Hey Peter,
When you said it was "news to you" I thought you meant there are other
modules that you know of that can be mounted on the short end.
I thought of another situation where this caused a somewhat related
problem. A few years ago I did my first Kaneka install. I had Unirac
spec a ground mount for 7.2kW. They designed the system wrong which
put the top down clamps on the top and bottom of the module frames
which are not structural. I thought I could just rotate the modules so
the sides would be on the rails but you can't do that. If any tiny
amount of mud, dust, debris accumulates on the side edge of a Kaneka
module, you will have a complete shut down. Also, there is a water
channel that must be at the bottom.
Sorry to hijack the thread but I thought of this since we were talking
about mounting issues.
Larry
On Jun 15, 2009, at 3:34 PM, Peter Parrish wrote:
Sorry, I can’t answer that one, Larry. All I know for sure is the BP
Solar situation. - Peter
<image001.gif>Peter T. Parrish, Ph.D., President
California Solar Engineering, Inc.
820 Cynthia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065
CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert. 031806-26
peter.parr...@calsolareng.com
Ph 323-258-8883, Mobile 323-839-6108, Fax 323-258-8885
From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org
] On Behalf Of Larry Crutcher, Starlight Solar
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 3:05 PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Separated frames on BP modules
Hi Peter,
Other than Sanyo, what PV panels use the short end for structural
support? I ran in to this issue years ago when a customer drilled
holes in the end of a Kyocera module to mount it. No warranty!
Larry Crutcher
Starlight Solar
(928) 941-1660
Renewable Energy Products, Service and Installation
On Jun 15, 2009, at 1:57 PM, Peter Parrish wrote:
Well Nick, the cat’s out the bag on this one. And I would encourage
you and Andrew to give this issue wide distribution. As long as you
both stick to the facts and keep your phasors on stun.
As integrators we need to know the technical details of warranties.
It would be exceedingly painful if our company had to eat the cost
of a 17 kW install!
Here is one more factoid that I would like to throw into the mix.
Vance Lindsay of BP Solar, a very solid individual with lots of
experience on the installation side, has brought to our attention
the fact that BP Solar module cannot be attached via their SHORT
DIMENSION. This was news to us, and Vance said that such an
attachment scheme would void the BP Solar Warranty.
Let’s keep the information flowing.
Best regards,
- Peter
<image002.gif>Peter T. Parrish, Ph.D., President
California Solar Engineering, Inc.
820 Cynthia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065
CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert. 031806-26
peter.parr...@calsolareng.com
Ph 323-258-8883, Mobile 323-839-6108, Fax 323-258-8885
From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org
] On Behalf Of Nick Lucchese
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 10:11 AM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Separated frames on BP modules
Oops, this was supposed just go to Andrew.
Nick
On Jun 15, 2009, at 9:56 AM, Nick Lucchese wrote:
Sorry to hear about the BP problems Andrew. For what it's worth you
can tell BP that your story just solidified another wrench's reason
to never sell any of their modules ever again.
Hope you get the customer service you deserve,
Nick A Lucchese
NABCEP Certified PV Installer
Planet Home
General Contractor # 808851
Sierra Solar Systems
563C Idaho Maryland Road
Grass Valley, CA 95945
tech info and foreign orders: (530) 273-6754
order line: (800) 51-SOLAR (US only) FAX: (530) 273-1760
ni...@sierrasolar.com
http://www.sierrasolar.com
On Jun 15, 2009, at 9:22 AM, Andrew Truitt wrote:
Greetings wrenches! We recently did a small commercial system (17
kW) using BP-SX 3175 modules and the Unirac RapidRac ballasted
mounting system. The flat roof is ballasted with 2" of gravel that
we smoothed as much as possible but undulations are visible in the
array, though the changes are never more than 5 degrees from module
to module. After about 3 months the cusotmer noticed a problem
developing with 1/3 of the modules: the interior of the module
(backsheet, cells and glazing) were separating from the aluminum
frame! Remnants of the black, rubbery adhesive are clearly visible
on the inside of the frame and on the edge of the backsheet/cell/
glazing sandwich. It seems clear to us and that the adhesive simply
failed and should be covered under the 5 year workmanship warranty,
but BP does not agree. BP is saying that the modules are supposed to
be mounted with a solid member spaning the width of the module and
since the RapidRac supports the module on what amounts to 4
individual stanchions, the workmanship warraty is null and void. The
mounting instructions, however, say nothing about requiring a solid
member spaning the module.
Has anyone else had this issue with BP or any other types of
modules? Does anyone buy that it could be the fault of the RapidRac?
We unbolted a few of the bad modules to see if the frame was
exerting any torque but the neither the module not the frame moved -
we set the module back on the frame and the mounting holes lined up
perfectly as before.
Thoughts or suggestions?
Gotta' love these long sunny days!
Andrew Truitt
Standard Solar Inc.
--
"Don't get me wrong: I love nuclear energy! It's just that I prefer
fusion to fission. And it just so happens that there's an enormous
fusion reactor safely banked a few million miles from us. It
delivers more than we could ever use in just about 8 minutes. And
it's wireless!"
~William McDonough
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