I really appreciate ' Warts and all' truth. Makes me think more about any 'how to' job. Thank you Sam and all. And have a wonderful Christmas time. Be blessed with fortuitous abundance. 🥳💫🎄
Best part about your videos is the way you build, you're brilliant at building but do it the way us casual DIYOLOGYSTS build ( on the fly , multiple trips to the hardware centre ). Keep up the good work as the ideas are brewing 👍
I hope and pray that you and your precious family are all safe from the tornados last week. Please keep us posted. Love and prayers for all affected by the storms.
I have 30 year old solar panels mounted roughly the same way. I mounted 20 100 watt solar panels on pallets bolted together on their original roof mount rails missing the original mounts. So too did the bolt with washer works great.
My husband and I want to switch to solar and we will be watching together, to better prepare us for the task. It's a lesson learned, even if you learn from someone else's head scratchers!! Thanks for your knowledge!
Nice work Sam. I enjoy building something based an idea or a sketch. I like the fact that you showed some of the process of figuring it out. Looking forward to part three.
Our method of digging post holes is all manual - digging bar, post hole digger, clippers for small roots, saw or ax for slightly larger ones, sledgehammer if we can get at larger rocks, shift the hole if all else fails.
The BLUETTI is our limiting factor with what we want out of the system. There are changes coming soon since we'll be living in the camper temporarily until the home is done.
On the fly is my way of doing a lot of things. And always 2 -4 trips to the hardware store or auto parts store depending on the project at hand. Looking forward to seeing you "light it up".
Great frame. My only concern is when the lumber start to dry and shrink. You may want to loosen/retighten all the fender washer mounts every 2 months until it's stabilized.
Nothing wrong with planning as you go and finding out some things don't work. You learned a lot and watchers did also. Can't wait for the next part. Enjoy
Sam as a child of the Underwood typewriter era, I appreciate watching you do things with solar. I think once you move there, you would be kept busy with local farmers just setting up solar for them so they could save bundles on their energy costs. I wish you lived in northern WI because I would love to build something like that on my back patio so I had some backup electricity to run my furnace fan and other important things. My Mom lives with us. I always think about how frail she is getting and how difficullt a power outage in winter would be without a backup source. For those living with a well and septic, how wonderful it would be to have the pumps on both working if other power fails.
Awesome. I am so doing this for the 6 panels I have. The main reason I'm going to base my design off yours is because you have yours on "skids" and not sunk into the ground like most others. This TOTALLY gets around building codes in my area since it's a non-permanent structure (assuming anyone sees it in my back yard).
It might be advantageous to build the boys are jungle gym so the don't have to test the strength of your projects and also have fun. If you get to , a tea big tree house would be loved by your strong, boys. I've heard of them with rope pulleys for a basket of snacks. Love this family and all your projects.
Very similar to ours Sam good job. Thank you Angela for the wonderful soaps I love them , slighride was promptly stolen by my hubby (he won’t share big baby!) lol amazing sent I am and have given them as gifts 👍💞
Love, love- thank you for this series- solar is my long term dream. Thanks for explaining the washers- one thing about your channel, there are no dumb questions- free to ask & I was really wondering about those when you used them- and they make perfect sense. Eagerly waiting the next video. Thank you Sam & Angela.
Looking good. keep up the good work. I just want to take the time to wish you all from my family to yours Have A Merry Christmas and Have A Happy New Year, wishing you all the best, and hope that 2022 is better than 2021. Remember always be humble and kind.
Oh ! I love the rebar stakes , great idea, well worth waiting for hahaha. Projects evolve and you are managing each challenge nicely ! God bless you all.
That is brilliant. I was pissed when I saw that the metal racking cost as much as the panels. This is such a great solution. Fender washers to the rescue!
I was starting to watch my cat got interested in the noise. It was you screwing in the supports. She then watched the entire episode. Good show from Nicole and me. Lol Lol
Hope everything works out well, with wood not sure on how tight it all is on the panels how it will handle expansion/contraction....but I would not sweat it to much at this stage.
