It doesn't matter - when we have those amounts of snow, there is no sun and I don't generate anything. Also, the bottom panels can be shaded, it doesn't impact the rest of the array.
DIY ground mount
- Thread starter upnorthandpersonal
- Start date
brandnewb
Going for serious. starting as newb
brother, brother bother.
Why not use the trees to tie a turbine up there?
Why? because winter can spell mayhem on panels. hmm Up north it's like always winter
nah I am sure that is not true but I am just trying to pull your leg a bit. ever so slightly.I will respect if you would rather have me swoop in here on your thread with actual hard data.. point taken.
Winter will spell mayhem on the turbine: snow, ice, freezing temperatures - and no wind anyway once it gets to -15C or -20C. You will just have an ice cube sitting up there.
brandnewb
Going for serious. starting as newb
OK well then... Then I will already admit that wind turbines do not make any sense up north.
I am soooo much hopeing to prove all of us wrong though that small wind can't work in areas less northern.
Yes yes, I understand the nuances that need to be applied here.
I will stop polluting this thread now...
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No worries. I'm always happy to be proven wrong. If there is a way that wind can work here, I'll definitely go for it.
OffGridForGood
Catch, make or grow everything you can.
I have wind from October to April, but all those moving parts, tall trees, snow, ice, noise, maintenance, have resulted in no wind turbine in my set up. I figure a few more PV is WAY less bother, but that is me!
Does your 65-degree angle clear the snow or do you broom them off once in a while? I ask since mine at 60-degrees do not typically clear unless we have a good wind. I could tilt mine to 72-degrees max just never have. Even in March when my ideal angle drops to 49-degrees I leave them steeper to assist with snow clearing until the weather warms up enough that I don't need to worry about snow late in April. Then I drop the angle to 30-degrees for the summer.
Does your 65-degree angle clear the snow or do you broom them off once in a while? I ask since mine at 60-degrees do not typically clear unless we have a good wind. I could tilt mine to 72-degrees max just never have. Even in March when my ideal angle drops to 49-degrees I leave them steeper to assist with snow clearing until the weather warms up enough that I don't need to worry about snow late in April. Then I drop the angle to 30-degrees for the summer.
They tend to. I might clean them once a season or so from snow; it makes no sense to clean them when there is no sun anyway. Usually by the time the sun is back, the panels warm up enough for the snow to slide off. Some wind helps as well of course.
Nobodybusiness
Collecting the leftovers of the Great Sky Reactor.
I can’t believe that works.More pictures:
Got around to putting some gravel in place. Still a bit more to go:
View attachment 22613
L-brackets to hold the panels to the beams.
View attachment 22614
The wiring of the panels sill be combined in the center. Also, more L-brackets.
View attachment 22615
The bottom wooden 'beam' acts as support when placing the panels. In addition it provides another point for...
View attachment 22616
... more L-brackets. And hole plates (flat L-brackets)
View attachment 22617
View attachment 22618
Still have to cut the excess wood on the top.
View attachment 22619
The concrete posts look similar to this under the gravel:
View attachment 22620
If I tried that here it would turn into a giant sail or
Just pull loose from the wood.
Not a constant wind but we often get 50-60 mph gust during storms.
Plus my wife would probably shoot me for messing up her yard.
Nobodybusiness
Collecting the leftovers of the Great Sky Reactor.
You really are in the woods..
I can’t believe that works.
If I tried that here it would turn into a giant sail or
Just pull loose from the wood.
Not a constant wind but we often get 50-60 mph gust during storms.
Plus my wife would probably shoot me for messing up her yard.
We rarely get winds that strong, but these panels went through several storms - including up to 40mph gusts without issues front on. They've been up now for pretty much 5 years, no problems.
Yeah, shoreline on one side, forest on all other sides. Does help a lot to limit wind impact, especially northern and east/west winds get broken by the forest.
OffGridForGood
Catch, make or grow everything you can.
Similar in my area, and like you, the tall trees to the North and West block most of the wind for my set up.
However many on the forum in the USA have to deal with 80-100 mph winds in their locations. And don't have a natural wind block.
For ground mounts in shallow soils over bedrock, I like to just auger holes to the rock, and drill/grout reinforcing steel pins into the granite. Then pour concrete piers using sonotube forms to get above grade. I have rock at 30" (.76m) below surface.
The real benefit of precast piers is removing the need to mix concrete or wait for it to set up so you can do the next step of the build.
Low cost building material for a ground mount can be had from scrap metal/recycle places. I was able to get a bunch of 10' long 5" steel channels for their scrap-value cost from a place that had a few hundred pieces come in from a building demo job. The structure had been dismantled - not crunched - so all the channels were in perfect condition, although they are over 60 years old. Not even rusted, since these were sub-frame members in a large building, the steel was all inside protected from weather until the building was demolished. You would be surprised at what is sent to scrap yards from construction sites, and far cheaper than new steel sections.
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Oh sure, I get it. I'm not saying at all this is for everyone. My back-up plan if I were to have issues would be to pour concrete over the/in the gravel patch under the panel (essentially a large ballast block) and use guy lines to anchor the structure down with pins drilled into the bedrock, but never needed to take these steps.
OffGridForGood
Catch, make or grow everything you can.
I only noted it, because I see so many guests on the forum, and wonder if they start to think some solutions that work in one location, would be suitable everywhere, so I try to point out such things.
BTW - great set up you have UNAP, read your blog on the build. Very nice.
BTW - great set up you have UNAP, read your blog on the build. Very nice.
read your blog on the build. Very nice.
Thanks! I started planning this thing about two decades ago, waiting for tech to catch up with what I wanted to do.
Nobodybusiness
Collecting the leftovers of the Great Sky Reactor.
Yea we have pretty much flat 100 acres with some tree lines break.
However those flatline winds are tough.
I haven’t had any trouble with the Powerfield tubs since they are low to the ground and filled with sand.
I have just seen peoples buildings, trampoline, swings, etc fly away in storms around here because of the flat terrain.
Nobodybusiness
Collecting the leftovers of the Great Sky Reactor.
Yup that’s us for sure.
It’s not often but it happens regularly enough I wouldn’t want to chance it.
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