ez ground mounting system

[FilterGuy]

I do have an Outback 6-gang 15A 100V (per pole) breaker. It's purpose was to segment a 600Voc string into 6, 100Voc sub-strings.
I intend to repurpose it for parallel strings (feeding DC coupled SCC for Sunny Island). I think SunPower 435W 1s6p array would fit within specs. At the moment, I have SunPower 327W 2s1p hooked up.

Various breakers trip based on thermal, magnetic, or remote trip. (often a couple of those.)
I suppose a magnetic trip breaker might or might not trip with reverse current, depending on whether the trip mechanism itself is polarized.
The main deal with polarized breakers is they use a permanent magnet to establish a field that deflects arc into arc chutes. Reverse polarity, and that doesn't happen.
I think non-polarized DC breakers might use an electromagnet to deflect the arc.

Here's Midnight's story of they first time they tried to put polarized breakers through NRTL testing (but backwards), resulting in burning breakers:

https://www.midnitesolar.com/pdfs/165_VDC_ETL_TEST_STORY.pdf

Thanks for the link..... I learn new stuff all the time.

 

[The Dish Doc]

Curious ... how do you deal with lightening strikes on the antenna?

A fire extinguisher

 

[partytyme]

well the system has been in use for a while now i have had NO issues with the way i mounted the panels i see 10.06k of power for a while each day i had a little shading from the rows i should have spaced them one foot farther apart the back row is a foot taller than the front roll i am happy the total wattage is 11k in panels and 10 k inverter . i do take the time to sweep the snow off when the snow covers them i use a snowjoe or a dust mop if the snow is light. i did have a electrician come and inspect my install he gave it two thumbs up. the power output in winter here in michigan sucks because of the short days and weather. here is a guest link to my inverter you are able to go look around but can not change my settings guest view of solar inverter i hope this helps someone remember this is grid tied because i have a 20kw natural gas auto transfer generator if power fails the generator starts and solar turns off if it loses the grid ,the fronius inverter was a good choice i am a ham radio operator and have no noise issues from the panels and my 80 meter loop is over top the panels, take care mb

 

[The Dish Doc]

I made a super short vid to illustrate shading on my panels. Hope you find some value in it.
Shade effect on solar panels

Great video. I see someone replied "The Inverter takes about 2-3 minutes to readjust to the shade. So, waiting for 2-3 minutes would have shown that the loss was only of 1 panel instead of all 3" Is that correct?

 

[partytyme]

A fire extinguisher

the 180 foot tower has been up for 20 years when i installed it i did a large ground array all coaxes are bonded at the antenna and again when they enter the cell building and poly phaser's on all feed lines too, power in under ground in steel conduit the total for lightning damage is less than 20.00 for the past 20 years . 73 n8obu

 

[partytyme]

I see you drilled holes in the posts to slid the pipes through. Seems very strong, but I would not trust my ability to line them up. Wouldnt it be easier to attach the pipes to the front of the poles with a U bracket and then cut the post after?

Maybe place a 2 x 4 block unde the pipe for extra safety support?

i pre drilled the pipe holes threw the 4x4s and used extra long 4x4 and drilled the holes extra deep and just adjusted the post to keep them level by sliding a pipe threw the holes and using a level when i was done i was able to easily slide the pipes threw the holes this keeps them lined up and level this was cheaper than trying to use brackets and stronger mb

 

[partytyme]

Looks Good. I would suggest you CAP the ends of the pipes, otherwise you may likely encounter new residents taking an option on them. Seems like some Hornet's / Wasps up here have developed an affinity to pipes I have kicking around, odd part, I'm in the middle of a forest, why the steel pipe so attractive to them is beyond me. Thank goodness for those Wasp Killer Spray Bombs that shoot 20' !

are capped now

 

[The Dish Doc]

the 180 foot tower has been up for 20 years when i installed it i did a large ground array all coaxes are bonded at the antenna and again when they enter the cell building and poly phaser's on all feed lines too, power in under ground in steel conduit the total for lightning damage is less than 20.00 for the past 20 years . 73 n8obu

Thats impressive. My tower took a direct hit and a plasma fireball shot out of my equipment right in my face :-(

 

[partytyme]

Curious ... how do you deal with lightening strikes on the antenna?

very good grounding ,

 

[partytyme]

Thats impressive. My tower took a direct hit and a plasma fireball shot out of my equipment right in my face :-(

sorry to hear that my hf rig in in the house and i have 7/8 feed line running 200 feet to the cell building under ground look up my call sign n8obu on link to qrz.com their are more notes and photos there 73

 

[partytyme]

When putting posts in the ground, it is best to have the post sticking out of the bottom of the concrete in order to let moisture drain out the bottom. If the concrete is deeper than the post, it forms a cup that holds moisture and encourages rot.

1) Remove all loose soil from the hole. (Loose soil can later compact and cause issues)
2) Before putting in the concrete, put in gravel to a few inches above the bottom of the post and make sure to tap it in and under the post.
3) Pour the concrete to fill the hole.

BTW: I think the OP said he did not use concrete. He just backfield with dirt. Since all the posts are connected together with the metal racking system, there should be little or no forces to make the posts lean (they are all holding each other up). Consequently, it probably works well to forgo the concrete, but I would do my best to compact the soil as I back-filled.

i did not use cement i used the 4x4 to pack the crap out of the bottom of the hole the holes were drilled with a tractor and were over 4' deep

 

[Hedges]

Great video. I see someone replied "The Inverter takes about 2-3 minutes to readjust to the shade. So, waiting for 2-3 minutes would have shown that the loss was only of 1 panel instead of all 3" Is that correct?