The only problem with alot of over hang is panel flex is really bad for the panel and causes the to not last nearly as long. I think you did great with the project
I don't like that overhang, Sam. Any substantial amount of wind will put a lot of pressure on the 'flying' ends of those expensive solar panels. A few more boards, even at today's prices, may be a good investment. I really enjoy your videos and understand that the things you do tend to work out very well.
the groove around the edge of the panels feels like its crying out for you to run some cord around it to anchor it back to the horizontal boards. Just a thought
Sam, you have a workshop. Couldn't you rip the 2X4s so that they would work like a tongue and groove on the solar panels? That would give stability in severe weather. Just a thought but what you did is excellent!
It's cool to watch the process. Thanks for explaining it along the way. So the washers will do the trick? Permanently? I thought the bracket [the right size, of course] looked much more sturdy. I'm just curious.
I would have turned the brackets upside down - reversed them. Then bolted the panels, but not sure that would have worked in the end. Looks good though.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. Where's Ang and the ferrel boys? 😂 I hope you all have a blessed Christmas; celebrating the birth of Jesus! Best wishes for a much better new year! We have to have hope. Big hugs! Big respect! Big love! ☮️💖🙏🇺🇸🇮🇱✝️🤣🤜🎄
That couldn't have been designed any better. Everything fit perfect. What do you have there? 400 watts worth of panels, or are those larger than 100 watts each?
? Do you intend to build a storm shelter of some kind since you live on mobile homes? I know there are some fema approved above ground tornado shelters you can do. The Kelley’s Country life channel built one after they had a tornado hit and Destroyed the camper trailer they were living in. Just want to keep y’all safe and I think it would be great content. 😊 love the channel thanks for the content.
We would LOVE to! Even before the latest storms in the US, we've wanted one here. They're surprisingly affordable as commercially available units... especially given the alternative cost to life. It's on our wish list!
Not sure but the solar mount clip looked like it could be screwed underneath the 2x4 and the upper part would slip over the solar panel. Looks good though. Interested in what you can run off those 4 panels.
This ought to be good up to about 50-60mph winds. After that... But the cost of racking is very high so it could still be economically worth it to do it this way. But I live in a hurricane area where I need 170mph rating and this is not going to work for me. YMMV!
I didn't think of that! You're right -- aluminum frames. This mount may be more temporary than we first thought (for good reasons) so I'll not make that mistake again. Hopefully they won't start reacting to each other in the next month or two?
This mount has been great, and still used to this day for our off grid camper setup. I've moved it twice; once with an ATV and winch, the other with an excavator and a strap. A support board broke on me with the second move but I was able to rebuild it (see our latest video: ua-cam.com/video/iemd0d1ZnNA/v-deo.html ). For just four panels I really have little to complain over. It's been sturdy and I've had no problems with the panels not being secure. For the long life of the mount I should have put the angle at our equinox angle and not the winter solstice that we had at the time of building. I thought I would have time to fix it before summer, but here we are past our summer solstice and I've not had time yet. :) I do have plans to build a new mount, but for the reason to mount more panels that we have. I'll NOT do a portable style for this next mount because I have the location I want it pinned down and it will use less material. Hope this helps! -Sam
As soon as we have the money saved up. Making these other videos helps to bring in money from our UA-cam channel which helps our savings. :) As it is right now, it may be around March 2022 for the house move.
If you like solar, check out our friend Seth's channel and his solar playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLTrfbWw_mKRLQhwP1v4x2OhteH3P-ecgt.html
I really appreciate ' Warts and all' truth. Makes me think more about any 'how to' job. Thank you Sam and all. And have a wonderful Christmas time. Be blessed with fortuitous abundance. 🥳💫🎄
Best part about your videos is the way you build, you're brilliant at building but do it the way us casual DIYOLOGYSTS build ( on the fly , multiple trips to the hardware centre ). Keep up the good work as the ideas are brewing 👍
That is way cool. You’re ahead of the game when it comes to solar.
