Tracker musings (was efficiencies - generalized) [RE-wrenches]

[Phil Undercuffler]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joel Davidson"
<snip> but I wonder if that travelin' tracker has settled down in Virginia
and if it is still following the sun?)

Zomeworks may be flakey as a company, and their big racks are heavy beasts
that require many hands to install, but few things in the world match them
for working year after year even with owner ignore-ance.  My favorite to
date was an ancient, hand-welded unit, apparently an early prototype from
who knows when.  Silver round tubes held the freon.  It was a four module
unit, holding three Arcos and a rock carefully suspended by baling wire to
balance the missing panel.  Probably hadn't seen a grease gun since the
Reagan years, but it still followed the sun, albeit a little slow!

We don't install many trackers, as the additional cost/complexity doesn't
pencil out for most homes versus more panels on a stationary rack.

Last Zomeworks I installed I made the mistake of trying to assemble
everything but the modules on sawhorses and lift it up in one piece.  Never
again!

Cold winter mornings Zomeworks trackers are very tardy in rolling over.  You
can lose a lot of sun before they wake up, and the larger the rack the worse
the problem becomes.

Wattsun/Array Technologies make an impressive product, and have impeccable
dealer and customer support.  Problem is, with the complexities of
controllers & motors you are likely to need that support more than once.

My .02

Enjoy the Sun!

Phil Undercuffler
Positive Energy

"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious....
the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art
and true science"  --Albert Einstein

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