Sunmodo. A year later.

[John Schmidt]

A while ago, I promised some photos for someone here, but I couldn't find the post! Here are some photos of my DIY solar setup using Sunmodo racking. The cast alloy polished brackets/connectors are beautiful, but maybe a bit overkill. Also, when you use the torque wrench on the set screws, make sure that you show your wife how to use the wrench! She stripped a few of the screws. My fault really, because I was a lousy foreman and teacher! The ground screws are a bit rough, but do the job. I'll need to spray some WD40 on the ground screw set screws. They are already a bit rusty, not that they would ever likely be taken apart. I'd likely use IronRidge next time, like my neighbor's array. IronRidge uses galvanized u-bolts. Pretty basic looking, but very functional. I could get similar u-bolts at NAPA. The fancy brackets/connectors from Sunmodo are a bit overkill, in my opinion.

 

[MurphyGuy]

Nice! But it would be nicer if the photos are larger.. clicking on them results in the photos only being just another thumbnail.

 

[John Schmidt]

Nice! But it would be nicer if the photos are larger.. clicking on them results in the photos only being just another thumbnail.

I'll see if I can upload them to a dropbox link. Let me try it out! Try this dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3c6s9yz6rkk7y0j/AAB3sEn4Rf4ZVbHwNwJ8XoP4a?dl=0

 

[live4soccer7]

@John Schmidt Thank you for sharing. I am looking at the sunmodo option as well. Other than the small rust on the set screws, why would you want to go with ironridge if you were to do it again? Right now, iron ridge is insanely expensive due to the cost of piping and sunmodo is pretty much the most cost effective system aside from unirac's GFT system if you can find someone to drive the piles.

I guess, I'm looking for an answer that may deter me or not from using sunmodo.

I also thought about putting sealant around the posts where they go into the augers, but that also may deter any evaporation from moisture getting in them and defeat the purpose.

Hope to hear back soon. Thank you for your time!

 

[John Schmidt]

@John Schmidt Thank you for sharing. I am looking at the sunmodo option as well. Other than the small rust on the set screws, why would you want to go with ironridge if you were to do it again? Right now, iron ridge is insanely expensive due to the cost of piping and sunmodo is pretty much the most cost effective system aside from unirac's GFT system if you can find someone to drive the piles.

I guess, I'm looking for an answer that may deter me or not from using sunmodo.

I also thought about putting sealant around the posts where they go into the augers, but that also may deter any evaporation from moisture getting in them and defeat the purpose.

Hope to hear back soon. Thank you for your time!

Hi, Sorry for the late response. Working on so many projects lately! The SunModo is actually very good, but a bit complex in that you MUST use a torque wrench everywhere or you will strip out the many (many, many) set screws. I didn't properly teach my wife how to use a torque wrench, and I had to repair about 12 set screws. My fault there of course, but IronRidge uses mostly standard galvanized hardware. They looked like 1/2 nuts, just about everywhere. There also were some set screws with IronRidge. My neighbor's nearly identical array is 300 feet from my array. If I had to pay 20% more for IronRidge, the ease of installation would be worth it. Other than that, the SunModo is very good, and will easily last the 25 years with its very fancy cast aluminum alloy and stainless steel set screws. Be sure to use anti-seize on the set screws that go into the aluminum allow. For the Augers, I also thought about sealing them up so that water would not get in. My neighbor's IronRidge also are not sealed. Since they are galvanized, maybe it doesn't matter? Also, where I live, it freezes a lot, so I'm hoping that the openings will let the ice expand an not crack the pipe that is above ground. So far, so good. Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[live4soccer7]

@John Schmidt Thank you very much for the reply. I would go iron ridge, but it would be 2x the price roughly with the current prices of sch. 40 pipe that has to be sourced locally. I have compared a LOT of solutions and sunmodo is hands down the most cost effective right now. My project is already pushing my expanded budget, so I'm trying to keep costs down without the expense of sacrificing quality where it will matter.

 

[John Schmidt]

You will be happy with SunModo overall. I used this torque wrench model for everything except the ground screws. Craftsman 9-31423
For the ground screws, I borrowed my brothers torque wrench. The only trick part was figuring out the NEC grounding requirements. It seems to be a huge gray area. There is a thread here on DIY Solar about it. I still haven't settled it yet, but I need to make sure that I don't have a ground loop. I used Permatex 80078 Anti-Seize Lubricant on the screw threats. I bought 8 ounces on Amazon ($10) and I only used 5% of it.

 

[live4soccer7]

@John Schmidt Thank you very much. I have a lot of different torque wrenches, so that won't be a prob and I have plenty of anti-seize as well. I'll definitely have to look into the grounding aspect.

 

[John Schmidt]

"PV and the NEC" is a good reference book for the electrical. One surprise for me was that DC circuits within the house needed to be in metal conduit. Link below. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/113808753X/

 

[live4soccer7]

@John Schmidt From what I can see it only has to be in metal conduit if it is attached to or inside a building.

 

[John Schmidt]

@John Schmidt From what I can see it only has to be in metal conduit if it is attached to or inside a building.

Yes. That is my understanding as well. I don't see why the gray PVC that we use outside isn't just as good, but we need to follow the code.