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diy solar

diy solar

Porch pagoda build

fatjay

Solar Wizard
Joined
Oct 31, 2022
Messages
999
Location
Pennsylvania
Finally making some progress on my porch roof. This is going to be 24 panels, and will be a 2 part.

Materials is 2" square tube with 1/4" sidewall. I just got the base structure up, no bracing or webbing yet. It was the hard part, the rest is easy.

Got the legs stabalized with some wood posts. Then lifted the top piece in place, marked it, took it all down, cut it, put it back up, welded it for the 2 sides. Then when everything was sitting, I put the 24' long cross members up and welded them. This is the part I needed help with, I had a second guy lifting, as it was a bit dangerous to do myself.

Next step is the webbing that will brace the legs and support the long spans. It's a lot of pieces and a lot of cuts. I didn't buy enough, I only got 40'.

When I say webbing, this is what I'm referring to. Each piece will transfer the down force on the top to the leg to prevent sagging.

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Can I mount the panels to steel angle iron? Or do I really need aluminum angle?

I'm making my own mounts that will run up and down, with the panels mounted sideways. The gap is 7 foot between the center and outer ones, with a 3' overhang, so the panels will "balance".

In the image below, the black lines are the steel cross you see in the above image. The orange lines are what I'm going to mount on those to attach the panels to, which don't exist yet. And the purple is the panels.

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And here are some solar panels.

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View attachment 231466

What are the "panel supports"?

I would be concerned with those panels that are fully cantilevered from the "Big heavy steel" members with high bending stress in the "Panel supports" where circled.
I was going to do 2” angle aluminum but I am thinking I can do steel. I’m welding ears on the steel tube. Going up so I can bolt the angle aluminum to it.

I was also going to do ears on the bottom and a support brace going out to the end of the panel support to provide additional strength.
 
Angle has a torsional response to bending that compromises stiffness and stability. You can compensate by opposing the angle facings for each panel rail, i.e., they face each other or away from each other. Alternatively, C channel would be preferred and have notably higher strength and stiffness if you can make it work.
 
Angle has a torsional response to bending that compromises stiffness and stability. You can compensate by opposing the angle facings for each panel rail, i.e., they face each other or away from each other. Alternatively, C channel would be preferred and have notably higher strength and stiffness if you can make it work.
Since I'm ordering such a small amount, i'm at the mercy of what my distributor has on hand, no special orders. But I get commerial/bulk pricing, so that's pretty sweet. There's no aluminum C channel, but I can get the aluminum lengths in 20' lengths of angle and flat stock.
 
Since I'm ordering such a small amount, i'm at the mercy of what my distributor has on hand, no special orders. But I get commerial/bulk pricing, so that's pretty sweet. There's no aluminum C channel, but I can get the aluminum lengths in 20' lengths of angle and flat stock.

I meant to indicate prior that I would prefer steel as well as it's 3x stiffer and typically notably stronger unless you're buying premium structural aluminum like 7075.

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If you have to use angle, on each run of panel supports, I'd orient them either as per red or black. They will want to twist in opposite directions and counter each other.
 
I meant to indicate prior that I would prefer steel as well as it's 3x stiffer and typically notably stronger unless you're buying premium structural aluminum like 7075.

View attachment 231553

If you have to use angle, on each run of panel supports, I'd orient them either as per red or black. They will want to twist in opposite directions and counter each other.
I’d like steel but I am concerned about galvinasation and the thin aluminum frame rotting away over the course of 20 years.
 
Can I mount the panels to steel angle iron? Or do I really need aluminum angle?

Our first lot of panels are directly on painted steel box section, no signs of corrosion after 5 years in a damp tropical climate.

Later sets are on aluminium extrusions now prices have become rather more competitive.


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Panels are fixed using plates and long screws into the rails.
The plates are actually furniture joining plates with a hole drilled in the centre, primed and painted.

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Ok I went and mocked up a scale model of what I'm thinking.

The racks, being angle aluminum, will be 20'. They will have 7' spans on each side of middle beam. The angle aluminum comes in 25' lengths. I'll get them in 20' and get the 5' drops, then cut the 5' drops in half to support the cantilevers.

Each large block below is 1 foot. 20 ft OAL. The solar panels come to 19.66', there will stacked 6 high. This is from the side view. The black boxes are steel int he middle. They will have steel angle iron ears, 2"x2" welded to it on top and bottom. This isn't shown below.

The green is solar, pink is aluminum, and black is steel. 2.5 ft from the bottom black ear to the top aluminum on each side to form triangles to support the racking. I think this will make it strong enough to support snow load and wind.

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Ok got some prices back. 2x2 1/4" angle aluminum 25' sections is $164, that's a LOT higher than I anticipated. It's the orange pieces in the diagram in the 2nd post. I need 8 of them.

I'm thinking of switching to angle iron, then mounting rubber washers between the panels and the steel. I'm waiting on quotes for the angle iron, but flat stock is $36 for a 20' length.
 
Ok got some prices back. 2x2 1/4" angle aluminum 25' sections is $164, that's a LOT higher than I anticipated. It's the orange pieces in the diagram in the 2nd post. I need 8 of them.

I'm thinking of switching to angle iron, then mounting rubber washers between the panels and the steel. I'm waiting on quotes for the angle iron, but flat stock is $36 for a 20' length.

Hmmm... rubber feels like it will greatly compromise the connection.

The panel frame is anodized, which greatly enhances its resistance to galvanic corrosion. I've had my panels mounted directly to angle iron for about 4 years now. Next time I'm up there, I'll check.
 
I picked up some steel and started work again. Go figure, it's cool when i take a break, and hot when I work.

Soon as I puled out of the shop, freak rain storm. Had to strap down in the pouring rain.

Started bracing. It's a lot of cuts, I need to find a way to speed it up. And the angles are to hard for my saw, so I have to use the bench to cut it.

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That dosnt support the section that's furthest away from the house. The low side of the rack and will almost always have the most snow on it.
The racking will be sitting on the 3 cross members. I could cut the tube off after the lower crossmember. It doesn't do anything.
 
Other side done. I picked up this plank to put between ladders to make it less safe. It's coming slowly because it's a lot of up and down the ladder, every piece is bolted up, measured, marked, and cut by hand, then back up the ladder, and welded in place.

And I built another of these mud kitchens for underprivileged kids.

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I'm going to steal that mud kitchen idea for my son. Something I can use all the pallets I have laying around from solar equipment.
Make sure you see the HT stamp, it means heat treated and not chemical treated.

My wife saw it on some fb and then said build this for my friends kid. So I did and now everyone wants one. Once a month I'll drive around scavenging pallets from businesses. Leftover scraps go to the wood stack for the stove.
 
Other side done. I picked up this plank to put between ladders to make it less safe. It's coming slowly because it's a lot of up and down the ladder, every piece is bolted up, measured, marked, and cut by hand, then back up the ladder, and welded in place.

And I built another of these mud kitchens for underprivileged kids.

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Paint it beige, sell it on Etsy for $700.
 
Other side done. I picked up this plank to put between ladders to make it less safe. It's coming slowly because it's a lot of up and down the ladder, every piece is bolted up, measured, marked, and cut by hand, then back up the ladder, and welded in place.

And I built another of these mud kitchens for underprivileged kids.

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7M3aEcQ.jpg


bd5w1tt.jpg
What band saw are you using and do you like it?
I need to get something to cut some thick C channel for my next array.
 

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