Installing a solar array - it's all about the pole (and mounting rails, trenching, conduit, and wiring)

Who knew that digging a six foot deep hole 30 inches wide would be so difficult?  That is the precise depth and diameter needed for the proper installation of the 12 foot, 6 inch diameter, 200 lb steel pole which ultimately will hold the panels.  

We were hoping we could hire out this particular job - apparently a bobcat with the proper auger can do the job, but we were unable to find such a person/machine for hire.  In the end Husband tackled this job with a shovel and got the job done in only three days (soaking the ground at night so that it was easier to work in the morning)!  

Of course as he dug down the width became larger than 30".  Since the hole with the pole would be full of cement, any additional width meant additional bags of concrete (which I was NOT looking forward to).  He became a man on a mission and made a number of phone calls to find a construction company that sold concrete forms that would allow us the exact dimensions to fill with concrete.  One day he left really early in the morning and drove to and from Flagstaff to pick up the form.  We were pleased to see the form fit perfectly in the hole.

Thankfully between the time Husband started digging the hole and the time he finished it we purchased a tractor - one of the first jobs it helped us with was lifting the 200 lb pole into the hole.

The pole needed paint and we also added a rebar cage around it inside the form for added stability.

Next we built a frame around the top to hold the pole in place while adding concrete.

Next came my least favorite part - mixing and pouring 1 yard of concrete (that is 60, 60lb bags)  The pallet of bags looks like this.

This is a grueling and horrible job.  Our mixer could mix two bags at a time.  Thankfully Brother was very helpful filling buckets of water to add to the mixer.  Husband and I took turns lifting and pouring bags all morning until my back quit on me.  I couldn't lift another bag when there were about 4 left.  I know Husband felt the same, but he was able to lift the last bags to finish the job.  We used the flatbed trailer as a prop for the metal slide - it actually worked really well in terms of the layout/logistics.

Despite the challenges we were able to mix and pour all 60 bags in one morning.

So, that whole event including digging the hole, purchasing and installing the form and pole, purchasing and picking up a pallet of concrete and pouring the concrete took a week (working every day).

Next we installed the gimble and the mounting rails.  Again the tractor was a great help because the "strongback" was heavy and had to be lifted above our heads and held in the exact position to install the hardware.

The rails were easy to add once the main support was in place.

I suppose the next step is obvious - put up the panels!

After that came another hard job - we rented a trencher from Home Depot so we could bury the lines.  That machine is really heavy and you have to pull back on it when it is working - I think it was faster than digging, but it was still work.  We tied a rope between the two points to ensure we stayed on the path.

Finally, we ran all of the electrical wire in conduit and grounding wire.  We had previously pounded in grounding rods (8 foot long copper poles).  One of the grounding poles is pounded in near the base of the pole. We had planned all needed wire and conduit - it is so good to see all of the supplies we collected be put into place!

 

Putting wires in conduit is a bit of a time consuming project. It's best to lay everything out on the ground get all the wires through, then cement the conduit together before dropping it into the trench.  Finally - the wires are connected to the combiner box!  This brings the power into the building and into the components I previously mentioned.  These steps took us about 1 and a half weeks to complete.

SO....these productive weeks have brought us to the point of having power connected to the batteries.  In my next post I will delve into our plumbing and our DC delivery pump.  It is really a dream come true to see this all coming together!