Brett V
Mad Scientist
My carpentry skills are best described as "wood butcher". Thank goodness for those metal fasteners!
Post your Ground Mount Setup
- Thread starter drps10
- Start date
I have a combiner box at the panels in the back. From there it's all underground to inverter. From wagons to combiner box, yes. Thinking on running overhead like the utility would do.
My out door farm cats seem to keep critters away.
ghostwriter66
"Here - Hold my Beer"
Would "T" mounts connecting the PV to the SS not be easier to do then trying to line everything up the way you did it ??? (Does that make sense??)
Subdood
Photon Wrangler
Built this last winter/spring. We're in NE Kentucky. Eight Canadian Solar 445W bifacials for a total of 3.65KW. Panels are 84x42x1.2", and weigh about 63lb apiece. This array feeds a single EG4 6500 inverter which feeds a critical 120v loads subpanel. No batteries with system yet.
Here's a link to my post about my overall system: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/diy-3-6kw-bifacial-ground-mount-system.55886/
Five back posts are 8ft 4x4's, buried about 22in deep, five front posts are various length 4x4's buried about 20in deep. All posts trimmed down with circular saw to maintain level.
Hole diameters are about 10-12in.
Distance between posts are 7ft on the back and front posts, about 80in front to back to give a 33 degree tilt angle.
Panels are mounted on 3x10ft galvanized steel unistruts which are mounted about 45in apart on 8ft long 4x4 support beams.
Used about 21 50lb bags of quickrete to set posts.
Have a few 2x4x8's and 2x4x10's for cross supports.
Panels are grounded with 6ga bare copper, wire is 10ga PV wire, all fed into 1in PVC weatherhead.
That transitions in a 2x4x4 junction box to three 10ga THWN wires that travel 45ft to house via 1/2in pvc conduit buried 24in deep.
Lots of hardware, all galvanized steel fasteners.
All posts were sealed with Thompson's water seal, even tho they are all pressure treated lumber.
Cost of mount comes out to about $800, excluding wires and conduit.
Mount is very sturdy, we've had several 60mph wind storms, no issues. Feel free to PM me if you need more info.
Here's a link to my post about my overall system: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/diy-3-6kw-bifacial-ground-mount-system.55886/
Five back posts are 8ft 4x4's, buried about 22in deep, five front posts are various length 4x4's buried about 20in deep. All posts trimmed down with circular saw to maintain level.
Hole diameters are about 10-12in.
Distance between posts are 7ft on the back and front posts, about 80in front to back to give a 33 degree tilt angle.
Panels are mounted on 3x10ft galvanized steel unistruts which are mounted about 45in apart on 8ft long 4x4 support beams.
Used about 21 50lb bags of quickrete to set posts.
Have a few 2x4x8's and 2x4x10's for cross supports.
Panels are grounded with 6ga bare copper, wire is 10ga PV wire, all fed into 1in PVC weatherhead.
That transitions in a 2x4x4 junction box to three 10ga THWN wires that travel 45ft to house via 1/2in pvc conduit buried 24in deep.
Lots of hardware, all galvanized steel fasteners.
All posts were sealed with Thompson's water seal, even tho they are all pressure treated lumber.
Cost of mount comes out to about $800, excluding wires and conduit.
Mount is very sturdy, we've had several 60mph wind storms, no issues. Feel free to PM me if you need more info.
Attachments
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Subdood
Photon Wrangler
More pics of the detail work. System has been online in this completed state since early May, altho it was running a month before this date with the wires not buried or solar panel frames grounded. Lack of of panel frame ground to inverter/electrical home system ground caused about 120-180VAC to float on frame grounds/unistrut rails. Please make sure your frames are grounded to system ground!
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Brett V
Mad Scientist
Subdood
Photon Wrangler
Yeah, everything is more expensive nowadays! I paid $40 for each of those 10ft unistruts from Lowe's last December. Home Depot had them for $36, but Lowe's is the closest to me, so they got just about all my business. All the items in the mount except for some hardware came from them.
WolfbaneAries
New Member
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2022
- Messages
- 49
24 450w panels - 11.8kw
Front is 9' back is 21', roughly 60 degrees
6x6 posts connected to 900# concrete footings
Plum Crazy Rob
Solar Enthusiast
Wow some impressive ingenuity and racks in this thread!
Back to the more store bought side,
1540W per each $279 EG4 rack on 5 gallon buckets of concrete. Added outrigger buckets on front to stabilize teeter-totter mount design. Area is VERY wind sheltered, but getting ready to upgrade buckets to 12" dia. 4ft Sonotubes 18" above ground, and add 2 more racks for 7kw total.
Back to the more store bought side,
1540W per each $279 EG4 rack on 5 gallon buckets of concrete. Added outrigger buckets on front to stabilize teeter-totter mount design. Area is VERY wind sheltered, but getting ready to upgrade buckets to 12" dia. 4ft Sonotubes 18" above ground, and add 2 more racks for 7kw total.
I like that you added the front legs to the bright Mounts. That should make them much more stronger.
Last winter, I built an 8 panel (bifacial) 3.2kw solar trailer from a boat trailer & used DC Solar racking, then adapted it for much bigger panels. It has been flawless & is has adjustable manual tracking. Basically 2 separate 4 panel adjustable arrays.
Might be easier to post a few pictures & link to the Show & Tell thread here.
diysolarforum.com
In the background is an additional 2 bifacial panels on a T-pole we put together last fall as well...with dual tracking.
Might be easier to post a few pictures & link to the Show & Tell thread here.
My +3.2kw portable array system... Solar Trailer
If not desiring to mount Solar panels on a roof, (which I don't prefer for many reasons...especially with bifacials) racking can be one of the most expensive parts of the system. Most really don't allow much flexibility or adaptability let alone mobility...definitely not cheaply in time, labor...
diysolarforum.com
In the background is an additional 2 bifacial panels on a T-pole we put together last fall as well...with dual tracking.
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OzSolar
Whatever you did, that's what you planned.
I see lots of racks made from wood. What is the lifetime of them going to be? Maybe 10 years and then you're doing it again?
Here's one of mine. It's held down by duckbill style anchors.
Here's one of mine. It's held down by duckbill style anchors.
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Brett V
Mad Scientist
Pressure treated lumber, off the ground and mostly protected from weather by the solar panels they support, will last quite a bit longer than10 years.
timselectric
If I can do it, you can do it.
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2022
- Messages
- 19,088
I'm definitely going wood. To avoid ground issues.
I just need about 25 years, and then it's someone else's problem. lol
I just need about 25 years, and then it's someone else's problem. lol
Balrog006
Solar Enthusiast
Must have been fun and interesting mounting your panels on that!
OzSolar
Whatever you did, that's what you planned.
My experience says it won't but I'm not here to argue just to help. Let's swap pictures of our mounting after zero maintenance in 20 years. You'll be on your third and I'll still won't have touched mine.
WolfbaneAries
New Member
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2022
- Messages
- 49
RV10flyer
Solar Wizard
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2021
- Messages
- 1,198
Shoot, I got 15 years out of 6 inch white oak posts in direct ground contact for a grape trellis. My 48kWpv on 4x4 pt posts in concrete will be just fine for the next 25 years with resealing every 3-4 years. I used Unistrut on the first 20.6. None on the rest. 3-4” long 3/8” ss hanger bolts work great.
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WolfbaneAries
New Member
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2022
- Messages
- 49
As a landscaper I deal with old pressure treated wood all the time. The failure point is always right at the ground where the post meets the ground (typically 10 years), the rest of the post will be totally fine. With 6x6 posts connected to concrete with brackets, it will last for a very long time.
