best method for mounting two 150 lb inverters on outside of vinyl sided house?

[khanh dam]

anyone have experience on mounting inverters on outside of residential home that has vinyl siding?
I am thinking of removing the vinyl siding and replacing it with 3/4" treated plywood and then putting a small aluminum sheet metal awning/roof over the top to protect against the elements destroying the plywood over time.

[Ampster]

If the plywood is treated it should not be a problem exposed to the elements. A coat or two of exterior paint will help. You should use flashing on the top sides and bottom to prevent driven rain from getting in behind the vinyl siding. Look at door and window openings for examples of how the siding installers did that.

[peakbagger]

MDO plywood will last for a long time exposed to the elements. That's why they use it for road signs. It also takes paint well. Any home store will have the appropriate flashing to go around the plywood. To install it you need to remove the siding in the area before you put the flashing on. Make sure you put the correct gap between the end of the siding and the channel. Too tight and the siding may buckle when it warms up.

Make sure the install doesn't block any cooling slots in the inverters. Be aware critters like to nest in the cooling channels ducts.

[malba2366]

Just attach them with lag bolts through the vinyl into the sheathing/studs. Make sure the bolts on one side hit studs. It should mount snugly against the vinyl siding, don't tighten so much that it distorts the siding pieces. 150 lbs should easily hold in place using this method. I wouldn't try to remove siding pieces and replace with plywood...this will end up looking sloppy and it will provide a conduit for water to get behind the siding and cause problems.

[littleharbor]

Are they full sized SMA Sunny Boy inverters? The weight sounds like it.

You should be able to mount the bracket and then a few well placed lag bolts to act as stand offs to keep the vinyl from deforming under the weight.

[Ampster]

As long as we are talking about alternatives to removing the vinyl siding I will offer some additional ideas. Depending on the profile of the vinyl siding you may need standoffs to hold the bracket on to the studs with enough offset to not compress the siding. Once the studs are located you could enlarge the holes in the siding to add washers or a bushing long enough to clear the siding and allow the lag bolts to be tightened enough to hold the bracket firmly between the head of the bolts and the standoffs.
Alternatively, one could use hangar bolts which have a lag thread on one end and machine threads on the other. Once they are lagged into the studs the bracket could be sandwiched between nuts and washers on the threaded section to hold the bracket securely off the siding. It would be a simple matter to caulk around the holes to prevent any water getting behind the siding.

[inetdog]

As long as we are talking about alternatives to removing the vinyl siding I will offer some additional ideas. Depending on the profile of the vinyl siding you may need standoffs to hold the bracket on to the studs with enough offset to not compress the siding. Once the studs are located you could enlarge the holes in the siding to add washers or a bushing long enough to clear the siding and allow the lag bolts to be tightened enough to hold the bracket firmly between the head of the bolts and the standoffs.
Alternatively, one could use hangar bolts which have a lag thread on one end and machine threads on the other. Once they are lagged into the studs the bracket could be sandwiched between nuts and washers on the threaded section to hold the bracket securely off the siding. It would be a simple matter to caulk around the holes to prevent any water getting behind the siding.

One option is to use threaded mounting studs with wood screw threads on one end and machine screw threads on the other. That way you can install them to full depth into available wood and by using a backing nut behind the bracket and a jam not in front of the bracket you can secure the bracket any distance you want from the wall surface.

[Ampster]

We call them hangar bolts in the US
hanger-bolt.gif

[inetdog]

We call them hangar bolts in the US
hanger-bolt.gif

I always called them either hanger bolts or lag bolts (as distinct from lag screws)

[Ampster]

Sorry, I had you confused with one of the other mods.