diy solar

diy solar

Cheap but Highly effective Ground Mount.

ghostwriter66

"Here - Hold my Beer"
Joined
Nov 13, 2019
Messages
1,868
Location
EE from LAX CA -work in SouthTX for giant evil Oil
So we have a four day weekend starting today and one of the Security guys invited us all to his ranch near Austin to hang out and fish, horseback ride, swim, and eat 4 days of Free BBQ ... (He had me at BBQ) ... anyway the only condition was that during that time we would help him put up a small SOLAR power array - just the array - he would do everything else. He said he had tons of building material at his site and that aesthetics did not play a part ....

Again - not having to spend half the time making it pretty is a lifesaver ....

So with me I have another girl and 3 roughnecks ...

I personally thought that this was going to take a few days BUT apparently when you offer 3 roughnecks Free alcohol, fishing, horseback riding, and BBQ as a reward miracles happen.

AGAIN - WE DON'T CARE ABOUT LOOKS OR CODE -- and yes we still need to brace it up a little but for the most part its done ...

and we need to make some cement posts for the BOTTOM C-purlines to keep them stable ...


Material and Cost:

(8) 20' 4" C Channel - 35 ea
(4) 26' 6" Z-purline - 100 ea
(8) 10' 4x4 lumber - $20 ea... all were cut different sizes since its on a slope
(16) 1/2" lag bolts - $11
(120) small metal roof screws - $12.00
(7) 7-1/2' Postmasters $180 at Home Depot
(2) cases Coors Lite - FREE
(16) 60 pounds bags ready cement

TOTAL: $1203

They dug the holes 7 1/2 feet apart last night with a tractor auger -- put all the 4x4's in ... dropped 2 bags ready cement (2 hours)
This morning cut the 4x4's level and started banging metal (3 hours)
Mounted heavy ass (technical term) 50lb 435 SUNPOWER solar panels ((2) hours

Now we have the next 3.5 days to relax .... and eat ....


IMG_1067.JPEGIMG_1061.JPEGIMG_1060.JPEG
 
What is the cool piece of metal in the middle that the panels are butting up against? _|``|_ ?
 
Just a single row of posts? What keeps array from tilting flat if it feels like it?
Or are the low ends of the channel tied in to the ground?
(I believe in triangles.)
 
Just a single row of posts? What keeps array from tilting flat if it feels like it?
Or are the low ends of the channel tied in to the ground?
(I believe in triangles.)
The low ends will have 60 pounds of cement on each bottom piece of metal touching the ground .... the guys will run a 12" piece of rebar horizontally about 2 inches from the bottom - put a bag of ready-mix under it - open it - pour water directly into the bag - and in about 5 minutes the bag will turn to a solid rock ..

The C-channel is anchored to the top of the 4x4 with a 1/2 x 4" lag bolt

They will also brace the TOP row to keep it from flexing ....

Again -- this is a down and dirty -- $1200 and you could probably do it much cheaper by not using the metals that we used ... But to hole (30) 435W PVs each weighing in about 50 pounds and be completed in a day is pretty good ...
 
The low ends will have 60 pounds of cement on each bottom piece of metal touching the ground .... the guys will run a 12" piece of rebar horizontally about 2 inches from the bottom - put a bag of ready-mix under it - open it - pour water directly into the bag - and in about 5 minutes the bag will turn to a solid rock ..

The C-channel is anchored to the top of the 4x4 with a 1/2 x 4" lag bolt

They will also brace the TOP row to keep it from flexing ....

Again -- this is a down and dirty -- $1200 and you could probably do it much cheaper by not using the metals that we used ... But to hole (30) 435W PVs each weighing in about 50 pounds and be completed in a day is pretty good ...
Pretty d*mn good, I’d say!

Hope the BBQ made the effort worthwhile :)
 
Pretty d*mn good, I’d say!

Hope the BBQ made the effort worthwhile :)

OMG - his wife cooked Egg omelets today with Bacon and BBQ Pork -- everyone went out HorseBack riding -- I stayed and asked her to show me how to make her Biscuits .... for Lunch they are doing BLTs and supper its stew -- when I left CAL 3 years ago to come out here - if someone would have told me that I would be doing (and eating) what I am doing NO ONE would have believed them ... In LAX everything was salad this and salad that -- heck out here the only salad either begins with the word egg or potato... LOL ....
 
So we have a four day weekend starting today and one of the Security guys invited us all to his ranch near Austin to hang out and fish, horseback ride, swim, and eat 4 days of Free BBQ ... (He had me at BBQ) ... anyway the only condition was that during that time we would help him put up a small SOLAR power array - just the array - he would do everything else. He said he had tons of building material at his site and that aesthetics did not play a part ....

Again - not having to spend half the time making it pretty is a lifesaver ....

So with me I have another girl and 3 roughnecks ...

I personally thought that this was going to take a few days BUT apparently when you offer 3 roughnecks Free alcohol, fishing, horseback riding, and BBQ as a reward miracles happen.