I hope and pray that you and your precious family are all safe from the tornados last week. Please keep us posted. Love and prayers for all affected by the storms.
Very glad you're all safe. We rode out 100 plus mph winds today, crazy!
Super helpful, and this guy's really easy to listen to. Thank you
Sam, that is a very good looking solar stand, will try one in my backyard to power some lights outside....thanks
I’m to old to do this, but I love following your family!
You got it done. Can't wait until Part 3. Stay warm and stay safe. God bless.
Thank you so much for tonight . I almost missed you but stayed on to chat . thank you for that opportunity .
Glad to hear everyone’s safe and praying for those that have experienced this devastation!
I have 30 year old solar panels mounted roughly the same way. I mounted 20 100 watt solar panels on pallets bolted together on their original roof mount rails missing the original mounts. So too did the bolt with washer works great.
Wow, can't wait to see what & how you are going to do this.
Nice install of those washers don’t work out maybe come strips of 2x4s ripped down laying over the edge all the way across?
GREAT JOB SAM!! I AM GLAD Y'ALL ARE SAFE AND LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR NEXT VIDEO.
Great job installing your solars panels Sam
Live and learn, we have all been there. Blessings on you guys🙂
My husband and I want to switch to solar and we will be watching together, to better prepare us for the task. It's a lesson learned, even if you learn from someone else's head scratchers!! Thanks for your knowledge!
Brilliant work and thanks for sharing this with us take care
That was a clever idea looks nice and flush and secure. great job!
Nice work Sam. I enjoy building something based an idea or a sketch. I like the fact that you showed some of the process of figuring it out. Looking forward to part three.
Glad you liked it! I also like videos where I see someone working through their steps/thoughts. I find it gives me ideas of my own most times. :)
Glad you guys are safe!!
Our method of digging post holes is all manual - digging bar, post hole digger, clippers for small roots, saw or ax for slightly larger ones, sledgehammer if we can get at larger rocks, shift the hole if all else fails.
GREAT JOB!!! Solar is a new thing for me. Looking into power station nothing spent yet..
The BLUETTI is our limiting factor with what we want out of the system. There are changes coming soon since we'll be living in the camper temporarily until the home is done.
On the fly is my way of doing a lot of things. And always 2 -4 trips to the hardware store or auto parts store depending on the project at hand.
Looking forward to seeing you "light it up".
Great frame. My only concern is when the lumber start to dry and shrink. You may want to loosen/retighten all the fender washer mounts every 2 months until it's stabilized.
Love how it all turned out. Y'all are rocking it.
Nothing wrong with planning as you go and finding out some things don't work. You learned a lot and watchers did also. Can't wait for the next part. Enjoy
Love your work, and your honesty, more young men need to be more honest.......
Glad your family is ok and no damage. I saw your other video but I couldn't comment. Stay well and Stay Safe! Merry Christmas to your family!
Hi Sam & Angela,looks good Sam.Have a wonderful week ahead.👏😊👍
You did an excellent job!
Sam as a child of the Underwood typewriter era, I appreciate watching you do things with solar. I think once you move there, you would be kept busy with local farmers just setting up solar for them so they could save bundles on their energy costs. I wish you lived in northern WI because I would love to build something like that on my back patio so I had some backup electricity to run my furnace fan and other important things. My Mom lives with us. I always think about how frail she is getting and how difficullt a power outage in winter would be without a backup source. For those living with a well and septic, how wonderful it would be to have the pumps on both working if other power fails.
So enjoying your channel, learning too. All of you are doing such a great job. Solar panel is perfect!! What a family team. 🤗🤗
This setup turned out great!
Awesome. I am so doing this for the 6 panels I have. The main reason I'm going to base my design off yours is because you have yours on "skids" and not sunk into the ground like most others. This TOTALLY gets around building codes in my area since it's a non-permanent structure (assuming anyone sees it in my back yard).
It might be advantageous to build the boys are jungle gym so the don't have to test the strength of your projects and also have fun. If you get to , a tea big tree house would be loved by your strong, boys. I've heard of them with rope pulleys for a basket of snacks. Love this family and all your projects.
