Hi all, We have slowly evolved into using SS hose clamps with 3/4" double wall 600V heat shrink over them to secure our wiring on our roof mount and pole mount systems. The sharp edges can turn around and bite you! The addition of heat shrink, which we buy in 4' lengths from Del City online along w/ the 10 packs of SS hose clamps, works great. We want our systems to go 30 years and plastic zip ties here in the high Sierras just don't last. It is an easy upgrade to SS zip ties and heat shrink for us. They will probably install a lot quicker.
Sincerely, Chris Worcester NABCEP Certified PV Installer Phone: 530-582-4503 Fax: 530-582-4603 www.solarwindworks.com ch...@solarwindworks.com "Proven Energy Solutions" -----Original Message----- From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Clearwater, Village Power Design Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 6:31 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] SS zip ties Hi Bill and all, I've been searching for an alternative to plastic wire ties for some time as I'm not sure they are going to hold up over the system life of 20-30+ years and it'll be an ugly site to have all those wires drop onto the roof. But for a flush rooftop array, an assumption to replace broken ones with an O&M plan as Bill suggests is prohibitive unless you want to pull modules and rewire all over again. Way too much labor. At first I was glad to see the SS ties too - but they just don't work that well and I too worry about the sharp edges with all the contraction and expansion that goes on in an aluminum based racking system. On many commercial jobs we've used our own home made wire loom by splitting liquidtight non-metallic on a table saw. We then use a self tapper and washer to screw through the back of the inside of the split LT to the array frame and then use one-hole straps to hold the wire from coming out of the slot where we want to. I shared this method way back on this list and at http://www.home.earthlink.net/~clrwater It's code since it's outdoor rated wire anyway. I sometimes even run the LT home to a LT fitting after stopping the split (after providing a drain loop/low spot). Not exactly covered by the code but I see no inherent violation. I'm glad to see UniRac coming out with a zip bundle that slides into their rail slot but that does only some of the job as there are many places we need to attach that are not directly along their rails. I've told the folks at UniRac, DP&W, ProSolar, AEE etc. that the first racking company that comes out with an integrated loom or wire handling system will rule. That was 2 years ago. Still waiting! Thanks, Jeff Clearwater NorthEast Solar/Village Power Design >Folks, > >I'm a bit sour on SS ties. These are easy to overtighten and have caused >numerous ground faults in the field. My recommendation is to use >UV-resistant black wire ties and install 2-3 times as many as necessary. >Sure some will fail over time, but we are much less likely to have ground >faults, and proper O&M says that we maintain the wire supports over time and >replace broken ties as need. Proper tension is a must and people have to be >shown how to do it properly and checked up on in the field to make sure they >are not getting them too tight. > >Bill. > >-----Original Message----- >From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org >[mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of William >Miller >Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 9:52 PM >To: RE-wrenches >Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] SS zip ties > >Kent: > >To tighten: 1. Pull tie snug by hand. 2. Cut tail about 20 mm from >clasp. 3. Roll tail with needle-nose pliers, like a sardine can lid. This >tightens tie and hides sharp end. > >See >http://mpandc.com/practices/Technical_Procedures/PV_wiring/PV_wiring.html >for photos. > >Do not over-tighten to avoid wire damage. > >William > > >At 09:25 PM 12/10/2008, you wrote: >>Fastenal has stainless ties is various lengths >> >>http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/detail.ex?sku=0710242 >> >>For those that haven't used these before, beware that it is difficult to >>tighten them. >> >>Kent Osterberg >>Blue Mountain Solar > > >_______________________________________________ >List sponsored by Home Power magazine > >List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > >Options & settings: >http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > >List-Archive: >http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > >List rules & etiquette: >www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > >Check out participant bios: >www.members.re-wrenches.org > >_______________________________________________ >List sponsored by Home Power magazine > >List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > >Options & settings: >http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > >List-Archive: >http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > >List rules & etiquette: >www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > >Check out participant bios: >www.members.re-wrenches.org -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jeff Clearwater Senior Design Engineer NABCEP (tm) Certified Solar PV Installer http://www.nabcep.org/ Village Power Design/NorthEast Solar Design Turnkey Solar Design & Installation for the Commercial Sector http://www.villagepower.com goso...@villagepower.com Voice: 413-259-3750 Fax: 413-825-0703 65 Schoolhouse Rd Amherst, MA 01002 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
