Considering scaffold tubes for a ground mount.... thoughts?

[Roger440]

On 14/03/2026 at 10:11, Bramco said:

 

In true Blue Peter fashion - here's one we did earlier...

 

 

Ours was all done with standard key clamp bits and some solar panel clamps.  Can't remember who we used for the poles and clamps but we did work out how many of each length of pole we needed, so they were delivered ready to start construction.

 

The poles in the earth are 1m long, whacked in by our builder for a flat pack of beer...

 

EDIT - should have added that we set the panels at 45 degrees to maximise winter output rather than the 35 degrees that PVGIS suggested. The actual annual total for 45 degrees was only just under the PVGIS 'optimum' but output was shifted away from the summer towards the winter.

 

 

 

Excellent! Thanks for that.

 

Might have to copy that. Though with 22 panels, could still get expensive!

[Roger440]

9 hours ago, sgt_woulds said:

Fair enough 🙂

 

Our customer was an Econutter who was eeking out every last watt.  Eventually, even he only adjusted his array twice a year.  End of October and end of April from memory.

 

In the first year he changed it daily; his panels faced slightly east of East of South, if he laid them back in the late afternoon he captured a few more rays before the sun set. 

Like I said, 'Econutter'.  You can afford to play if you are retired I guess!

 

These days an automated single axis tracker would be easy to set up, though

 

I did come up with a mad idea to pivot all 22 panels and then join together using car track rod ends ( i can get the really cheap). Thats probably the easy bit. Walking down to the array several times a day to adjust would wear thin rather quickly, so automation would be requitred. That gets complicated and involves electronics, so a non starter sadly.

 

I think i will adopt the johnmo approach!

 

[JohnMo]

1 hour ago, Roger440 said:

 

I did come up with a mad idea to pivot all 22 panels and then join together using car track rod ends ( i can get the really cheap). Thats probably the easy bit. Walking down to the array several times a day to adjust would wear thin rather quickly, so automation would be requitred. That gets complicated and involves electronics, so a non starter sadly.

 

I think i will adopt the johnmo approach!

 

You just need to keep simple, otherwise you will procrastinate and never get any generation up and running.

[Bramco]

12 hours ago, Roger440 said:

Might have to copy that. Though with 22 panels, could still get expensive!

Our key clamp order was about a grand including VAT 3 years ago. VAT should be reclaimable if the solar is part of the build - we had to get planning permission as it's in the Green Belt, so we got it back (iirc!).  Ours is 12 panels.

 

We ordered some key clamp stuff last year for another job - it was interesting that they were all stamped UAE - so all of  that stuff could well be going up soon, or not even available.

[Bramco]

20 hours ago, TedM said:

I'm going to try and copy that if you don't mind!

 

Ha! I copied it from a plan I found on the Interweb for a kit you could buy!  I searched a few days ago to see if I still had the pdf but couldn't find it.  Should be pretty easy to create a plan from the photo I posted though.

 

We used bits like below to fasten the panel clips to, you can probably see from the photo if you zoom in.  Think we bought the panel clips from somewhere like Midsummer Solar - but there's probably plenty of options on ebay.   Give me a shout if you want any more info.

 

One of the advantages of key clamp for this is that most of the suppliers have a free cutting service, so it all turns up ready to put together.  If you've never used them before, then it's best not to tighten things up too tight to start with, then adjust to get it all lined up properly and then tighten the screws up.

 

Have fun.

 

Edited 13 hours ago by Bramco

[Crofter]

I've always just drilled holes in the back on the panel frame and used u-bolts to attach panels to frames.

 

For automatic tilting, I imagine you could set something up using a length of threaded rod and a windscreen wiper motor. Would be a fun project!