Merry Christmas to you and your family God bless you all
Good job Sam
Thanks Sam, new subscriber. You have showed me a practical solution for getting our panels up on a budget.
I hope you guys are okay. With the storms you had down there last week.
I am afraid your panels will take flight under 100 mph winds. Maybe more structure to support the solar panels. Stay safe and have Merry Christmas
Very similar to ours Sam good job. Thank you Angela for the wonderful soaps I love them , slighride was promptly stolen by my hubby (he won’t share big baby!) lol amazing sent I am and have given them as gifts 👍💞
You are so welcome!
🙌🙌 You guys are moving right along. 👍👍
Love, love- thank you for this series- solar is my long term dream. Thanks for explaining the washers- one thing about your channel, there are no dumb questions- free to ask & I was really wondering about those when you used them- and they make perfect sense. Eagerly waiting the next video. Thank you Sam & Angela.
Solar has also been a long term wish of ours! We've had these panels for about 2 years now and are so happy to finally be using them!
Looking great hopefully will provide enough electricity.
Glad you are all safe, awesome video 💕
Wow great job👍
Looking good. keep up the good work. I just want to take the time to wish you all from my family to yours Have A Merry Christmas and Have A Happy New Year, wishing you all the best, and hope that 2022 is better than 2021. Remember always be humble and kind.
Thank you! We hope the same for you and yours too!
Nice Job! Looks great!
Oh ! I love the rebar stakes , great idea, well worth waiting for hahaha. Projects evolve and you are managing each challenge nicely ! God bless you all.
Nice install....hugs
Good Morning 🌻🌻 Awesome 🥰🥰
Sam your just making it happen 👍🏻
Hope you all ok x
Great to see! Nice video.
I really like your project.
Thanks!!
Great video Sam
As long as things stay put all is right in the world.
I like the skids. Good idea.
I was thinking about doing the same thing can't wait to the next part 😳❤️
fantastic, man! thanks for sharing :)
That is brilliant. I was pissed when I saw that the metal racking cost as much as the panels. This is such a great solution. Fender washers to the rescue!
Happy to help! Also happy to report this rack mount is still working great to this day -- 2 years later!
I was starting to watch my cat got interested in the noise. It was you screwing in the supports. She then watched the entire episode. Good show from Nicole and me. Lol Lol
Hehe so cool! Glad kitty liked it!
Neatly done SAM
Im in Nash and getting into solar
Hope everything works out well, with wood not sure on how tight it all is on the panels how it will handle expansion/contraction....but I would not sweat it to much at this stage.
The only problem with alot of over hang is panel flex is really bad for the panel and causes the to not last nearly as long. I think you did great with the project
I don't like that overhang, Sam. Any substantial amount of wind will put a lot of pressure on the 'flying' ends of those expensive solar panels. A few more boards, even at today's prices, may be a good investment. I really enjoy your videos and understand that the things you do tend to work out very well.
It's a learning experience 😁
the groove around the edge of the panels feels like its crying out for you to run some cord around it to anchor it back to the horizontal boards. Just a thought
Sam, you have a workshop. Couldn't you rip the 2X4s so that they would work like a tongue and groove on the solar panels? That would give stability in severe weather. Just a thought but what you did is excellent!
Sam got ‘er done ✅
You had a few twists and turns there for a while, tho. I’m excited to see the next reveal !!
Solar panels don't do much in the dark do they....looking awesome Sam
It's cool to watch the process. Thanks for explaining it along the way. So the washers will do the trick? Permanently? I thought the bracket [the right size, of course] looked much more sturdy. I'm just curious.
I would go with 2 washers or a fat bolt washer
I would have turned the brackets upside down - reversed them. Then bolted the panels, but not sure that would have worked in the end. Looks good though.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Whatever.
Where's Ang and the ferrel boys? 😂
I hope you all have a blessed Christmas; celebrating the birth of Jesus! Best wishes for a much better new year!
We have to have hope.
Big hugs!
