How's It going, my name's Brent Hillton and I'm with Wholesale Solar in Mount Shasta California
I want to take some time today to make a video on the Iron Ridge ground mount
This is our go to solution
that we send for ground-mounted solar systems to customers nationwide
being that 98 percent of those customers are do-it-yourselfers,
It was really important for us to find a solution
that was not only high quality but fully engineered for permitting
and easy enough for the typical do-it-yourselfer to install without
using a contractor
I'm going to start by giving you a visual of all the various components in the system
then i'm going to take you behind the scenes on my ground mount right here and show you exactly
where these components are integrated into the structure
this is the Iron Ridge Top-gap this is the device that sits on top your vertical
pipe coming out of the ground
this supports the horizontal pipe running east and west
the U bolts that I'm holding in my hand right here
are going to bolt down on top of the horizontal pipe
is to be fitted for two-inch or three-inch galvanize
schedule 40 steel. You'll begin to notice on the back side of the top gap right here
there's two set screws
you just take these and torque them down to the appropriate values and now it's
going to hold the clamps
in place on the vertical pipe. The next thing I want to show you is the XR 1000 Rail
that I'm holding right here
also the rail connector bracket amounts to the side extrusion
This is a simple nut and bolt assembly
This can slide up and down the rail wherever you need it to be
Also comes with a two-inch
or three-inch galvanized U-bolt to attach to the horizontal pipe
here we have the mid clamp you'll see that this is a threaded T-bolt here
we've got a metal plate that goes in-between module frames
and we've got a note the top
this is the device that goes in between solar panels and secures them to the XR 1000 rail
you can see them lined up right here each mid clamp is securing two panels side by side
with a small quarter inch gap in between the module frames.
This is the end-clamp, this is the device that secures the outermost edges of your solar panels to the rail
so the bottom of the array and the top of the array. You can see we have a simple bracket here
with a nut and bolt that's going to secure the panel to the rail
you can see right now that the bottom edge of this array
You've got your end-clamps securing the modules to the rails
this is the Weeb DMC, this is the device that grounds the solar panel frame to the rail.
So you definitely want to make sure you get these on the mid clamps
you've got a hole right here in the center
so you can slide it onto the threaded T-bolt of your mid clamp
you notice the sharp circles here in each corner
when you torque down the mid clamps those are goning to bite into the solar panel frame as well as the rail
properly grounding the solar panel to the rail. Here we are looking at the under side of the solar panel frame
and the top of the XR1000 rail it's kinda hard to see
but right in between the rail and the module frames is the Weeb DMC we were looking at earlier
notice that this panel frame is sitting on this side of the Weeb and this panel frame
sitting on that side of the Weeb which crowns this module
and this module, meaning the next mid-clamps up
don't need the Weeb clamp because this module is already grounded
down here with this Weeb. We're gonna wait untill we get up here
for our last row of mid-clamps and use the Weebs again for
this module and this module. This will vary a little bit depending on if you have columns of three
columns of four or columns of five. The next thing I want to discuss is the grounding lug
you're gonna put one of these grounding lugs on a tip each XR1000 rail
you notice a channel here that is designed for a number six bare copper wire
that you can run through and sinch it down with this bolt here
and this is going to allow you to complete your equipment ground
for the system. Up above you'll notice a bare copper wire
spanning across each row. The ground line is secured in the top extrusion of each rail
and the channel on the lug holds the number six bare copper wire
you can put these along the top side of your array or along the bottom
it's totally up to you. The other thing when we have it up here is the end cap.
Pretty simple, keeps the end of the rail nice and clean and keeps the bugs out
I recommend using a rubber mallet; just give it a light tap and those things are going to lock right on there
now we've taken a look at the various components of the ground mount system
let's get up close and see exactly where they're located on the ground
alright so let's take a look we got the XR 1000 rail right here
real connector bracket, three-inch U-bolt,
horizontal three-inch pipe, vertical three-inch pipe
and ridge top cap right here two set screws in the back
two U-bolts right here securing the horrizontal pipe
you're going replicate this same thing on your northern peirs in the back
as you can see the peirs in the back are going to be much taller this is what sets your tilt angle
your technician at Wholesale Solar will design the system based on your location and your power requirements
we can adjust the tilt angle from the flush mount all the way up to 45 degrees
you'll see we just replicated the same thing that we did in the front
top caps, real connector brackets,
same thing on every peir going down. Just to the right of the rail connector bracket right here,
you'll see the 3-inch coupler I've used to connect two pieces of pipe
and allow me to keep extending right on out to the edge the array
where the horizontal stopped. The steel pipe that you're gonna put in the ground is something that you source locally.
We're going to send you a detailed project report that shows you exactly how many lineal feet
of pipe you're going to need for your installation. On the project report you're going to notice an AGL Length;
that stands for Above Grade Length and that's what sets the tilt angle of your system
for instance, our southern most piers are about two feet out of the ground
our northern peirs here
are a little over six feet out of the ground and have achieved right around a 25 degree tilt on this particular ground mount
something I want to point out real quick, if you ordered a system that uses DC optimizers or micro inverters
be sure to mount those to the top extrusion of the rail before placing the solar panels on them
thanks for joining me, I hope you found the video informative,
I hope you have a better understanding of how the Iron Ridge Ground Mount system works
if you have any questions at all give us a call at Wholesale Solar
we're happy to answer any questions you have and make sure you have everything you need for a successful ground mount installation!