I've tested really old arrays that were done in the days before NEC
grounding requirements. No star washers, just nuts, bolts, lock
washers and washers. I've never seen significant resistance from one
end of an array to the other. This appears to be a solution to solve
a problem that never existed in the first place, that caused a
problem! (The main cause of problems are solutions).
That being said, Weeb type clips may be a good idea for top mounting hardware.
At 05:20 PM 7/13/2011, you wrote:
Hi Guys;
The islands have accelerated corrosion, but we will see the same
problems even in dry climates, it just might take decades instead of
years. I think galvanic corrosion of AL and CU is such a problem
that we should use the new products available such as the WEEB, and
take advantage of the clarified grounding requirements in NEC 2011.
Basically I think the days of bare #6 CU running all over the array
modules and framing should be over. It was time and money consuming,
caused unnecessary corrosion, and looked bad, plus was it ever really safer?
My own ground impedance testing says no. The most impedance is
usually found at the connection from the grounding electrode to the
earth itself, not at the array.
Ray Walters
On 7/13/2011 2:46 PM, Marv Dargatz wrote:
Drake,
This is a HUGE problem. If you want a real earful, talk to John
Wiles, Bill Brooks, or Greg Ball about this.
While you might think that the anodizing on the aluminum would
prevent electrical contact to the copper, it doesn't last long with
just a little vibration (usually due to wind). Put this in a
coastal environment, and things go bad in a hurry, often in less
than one year. Any island environment is especially bad.
See ya!
Marv
Director of Technology and Support, North America
SolarEdge Technologies, Inc.
Tech Support Mobile: +530.798.6770
Mobile: +530.392.0356
From:
<mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org>re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Drake
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 1:26 PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: [RE-wrenches] Fwd: Re: Aluminum Module Frame To Galvanized Uni-Strut
Marv,
It is common practice to run bare copper ground wire over rails and
under modules, which will touch the aluminum at various
points. How much of a problem is this going to create in the long run?
Drake
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Drake Chamberlin
ATHENS ELECTRIC
OH License 44810
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