iceledoar
Off Grid, Off Grid. Not even sometimes.
is there a Cheap solution to an adjustable mounting, say if you wanted to do some solar tracking but manually.. say position a for morning and position b for afternoon?
Manual adjustabled dual axis mounting
- Thread starter iceledoar
- Start date
mattleonard
New Member
I'm trying to build something similar - to mount (2) 100w panels on a tripod speaker stand or similar. Goal is to get them some height (to avoid shading from people/crowds) and to have some manual adjustability for maximum solar exposure.
I like the idea of a RAM ball-mount for ease of adjustability, but have doubts that even the largest (1.5") ball won't sag with the weight of ~40 lbs of panels, at least not without a stabilizing arm of some sort.
I like the idea of a RAM ball-mount for ease of adjustability, but have doubts that even the largest (1.5") ball won't sag with the weight of ~40 lbs of panels, at least not without a stabilizing arm of some sort.
mattleonard
New Member
Quick update - I found an old satellite dish pole mount ("foot") on Ebay - and so far it works well. It just slips on a standard speaker tripod (the pole diameters were different, but some rubber pipe fittings and drilling a hole for a pin were easy fixed). 2 bolts allow it to tilt and lock into position - replaced those with wingnuts for tool-free adjustment. I have a simple unistrut frame bolted on the top of the foot.
I have (2) 100w panels that can quickly mount onto the superstrut - I drilled holes in the panel frame and used speed nuts - and use some 1.5" knob studs (again, tool-free in the field) to lock the panels onto the stand. Takes less than a minute to setup, allows me roughly 30 degrees of tilt (from flat/horizontal) and the tripod allows for easy rotation. I also made MC4 to Anderson SB75 adaptors - so I can quickly dis/connect in the field, tool-free. It let's me get the panels off the ground (roughly 6' of height and stable) - enough to overcome shading issues of people standing nearby and looks a bit more pro.
I mostly use this for a portable "solar generator" style setup, powering sound systems for small concerts, rallies, press conferences etc. 200w input on the panels, but a 3kw inverter (at 24v), and varying battery capacity depending on the day's needs. I may add a duplicate 200w panel/stand setup next.
I did
I have (2) 100w panels that can quickly mount onto the superstrut - I drilled holes in the panel frame and used speed nuts - and use some 1.5" knob studs (again, tool-free in the field) to lock the panels onto the stand. Takes less than a minute to setup, allows me roughly 30 degrees of tilt (from flat/horizontal) and the tripod allows for easy rotation. I also made MC4 to Anderson SB75 adaptors - so I can quickly dis/connect in the field, tool-free. It let's me get the panels off the ground (roughly 6' of height and stable) - enough to overcome shading issues of people standing nearby and looks a bit more pro.
I mostly use this for a portable "solar generator" style setup, powering sound systems for small concerts, rallies, press conferences etc. 200w input on the panels, but a 3kw inverter (at 24v), and varying battery capacity depending on the day's needs. I may add a duplicate 200w panel/stand setup next.
I did
iceledoar
Off Grid, Off Grid. Not even sometimes.
So I decided to go with a DIY Ground Mount solution. I ordered one of the Ironridge 2" Pole top caps and am going to use 4 pieces of unistrut to mount the panels on. I am going to set the Sched 40 galv. pipe in concrete a couple foot in the ground, so I'll have the center of the panels ~7-8' above the ground.
