[RE-wrenches] Separated frames on BP modules

Mon Jun 15 15:34:23 PDT 2009

Sorry, I can't answer that one, Larry. All I know for sure is the BP Solar
situation. - Peter

Peter T. Parrish, Ph.D., President
California Solar Engineering, Inc.
820 Cynthia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065
CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert. 031806-26
peter.parrish at calsolareng.com  
Ph 323-258-8883, Mobile 323-839-6108, Fax 323-258-8885

  _____  

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Larry
Crutcher, Starlight Solar
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 3:05 PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Separated frames on BP modules

Hi Peter,

Other than Sanyo, what PV panels use the short end for structural support? I
ran in to this issue years ago when a customer drilled holes in the end of a
Kyocera module to mount it. No warranty!

Larry Crutcher

Starlight Solar

(928) 941-1660

Renewable Energy Products, Service and Installation

On Jun 15, 2009, at 1:57 PM, Peter Parrish wrote:

Well Nick, the cat's out the bag on this one. And I would encourage you and
Andrew to give this issue wide distribution. As long as you both stick to
the facts and keep your phasors on stun.

As integrators we need to know the technical details of warranties. It would
be exceedingly painful if our company had to eat the cost of a 17 kW
install!

Here is one more factoid that I would like to throw into the mix. Vance
Lindsay of BP Solar, a very solid individual with lots of experience on the
installation side, has brought to our attention the fact that BP Solar
module cannot be attached via their SHORT DIMENSION. This was news to us,
and Vance said that such an attachment scheme would void the BP Solar
Warranty.

Let's keep the information flowing.

Best regards,

- Peter

<image002.gif>Peter T. Parrish, Ph.D., President
California Solar Engineering, Inc.
820 Cynthia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065
CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert. 031806-26
peter.parrish at calsolareng.com  
Ph 323-258-8883, Mobile 323-839-6108, Fax 323-258-8885

  _____  

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Nick
Lucchese
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 10:11 AM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Separated frames on BP modules

Oops, this was supposed just go to Andrew.

Nick

On Jun 15, 2009, at 9:56 AM, Nick Lucchese wrote:

Sorry to hear about the BP problems Andrew. For what it's worth you can tell
BP that your story just solidified another wrench's reason to never sell any
of their modules ever again.

Hope you get the customer service you deserve,

Nick A Lucchese

NABCEP Certified PV Installer

Planet Home

General Contractor # 808851

Sierra Solar Systems

563C Idaho Maryland Road

Grass Valley, CA 95945

tech info and foreign orders: (530) 273-6754

order line: (800) 51-SOLAR (US only) FAX: (530) 273-1760

nickl at sierrasolar.com

http://www.sierrasolar.com

On Jun 15, 2009, at 9:22 AM, Andrew Truitt wrote:

Greetings wrenches! We recently did a small commercial system (17 kW) using
BP-SX 3175 modules and the Unirac RapidRac ballasted mounting system. The
flat roof is ballasted with 2" of gravel that we smoothed as much as
possible but undulations are visible in the array, though the changes are
never more than 5 degrees from module to module. After about 3 months the
cusotmer noticed a problem developing with 1/3 of the modules: the interior
of the module (backsheet, cells and glazing) were separating from the
aluminum frame! Remnants of the black, rubbery adhesive are clearly visible
on the inside of the frame and on the edge of the backsheet/cell/glazing
sandwich. It seems clear to us and that the adhesive simply failed and
should be covered under the 5 year workmanship warranty, but BP does not
agree. BP is saying that the modules are supposed to be mounted with a solid
member spaning the width of the module and since the RapidRac supports the
module on what amounts to 4 individual stanchions, the workmanship warraty
is null and void. The mounting instructions, however, say nothing about
requiring a solid member spaning the module.

Has anyone else had this issue with BP or any other types of modules? Does
anyone buy that it could be the fault of the RapidRac? We unbolted a few of
the bad modules to see if the frame was exerting any torque but the neither
the module not the frame moved - we set the module back on the frame and the
mounting holes lined up perfectly as before.

Thoughts or suggestions? 

Gotta' love these long sunny days!

Andrew Truitt
Standard Solar Inc.

-- 
"Don't get me wrong: I love nuclear energy! It's just that I prefer fusion
to fission. And it just so happens that there's an enormous fusion reactor
safely banked a few million miles from us. It delivers more than we could
ever use in just about 8 minutes. And it's wireless!"

~William McDonough

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