<div dir="ltr">
<p class="MsoNormal">To me the reports of not seeing leaks is not terribly
reassuring. It\u2019s not surprising when you consider that enough water has to get
past tightly compacted shingles under an L foot, travel between the threads and
the wood of a tightly threaded lag bolt, and then saturate attic insulation enough
to migrate through drywall to be \u201cseen\u201d. Even though my 5 year warranty will
have passed, what worries me (here in Florida) is that after 5 or 10 years of no leaks has
passed a storm comes through and peels the array off the roof because dry rot has
set in around the lag bolts reducing the pull out resistance of the rafters. I like to be able to tell my customers
that I always use engineered flashings designed for the specific purpose of
preventing water from damaging their home. I don\u2019t want to cut corners on the
one thing that every customer fears the most. Besides, it is your only shot at
not voiding a roofing warranty that they may have. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal">Kurt Johnsen</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Kurt Johnsen Energy Systems<span style="mso-tab-count:4"> <br></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">NABCEP Certified PV Installer
<span style="mso-tab-count:4"> </span><br>
621 SW 26<sup>th</sup> Place<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Gainesville,
FL 32601<br>
352-222-9495</span></p>
</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Aug 29, 2015 at 1:11 PM, Ray Walters <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ray@solarray.com" target="_blank">ray@solarray.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
Excellent point, sir. I have looked at quite a few from the attic,
later when doing upgrades, and I haven't seen leaks. But NO, I have
not carefully gone back on every install to confirm. No news is good
news, but that still doesn't mean 100% leak free. Also, I'm
working in a drier climate, where small leaks don't cause big
problems. Actually many of the systems with L feet I've looked at
are not even my own, and (horror) they were sealed with gobs of
silicone. <br>
I'm doing an inspection on a place with hot water and PV on an
shingle roof that is 15+ years old, L feet, no flashings, silicone,
and I will do my best for the list, to get in there and really check
from the attic side. Take photos if I can, and I'll loosen a few
screws to check for any signs of rot around the screw hole. <br>
Really these days my favorite product might be a smallish flashing/
large L foot with butyl tape peel off on the bottom. It would go
under the shingle above, so its an actual"flashing", but not so far
up that you get into the next row of nails, or have to cut the
shingle much. <br>
We also need to really look at the sealant above the flashing and
make sure the shingle above the mount is sealed down properly if
disturbed. I think trouble with shingle roofs starts when wind and
rain can blow back up under a loose shingle. What is the correct
method to seal a shingle back down anyway? Heatgun? More roof
approved caulking? <br>
Chime in ye of more roofing knowledge.<br>
<br>
<pre cols="72">R.Ray Walters
CTO, Solarray, Inc
Nabcep Certified PV Installer,
Licensed Master Electrician
Solar Design Engineer
<a href="tel:303%20505-8760" value="+13035058760" target="_blank">303 505-8760</a></pre>
<div>On 8/28/2015 1:43 PM, Benn Kilburn
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:trebuchet ms,sans-serif">Here is a devils advocate question for everyone
(<u>including myself</u>) who is claiming "no leaks after
x-years".<br>
<br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra">Are we assuming "no leaks" because the
home/system owner has not reported any or because there are no
water stains on the ceilings below the arrays *or* are we
actually looking in the attic and seeing that there are
absolutely NO water marks where the attachment points are? <br>
I would think that there is a big difference? But having not
gone back to every install and actually getting up and looking
around <u>inside the attic</u>, would it not be presumptuous
to assume that there have been no leaks?<br>
<br clear="all">
<div>
<div>
<div style="text-align:left"><b style="margin:0px;padding:0px">Benn Kilburn <span style="font-size:9px"></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align:left">CSA Certified Solar
Photovoltaic Systems Electrician, SkyFire Energy Inc</div>
<div style="text-align:left">6706 \u2013 82 Ave NW | Edmonton,
AB | T6B 0E7</div>
<div style="text-align:left">P: <a href="tel:780-474-8992" value="+17804748992" target="_blank">780-474-8992</a> | F:
<a href="tel:888-405-5843" value="+18884055843" target="_blank">888-405-5843</a> | <a href="http://www.skyfireenergy.com/" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(240,140,0);text-decoration:none;border-width:0px;border-style:none" target="_blank">www.skyfireenergy.com</a></div>
<a href="mailto:benn@skyfireenergy.com" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(240,140,0);text-decoration:none;border-width:0px;border-style:none" target="_blank"><img alt="email" src="http://www.skyfireenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/email.png" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border-width:0px;border-style:none" height="25" width="25"></a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SkyFireEnergy" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(240,140,0);text-decoration:none;border-width:0px;border-style:none" target="_blank"><img alt="facebook" src="http://www.skyfireenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/facebook.png" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border-width:0px;border-style:none" height="25" width="25"></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyFireEnergy" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(240,140,0);text-decoration:none;border-width:0px;border-style:none" target="_blank"><img alt="twitter" src="http://www.skyfireenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/twitter.png" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border-width:0px;border-style:none" height="25" width="25"></a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/283735?trk=tyah&trkInfo=tarId%3A1408655033432%2Ctas%3Askyfire%2Cidx%3A2-2-5" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(240,140,0);text-decoration:none;border-width:0px;border-style:none" target="_blank"><img alt="linkedin" src="http://www.skyfireenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/linkedin.png" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border-width:0px;border-style:none" height="25" width="25"></a> <a href="https://plus.google.com/+SkyFireEnergy/" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(240,140,0);text-decoration:none;border-width:0px;border-style:none" target="_blank"><img alt="google" src="http://www.skyfireenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/google.png" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border-width:0px;border-style:none" height="25" width="25"></a>
<p style="font-size:13px;margin:0px;padding:1em 0px;text-align:justify;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:18px">
<img alt="SkyFire Energy
Logo_horizontal" src="http://www.skyfireenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/SkyFire-Energy-Logo_horizontal.png" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border-width:0px;border-style:none" height="47" width="179"></p>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Aug 26, 2015 at 1:52 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:max@seesolar.com" target="_blank">max@seesolar.com</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div>
<div style="color:#000;background-color:#fff;font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif;font-size:16px">
<div dir="ltr"><span>I remember the "early days" of
installing, which for us was early 1990's. We used
stainless steel rod hangers straight into rafters,
which left us with 4" threaded rod sticking up out
of the roof. We used thru the roof for sealing
under a nut and fender washer. I've visited a
couple of those sites recently (still no leaks
after over 25 yrs of production). By the way, we
have changed our mounting methods since
then.........</span></div>
<div dir="ltr"><span><br>
</span></div>
<div><span>Max Balchowsky</span><br style="font-family:tahoma,'new york',times,serif">
<span>Design Engineer</span><br style="font-family:tahoma,'new york',times,serif">
<span>Golden Bridge Development</span><br style="font-family:tahoma,'new york',times,serif">
<span>1048 Irvine Ave Suite 217</span><br style="font-family:tahoma,'new york',times,serif">
<span>Newport Beach, Ca. 92660</span><br style="font-family:tahoma,'new york',times,serif">
<span><a href="tel:760-403-6810" value="+17604036810" target="_blank">760-403-6810</a></span></div>
<div dir="ltr"><font size="1">"Building
a Better Future For The Next Generation"</font></div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset></fieldset>
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