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5 Mar ’12
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In addition to getting 6 more panels in the next month or so I want to pole mount the 6 that I have or ideally mount the 12 all on one pole mount. I have been struggling to find the right mount and materials but found this mount on eBay. I am at least going to mount 6 panels on it and hopefully mount 12. I will add some additional bracing and an adjustable support from the bottom of the array to the side of the pole -- so I can make adjustments from the ground level. Not sure if it can take the weight or pressure from 12 panels -- that will require more research. I would also tac weld the u-bolts.
http://www.ebay.com/.....2a2d5d7124
The guy will sell just the mount by itself for $139 -- so I am going to order that in the next day or two and then go about figuring out how I will do the struts and bracing. Will keep y'all posted. I hope to have this done in a month or two.
15 Feb ’12
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sweet, looking forward to this
5 Mar ’12
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Just ordered the mount. The guy was able to up the horizontal pipe size from 2" to 3" -- I think that will give me the strength I need for 12 panels. Now I need to source the 6" and 3" pipe. I want the top of the 6" pole to be 10' off the ground -- was planning on sinking it down 4'. When looking at it, 4' doesn't seem very deep, do y'all think 6 feet down would be better? Due to our water table I think digging 6' down would not be easy without the hole filling with water.
15 Feb ’12
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where are you getting the panels from pork?
5 Mar ’12
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From this guy in Michigan City, Indiana. A guy off of CountryPlans.com used them and was very happy. I think they are basically wholesalers who are thankfully located somewhat close to my location.
http://stores.ebay.c.....480v-solar
I will get 6 240W American made panels for ~$950 or so. So these would add another ~1400 watts to my existing ~1400 watts array. I am excited to double up.
Quick question -- I will be digging a 24" diameter ~6' deep hole for the pole. Do I *have* to use sonotube? The sonotube I need would be an extra $75 and I figure it isn't needed. I was thinking I could build a wooden box around the base of the pole to create a nice looking transition to the pole. Any thoughts?
15 Feb ’12
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I usually just dig a hole and take my shovel and underdig the bottom of the hole to create a mushroom shaped footer on the bottom and just fill the hole and use the ground as the form
5 Mar ’12
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Good idea. I found an online concrete calculator -- for a 24" hole with a 6" pipe set in it, 6' deep, would require 30 bags of 80lbs on concrete mix or 39 bags of 60lb. That's a lot of concrete. A buddy recommended renting a concrete mixer to help making it all happen. I need to figure out how I am going to get 2400lbs of sacked concrete out to my place (trailer can hold 1,200 lbs, minivan... who knows).
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