solar panel pole mount

[hayfarmer]

Hi, can't find in search mode anything on this subject, want to take off of roof racks 4 175 Watt  solar panels and mount them on a pole so I can adjust them for late sun and squeeze a little more power for the batteries,does any one have any drawings or ideas how to build such a critter? I am A thanking you. Eric

[B529]

Here's what I came up with for a rack. Sure it would work for 4 panels. If it interest you, I'll give more details.

[defed]

i have (4) 175w panels as well, that i will be putting on a pole next year.  i think i can make a fairly simple tracker if mounted on a single pole.  for now, i have a temporary ground rack.

several different ideas on this site:

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/PV/pv.htm#Off%20Grid

[TomW]

If you can find an old C band Sat dish mount like I did you can do something like this. It holds 4 75 Watt and 4 125 Watt Panels:





If you get one with the actuator tracking is easy.

Just my pole mount.

Tom

[defed]

my original idea was to use the C-band actuator, but they tend to have a problem going from horizon to horizon (flops over at one extreme and can't pull back).  they do have horizon to horizon mounts/motors, but they are hard to find.  wouldn't be too hard to make one tho.

granted, a regular actuator would still get 3/4 of the range even if you can't get all the way to one extreme (would have to choose full east or full west, not both).  i still have a C-band in use, and several mounts i have gathered over the years.  one thing w/ the sat mount...it changes the angle as it turns.  ie, when the dish is facing west, the dish is near vertical.  when facing due south, the dish tilts back to face upward at an angle.  if i recall from the days of dish tuning, this tracking matches the sun exactly 2 times per year (the equinoxes?) as the satellites would be between the dish and the sun, knocking out the single for the brief time of alignment.  anyway, the point of the rambling...i could either make the panels rotate on the pole at a fixed angle at all positions (45* here for latitude) or i could have 45* at due south and get steeper (more vertical) as it moves to either horizon.  i have to study this more to see which is better.

[TomW]

my original idea was to use the C-band actuator, but they tend to have a problem going from horizon to horizon (flops over at one extreme and can't pull back).  they do have horizon to horizon mounts/motors, but they are hard to find.  wouldn't be too hard to make one tho.

granted, a regular actuator would still get 3/4 of the range even if you can't get all the way to one extreme (would have to choose full east or full west, not both).  i still have a C-band in use, and several mounts i have gathered over the years.  one thing w/ the sat mount...it changes the angle as it turns.  ie, when the dish is facing west, the dish is near vertical.  when facing due south, the dish tilts back to face upward at an angle.  if i recall from the days of dish tuning, this tracking matches the sun exactly 2 times per year (the equinoxes?) as the satellites would be between the dish and the sun, knocking out the single for the brief time of alignment.  anyway, the point of the rambling...i could either make the panels rotate on the pole at a fixed angle at all positions (45* here for latitude) or i could have 45* at due south and get steeper (more vertical) as it moves to either horizon.  i have to study this more to see which is better.

I am not going to argue it but a true polar mount tracks a set arc across the sky near as I ever noticed.  Additionally a plus or minus 15 degrees off perpendicular is fairly inconsequential.

Sounds like you are over thinking the plumbing a bit.

The end point over center bit is there but again you can fudge it enough that you won't notice any difference because a few degrees off is no biggie. Or you could fabricate an arm to the rack actuator attachment that gives you leverage to pull it back from the extreme end.

Or maybe I am missing something the math yields that I haven't seen in 10 years running a tracker off a polar mount C band Dish mount.

I can see that  of a properly adjusted elevation setting mine holds a true elevation relative to the horizon it is facing.  It looks weird at mid summer setting with the noon panel position being nearly horizontal. Don't be fooled by the optical illusion at the extremes.

Maybe you live on the plains where you actually can use horizon to horizon tracking. I find enough arc to go from one end to the other of the arc where I get unobstructed sun.

Just from here.

Tom

[defed]

I am not going to argue it but a true polar mount tracks a set arc across the sky near as I ever noticed.  Additionally a plus or minus 15 degrees off perpendicular is fairly inconsequential.

right, it's a set arc, which at my location is 45* at due south (same as my panels should be), but closer to vertical at due west.  this actually tracks the sun well, and i think is probably better than a locked 45* at any given compass direction.

Sounds like you are over thinking the plumbing a bit.

not really, was just wondering if a constant 45* (just spin array on pole) was better or worse than following the arc the dish makes.

The end point over center bit is there but again you can fudge it enough that you won't notice any difference because a few degrees off is no biggie. Or you could fabricate an arm to the rack actuator attachment that gives you leverage to pull it back from the extreme end.

yea, this isn't the end of the world, but if i found a true horizon to horizon mount, it would be easier and somewhat better.
 

Or maybe I am missing something the math yields that I haven't seen in 10 years running a tracker off a polar mount C band Dish mount.

i forget, you have a redrok tracker?  and this just switches your dish actuator on/off?

[hayfarmer]

Thanks for the ideas,hard to believe you cant get a off the shelf manual tracker.I will keep researching and find a single pole design that will work better.
as the sun goes down....down.....down.......

[defed]

probably one of the easiest, and cheapest, ways to track is to use an old c-band mount and actuator.  you could then use an old c-band receiver that has timer functions to move the dish to set positions at set times.  i was going to do this until i get an auto tracker set up.  you might only get 4 or 6 positions, but still has to be better than one set position.  i suppose it might need tweaking a few times a year, but that would be pretty simple too.  ppl can't give away old c-band stuff.

[TomW]

Yep, the redrock tracker just passes power thru to the actuator as needed to track the bright spot of the sky [usually the sun].

Tom

[defed]

seems like a simple setup.  is the redrok pretty reliable?  does it get flaky in cloudy conditions?

been reading up on various tracking systems, but i have at least until spring to decide!