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Ground mount racking help

ymd

New Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2024
Messages
4
Location
Tucson
I am planning to do a grid tied solar using EG4 gridboss, flexboss and batteries. I am getting 36 540W panels. Initially, I thought of going with EG4 Brightmount system to install the panels. Now I realize that it is rated for only 90 miles per hour wind. Tucson, AZ where I live has a requirement of 105 miles per hour. I am now considering either IronRidge or Tamarack system. Which system is better? Do I need to consider other systems. All systems I am seeing are considerably more expensive than EG4 Brightmount. Moreover, I will also need to purchase 2" pipes locally for either of the two systems I am considering which makes it quite expensive.

1. Which is the most popular and reasonably priced ground racking system most people use?
2. Is it better to use ground screw mount or concrete posts? Where can I rent equipment to do the ground screw?
3. I am thinking of getting used oil industry 2" pipes for mounting the system. Will the county have any objection if I use them? A better question would be, are these used steel pipes good enough to use?

Thanks for your suggestions.
 
1. Which is the most popular and reasonably priced ground racking system most people use?
2. Is it better to use ground screw mount or concrete posts? Where can I rent equipment to do the ground screw?
3. I am thinking of getting used oil industry 2" pipes for mounting the system. Will the county have any objection if I use them? A better question would be, are these used steel pipes good enough to use?

Welcome to the Forum.

1. Many of us have used Sinclair Racking and like it.

2. That's all dependent your soil conditions. As you're driving around keep your eye out for what others are doing in your area. This is an example of where paying an engineer $1,000 might save $3,000 of heartache and underbuilt/overbuilt racking. I was recently in New Mexico and noticed a solar racking sitting on concrete pads. That seems pretty DIY friendly.
1737208840823.png

Around here my local rental companies rent a skid steer for $250 a weekend and another $150 for the hydraulic post hole auger attachment. Many of the screw mounts can be installed this way.

3. They are fine. Many people do it that but that's up to your county. There's pipe and there's structural steel, side by side they look the same. Some permitting authorities require stamped structural steel.

Look at the bottom of your screen and you'll see suggestions for similar threads that can click around it and get more ideas.
 
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Welcome to the Forum.

1. Many of us have used Sinclair Racking and like it.

2. That's all dependent your soil conditions. As you're driving around keep your eye out for what others are doing in your area. This is an example of where paying an engineer $1,000 might save $3,000 of heartache and underbuilt/overbuilt racking. I was recently in New Mexico and noticed a solar racking sitting on concrete pads. That seems pretty DIY friendly.
View attachment 271025

Around here my local rental companies rent a skid steer for $250 a weekend and another $150 for the hydraulic post hole auger attachment. Many of the screw mounts can be installed this way.

3. They a fine. Many people do it that but that's up to your county. There's pipe and there's structural steel, side by side they look the same. Some permitting authorities require stamped structural steel.

Look at the bottom of your screen and you'll see suggestions for similar threads that can click around it and get more ideas.
1. Thank you very much for your suggestion. I will check out Sinclair.
2. I am buying all my panels and equipment from SanTan near Phoenix. I have also paid them to prepare the permit documents. I hope they will take care of getting all the Engineering stamping too. I will check with them.
3. I guess I will call my county to see if they are OK using the used oil industry pipes.
 
1. Thank you very much for your suggestion. I will check out Sinclair.
2. I am buying all my panels and equipment from SanTan near Phoenix. I have also paid them to prepare the permit documents. I hope they will take care of getting all the Engineering stamping too. I will check with them.
3. I guess I will call my county to see if they are OK using the used oil industry pipes.
Tamarack has engineering documents for all states available on their website, the foundation hole sizes depends on the wind and snow load at your site. Their engineering specs schedule 40 steel pipe, the inspector might not notice if you use drill pipe, but it would be a bummer if they did.
 
Soil type has a lot to do with the best approach. We live on glacial till and it's almost impossible to drill a hole without using dynamite. I was able to get ground screws in but it was very difficult because of the rocks. I rented a skid steer with a hydraulic auger and fabricated an adapter to fit the ground screws I bought. Some ground screw companies will rent you an adapter if you can't make one.

If I had it to do over I would have poured a concrete slab and anchored the mount to the concrete. The slab will float as one piece in the winter freeze/thaw and not damage whatever mounting system you use. That also solves the grass mowing problem and gives you a decent reflective surface if you use bifacial panels. You don't have frost heave in Tucson so ballast blocks would also work.

As others have said, make sure you get approval from whatever inspectors are involved before you buy or do anything.
 
Soil type has a lot to do with the best approach. We live on glacial till and it's almost impossible to drill a hole without using dynamite. I was able to get ground screws in but it was very difficult because of the rocks. I rented a skid steer with a hydraulic auger and fabricated an adapter to fit the ground screws I bought. Some ground screw companies will rent you an adapter if you can't make one.

If I had it to do over I would have poured a concrete slab and anchored the mount to the concrete. The slab will float as one piece in the winter freeze/thaw and not damage whatever mounting system you use. That also solves the grass mowing problem and gives you a decent reflective surface if you use bifacial panels. You don't have frost heave in Tucson so ballast blocks would also work.

As others have said, make sure you get approval from whatever inspectors are involved before you buy or do anything.
Thank you for telling me about your experience. It helps with how I should do it. I have decided to do concrete footers.

I did visit my county office today. I was planning to install my panels over the septic leach lines as they are buried over 5 feet below the surface. But, the county told me that I can't do any foundations above the leach lines. That has now severely constrained me where or how I can install solar. As our property is on a hill side, and the requirement is we can't have the solar structure more than 10' above the grade, the solar array length will be severely limited.

Another option I have is, to build a pergola adjacent to the South wall of my house. This will also be challenging as the wall is not straight but has projections. I will have to make a bit of complicated design for the pergola.

If anyone has built a pergola for installing solar, what would be a good resource to check on how to build one?
 
If anyone has built a pergola for installing solar, what would be a good resource to check on how to build one?
No experience with a pergola, but another suggestion is vertical panels. We have half our panels mounted on the side of our barn, some people have made fences out of them. I didn't expect them to be as efficient as the ground mount array but they do almost as well, I think because they never have snow, bird poop, or leaves on them, and the dust doesn't settle on them. Sounds like you have a challenging situation, good luck.
 
Unistrut frame on a wall, pivot point is at 50% of panel height. Just tested in a 100mph+ gale and passed 100%.
 

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