Leaking L-feet and what kind of caulk [RE-wrenches]

[August Goers]

Hi All -

I don't want to beat this issue to death but it is certainly a very important part of the installation. Perhaps we haven't heard any nightmare tales about leaking L-feet because no one wants to admit it... 

I definitely see Troy's point about the excessive cost of materials; after all we're all trying to make solar more affordable. The 6" tall standoff and a cone flashing works great but it is tedious, somewhat pricey, and ugly. L-feet might work for a small custom operation with the owner and top installers making all of the penetrations but it is not scalable. All of the larger reputable installation firms I know of here in the Bay Area use fully flashed penetrations. There's no way you could keep multiple crews making hundreds of penetrations a day leak free without flashings. Some companies are developing custom flashing/standoffs in house.

There's no doubt that the major racking manufacturers would be ideal candidates to help with the sealing problem. Anyone from from a racking manufacturer on the list want to chime in?


-August

August Goers


Luminalt Energy Corporation
4000 Irving Street 
San Francisco, CA 94122


Office:  415.564.7652
Mobile:  415.559.1525
august at luminalt.com
www.luminalt.com



----- Original Message ----
From: Ray Walters <walters at taosnet.com>
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Sent: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 7:58:10 PM
Subject: Re: Leaking L-feet and what kind of caulk [RE-wrenches]



I agree Troy, and the list
It seems I'm hearing this:
For liability purposes use the Oatey Flashings and stand off mounting  
system. (I like having the roofer lay asphalt roofing over the  
flashing, then its his problem.)
But, the L feet are cheaper and with proper installation have been  
doing a good job for decades. (Still haven't heard any nightmare tales)
I would venture to say it depends on the roof, the rack, the  
customer, tilt angle, aesthetics,  etc .

Ray

On Jul 1, 2008, at 8:19 PM, troy wrote:

>
> The problem with the cone flashings with the installs we do, is  
> most the the time the arrays stand too tall for HOA or customer  
> aesthetic requirements. And the quickflash is $35 per foot (though  
> they look like they should be sold for $5).
>
> With feet 2' on center (snow country) for a landscape oriented  
> unirac sunframe install with 12 panels would cost $1750 for just  
> the feet - 30% more than the rack itself.
>
> The problem isn't that hard, but the industry hasn't quite  
> delivered appropriate products at a reasonable price. This is  
> something that unirac and prosolar should have addressed a long  
> time ago.
>
>
> Troy Harvey
>
>
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R. Walters
Solarray.com
NABCEP # 04170442    




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