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As much as I've tried to support the local guys doing installations I have failed miserably. I have tried 6 installers and I've either had no response or an initial response and then silence. The one even chided me for buying the equipment directly from his wholesaler and 'cutting' him out, something that is not possible as the wholesaler does not sell directly to the public. In any case, even if it was true that I could buy directly and cut him out what is wrong with me trying to get the best value for my money. How is he entitled to my support? It's proven to be one of the most frustrating things I've ever had to do and something I'm struggling to understand. 

I am now seriously considering going the DIY route. I have all the mounting hardware but I will still need a combiner box, solar cable, connectors and trunking. I have read the Renusol mounting instructions and watched the instructional videos as well. I do have some skills although being a mountain goat armed with power tools is not one of them. 

Has anyone here done a DIY panel installation without any previous experience?  Am I perhaps biting off more than I can chew? If so can someone please point me to an installer that operates in the Midrand area that will take calls and follow up with quotations and not be offended by me having bought the equipment through another reseller and......? 

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33 minutes ago, VisN said:

I do have some skills although being a mountain goat armed with power tools is not one of them. 

Mine neither, but I have managed to get over 50 panels up there. ( Me being on ground level).

The difference is that with a contractor, you can let them at it, but using your own labour requires a constant supervising eye.

I wouldn't do it any other way now. (Caveat: I haven't tackled all the roof types I have yet, but I am fairly confident).

I am sure whatever roof you have there will be a host of "how to" youtube videos, and mock ups can be tested and training done on the ground beforehand.

You can also test your panel layout, and your proposed wiring routes on the ground.

Pay attention to the safety precautions taken by the pros.

Once the panels are up, and you've brought the cables down, then you are no longer at the installers' mercy.

 

 

 

Edited by phil.g00
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1 hour ago, VisN said:

As much as I've tried to support the local guys doing installations I have failed miserably. I have tried 6 installers and I've either had no response or an initial response and then silence. The one even chided me for buying the equipment directly from his wholesaler and 'cutting' him out, something that is not possible as the wholesaler does not sell directly to the public. In any case, even if it was true that I could buy directly and cut him out what is wrong with me trying to get the best value for my money. How is he entitled to my support? It's proven to be one of the most frustrating things I've ever had to do and something I'm struggling to understand. 

I am now seriously considering going the DIY route. I have all the mounting hardware but I will still need a combiner box, solar cable, connectors and trunking. I have read the Renusol mounting instructions and watched the instructional videos as well. I do have some skills although being a mountain goat armed with power tools is not one of them. 

Has anyone here done a DIY panel installation without any previous experience?  Am I perhaps biting off more than I can chew? If so can someone please point me to an installer that operates in the Midrand area that will take calls and follow up with quotations and not be offended by me having bought the equipment through another reseller and......? 

I did my own install 2 years ago using Google as my guide... and touch wood.....no problems. 

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Hi @VisN

it's not that complicated, you can do it yourself for sure. I would just ask a friend or a family member for an assistance. Technically, you can do it single-handed, but it will go slowly and there's a bigger risk of falling down off the ladder/roof as you will be jumping around, reaching for tools, etc.

BTW, the Renusol guide, that you've mentioned, is quite good. Just check all the common mistakes first and you're safe. https://www.renusol.com/fileadmin/downloads/montageanleitungen/vsplus/VarioSole.pdf

Once the construction is fixed, mounting the panels is a breeze. Standard size panels 1 x 1.6m are still okay to be mounted single-handed. Taller, 1 x 2m panels, are much more challenging...

A pic from my install:
- Since I had no buddy to help me, I hired a contractor to mount the construction for me. The most difficult part for him was to grab an angle-grinder and modify all the roof-tiles that were over the hooks. Otherwise the top tiles would not sit back.
- Couple of days ago, a friend of mine helped me with getting the first 18 panels on top. Remaining 54 panels I was able to finish myself.

image.png.ded1402247748a9699870fb546148255.png

So, If you have a good buddy, you can do it, even if it's 1000 panels :)

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  • 1 month later...

The easiest way is, to just make a groove in the lower part of the tile, using angle grinder. Since tiles overlap quite a bit, there's no chance of water getting in:

image.png.95d91c9562f850022b56f73ff1068cc9.png

There are industrial solutions available, like special tiles etc., but for me a couple of these grooves worked just fine.

Edited by Youda
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Definitely simple to do if mounting smaller (under 200w) panels. Larger (300w and bigger) quite a lot more challenging. Especially on a windy day! 

