Home Solar Panel System Extension With An EG4 Brightmount | Mounting and Wiring

[@bobcole3852]

I wish Signature Solar had additional rails and splice plates. They sell 10 panel minimums and these racks hold 4, all you need is a 2 foot extension and you could mount 5 on each one. They can certainly hold the weight, Average Joe mounted 10 smaller panelscon one of these racks!

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Yea, I saw Average Joe's vid. He is creative.

[@motomike1197]

i just bought 16 more panels and I'm putting mine in front of my main mount too! good job.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Awesome!

[@fordguyfordguy]

Great work! Man I know that was tough work out in the heat!

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Thank you. I appreciate it.

[@davejagodzinski7817]

I know the weather head doesn't come with instructions but you need a significant drip loop in order for it to work at peak in windy conditions. ??? Also facing it toward shelter would help.

[@jasonwilde2254]

For those of us who need more angle, you can drill new holes in the diagonal brace to make it steeper. 25 degrees just doesn't do much in the winter up here!

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Yep. Some will have to make mods depending on location.

[@larrymeyer7064]

Just a little added note. I have to get a planning department permit to install my panels. I have five bright mount kits, and I am going to install two 10 panel arrays. I want to deviate from the bright mount method of installing, similar too what you have done, but I am not sure That the county will permit me too. County planning has stated they have no one who can assess the suitability of what I plan to do. They want to see an engineering statement. Difficulty. Thank you for your presentation, very nicely done.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

You’re welcome. I think there may be engineering drawings available for the Brightmount. Check the website for something you can download.

[@cgutowski471]

Question/Comment: 1) do these bright mounts have engineering/load plans/specs? I don’t seem them online outside of wind speed. Roof or Ground mount, panels must be connected to the rest of the home grounding system. You just put in an aux ground which is not enough.

[@paul.phillips]

I installed the same EG4 mount a few months ago and went with the 10" tubes. Good mount, but as with anything EG4 they seem to improve it after I get some.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Cool. Yes, they are constantly trying to make improvements. Happens to me as well.

[@clarencewiles963]

Building is, as you can put in the money. Or save and go! Thanks again for your post 😊

[@CountryLivingExperience]

You’re welcome

[@fasnuf]

9:01 Remember kids, make sure there's no voltage on the two ends before taping them otherwise there might be a fireworks show.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Yep, should have said something about that.

[@cathytig8068]

Thanks!

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Thank you so much Cathy!

[@jdollar5852]

You probably already do this bit, I'll mention it for others. Mechanical systems WILL fail. It's not a matter of if but of when. The inverters will go first, then the BMS will fail, squirrels will chew your wires, etc. Have a backup plan for your backup plan. I have multiple, probably 15, of the cheap PWM charge controllers that are still in the box. I have some portable power stations and some portable solar panels. I have gas generators. I hope to never "need " most of this stuff, but if my grid goes down for 2 years, I'll need all the power supplying devices I can have. Lights and fans for here in the Southeast, lights and some heat source for most of the US and Canada. It doesn't take much juice to run a couple of light bulbs and a small fan. AC and heat is another story.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Absolutely. Good call!

[@pnowikow]

Great video as always. Nicely done

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Thanks. I appreciate it.

[@RBJeremiah]

I have been watching you for a while, and I saw your most recent video with the upgraded EG4 controllers/inverters. I decided to take the plunge and make the purchase during the signature solar sale. Most of this makes sense, but I am not sure which direction the panels should face, i.e. north, south, west, east. I have seen a lot of discussion about angles at different times of the year, but not about compass direction placements. Thank you for your help! God bless you 😊

[@CountryLivingExperience]

I have a few old videos on setting up the panels. Rule of thumb is to face due South or slightly Southwest in the Northern hemisphere and North/Northwest in the Southern hemisphere. Mine are set at azimuth 185° or 5° to the West from due South. Hope that helps.

[@RBJeremiah]

@@CountryLivingExperience Yes this is great! Thank you so much !!

[@arnoldreiter435]

thanks for the update, good info on modifying an existing system.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

You’re welcome

[@carnaud]

Nice work!

