[RE-wrenches] Tracker manual needed

Wed Jul 22 21:15:18 EDT 2020

Ray and other Wrenches:

I agree on all counts:

1.   This is a field mod.

2.   Not worth any effort (the arrays are temporary until a barn is built
to hold the real solar).

3.   Manually point it south-ish and forget it.

4.   Tracking arrays should be replaced with fixed arrays.

I was mostly just curious… and wanting to make sure I had not yet lost my
mind out in the sun.

Thanks everyone.

William

*From:* RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] *On
Behalf Of *Ray
*Sent:* Wednesday, July 22, 2020 5:06 PM
*To:* re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
*Subject:* Re: [RE-wrenches] Tracker manual needed

I just took a look at your pics, its definitely a really old, modified
Wattsun.  You can see the primer paint where they welded the main square
tube directly to the cap. You can also see the empty holes in the bracket
on the right side of the tube, where the tilt adjuster would have mounted.
It originally should have had a simple fixed N-S tilt adjustment, that was
something like a DP&W head.  IT also looks like its missing the pinch bolts
that tighten the cap to the pole, but hard to tell.  What are those
modules, Old Siemens?

I'd just rotate it so the tilt adjust went N-S, and run the motor manually
off a 12 v battery to set the seasonal tilt.  Based on the age of the
modules, and overall condition of the wiring (non UV rated zip ties,
exposed THHN, etc) I wouldn't put a ton of time into it.  I'm rebuilding
old Top of Pole racks now with new modules, as the pole mount base and rack
are easily worth more than the cost of new modules.

Ray Walters

Remote Solar

303 505-8760

On 7/22/20 3:53 PM, 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
<https://millersolar.com/MillerSolar/case_studies/26-Mystery_tracker/Mystery_Tracker.html>
.

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] *On
Behalf Of *larry at starlightsolar.com
*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 <william at millersolar.com> 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

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