Gain Solar Services is a design build solar company based in North Georgia. View our work at www.gainsolarpower.com. This youtube channel is all about solar and the lifestyle of the solar installer. Watch us for DIY solar installation tips, video tours of our solar installations, solar service calls, and anything else we may encounter while running around in the Upstate south Carolina, Western North Carolina, and North Georgia area, heck we even go to alabama some time
🤣 generac garbage belongs outside...truest fact from a youtuber that I've ever heard! My question is; I'm in North Florida and I don't have room inside, but still want to do a grid tied solar for now then scale up and add batteries in the future. Why are you opposed to putting them outdoors?
Why not buy a simple interlock and inlet box. So straightforward and safe and cheaper. All those extra boxes when not necessary. Not sure what I’m missing.
Why people use those PLASTIC switches?? To save money?? Look at all that PLASTIC. 1 arc and its done! Get a metal PV Disconnect Solar Switch box with the pull down handle like EATON DH261UGK 30 AMP SAFETY DISCONNECT SWITCH 2 POLE NON-FUSED 600V. PLASTIC's as a rapid shutdown device is insane to me. I can shut down my array safely while under load now. I wouldn't dare if I had a PLASTIC cut off device.
do you have any experience and advice for mounting this beast on a cinderblock basement wall? (i don't know it the blocks are hollow or cement-filled. (circa 1960s.)
I’d get some 2” long red head sleeves anchors and don’t over tighten. Once you start drilling, you will find out if it is filled block or not but the sleeve anchor will work on either one
great video. could you mount the sol-ark first and then install the wireway underneath? seems it would be a easier to get all those conduits aligned, especially if you dont have a cnc'd template.
does the neutral from the ac-disconnect connected into solark? i'm connecting the neutral into the main sub panel so i only need 1 neutral wire run in side the solark? i'm makine the neutral wire from the load into main sub load panel
Just curious. The green wire goes to the house ground, correct? And if you didn't have the steel rack supports driven into the ground you would add a ground rod to that copper wire?
@@roberthosking7524 you don’t have to drive a ground rod but you can. You can bond back to the house ground if required but some would arguing you are making it more susceptible to lightning.
Great video Johnny! I'm a victim of this. Installed my system back in 2020. On day home lights just flickering. I'm just SURE something is wrong with my SolArk 12k after four years. Tech support keeps saying it's not them. Long story short...burned line in the disconnect box between the power main and the SolArk outside on the side of my house. That disconnect hadn't been touched in the four years since it was installed.
@@GainSolarPower Oh no...I'm good. I replaced that line and disconnect several months ago....just wanted to make the point that this CAN happen and it happened to me. Thanks though!
I no longer do the rooftop jobs. summer 2024 prices probably $5500 for the panels, $3500 for the racking. You also need inverters, wiring installation, batteries. A typicial job cost for something like this is 50-60K with labor being 30%
i bought 3 of these used, i opened the cover and these things are built top of the line, internal parts are high quality. no way can you build this yourself.
@@jazzysbasementt I have the same set of batteries for my personal system. I’ve never opened them up but I’m not surprised. I know the owner of ark. What’s so top of the line about them?
@@GainSolarPower well i seen some other rack batteries opened up on you tube and the ARK battery has a different build, the build case themselves are very rigid not to mention the internal bracing across the top of the battery cells that holds all the components is all steel. the BMS is very nice with massive heat sink. the internal circuit breaker is the size of 2 packs a cigarettes . The cable is heavy duty and solid. its built like military grade stuff. no corrosion or rust of any kind. i can appreciate the build, this battery is low key, info is minimum on the web, but wow what a battery. the guy i bought mine from was very proud of them and told me I was getting some good batteries, i think he never seen the inside. after i opened one up and had a peak I knew I got some bad A$$ batteries. I work in a technical field so I know what i'm looking at and this is a quality built battery no doubt about it.
I had planned to get into solar installation and service,but the industry is destroying its own name at the moment,and I don't want any part of it. Sad.
Awesome advice, on point. One offender I've found for over-spec'd torque ratings are POLARIS multi-taps... I've killed wires several times not paying attention and just going straight to final torque, and then they just spin and spin and spin... you think you've stripped the hex set screw but in fact you're just obliterating the wire strands.
I really appreciate your electrical videos and seeing your preferred tools. I bought a couple of nice torque tools and noticed I don’t have nearly as many issues with broken bolts or stripped threads when doing mechanical or electrical work. Seems simple but it’s really important that you don’t start the job without the right tools! 👍⚡️☀️ 🔨 🪛 🔧🤩
People may not realize every wire in the box vibrates constantly while in use at 60hz, in a few years even a properly torqued box will always need retightened at every connection. It’s not a one and done, we just do the best we can while we are there.
I just came across this video to see how others were routing their installs. I like the idea of wire ways but take up a lot of space. Also, don't you need to make sure there is 6" below inverter to not impeding air flow for cooling?
When i was doing solar i took pride in making sure if i was putting a hole in a roof it hit its mark andnwas sealed properly..... The amount of new hires that knew nothing........ Should not have been putting holes in roofs
Great idea... I want to use with battery backup rather than generator and I like the idea if not having to mess with the meter... Can I I use an ATS instead of the manual switch? Can you please recommend an automatic transfer switch?
How do you get pricing? I have filled out the forms on sinclair website for a 2x9 array and no response. I emailed them and no response. Are they still in business or just crappy service?