Big respect!
Big love!
☮️💖🙏🇺🇸🇮🇱✝️🤣🤜🎄
doing it on the cheap thats the way to go, did you set them at 45 degrees from FL
I think that your solar mount stability depends on the wind velocity.
In Tennessee everything has wings - I am thinking he may need concrete in time - but first things first.
That couldn't have been designed any better. Everything fit perfect.
What do you have there? 400 watts worth of panels, or are those larger than 100 watts each?
Tell those boys Aunt Leah said, don't be climbing on those solar panels 😉
If something doesn't work, fix it or change it. Flying by the seat of your pants. Looks like a great project done right. Thanks.
? Do you intend to build a storm shelter of some kind since you live on mobile homes? I know there are some fema approved above ground tornado shelters you can do. The Kelley’s Country life channel built one after they had a tornado hit and Destroyed the camper trailer they were living in. Just want to keep y’all safe and I think it would be great content. 😊 love the channel thanks for the content.
We would LOVE to! Even before the latest storms in the US, we've wanted one here. They're surprisingly affordable as commercially available units... especially given the alternative cost to life. It's on our wish list!
You go about building stuff like I do! That's not a compliment.🤣
Not sure but the solar mount clip looked like it could be screwed underneath the 2x4 and the upper part would slip over the solar panel. Looks good though. Interested in what you can run off those 4 panels.
I live in Ohio. The first 60 mph winds would put your stand flying across the field.
Even 30mph could possibly flip it, build a floor and load it up with blocks. And add bolts in the wood so it cant separate, or Simpson ties
Looks cool! How many panels total to stay off grid?? I bought the smaller Bluetti with two panels for emergencies.
Have you had any issues with warping?
This ought to be good up to about 50-60mph winds. After that... But the cost of racking is very high so it could still be economically worth it to do it this way. But I live in a hurricane area where I need 170mph rating and this is not going to work for me. YMMV!
Is there room for expansion and contraction?
Are your solar panels aluminum frame? If so, your stainless washers have the potential to cause galvanic corrosion, which could affect the aluminum.
I didn't think of that! You're right -- aluminum frames. This mount may be more temporary than we first thought (for good reasons) so I'll not make that mistake again. Hopefully they won't start reacting to each other in the next month or two?
@@sam-and-angela I think in your setup the corrosion will be very slow. The years scale, not the months scale. :-)
Adaptions probably how the guy who invented the wheel got it to work lol
Having had it for 7 months now, how do you like the mount? Anything you would change? I'm thinking of doing something similar. Thanks.
This mount has been great, and still used to this day for our off grid camper setup. I've moved it twice; once with an ATV and winch, the other with an excavator and a strap. A support board broke on me with the second move but I was able to rebuild it (see our latest video: ua-cam.com/video/iemd0d1ZnNA/v-deo.html ). For just four panels I really have little to complain over. It's been sturdy and I've had no problems with the panels not being secure. For the long life of the mount I should have put the angle at our equinox angle and not the winter solstice that we had at the time of building. I thought I would have time to fix it before summer, but here we are past our summer solstice and I've not had time yet. :) I do have plans to build a new mount, but for the reason to mount more panels that we have. I'll NOT do a portable style for this next mount because I have the location I want it pinned down and it will use less material. Hope this helps! -Sam
Find something to anchor better, with the angle it will act like a sail and fly in a storm.
Boys will be boys 😉. If you build it they will come and "check it out".
Sam's on his way to becoming a sunologist, I see.
Hahaha I dunno about that... :)
Totally mean, but I'll wait, pouting the whole time, lol 😾😂 You make me feel like I could do this SO much cheaper than hiring someone.
You might want to anker it down so it don’t blow over sir.
💁🏼♀️🌻
When will you actually move your home and move to Tennessee permanently?
As soon as we have the money saved up. Making these other videos helps to bring in money from our UA-cam channel which helps our savings. :) As it is right now, it may be around March 2022 for the house move.
I enjoy your videos so much. You have such a lovely family. Merry Christmas.🎄