hand bail with a bucket. ugh
Thanks ... a lot of work but a lot of fun.
Yes ... I kind of figured that would be the answer. Always the more expen$ive option : ) Thx
I’m curious what you mean by mix it in with chips.
Amazing view you have there.
Yeah, I get it. I did the mixing in a wheelbarrow usually two bags at a time, and rolled it down the hill about 100ft to the site, and slowly added it in. That took a while, did the back posts first, then the front ones a few weeks later. I had asked local concrete companies how much to deliver and they said they would only do 2 yards minimum and I only needed like a half yard. Plus, there was a fuel surcharge, and less than full truck fees, and I think it would've cost me at least $500. So, being the cheapskate I am went with $100 of Quikrete and did it myself.
Damn, nice work! They won't be going anywhere.
