I have a ground mounted 10KW array. I'm sure that others know better what I'm talking about, so please forgive me if I use incorrect terms.
The panels are mounted on tracks that have slots in them. The bolts that hold them down have a rectangular end on them that slide into the tracks and then turn to hold the panels down.
It get's really windy here. My record high wind since I been here is well above 60mph. The wind rattles my array pretty well. The prevailing wind is from the NW, meaning that the wind is blowing on the underside of the panels at an angle pushing them up. Twice this year the bolts have loosened/twisted so that they have come out of the track. No major damage, but once one bolt is loose the panels it was holding really start to bang. The first time it tore one of them almost completely off the array.
Anyway, the company that installed the system is great and have come out both times within days to correct the issue. I'm glad they are there for me, but I would really like to take care of what I see as a minor issue without needing to call them. I have never been here to see them do the repairs.
While I understand the mechanism and what I would need to do to fix it, what I don't know is how to get up there to turn the nut. Is there some type of a special ladder I can use to climb up the front of the array? I'm nervous about just leaning my ladder against the panels, not for safety, but because I don't want to scratch them.
On top of repairs, I'm quite sure that it would be far better for me to get up there once or twice a year to check them than to wait for them to come loose and see them banging in the wind.
Thanks for any insight.
~JH
The panels are mounted on tracks that have slots in them. The bolts that hold them down have a rectangular end on them that slide into the tracks and then turn to hold the panels down.
It get's really windy here. My record high wind since I been here is well above 60mph. The wind rattles my array pretty well. The prevailing wind is from the NW, meaning that the wind is blowing on the underside of the panels at an angle pushing them up. Twice this year the bolts have loosened/twisted so that they have come out of the track. No major damage, but once one bolt is loose the panels it was holding really start to bang. The first time it tore one of them almost completely off the array.
Anyway, the company that installed the system is great and have come out both times within days to correct the issue. I'm glad they are there for me, but I would really like to take care of what I see as a minor issue without needing to call them. I have never been here to see them do the repairs.
While I understand the mechanism and what I would need to do to fix it, what I don't know is how to get up there to turn the nut. Is there some type of a special ladder I can use to climb up the front of the array? I'm nervous about just leaning my ladder against the panels, not for safety, but because I don't want to scratch them.
On top of repairs, I'm quite sure that it would be far better for me to get up there once or twice a year to check them than to wait for them to come loose and see them banging in the wind.
Thanks for any insight.
~JH
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