Shade across the bottom of panel killed the whole panel, as shown by diode arrangement FilterGuy posted:

ez ground mounting system

Well done! That looks like the way to go. Curious why you don’t house the inverter/charger/battery at the panels and run AC to the house. Security?

diysolarforum.com

I would expect the remaining two panels to deliver their power, through those diodes.
If voltage dropped below MPPT operation (or battery voltage) it wouldn't. Or if diodes had failed open.

I didn't realize MPPT algorithm was as slow as 2-3 minutes. I expect it to be constantly running up/down a little to remain on the peak. It is only periodic searches to find other local maxima that I thought were infrequent. But maybe Midnight's algorithm does track slowly. Would be good to see the test. Maybe @nogridhome home can do that, probably with a subset of the panels now on his ground mounts.

 

[Buymysolar]

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sorry to hear that my hf rig in in the house and i have 7/8 feed line running 200 feet to the cell building under ground look up my call sign n8obu on link to qrz.com their are more notes and photos there 73

i read your qrz profile. I ‘m laying down and I get dizzy thinking of a 180 foot antenna. Did you install that yourself? How far out do the top guy wires go? Looks like you have a dozen different antennas, Just for curiosity, I’ll probably look those up to learn what they are used for

 

[The Dish Doc]

I looked at your QRZ profile also. Very impressive setup. I bet that TV ant gets more than a few stations. What PTZ are you running? I got hooked on CCTV after running security for the DOC for a number of years. You need to feed that dog
73's de KD4ALD

 

[Nobodybusiness]

View attachment 62339View attachment 62340View attachment 62341
i came up with a cheap way to ground mount my 42 panels this worked for me! i ended up with a 62 degree angle and pre drilled all the poles used 4x4x8 in the front and 4x4x12 in the rear took three days with my wife and one other friend helping , you mount the middle bottom panel first and work both ways only bolting the uni strut on the bottom with 20 inches hanging over the 1 inch pipe using uni strut nuts hollow side toward the pipe until you get the 2nd row mounted then bolt threw the top pipe my panels have mounting holes every 34 inches and you need 31.5 inches from last mount hole to the next panel starting hole used a 3/4"piece to space the panels when we stacked them worked great drilled and bolted the uni strut to the top pipe after the 2nd row was in place allowing me to slide the channels up to keep them level. i leveled the pipes as we set them the 4x4 all in the ground at least 42" just cut off the bottoms to keep it level pre drill the pipe holes with a 1.5" wood bit in a drill press to keep them straight my angles were off but it did not matter the panels cleared by inches anyway . next wiring three strings of 14 = 440vdc should work 210 feet from the house 14 gauge three pairs i hope
parts used

panels to uni strut
1/4 20 fender clips on panel bottom
1/4" fender washers
1/4 20 bolts 1"long Phillips head

uni strut to pipe 2" 5/16 bolts
uni strut track nuts 5/16
i placed 8 steel t post with hose clamps at 55 foot and used a transit to get my strings with kara beaners straight that gave me room for a tractor with a auger to drill the holes and i could pull the strings as needed tank care mike b

What did you use to make sure you weren’t shading your other array behind the first?

 

[nogridhome]

Shade across the bottom of panel killed the whole panel, as shown by diode arrangement FilterGuy posted:

ez ground mounting system

Well done! That looks like the way to go. Curious why you don’t house the inverter/charger/battery at the panels and run AC to the house. Security?

diysolarforum.com

I would expect the remaining two panels to deliver their power, through those diodes.
If voltage dropped below MPPT operation (or battery voltage) it wouldn't. Or if diodes had failed open.

I didn't realize MPPT algorithm was as slow as 2-3 minutes. I expect it to be constantly running up/down a little to remain on the peak. It is only periodic searches to find other local maxima that I thought were infrequent. But maybe Midnight's algorithm does track slowly. Would be good to see the test. Maybe @nogridhome home can do that, probably with a subset of the panels now on his ground mounts.

Heck ya, I'll chew on this a bit to figure out what all to say and maybe a stupid stunt or two then I will make you a vid, thanks for the idea!
?️

 

[jsl10]

What did you use to make sure you weren’t shading your other array behind the first?

I'd like to know as well. I'm going to do a very similar setup. Other than putting them so far apart you know it will be ok, I wonder if there is a calculator somewhere to show shadows for given location and time of year so you could put them as close as possible without first row shadow on second.

 

[The Dish Doc]

I'd like to know as well. I'm going to do a very similar setup. Other than putting them so far apart you know it will be ok, I wonder if there is a calculator somewhere to show shadows for given location and time of year so you could put them as close as possible without first row shadow on second.

I have a CCTV system and I can review the days footage at high speed to see the shadows as they move across the yard.

 

[EJansen]

anti-backfeed diodes would appear to provide protection, but aren't necessarily proven to be reliable fire protection.

I know this is a bit out of context for the thread as a whole, but speaking of 'anti-backfeed' diodes, would something like this, if put in line on each PV string, prevent inverter backfeed to the solar panels, if said inverter was back feeding?:

5.8US $ |Rectifier Photovoltaic Dc Solar Anti-backflow Mutual Charging Anti-backflow Md Freewheeling Anti-reverse Diode - Relays - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

I know not all inverters back feed, but the new EG4 6500s that I have do for sure. I figured I could put those in-line on each string to prevent the back feed, and then I would just need to cut power to my Tigo CCA to disable the solar panels. Or maybe even in addition to that I add some solid-state relays to ensure disconnect for rapid shutdown purposes.

Any info, insights, experiences with this etc would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Kornbread]

I cannot decipher the language. What's their voltage rating?