Almot wrote:
westend wrote:
Sorry to have come down a bit harsh on the plastic mounts, they may be just the ticket for some folks. I get somewhat wound up with my DIY metal working sometimes and can't see the reason to do it any other way.
I see where most guys figure out quickly that, if attaching a module using the factory made holes, it is darn near impossible to remove the module from the mounts because of the fastener locations.
I think I came down on plastic mounts harsher yet, and for a good reason. Plastic will work for "some" folks - for those who are not camped out in hot and sunny areas most of the year.
I agree, and my place in the high mesa of NM is mounted with metal tabs, but it's not bumping down the road. I like your idea of spreading out the load with the angled aluminum. How about rivnuts into the frame of the panel? They are threaded, but install similarly to pop rivets, and leave you with a blind threaded hole?
BTW, the plastic on those mounts is pretty stout, and I do keep it under cover most of the time at this point. Again, my main reason for selecting it was having the widest, least damaging surface to that roof. I have a virtual sundamage laboratory in Florida and NM. I have seen that plastic is not a permanent material, it changes as it ages, especially in the sun. But, thicker has always fared better.
One of my storage buildings gets hot in the summer, and some of the foam products disintegrate without a bit of sun exposure, just from the heat! Aluminum is one of my favorite materials for sun and corrosion resistance, but seems to accelerate corrosion of connected dissimilar metals, so good idea using the stainless hardware, it definitely does better longer with aluminum.
