Securing PV panels to shipping container

[NWGEAR]

Today's challenge is to secure a couple of solar panels to the top of a shipping container. Just to be interesting you're not allowed to weld or puncture the container with fixings. Assume high wind conditions but panels may be mounted flat on top. Bodge ideas expected!

[ProDave]

Bolt some unistrut to the top and build a frame from that,

[Moonshine]

  On 12/03/2020 at 11:46, ProDave said:

Bolt some unistrut to the top and build a frame from that,

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wouldn't this need to puncture the container.

 

How about unistrut bolted to breeze blocks at certain intervals (to make a rectangle frame, then ratchet strap the unistrut to the for corners of the container.

 

Fix panels to strapped down unistrut.

Edited March 12, 2020 by Moonshine

[joth]

Do something with the corner castings? No idea what, but my starting point is to design a grid/platform that bolts to all four corners and install on that, then see how to simplify that idea.

 

[scottishjohn]

clean surfaceof container --make up something to attach panels to -then stick that to container with  tiger seal

If everything clean it will never come away

other way is to weight your PV frame down with bags of ballast or big lumps of concrete

[jfb]

why can't you weld them to the container?

[Adam2]

On my camper van I used one of the Sikaflex products (may have been 512) for the large roof solar panels - 3 years not moved a bit 

[Sandybay]

Buy yourself a large amount of marine silicone, wait for a dry sunny day, job done?

[jamieled]

We used a couple of pallets, with a bit of 4 by inch to join them. They are the heavy type pallets. Tied to the edges of the container (the lifting holes) with some blue rope. Haven't moved an inch in the last year or so.

[scottishjohn]

  On 12/03/2020 at 16:17, Adam2 said:

On my camper van I used one of the Sikaflex products (may have been 512) for the large roof solar panels - 3 years not moved a bit 

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tiger seal is same ,just dif make

[Jeremy Harris]

  On 12/03/2020 at 18:18, scottishjohn said:

tiger seal is same ,just dif make

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It is indeed.  I compared Tigerseal to Sikaflex side by side on my old boat, no difference at all between them as far as I could see (other than Tigerseal being a lot cheaper at the time).  Both are PU sealants/adhesives with, as far as I could tell, a near-identical formulation.

[Russell griffiths]

Don’t they do a plastic box thing that is angled, so you mount the panel on the angled bit and put either concrete blocks or gravel on the flat bit to anchor it down. 

[Jeremy Harris]

  On 12/03/2020 at 20:26, Russell griffiths said:

Don’t they do a plastic box thing that is angled, so you mount the panel on the angled bit and put either concrete blocks or gravel on the flat bit to anchor it down. 

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Yes, like these (they are filled with ballast to hold them in place):

 

[NWGEAR]

Thanks all. Will try the adhesive option then ballast if they end up in the next field

@jfb no welding gear nor the experience and wouldn't want to wreck the water tightness

[scottishjohn]

to secure my 2 x30 tube solar thermal array on my garage roof i used 8" wide 1/2" plate and bolted them to that -makers required 100kgs to hold them down in storms --and these sat at 50degrees  --so were much taller than your PV will be

I just made sure I sat them on  DPC--just as well cos when iremocved them 16years later they were stuck to it -- but came off with no damage to flat roof felt-the DPC became part of the roof