Brightmount Wall Mount?

[MidwestBest]

Could the bright mount be flipped and mounts to a wall to make the solar panels act as an awning? or would it not hold? i dont see why it wouldnt. would have a lot of sheer pressure on the bolts but fiugre a few grade 8 bolts would take care of that.

 

[hwy17]

It is a different static load than it's designed for, but I think it would probably hold if good enough is good enough for you.

 

[MidwestBest]

It is a different static load than it's designed for, but I think it would probably hold if good enough is good enough for you.

well i can get some 3/4 grade 8 bolts. just wanted an awning type mount to utilize my solar for shade. i love the way bifacial look as well.

 

[JoeHam]

well i can get some 3/4 grade 8 bolts. just wanted an awning type mount to utilize my solar for shade. i love the way bifacial look as well.

I’ll guess the structure is more of a concern than the bolts.

As pointed out the static load will be different but wind loading should be greatly minimized in your use case.

Give it a go and let us know how it works out .

 

[hwy17]

Strong bolts is good, but yeah also the way my bright mounts are, it's the straight leg out of the footer that I think would be vulnerable to twisting through its sidewall on the two bolts that hold it in the footer.

Edit; I had coffee and take this back now, forgot how triangles work. The twisting force on those bolts should be geometrically controlled I think.

 

[hwy17]

In my uneducated mechanical intuition, it's the footer base that would be most likely to fail if anything, with the upper two bolts' flat portion shearing off. Luckily there's 4 of them per brightmount so it would probably not all happen suddenly, one would probably go first and get caught by the others for a while.

The extendible lower (now upper) arm would also be subject to a more significant compression force than usual. It would have been better to do this with the non adjustable version. Additional holes could be driven through the extension parts and bolts placed through there for more strength. I am doing this anyway cause I bought the set screw version, and the set screws were just obviously a bad idea in the first place.

 

[MidwestBest]

In my uneducated mechanical intuition, it's the footer base that would be most likely to fail if anything, with the upper two bolts' flat portion shearing off. Luckily there's 4 of them per brightmount so it would probably not all happen suddenly, one would probably go first and get caught by the others for a while.

The extendible lower (now upper) arm would also be subject to a more significant compression force than usual. It would have been better to do this with the non adjustable version. Additional holes could be driven through the extension parts and bolts placed through there for more strength. I am doing this anyway cause I bought the set screw version, and the set screws were just obviously a bad idea in the first place.

Thank you !!! appreciate the insight on these. was tempted to order one and tinker with a few ideas with it just to see what would work.

 

[hwy17]

Thank you !!! appreciate the insight on these. was tempted to order one and tinker with a few ideas with it just to see what would work.

Yeah np, you're welcome. I only just noticed the small changes the other day. I think the current edition has a bolt that threads through one wall of the adjustable length arm, that will already be better than the set screws like mine and maybe it's actually fine out of the box now. But another bolt all the way through the arm is what I'm adding.

Also I think it would take a very particular kind of wall if you're thinking of standing under them. In default shape there's no way I could get them to clear over my overhang and gutter, and even if I used standoffs I think you'd still have to be ducking under the panels. But maybe you have something higher in mind like on a two story or gable end.

 

[MidwestBest]

Yeah np, you're welcome. I only just noticed the small changes the other day. I think the current edition has a bolt that threads through one wall of the adjustable length arm, that will already be better than the set screws like mine and maybe it's actually fine out of the box now. But another bolt all the way through the arm is what I'm adding.

Also I think it would take a very particular kind of wall if you're thinking of standing under them. In default shape there's no way I could get them to clear over my overhang and gutter, and even if I used standoffs I think you'd still have to be ducking under the panels. But maybe you have something higher in mind like on a two story or gable end.

yeah i plan to make an overhang just to shade my mini spit unit in the summer and if i set it just right still get some warmth from the sun in the winter. i can mount it to an i beam or a 6x6 post. might just make my own mount though. seems like it would be easier to make than modify this and trust it. i have a lot of spare metal to choose from and a welder.

 

[hwy17]

yeah i plan to make an overhang just to shade my mini spit unit in the summer and if i set it just right still get some warmth from the sun in the winter. i can mount it to an i beam or a 6x6 post. might just make my own mount though. seems like it would be easier to make than modify this and trust it. i have a lot of spare metal to choose from and a welder.

Yup. If you do make one consider still using rails like Ironridge or Unirac to put on top of the custom support. It's pretty cheap to get just the rails.

Here's a video of Ironridge on custom: