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Home > Archive > Alternative Power sources > November 2005 > Recent experience with Wattsun or Zome trackers
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Recent experience with Wattsun or Zome trackers
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| sparky 2005-11-15, 1:21 am |
| Anyone want to advise or rant on about any tracker that can be bought
commercially.
No kits or homebrew please as this is going to happen soon.
Thanx!
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"sparky" <astraea41@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1132030344.973797.254180@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> Anyone want to advise or rant on about any tracker that can be bought
> commercially.
> No kits or homebrew please as this is going to happen soon.
>
> Thanx!
tracker is less important than the structure that it is moving. A good sound
structure and easy pivoting bearings that will hold up to your weight and
environment are numbers 1 and 2 on my list. When I used the zome works
tracker , home made at the time I screw up with the structure. I failed to
all for changes in the angle. I pointed it at the winter angle and was done.
I always thought there should have been allowances in the angle.
Been years ago when I did this, and mine used R-11 freon. Like that would
happen today.
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| Flying_Banana 2005-11-17, 10:21 am |
| Sparky,
Need for tracker depends on where you live. If in AZ, then it would be
cost effective, as the sun tracks a wide arc through the sky. If in N.
Michigan (like us) it pays instead to invest in additional panels, as
the sun tracks a low arc.
We have the Zomeworks tilting mount. Doesn't track, but allows us to
change the angle, very easily--1 minute--for the seasons. Plus if you
live in a place with significant snow, it does accumulate on the
panels, to avoid this we tilt ours vertical for Dec. through Feb.
sparky wrote:
> Anyone want to advise or rant on about any tracker that can be bought
> commercially.
> No kits or homebrew please as this is going to happen soon.
>
> Thanx!
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| sparky 2005-11-17, 10:21 pm |
| Still hoping someone will respond to the question. What recent
experience do you have with a commercially available tracker?
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| Derek Broughton 2005-11-18, 10:21 am |
| sparky wrote:
> Still hoping someone will respond to the question. What recent
> experience do you have with a commercially available tracker?
If nobody responds, it's usually because nobody _can_ respond. I've seen
nothing to indicate that money spent on a tracker, in my area, would not be
better spent on more panels. Static panels are practically maintenance
free (I change the angle of mine, Spring & Fall). Trackers aren't -
especially if you expect snow & ice.
--
derek
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| The older Watsuns were prone to wearing out their gears (I don't know
how the new ones are) and the Zomeworks can be a problem in high wind
areas.
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| On Fri, 18 Nov 2005 09:13:51 -0400, Derek Broughton
<news@pointerstop.ca> wrote:
>sparky wrote:
>
>
>If nobody responds, it's usually because nobody _can_ respond.
3 Wattsun trackers here, 2 single-axis for 10 years, 1-two axis for
about 3 years. Overall very pleased. Minor problems with older
controllers some years back. Factory repair costs were very
reasonable. Worst case - buy a spare controller to have in stock. The
motor drive, limit switches, bushings, etc. all seem to be
bulletproof. The controller can optionally turn the array full east at
sunset (no delay in AM). An extra small wire from battery to array may
be needed for that.
> I've seen
>nothing to indicate that money spent on a tracker, in my area, would not be
>better spent on more panels.
Perhaps you haven't seen this site yet
http://www.redrok.com/electron.htm#led4 About halfway down the page
are some numbers for Minnesota.
> Static panels are practically maintenance
>free (I change the angle of mine, Spring & Fall). Trackers aren't -
>especially if you expect snow & ice.
Commercially available tracker mechanisms are protected from both snow
and ice. Add a rubber gator to linear actuators on home-built
versions.
The combination of tracked-solar and wind power is cool. It's as close
to hydropower as most off-gridders can get.
Wayne
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| Solar Flare 2005-11-18, 11:21 pm |
| I cannot understand people mounting their 6 to 10
panels on a single pivot point if you have any wind in
your area. Cripes! people had their old 8 foot dishes
made out of porous screen and still had to recalibrate
the dish mechanism after wind storms. How would a
solid, massive, solar panel sail stand up to this? My
solar panels are more valuable than that and the many
cu metres of concrete needed to anchor them is another
consideration.
Static solar panels are still cheaper and simpler in
the long run even if you never adjust them. No moving
parts.
"Jake" <ki0oe@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1132335236.687444.183670@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> The older Watsuns were prone to wearing out their
gears (I don't know
> how the new ones are) and the Zomeworks can be a
problem in high wind
> areas.
>
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| wmbjk 2005-11-19, 11:21 am |
| On Fri, 18 Nov 2005 22:05:03 -0500, " Solar Flare"
<s.flare@hotmail.invalid> wrote:
>I cannot understand people mounting their 6 to 10
>panels on a single pivot point if you have any wind in
>your area.
Key phrase: "cannot understand". Pole-mounted arrays, whether fixed or
tracking, have both a pivot point and an elevation attachment. Gymmy
Bob, do you imagine that trackers blow away? How do you explain the
presence of trackers on the same sites as wind turbines? BTW, there
are nice trackers available that accommodate over 2000W. Here's one
http://www.wattsun.com/products/wat...rs/AZ-225.html.
>Cripes! people had their old 8 foot dishes
>made out of porous screen and still had to recalibrate
>the dish mechanism after wind storms.
I've had 3 different 10ft BUDs over 25 years. Installed properly they
do just fine in high winds. In fact, the motor-drive mechanism on two
of our trackers is the same one (AJack) used on our current dish,
which was about 10 years old when we bought it, and still working well
10 years later.
> How would a
>solid, massive, solar panel sail stand up to this?
The same way road signs stand up or airplane wings stay on. For
instance, the wing on this 200+ mph aircraft
http://www.glasairaviation.com/glasairSIIspecs.html is attached to the
fuselage with (2) 3/8" bolts and (2) 1/4" bolts. Note the +9/-6 G
limits.
> My
>solar panels are more valuable than that and the many
>cu metres of concrete needed to anchor them is another
>consideration.
How "many" cubic meters of concrete does it take to hold up a tracker?
How about a large one, with an 8" diameter pole set in 3' diameter
concrete 6' deep. About 1.2 cubic meters nitwit. Smaller models like
my own are closer to one-half of a cubic meter.
>Static solar panels are still cheaper and simpler in
>the long run even if you never adjust them.
Wrong. Store-bought tracking pays on larger arrays based on total
output alone. The decrease for most in battery discharge hours is a
bonus. Home-built tracking can pay even on small arrays.
http://www.redrok.com/electron.htm#led4
Wayne
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| sparky 2005-11-19, 12:21 pm |
| There was some usefull info here. Wow ! Thanks Wayne !
I gather the Zome models do not track back east until after sunup or
have they fixed that?
The closest I have ever come to a fixed array is a 340 watt array with
10" tires........Sparky
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| On 19 Nov 2005 07:45:54 -0800, "sparky" <astraea41@aol.com> wrote:
>There was some usefull info here. Wow ! Thanks Wayne !
> I gather the Zome models do not track back east until after sunup or
>have they fixed that?
I don't have any experience with them, but there wouldn't seem to be
any way they could move east until after sun up. Here's an article
which includes comments typical of what I've read
http://www.hollowtop.com/cls_html/solar_power.htm. There's also no
elevation tracking available AFAIK. A friend has had a large one on a
remote ranch for about a year. The only time I saw it was on an
overcast day, and it was definitely pointed the wrong way. He's seldom
at that ranch at sunup, but he reports that whenever he's been there
and it was sunny, that the tracker was oriented correctly.
I prefer the Wattsun in concept. If you go that way, you might
consider the manual override switch option. Very handy if you want to
position the array vertical for snow removal, or out of the sun for
cleaning. The stock controller includes DIP switches for manual
override, but you have to take the cover off to access them. If you
don't want to pay the factory's price for the option, adding external
switches yourself should be easy for somebody named sparky. ;-) The
switches would need to be protected from kids.
>The closest I have ever come to a fixed array is a 340 watt array with
>10" tires........Sparky
A neighbor has three arrays on tracking mounts (converted BUD
mechanisms), but none have automatic controls. He adjusts them a
couple of times a day. He's going to automate though... with video
cameras and remote switching from his bunker. ;-)
Wayne
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