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Chris & Dana;<br>
<br>
Our site is a mountain in Wyoming and does have some focusing
effects, so maybe 170 mph is possible. Are your arrays using top
down clamps? I think that is apparently stronger, also possibly the
2011 Sanyos look to have beefier frames. However, I looked at
their spec sheet and they're only rated at 60 PSF (less than the
SWs). From my measurements here of Solar World 4.0 frames, I'm
seeing a flange thickness of approx 1.3 mm, while an old Siemens SP
75 has 1.8 mm thick metal. <br>
I'm coming up with a fix for the Solar Worlds: 3/4 x 3/4 Stainless
steel Angle fits just inside the lip of the module, and will
distribute the forces more evenly. The question then is, are we
just going to lose the glass next? Anyone have a currently
available module that is beefier? I may recommend we swap the whole
array out, if we are indeed exceeding the design of the Solar
Worlds. <br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">R.Ray Walters
CTO, Solarray, Inc
Nabcep Certified PV Installer,
Licensed Master Electrician
Solar Design Engineer
303 505-8760</pre>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 1/12/2017 2:39 PM, Chris @ The Oasis
wrote:<br>
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<blockquote cite="mid:C908D8265C474A6FBEADE912177D6048@OasisChris"
type="cite">
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<div dir="ltr" align="left"><font face="Arial" color="#0000ff"
size="2"><span class="640143021-12012017">Wrenches: We have
a ~70KW ground mounted array on the Rocky Mountain front
near Choteau, MT. Springs winds are not unusual with 150 to
175 MPH gusts. The system was installed in 2011 (with Sanyo
215W modules). No problems yet; we certainly
over-engineered the racks, knowing what high winds there
are!</span></font></div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"><font face="Arial" color="#0000ff"
size="2"><span class="640143021-12012017"></span></font> </div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="640143021-12012017"><!-- Converted from text/plain format -->
<p><font face="Arial"><font color="#0000ff" size="2">Chris
Daum<br>
Oasis Montana Inc.<br>
406-777-4309<br>
406-777-0830 fax<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.oasismontana.com">www.oasismontana.com</a><span
class="640143021-12012017"> </span><br>
</font></font></p>
</span></div>
<br>
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<hr tabindex="-1">
<font face="Tahoma" size="2"><b>From:</b> RE-wrenches
[<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org">mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>] <b>On
Behalf Of </b>Ray Walters<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, January 12, 2017 2:16 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> RE-wrenches<br>
<b>Cc:</b> Sefchick, Steve<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [RE-wrenches] Solar World Wind Damage<br>
</font><br>
</div>
Hi Bill;<br>
<br>
Solar World customer support did come through yesterday with
flying colors. They got hit by a big storm in the North West.
Right now though, they are saying that we exceeded the 64 PSF
rated loading to the back of the module. I've pointed out that
that would correspond to over 170 mph winds, so I'm not quite
ready to concede the warranty. Their engineering team is
reviewing my information. <br>
As always, the Wrench list experience is invaluable. Are 170 mph
winds possible, outside of a tornado or hurricane?<br>
<br>
<b>Whether or not Solar World stands by their product in this
extreme situation, I definitely stand by my installations.</b>
I'm taking a snow cat up to replace and reinforce the modules next
week, then hopefully get a little help from my supply chain
after. My repair costs will be many times the cost of one
replacement module anyway. <br>
<br>
Yes, the 33 mm vs 31 mm refers to the module thickness. I don't
have a version 2.5 frame to check the flange metal thickness, and
it is conspicuously absent from the specs. I have a good
micrometer, and I will compare metal thicknesses of several module
brands, because with all the cost cutting, many module manus seems
to be using thinner metal lately. As Jay pointed out, we're
bolting much bigger modules down with much weaker flanges, and the
same hardware we used on a 75 w module, so its not entirely
surprising to start seeing high wind failures.<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">R.Ray Walters
</pre>
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