UniRac Wrench Feedback Requested [RE-wrenches]

[Jim Hartley]

Michael Welch, Home Power wrote:
> Wrenches, I have been talking to Hal Newman of UniRac about his 
> potential involvement in this list. We decided he wasn't a fit for the 
> list, but his major interest is in getting feedback from you all about 
> their products in general, and about their roof mount UniRacs 
> specifically.  So I thought we could help him without adding him to the 
> list.
> 
> He tells me that UniRac is considering improvements to their roof 
> mounted racks. Their intention is to offer PV mounts that are even more 
> flexible, fast, and easy to install on the job site ( here is a link to 
> have a look at what they currently offer:
> http://www.humboldt1.com/~michael.welch/unirac.pdf  ).
> 
> If you have any comments on their current racks, or ideas that you think 
> that should be considered in design updates, they would love to have the 
> input.
> 
> In return, each participant in the RE-Wrench list that submits a comment 
> and/or recommendation will receive a certificate for a 5% discount (up 
> to $50.00) on the purchase of any UniRac through any of their 
> distributors.
> 
> Hey gang, they want to hear from you. But please don't respond to the 
> Wrenches list or me, but rather to John Liebendorfer, johnl at unirac.com 
> or 505-242-6411.
>    
> Michael Welch

Well, I'm going to reply to this here anyway since I'm not selling 
anything and I have a pertinent observation/question.  This doesn't 
relate to UniRac specifically in this regard, but it could generally.

My question has to do with mounting any rack on a roof so that it 
doesn't pose water leakage problems.  Further, many roofs having 
shingles [as nearly all do in residential settings] have life 
expectancies shorter than the PV modules, sometimes much shorter.  This 
means the whole shebang must come off in order to redo the roof properly 
if you are direct mounting support structure directly onto the shingled 
surface in any fashion..  That's a bad idea anyway in my opinion.  Being 
a builder, I see this as being fraught with any number of possible 
problems.

I had a high profile 4KW line-tie demonstration system installed in a 
theme park some years ago requiring a flush roof mounted array.  
Actually, it was four separate arrays having four separate kinds of 
modules: thin film. Cz, ribbon, and poly cells.  In spite of extra pains 
taken in the manner of array emplacement, a few years later the roof 
started having leaks where the fasteners penetrated the roof.  This 
required complete removal of everything and reroofing.  I think it was 
about five or six years later that this problem happened. So, I am 
personally very leery of roof mounts in particular.  I also don't like 
doing roof work anyway anymore.  I figure my days doing that sort of 
thing have been too many and doing more would be to tempt fate.

I know there are various ways of attaching roof mounts as there are 
various ways to mount other types of equipments onto roofs. Well flashed 
raised piers come to mind, as an example.   My concern is heightened as 
I gaze out my window here to see the roughly two feet of snow on most 
roofs around me surely wanting to slowly melt and go into any available 
crevice, crack or hole in the roof/decking surface. I suspect some 
methods are more fooproof than others and this is why I respond.  Has 
anybody developed a really good approach to this that would keep me 
sleeping well at night?  And prevent a potential client from awakening 
to water stains on their bedroom ceiling?  

A second concern I have has to do with snow loading of roofs coupled to 
the additional weight of solar arrays, not to mention wind loading
worsening things.  Where I am we can get some God awful snowfalls fast. 
You can literally hear roofs groan sometimes under the snow mass.  We 
also have wide temperature swings across the seasons which can cause all 
kinds of difficulties with tarred joints and holes.  Hence, the fewer 
roof penetrations the fewer problems and the better your nightly 
slumber.

If UniRac wants a project, there it is.  A sturdy, leakproof mounting 
design for both retrofits and new construction.  Otherwise, I'd be 
hesitant to go poking holes in people's roofs to mount solar panels.  
And there would go a lot of potential business possibly.  It may be the 
best location on someone's property to see the best sun but it's also a 
highly problematic issue for the reason I've stated.  A poor job in this 
respect could wipe out any profit from the solar installation and maybe 
prove even more catastrophic.  I don't like lawyers calling me........




Jim Hartley
http://www.homestead-specialties.com
Business Email: JamesHartley at homestead-specialties.com
Direct Email: grail at inil.com

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