[RE-wrenches] Best racking systems (was Awkward Mid-clamps & jigs for installing or removing modules?)

toddcory at finestplanet.com toddcory at finestplanet.com
Fri Jan 18 21:07:31 PST 2013 

or heavy snow... the supports are clear out on the ends.
 
todd
 
 
 
On Friday, January 18, 2013 5:09pm, "Chris Daum" <chris at OasisMontana.com> said:



So how does the Zep stuff's testing do in winds in excess of  100 mph?
 
I saw a nice demo and display of their goods in at the  Anaheim 2009 SPI, but still am reticent to switch suppliers and modules to  accomodate racking....
 
Chris Daum
Oasis Montana Inc.

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org  [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of August  Goers
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2013 5:36 PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Best racking systems (was  Awkward Mid-clamps & jigs for installing or removing  modules?)


Andrew,
 
Very  interesting. I know several people at Zep and have toured their facility and  definitely like many aspects of their product. But, we haven't tried it on one  of our projects yet. I think part of that is because we work in the San  Francisco Bay Area where custom racks are often required and are very prevalent.  We have crews working on a daily basis on pitched and flat roofs of all types  and Unirac and Pro Solar have been a staple to basically build whatever type of  rack we need. Many installers, including us, use a pipe or angle aluminum sub  structure on flat roofs to tilt and span over objects or fit panels into tight  spaces. This allows for us to solve for any mounting dilemma but definitely  takes a burden on time and materials. I'd say about 30% of our business is  standard flush mount comp shingle. And the question is whether there is a strong  enough solution that justifies stocking another type of panel and or racking  system.
 
Best,
 
August
 
 
August  Goers
 
Luminalt  Energy Corporation
1320  Potrero Avenue
San  Francisco, CA 94110
m:  415.559.1525
o:  415.641.4000
[mailto:august at luminalt.com] august at luminalt.com
 
From: [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org]  On Behalf Of Andrew Truitt
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2013 3:26  PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Best racking  systems (was Awkward Mid-clamps & jigs for installing or removing  modules?)
 


August - [http://zepsolar.com] Zep Solar recently signed a contract with Solar  City to be their primary residential mounting solution nationally and brought me  on to help roll out the program in Colorado.  I can tell you that Solar  City spent 2 years working with Zep and vetting the product and they would not  have signed on unless they felt that they would achieve significant cost  savings.  Zep is actually very versatile - modules can be installed in  portrait or landscape; array leveling is achieved easily with a few turns of a  threaded stud; gaps in the array are easily installed; mounting options are  available for almost any roof surface; the module / mounting system is (or will  be very soon) listed to UL 2703 as a complete bonded system; and the lack of  rail should eliminate the need for electrical rough-in roof inspections for the  unfortunate souls with AHJs that require such nonsense.
At least 14 module manufacturers now make Zep-compatible  modules and installers are starting to line up to become dealers of the  product.  I've installed a number of rail-less systems, but this one is the  best I've seen.

 

 


For a brighter energy  future,


Andrew Truitt 
NABCEP Certified PV  Installer™ (ID# 032407-66)

Principal
Truitt Renewable Energy Consulting,  LLC

[tel:%28202%29%20486-7507] (202)  486-7507
[http://www.linkedin.com/pub/andrew-truitt/8/622/713] LinkedIn Profile
[http://truittreconsulting.weebly.com/] Company Website
 


"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


 






 

On Fri, Jan 18, 2013 at 3:23 PM, Ray Walters <[mailto:ray at solarray.com] ray at solarray.com> wrote:


I second the vote for Pro Solar, but I don't care for their  Fast Jacks.  Their Tile Track mounts can actually be used on comp roofs (  see the manual) and work quite well.
The best part of Pro Solar rails is they  can be used for wire management too.  Just drop the cables into the open  top of the rail, it acts as a decent cable tray.
I've used Haticon and it has  some advantages, but also its own problems: their clamps are not the  greatest.

Ray Walters
Solarray,  Inc.



On 1/18/2013 3:04 PM, August Goers  wrote:


All    -
 
This    thread brought up a question I've been mulling over for a while - what is the    best flush mount rack out there these days on the market? I've tried a lot of    different racks and am always on the hunt to find something better but the    more experience I get I keep going back to Pro Solar and Unirac SolarMount.    Pro Solar's price can't be beaten and once you get over having to drill a    quick hole for every stanchion point it goes in really quickly. Plus, their    mid clamps and end clamps are really solid, easy to work with, and work well    with WEEBs. 
 
All    that said, I still want something more. Fast and versatile is always better so    I'll keep looking. The specialized racks like Zep seem cool but seem to lack    the versatility aspect. Has anyone tried using Unirac's latest gen system    SolarMount Evolution?
 
Best,
 
August
 

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