Great deal on solar panels in Denver

JiminDenver wrote:
I had thought of using glue don mounts but my roof is rubber so that's a no go. I'll just cut my own out of angle stock.

That is exactly what I did. I took 4 foot long 2" angle aluminum from home depot and cut into 8 pieces - 1 pair per legs. I also got stainless steel bolts, flat washers and locking nuts. I assemble the legs onto the panel first before mounting. For screw into the roof, I used stainless steel lag screws about 1" long and deep thread. I put down externabond tape on the roof after cleaning with rubbing alcohol. Then I put down the panel "feet" on the roof and screwed it down. Then I put strip of externabond over the mounting screws to keep water off it.

I made my own combiner box using J box and cut in half terminal strips. I ran #4 starter cable from combiner box to Tristar 60. And #4 from tristar to battery (2 foot length).

Sorry to hear - hope things get better and you can get out for some fun.

That picture is in the mountains East of Castle Dale, UT at a friend's ranch.

We've not been out yet this season here in CO. This is our first year in CO and I am not familiar with the area yet. Hoping to get out and find some good spots!

I like your trailer. I didn't know we could double tow like that here.

We have been trying to get up there but work and illness in the family have been getting in the way. I didn't get the Morningstar controller yet but with two Eco-worthy controllers I can run both panels.

What area were you in? I know the forecast for Jefferson is clear and 75* later this week.

Well - I'd meant to get everything buttoned up before a trip last week - but there were too many other priorities.

So I tossed the panels on a small utility trailer and ran a 12ga extension cord from the panels to the controller which was mounted in the trailer.



I'm pleased to report that it all worked marvelously!! Even in our partially shaded campsites, we were able to re-charge every day off solar. I only ran the generator one afternoon to run the A/C!

Sometime this month, I'll move the panels up on the roof.



And some boondocking goodness!! The whole reason I've been looking to go solar:

I had thought of using glue don mounts but my roof is rubber so that's a no go. I'll just cut my own out of angle stock.

The run from the panels to the controller will probably come from ebay for cost and ease. I'll use welding cable for the run to the battery and for the inverter too.

Honey would prefer I hire it out but no one is going to take care of my baby like I will. Luckily with having the portable system up and running I am in no big rush and will have it all planned out before drilling the first hole.

I bought my cable at a local welding store, prices weren't too bad. I have a hydraulic crimper and heat gun and make my own.

For mounts, I just bought some aluminum angle and am making my own with two pieces of angle for each.

There is a guy on CL who always has stuff posted from Salida/Denver I think his name is Marion - he seems relatively knowledgeable from my conversations - but I can't vouch for him.

I'm not a 'great' resource but am willing to provide some input for what its worth ;)

Hey Denver folks - looks like we have the three corners covered - I'm NW, JiminDenver is NE, and Fubeca is S. :)

Anyway, I have all the major pieces now, but need to get mounts and cables figured out. I originally had found someone that I was going to hire to help me install since I've never done this and don't want to screw it up (I'm willing and interested to help and happy to do any hard work, I just don't want to do something stupid) but he's become unavailable. So, a few questions to local people also about to do an install:

-Where are you getting cables? Should I do the roof install first to determine lengths, crunch numbers, order cable, then do Part 2 of running wiring? I thought I found a local place, but they don't allow local pickup like their website indicated.

-What are you doing for mounts? My "solar advisor" suggested I make my own, but if I don't have help/instruction I'm guessing that may take (me) more time than it's worth. Maybe I should just buy some? I've considered these...any thoughts?

AM Solar Mounts
(Would have to figure out the correct size and/or if they would fit with the panels I bought.)

RV Solar Store
(This is a local company - looking at Smart Feet option, but I may need more than 1" of adjustment depending on where I put my panels. I think that may require a whole new post!)

-Have you come across anyone locally that I could hire to help me?

1200 watts....sigh

Really, I;m not drooling at all. lol

I have 505 watts
Uni-solar panels cover lots of space per watt
Newer panels produce more watts Per Sq inch
If I replaced then with newer panels, I Think I could put about 1200 watts on the roof

Wow

With your roof and the deal we had here on panels, I think PT would be able to run his air conditioner.

The guy did have a lot of 180w panels and I bet I could have fit more watts up there with those. Oh well we will just have to suffer along with 490w up top and 230w portable. ;)

A install party sounds fun! Crank out some BBQ at the same time. :) That means I need to pick out a controller sooner than later. lol