AGAIN - WE DON'T CARE ABOUT LOOKS OR CODE -- and yes we still need to brace it up a little but for the most part its done ...

and we need to make some cement posts for the BOTTOM C-purlines to keep them stable ...

Material and Cost:

(8) 20' 4" C Channel - 35 ea
(4) 26' 6" Z-purline - 100 ea
(8) 10' 4x4 lumber - $20 ea... all were cut different sizes since its on a slope
(16) 1/2" lag bolts - $11
(120) small metal roof screws - $12.00
(7) 7-1/2' Postmasters $180 at Home Depot
(2) cases Coors Lite - FREE
(16) 60 pounds bags ready cement

TOTAL: $1203

Okay I registered just to ask you how the hell you managed to get 7 of these for only $180? On Home Depot's website they're $45, was their a bundle deal or something? I'm currently pricing these out and would love to know how you pulled that off if you don't mind!
 
Okay I registered just to ask you how the hell you managed to get 7 of these for only $180? On Home Depot's website they're $45, was their a bundle deal or something? I'm currently pricing these out and would love to know how you pulled that off if you don't mind!

I know that I am super late in a response but to answer your question -- 7 for 180 is what we paid then ... maybe its a south Texas thing ... don't know ... maybe the manufacturer is down here -- not sure -- but we paid 26.00 each - no special - and if you think about it -- by the time he does his 26% federal tax credit then the price will be about $19.00 ...

update: so i just checked a few minutes ago and YES you are correct -- the price now seems to be like $44+ ....

Have no idea why they as cheap as they were -- guess we should have bought allot more ... they make installation a breeze .... and are solid as a rock ...
 
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I know that I am super late in a response but to answer your question -- 7 for 180 is what we paid then and we paid now as of 12.15.22 ... maybe its a south Texas thing ... don't know ... maybe the manufacturer is down here -- not sure -- but we paid 26.00 each - no special - and if you think about it -- by the time he does his 26% federal tax credit then the price will be about $19.00 ...

30% Tax credit !

Now it’s really cheap ?
 
I could be wrong but I've always thought the reason the factory supplied mounting holes are in from the ends a ways, 16" or so on each end, is to reduce the bending moment in the middle. The mounts I've made have always them because I figured that's why they were there, to offer the max panel structural stiffness. BUT, I have seen many others who have end mounted them also so I guess it's viable. Plus I see you're in S. Texas, not like up here in Idaho re: snowloading!

I liked the hat channel material, as I have about 150' of fence to put up this spring, but after pricing it (when I clicked on the link, I got a price of $67.00 EACH) I'll stick with used/surplus drill stem pipe
 
I could be wrong but I've always thought the reason the factory supplied mounting holes are in from the ends a ways, 16" or so on each end, is to reduce the bending moment in the middle. The mounts I've made have always them because I figured that's why they were there, to offer the max panel structural stiffness.

Definitely. Mounts at 25%/75% points reduces span to 1/2 what it would be supported at ends (and has stubs 1/4), which should take 4x the force.
For some wind loading locations, and large panels, 3 mounting rails rather than 2 are required.

Shallow angle should reduce pressure for wind coming from front.
Wind from the back could be bad; I feel it would build pressure trapped between panels and the ground, although aerodynamics and fluid flow is not my expertise.
Loaded from the front, it is supported full width on the short ends.
Loaded from the front, it is screws through steel brackets and short end of frames. Probably 4 screws total, could be more. My ground mounts have 1/4" stainless bolts. Not sure the ultimate strength, and how that compares to forces involved, but I would worry if lots of wind.
 
Definitely. Mounts at 25%/75% points reduces span to 1/2 what it would be supported at ends (and has stubs 1/4), which should take 4x the force.
For some wind loading locations, and large panels, 3 mounting rails rather than 2 are required.

Shallow angle should reduce pressure for wind coming from front.
Wind from the back could be bad; I feel it would build pressure trapped between panels and the ground, although aerodynamics and fluid flow is not my expertise.
Loaded from the front, it is supported full width on the short ends.
Loaded from the front, it is screws through steel brackets and short end of frames. Probably 4 screws total, could be more. My ground mounts have 1/4" stainless bolts. Not sure the ultimate strength, and how that compares to forces involved, but I would worry if lots of wind.
I’m just on a generic roof in an area that rarely has high winds, but I’ve got both 144-cell and 60-cell panels mounted in the same rack and I basically decided to alight the tops.

The 144-cell panels are mounted at 25% & 75% as they stipulate but the 60-cell panels are mounted with the same extension as the 144-cell panels at the top and only a short extension at the bottom.

Considering the 144-cell panels as 72-cell equivalents, mounting is between cells 3-4 at the top and cells 8-9 at the bottom.

The 60-cell panels are also mounted between cells 3-4 at the top and between cells 8-9 at the bottom (meaning only a 1-cell extension at the bottom rather than 3 or 2-1/2.

I figure if that span is good enough for the longer panels it should be good enough for the shorter panels (which I’ll have older frames which are stronger, if anything…).
 
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