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Thank you

[@marcusmoore6856]

How did the wood sled work out? Any adjustments you would make? I want to build one so I dont have to "dig" holes in this East Texas red dirt and just use carport screw anchors to secure the sled. My question is was it adequate and strong; work out well; and anything you would do differently? (instead of structure screws I will use 10 or 8 Inch lag screws to join the 6x6s..... thoughts. and THANK YOU for your videos!

[@CountryLivingExperience]

It worked well for the time I used it. It did not move one inch. It was always meant to be temporary though. I honestly do not know how it would hold up for a very long time but with ground contact treated timbers I suspect it would last a while. With 6x6's it should be good for a long time. Don't you have fun digging in this East Texas red dirt/clay?

[@marcusmoore6856]

@@CountryLivingExperience actually i just analyzed everything and found out if I cut the adjustable brace (few inches off) I can flip the brackets upside down and mount it to a vertical post! So I am going to just do that....I still will be able to adjust the angle too. Now I only need FOUR 6x6x 6ft. (3 feet above ground and 2 or 3 feet in ground)

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Cool

[@richardc3208]

Looks nice, should be plenty sturdy

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Thank you

[@amsohn1]

Thanks for sharing! Blessings ❤

[@fawkmee]

how did the temporary setup with the timbers hold up over the months? is it just as good as using concrete footings for a temporary setup or was the rotational force taking its toll on the footings? thanks!

[@CountryLivingExperience]

It held up well. It did not move the entire time I had it sitting there. I had a few big storms but not extremely major ones. It is not as good as the concrete though.

[@9jmorrison]

Mounting bolts should be longer, or have a washer sandwiched by bolts, for better attachment.

[@Electronzap]

Nice project.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Thank you

[@RBJeremiah]

Thank you!

[@CountryLivingExperience]

You’re welcome

[@benc1927]

Just use J-bolt anchor bolts instead of expansion sleeved ones for a wet pour application. Cheaper and stronger.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Those would have been better, you are correct. This is what I had on hand and that came with the kit.

[@benc1927]

Use what you got as they say- Of course to get the expansion bolts to seat properly it would be best to drill/drive them into dried concrete rather than set them wet. You said you're not getting much wind and this is so close to ground that there wont be an issue. Clean looking install all around, good work. @@CountryLivingExperience

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Thanks

[@randyh6636]

Hi nice video I have the same rack getting ready to install..I was wondering How many bags of Concrete did you need?

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Thanks. I used 4 bags per sonotube. This is less than recommended in the instructions however.

[@randyh6636]

@@CountryLivingExperience Thanks 👍

[@rroades]

Great job. I’ll have to go back to your full playlist, but one question since wide angle lenses (cameras generally) make distance hard to judge: how far can the PV run from panels to inverter be? My property (bought before even thinking about all this) is about as bad as it can be for array-to-house, and all on a slope from the road south into trees. Maybe I’m too paranoid about having to advertise I have solar panels.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

It’s all going to depend on how many panels you have and what the gauge of the overall wire that you use. There are some websites out there that can help calculate voltage loss on certain gauge wires. You can usually run several hundred feet with minimal losses. Mine is 100 feet away from my inverters.

[@Capoe3]

@@CountryLivingExperience 500 feet one way with mine, loss counts both ways on electrical line travel so 1000 foot trip, 4 gauge aluminum wire, few volt loss total. Not much really in the scheme of things.

[@rroades]

@@CountryLivingExperience I’m at least 120’ away from the closest place where panels aren’t shaded by trees or the house in December. I currently have 10 gauge prefab PV with MC4, 2 100’ rolls. Bought them 10 years ago in that phase of buying the GZ Yeti 1250 for primitive camping, didn’t know things like line loss existed and what amps and gauge really meant in terms of heat, etc. I can test the panels then the lines attached, right?

[@CountryLivingExperience]

You can test the voltage and amperage at the end of the pv lines as the enter the house. Test during the best sun exposure to get the highest reading.

[@Capoe3]

Yep and remember voltage loss only counts as energy loss if the voltage isn’t less than what your inverter uses to turn on. It doesn’t matter as much as say line loss when running long ac runs where the voltage dip at the other end matters a lot more. You don’t want 120 volts being 105 volts. Just keep the amperage within cable limits. I stressed a lot about line loss since my run was so long and ended up being neglible with the 4 gauge I used.

