[RE-wrenches] Tracker manual needed

[Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar]

This unit was a poor tracker in my opinion. Wattsun thought so also. The
one thing it did better than an old zomeworks was go back to east at the
end of the day. It was on a 4' pole and could not carry 125 square feet ++
of panels like the AZ series. They are 6" and 8" poles. The AZ series is
the best I have seen/installed for residential, and still in support. 

I
looked for the info I thought I could find easily. Looks like it is hidden
in another file.  

There is only so much you can do with this unit. Have
you compared the harvest both ways? I doubt it is much different. This time
of year my AZ 125's turn about 240 degrees with the sun. I wish I could
store it all........ 

Richard (RIP) at Homepower had one like you are
asking about, and he did not like it much I remember. Too bad they are out
of business. I think one can search their archives?? Maybe someone else
will remember the model?  
Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
"we go where
powerlines don't"
http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/ [1]
e-mail
offgridsolar at sti.net [2]
text 209 813 0060

On Wed, 22 Jul 2020 14:53:44
-0700, William Miller  wrote:   

Friends: 

So far it looks like I have
stumped all of you on identifying these trackers.  

These trackers are
trying to work. The electronics and motors are operable. Unlike the diagram
below, these trackers do not have an inclined axis to allow the tracking to
sweep from east to west with the panels inclined to compensate for latitude
and season.  

The trackers spun around their mounting poles and I simply
want to know how to orient the axis so I can put them back to work: 

A. If
I orient the axis N-S the tracker would track east to west with no tilt
towards the south.  

B. If I orient the axis E-W the tracker would alter
tilt angle as the day progressed, but never facing other than due south.


This all seems strange, but maybe I just don't have my mind wrapped
around the concept as applies to these units. Maybe these mounts were
modified in the ancient past when they were installed. The original
installer is no longer on this planet so he can't be asked. 

I created a
web site to post all of the photos so anyone who is curious can look at
full sized images. The web site is here [3]. 

Thanks everyone for trying
to help. This is a real head scratcher. 

William 

805-438-5600 

FROM:
RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org [4]] ON
BEHALF OF larry at starlightsolar.com [5]
SENT: Wednesday, July 22, 2020 9:53
AM
TO: RE-wrenches
SUBJECT: Re: [RE-wrenches] Tracker manual needed  


William,  

This type of mount is a polar axis type and should be aligned
with the pivot N-S. The actuator can then swing the array E-W. The attached
photo is an example of how the mount was used in the C-band antenna days.
(1980's for the young folks)   

It's hard to tell but it looks like the
elevation bolt is missing that connects the azimuth bar to the pole mount
cap. Can you supply a better photo of the mount?    

Set the elevation
angle to latitude for best all year performance. Elevation can also be
seasonally adjusted for more gain.    

There are 3 types of sensors most
commonly used in this style of linear actuator. Hall effect, reed switch or
a 10 turn potentiometer.         

Larry Crutcher
Starlight Solar Power
Systems   

On Jul 22, 2020, at 8:33 AM, William Miller  wrote:  

Dave: 


The trackers appear to work. I am not clear on what direction to orient
them. Do you know?  

William Miller   

www.millersolar.com [7]     

   


Links:
------
[1] http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/
[2]
mailto:offgridsolar at sti.net
[3]
https://millersolar.com/MillerSolar/case_studies/26-Mystery_tracker/Mystery_Tracker.html
[4]
mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[5]
mailto:larry at starlightsolar.com
[6] mailto:william at millersolar.com
[7]
http://www.millersolar.com
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