DIY 12kw ground solar array 

Love your videos David.

DAVID POZ IN THE HOUSE!

Yes! Need an update.

Where are you located? Do you have much trouble with snow load? I am thinking of using the big strut aka super strut to span about 10ft for a 15kw.

where did you price them?

He explained why in the video. He's in Oregon, and the sun goes very far down on the horizon on Dec 21st up herer in the Pacific Northwest. He angled it to more closely match the spring & fall equinox (March 21st & Sept 21st).

I am in Northern Oregon and my county told me as long as the rack is under 10 feet in height the won't care about engineering. So that's why I am watching these videos for ideas. Mine will be plenty strong since I don't want damage. To much time, money and liability to not build a sturdy rack.

What did you decide to go with for your mounting system? Have you looked at Integrarack IR-45ASA fast adjustable ground mounts? That's high on my list right now.

Similar. How is your project going?

Bidenomics

He explained his decision in the video.

Apologies to all. It’s not a straight forward answer with how prices of steel went up during the pandemic. You have to search for square 2 inch metal sign posts and sometimes go pages deep before you find a deal worth jumping on. I have sources mine through many places over the years. All the components to my system were sourced all over the place as I hounded for the best deals I could find. I wish I could give you an easy answer, but the truth is sourcing the material is a lot of time searching the internet and prices change frequently, and deals can be had during one period that may not exist in another.

Pretty closed minded to call it useless. Sorry you get disappointed when someone else doesn't do your research work for you but prices and availability of things change rapidly anyway. Honestly if you can't figure it out you probably shouldn't be jumping into a DIY project of this scale. So many variables in construction of something like this. A material list needs to be custom made by you. Panel size, type of ground, location of site are just a start of variables to be considered. While it wouldn't work for me as is due to space and wind loading it gave me creative ideas. His video was helpful in showing use of a different material as well as his compensation for tree shading and fog, as a lot of inexperienced people might not consider this. Besides that it was free??

@@wildcoastbrew different account? I think buying struts and welding them together comes out around 1/3rd the price of these square ones. So if anyone is going that route keep that in mind

Move along Keyboard warrior.

I’ve watched them through three winters now and some heavy winds, and nothing has budged. I think soil type will have an impact, as will where you put the array. Our soil is clay, loam so things really stick in well, and there’s a large group of tree at the north end that acts as a wind break. I would have added ballast if I was concerned, but this seems to be a winner for me

@@HomesteadingintheForest Great to hear. How did you drive the posts? With a pneumatic post driver?

@@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb I used a cast iron driving cap sized for the posts and sledged from the top of my truck bed. Also dug down a couple feet with post hole digger.

I used 2" and 2.25" inch tubes. The sleeves were 2.25" and the 8 ft segments were 2". I just drove the posts into the ground. Have had some heavy winds this winter and the array hasn't budged. That said, I have a forest of large trees that buffers the wind from the back. The spacing was two panels wide which turned out to be 160 inches or so for my 400w panels). I used 12ft segments of the square tubes. I ended up using some spare galvanized conduit with flattened ends to make corner braces to support the long length of the square tubes. This was very helpful in stabilizing the array. I don't have my measurements handy but the distance between the front posts and rear posts was probably about three feet. I wanted to make it wider, but this allowed me the most efficient use of the size of metal tubes I had on hand.

@@HomesteadingintheForest Great job! Impressive!

Doesn’t budge in winter storms. I put it in front of some thick forest, so there’s a bit of a wind break. Still, it’s seen some heavy winds has been great. If I didn’t have the windbreak, I’d probably set the posts in concrete for ballast.

@@HomesteadingintheForest thanks mate!

It’s expensive now, but I had a pile of them from other projects over the years. The price has gone up significantly on these posts unfortunately. I can’t find them for decent prices any longer.

12:27 - Noticed 4 pair at 10AWG.

they produce dc voltage, not current. "DC" means direct current

I hadn't. I will be checking with a solar builder in the area to get an opinion. I have a couple options to stabilize the array if it needs some help. I think it'll be fine, though.

@@HomesteadingintheForest Until it blows away, needs to be engineered properly, your local jurisdiction allow that? Its all fun and games until high winds send a panel flying.

@@glee21012 Yeah, no shit. It survived the winter including points with very heavy winds and did not budge.

@@HomesteadingintheForest how much concrete did you use per post?

The physics math on those panels around 41lbs weight and 45 degree angle at vertical is 85 miles per hour to flip them them without being bolted at all, just leaning against something. So at bolting it'd be more than double that

in most places you need to be code compliant. That means buying a system with engineering approval from the manufacturer or id your own design getting it approved by a state recognized engineer. I have not seen one DIY rack that went through the engineering approval process. I am a mech engineer, I might consider designing my own rack and getting a recognized engineer to approve it, but I suspect it may be more $ than buying a system that is approved. I am developing bare land in an area that requires permits, so inspectors will be around to approve my entire site. These diy videos are where they already have established dwellings and are not worrying about inspectors coming around. Even though I will be entirely off-grid, inspections are required in my county. A big reason is if there is a fire, the firefighters have to be protected from electrical hazards (especially important or roof-mounted panels).

show us your tracking model please

What informs your opinion and by what year can I expect it to fold? It’s been through three winters in the mountains of Oregon and it’s held strong in the biggest of wind storms.