Can someone's identify these rails?
- Thread starter chulew
- Start date
Quattrohead
Solar Wizard
I don't recognize them at all but could you do a Google image search? I believe, although I've never tried, that you can upload your picture to Google and tell it to find similar things.
Quattrohead
Solar Wizard
Splendid, thanks for letting us know
Sharing Society
New Member
I installed 3 arrays using Prosolar rails. They are aluminum. they are rigid and last, but very difficult to work with and take extra time to install. In order to fasten the rails to the cross bars, you have to line up the rail and then mark a place on the rail where you will drill 2 holes so you can attach the Prosolar rail to the cross rail with a U-bolt and nuts. You have to manually drill the holes using a step bit for metal. Then you have to do the same thing for the next rail and make certain everything is parallel.
I made a wooden template of the holes to be drilled that fit in the guly of the rail so I just had to position the rail, align the template, use a marker to mark the holes, remove the template and drill.
Once your panels are in place, the only way to remove the rails is to remove all of the panels and then remove the U bolts from the nuts on the rail inside gully. Not very user friendly.
I wish I had used plain ole galvanized strut.
I made a wooden template of the holes to be drilled that fit in the guly of the rail so I just had to position the rail, align the template, use a marker to mark the holes, remove the template and drill.
Once your panels are in place, the only way to remove the rails is to remove all of the panels and then remove the U bolts from the nuts on the rail inside gully. Not very user friendly.
I wish I had used plain ole galvanized strut.
Sharing Society
New Member
Agree
Agreed.
IronRidge has made things a lot more user friendly with Tbolts for the clamps and rail mounts to L feet or pipe (they sell connectors for 2in or 3in pipe)
Agreed.
IronRidge has made things a lot more user friendly with Tbolts for the clamps and rail mounts to L feet or pipe (they sell connectors for 2in or 3in pipe)
Aluminum rails will last way longer than the typical electrogalvanized strut that the big box stores sell. That is intended for indoor use only. Hot dip galvanized strut works well outdoors but it's much more expensive where I live.
Superstut 10 foot rail, the deep rail, galvanized, about $35.57 at Home Depot near me in So Cal. I just bought one.
10 ft. 12-Gauge Half Slotted Metal Framing Strut Channel in Silver Galvanized
Half Slot "A" Channel with SilverGalv finish
1-5/8 in. Channel Depth
Clean, paintable surface
Then there are specific nuts to screw the bolts into, end caps for appearance and can easily be cut to length with a portable band saw.
10 ft. 12-Gauge Half Slotted Metal Framing Strut Channel in Silver Galvanized
Half Slot "A" Channel with SilverGalv finish
1-5/8 in. Channel Depth
Clean, paintable surface
Then there are specific nuts to screw the bolts into, end caps for appearance and can easily be cut to length with a portable band saw.
k490
Solar Enthusiast
Odd that it's $41 here I suppose prices could be different depending on the store I have used them before good for mounting conduit on walls. I can see that being a good idea for ground mounting I doubt it would pass code for roof mounting. I have local solar supplier Santan solar I don't have to ship rails actually cheaper at $3 a foot then the superstrut. When you add shipping makes a difference having Home Depot locally makes sense to use those.
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42OhmsPA
What's in a title?
Check your local electric supply stores for bulk strut prices... I got 10 sticks for ~$250 a few months ago, I was ready to buy it from HD, glad I didn't.
Quattrohead
Solar Wizard
Yes local electrical supply companies like City Electric and Rexel have all this stuff.
