Uber-Tracker Query [RE-wrenches]

Darryl Thayer daryl_solar at yahoo.com
Mon Dec 22 01:22:08 PST 2003


HI Allan
I havve done a few like this.  And my methods are
crude.  but I get the job done. 

If the pole can be lifted by hand then of course just
muscle it up. but if it is heave like a piece of
8"schedule 40, use some gear.
 
To move the heavy pipe I put down plywood, chip board
for a tempory road.  And use a pipe roller, which is a
two wheeled cart.  One wheel on either side of the
pipe, and the pipe is balanced on this cart.  I built
mine, I used 10" steel wheels attached to a V trough
to move the pipe. 

To raise the pipe into place I use standard medium
weight scaffold.  I usually use the 7' or 10' long by
5'wide, with about 1.5" frame tubes.  Adjusters on the
legs to make it level.  The scaffold top must be
higher than the pipe you are putting in the ground
plus the head room for the lifting apparatus.  I span
the scaffold top with a beam, either a steel or wood. 
I like to lift with a chain pawl, chain hoist.
I have used a cable pull, coffen hoist, but I really
like my chain pawl for safety.  Use the usual choker
and  lift one end until the bottom can be droped into
the hole.  

The scaffold can then be used to attach the drive
mechinism.  and the collectors and rack.  

Good luck and be careful.  
Never put the scaffold feet on blocks, always use a
set of adjusters.

Darryl

--- Allan Sindelar <allan at positiveenergysolar.com>
wrote:
> Fellow Wrenches,
> We have a job in the early stages (deposit received,
> components ordered) for
> a 16 module BP5170 array on a Wattsun AZ-225
> "Uber-tracker"--the big
> one--with a SB2500D and all related equipment
> mounted on the tracker pole
> (see
>
http://www.wattsun.com/products/wattsun_trackers/Wattsun_pole_mounted_service_panel.html).
> This arrangement means that only the standard AC
> line (and an unrelated water line to a greenhouse)
> is carried in buried
> conduit back to the home service panel. The tracker
> pole is 8" Schedule 40
> steel, 13' long, set in a 4X4 cube of concrete. The
> tracker is built in
> place, and heavy, with a 175 lb. drive unit and a
> 220 lb. torque tube.
> 
> Who has done one or more of these installations? How
> did you set your pole
> (which is way heavier and more awkward than a 6"
> pole)? How have you dealt
> with moving, placing, and lifting these kinds of
> heavy objects? Simplicity
> is key here--the job won't afford a crane rental,
> and we can get a service
> truck into the site, but not a big truck.
> 
> Thank you in advance for your advice.
> Allan at Positive Energy
> 
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