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

[Chris Meier]

	I will chime in but there is not much more to add. On our front
we hear of leaks on both flashed installation an L feet direct to the
roof. So because of this we here at Unirac have not really made any
formal suggestions. I personally prefer to flash the stand offs in.
Others here are fine with L-feet and pockey (mastic). The only truth
about Pockey I know is if the bucket is open it is on you and gas cleans
it. I would like to know more on what everyone thinks of the Butilyne
tape. Is it something that every one likes? Has anyone had issues with
it? 
 


Chris Meier

Product Manager

UniRac, Inc.

1411 Broadway Blvd. NE

Albuquerque, NM   87102-1545

Ph:  505-242-6411 

Fx:  505-242-6412

Email:  chrism at unirac.com 

Web:   http://www.unirac.com

 

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-----Original Message-----
From: August Goers [mailto:august at luminalt.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 8:34 AM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: Re: Leaking L-feet and what kind of caulk [RE-wrenches]




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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