[@TheMalbroughs]

I've learned a few things watching your videos, but I'm looking for numbers. Like number of panels, total volts, amps, watts, etc. I wish you would mention the technical specs more in your videos. Thanks.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Glad we could help. I did mention numbers in my earliest videos when I put in the Growatt system. My panels are 440watt, their amperage is 10.74, and I have them configured in two different strings. One is a 6 series and a 6 series paralleled together. The other is a 8 string just in series. What other specific numbers are you looking for?

[@atomicdmt8763]

@5min: grounding rod for a ground mount? re Mike Holt video(s) on this. Unneeded.

[@Capoe3]

18 kWh of used panels and counting. More power than I know what to do with when the sun shines.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Awesome

[@SamSung-jn5fi]

Since they are used, on an average summer day, how many actual KW are you pulling?

[@Capoe3]

@@SamSung-jn5fi typically over 100 kWh through the inverters with batteries topped off after night adding another 20 or so kWh to the total. Most pulled in a day is 156 to the house. Place is a bit of an energy hog some days. Kids a/c tvs yadda yadda. Also long summer days help.

[@Capoe3]

Also my angle sucks for winter that’s why I have a lot of panels. Buy used and prop ‘‘em up on railroad ties with the edge metal bent down and screwed onto the ties to keep them from being kites. Just use regular old metal screws works well but only get about 30 degrees of angle which is not the best you can do here in Colorado.

[@TheVaga9]

What kind of panels are you using??

[@CountryLivingExperience]

They are Solarever 455watt

[@tjmooney4181]

Thanks 👍

[@CountryLivingExperience]

You’re welcome

[@timbensing1075]

Just an FYI: You don't have a ground conductor ran with your PV wires. This should be ran back to your system and connected to the ground there. Your panels are not actually grounded for personal protection. They are just connected to the local earth. As it is right now. You are counting on the earth to carry any fault current back to your system. (Assuming that it's connected to earth also) Earth is not a good conductor. I would keep your children and animals away from the array. Until it's safely grounded.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Panels on a ground mount are not to be grounded back to the house. They are to be grounded separately unless on the roof of the home.

[@timbensing1075]

@@CountryLivingExperience incorrect They are required by NEC to be grounded to the rest of the electrical system. The local ground rod that you have installed is called an auxiliary grounding electrode. While not required, it is allowed. But if installed, it must also be connected to the rest of your grounding system.

[@timbensing1075]

Furthermore By connecting your panels to the earth and not actually grounding them. If one of your panels developed a short to its frame. Your frames, racking, and now the earth around it will be electrified.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Thanks for your concern

[@CountryLivingExperience]

I wanted to get back to this for a second. I am assuming you are looking 690.47 in the NEC which I have read and watched Mike Holt's video on it. I think these assume that I have a combiner box where there would be an equipment ground conductor that would run back and be grounded with the rest of the electrical system. Here is the thing....I don't have a combiner box. I have two strings connected via MC4 Y connectors and run directly to an IMO PV DC disconnect then run straight to the inverters. Since I have only two strings I don't need a combiner box. Thoughts? I have additionally also seen people run a buried bare copper wire from an earth ground rod at the ground mounted array back to the main ground rod of the electrical system. Thoughts on that?

[@dmark6699]

You have more courage than me going out in 103 degree weather. Be careful.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Will do. I’ve got a lot of water jugs out there with me.

[@brock2k1]

This seems like a huge waste of time and energy. Sure, your rack will survive a tornado. But the rack isn't what the wind is trying to pick up; the panels are what the wind is trying to pick up. And on those Brightmounts, the panels are attached to the rack by a couple of clamps with a quarter-inch bolt on each side. So it's those four little bolts that will decide whether your panels sail away, not the giant concrete piers.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

It isn't. You don't understand strength of materials and engineering which explains pull away and shear strength ....so.....

[@brock2k1]

@@CountryLivingExperience No, I'm not a structural engineer, but I understand that if you chain your bike to a sequoia tree and then lock the chain with a cheap padlock, a thief only has to cut the lock, not the sequoia tree. If the wind is strong enough to tear a panel off the rack, you will lose the panel, even if your rack is attached to the center of the earth.