Nice! Send some pics when you can! ThxI'm building a Unistrut DIY rooftop mount for my panels. I too strained and stressed over the different mount solutions, and I found that all engineered rails were expensive and were made with code compliance and inspections in mind. I'm rural, so inspections and permits aren't as big a problem. I saw the pipe-based rails some have mentioned, but I wasn't happy with the panel to pipe interface possibilities and rust(!) was definitely going to be an issue with steel pipe. Wood was out of the question.
The choice came down to Aluminum or Galvanized steel Unistrut. The cheapest I was able to find Al Unistrut was about $70 per 10' for 1-5/8"x1-5/8" slotted strut. With shipping from Grainger it was about $1300 for 15 struts. Galvanized was $450 from Home Depot in my neighborhood and I could take it home right off the shelf in my truck. So galvanized it was.
I chose Quickbolt mini flashing and their lag bolts as the mounting hardware solution. Low cost and minimal install work for my asphalt shingle roof type. I had to find a way to properly tie the quickbolt to the unistrut spacer (simply a cut piece of regular strut 4" long) so I settled for a combination of 1" stainless washers, stainless lockwashers, and the stainless nuts provided by quickbolt. I would then mount the unistrut rail to the unistrut spacer with a stainless spring nut and another lockwasher and washer and stainless bolt. (Pics soon!) I didn't use square washers or the solar panel strut washers Unistrut offers since I couldn't find them in stainless steel.
Piecing together the mounts and hardware was a minor engineering exercise, but I was able to source aluminum panel clamps, 316 Stainless bolts, washers, lockwashers, and also stainless spring nuts on Ebay for less than $250 total. Pics coming soon.
I used something like this - https://www.amazon.com/ISPINNER-Aluminum-Conductor-Connector-Grounding/dp/B09CFYL2MR/ref=sr_1_13 Used self-tappers to screw into the panel frame + array framework and threaded a 6awg twisted copper wire thru them to connect all the panels.Thanks for uploading! Did you use separate grounding connections since the clamps don't have penetrating teeth?
I have 18.5 kW of panels mounted on unistrut (Superstrut) using 1/4-20 bolts, nuts and fender washers. It’s a pole mount arrangement so back access is easy. Panels directly against the top of strut, fender washer and nylok nut inside the channel, fender washers that fit inside the channel and are large enough to cover the hole are easy to find. The trick is to space the struts such that the holes in the panels line up with holes in struts. Lay it out on the ground before you attach the strut to your horizontal pipes so you understand the spacing. I’ve had no trouble with REC, Canadian Solar and Solarever 120 cell half cut panels and some off brand 100 watt panels.How are the panels attached to the unistrut ? I had planned to make up a fitting using a short piece of 90 angle but there may be other methods.
I finally found some square washers on Amazon, but they seem really expensive...from $1-3 each, like this: Square washerssquare hold down
I am using aluminum strut and the channel for the strut, this 30 mm square washer could slip through or perhaps just barely overlap the gap.I finally found some square washers on Amazon, but they seem really expensive...from $1-3 each, like this: Square washers
This looks like it will work, but on that link and others I browsed when sourcing parts, I did not see dimensions or the words made for strut so I can’t say for sure. This stopped me from getting thoseI did find a few other considerations on Amazon: Clamps with strut nuts But seller has a caution, and long shipping time. I found a few other options, but would require even more hardware/modification.
I did find a few other considerations on Amazon: Clamps with strut nuts But seller has a caution, and long shipping time. I found a few other options, but would require even more hardware/modification.