My very first install was 8 x 150w panels, and I was very nervous. As the job progressed, I saw how easy it is. There is hardly any skill involved. This install I did by myself with no help.

My second install was 4 x 305w panels, and it was windy. That time I needed help to get the heavy panels onto the roof. That was the biggest chore, but once they were up the ladder and on the roof, I mounted them to the rails alone. 

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On 2019/06/20 at 12:10 PM, Lionheart said:

solar cable through the tiles?

If you don't want to do the groove in the tile thing, you do get a kind of rubber boot or pipe-boot. For example, ol' Dave EEVBLOG Jones have a nice example here.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello,

I pretty much had the same crap. I eventually just did it myself and paid the place I bought it all from (reseller) to have a peek before it went on. Cost me a few hundred, thats it.

Goodwe Inverter, 12x Panels on Tiled roof, Pylontech battery. All pretty trunking(non shared), correct isolators and breakers where required.

 

It is absolutely insane how idiotic some of these bakkei brigade guys are, I have had 3 tell me to not bother with GoodWe, Fronius or Victron as Their preferred brand (Axpert) is way better.  So much so that I found one of them on this very forum asking what the error codes mean. 

As soon as the water costs go up those guys will take off the solar installer stickers and put on plumbing services ones. 🙂 

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On 2019/06/20 at 5:29 PM, Youda said:

The easiest way is, to just make a groove in the lower part of the tile, using angle grinder. Since tiles overlap quite a bit, there's no chance of water getting in:

image.png.95d91c9562f850022b56f73ff1068cc9.png

There are industrial solutions available, like special tiles etc., but for me a couple of these grooves worked just fine.

As I pointed out on another thread, salvage places have mountains of used roof tiles, so you can find matching ones, drill or cut or whatever is required, and then just swap out the tiles on the roof.

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10 hours ago, vethomas said:

It is absolutely insane how idiotic some of these bakkei brigade guys are, I have had 3 tell me to not bother with GoodWe, Fronius or Victron as Their preferred brand (Axpert) is way better.  So much so that I found one of them on this very forum asking what the error codes mean. 

Over the last 5 years (or so) we've had that discussion numerous times. I've said many times that the Voltronic is extraordinary value for the money -- because of how little they cost -- but that is roughly where it ends. There are no firmware upgrades, no official support, only a 2-year warranty, and so forth. When you start looking at those things, you cannot discuss the European brands (certainly not Fronius!) in the same room.

I think what I find disappointing about Goodwe is that it seems they too suffer from a lack of good local support. It seems like a good product, and price-wise it is much closer to the others.

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@VisN

You can do it!  All you need is :

1) bit of patience.., don't rush things.

2) Help from a buddy's.... mostly to hold/assist when you measure/drill/fasten/align etc. Get into contact with other DIY'ers in your area.

3) At bit of tools. A Drill/Grinder pref. cordless with a spare battery! or a long extension cord. My old (12V) Ryobi cordless's drill has gone through 3 set of batteries, so i just soldered 3m DC wire from the drill DC contacts to a small 12V Motorcycle battery I had handy from my ride-on lawnmover. Last the whole day. Long Tape measure 10/20m? I have a 50.

4) Depending on you roof construction, start assembling all the things you need. I don't know the specifics of each item's name, but Googling will tell you/show you what rails, brackets and fasteners you need.

5) A head for highs!! Especially near edges. Get that safety harness and use it.

6) Take measurement of roof first

7) On paper, draw plans to see what orientation (of the solar panel) is best for your roof. Today's modern tile roof's with lots of valleys, nooks and crammys are not conducive for solar panels. I always look at roof construction, type and most important, orientation if and when I need to acquire a new property. Also do the cabling layout of your strings, so you know howto orientate each panel, and so not having to redo everything.

8 ) Access to good scaffolding is preferable, specially when carrying a 2m x 1m panel alone up a rickety ladder on a double story building in the wind is not my idea of fun.

9) Start with the upper most located panels first, so you don't have to climb "over" panels to install the next row.

10) When any of the above fail, the go back to item 1😜

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14 hours ago, plonkster said:

Over the last 5 years (or so) we've had that discussion numerous times. I've said many times that the Voltronic is extraordinary value for the money -- because of how little they cost -- but that is roughly where it ends. There are no firmware upgrades, no official support, only a 2-year warranty, and so forth. When you start looking at those things, you cannot discuss the European brands (certainly not Fronius!) in the same room.

I think what I find disappointing about Goodwe is that it seems they too suffer from a lack of good local support. It seems like a good product, and price-wise it is much closer to the others.

Hi,

 

 

I did not mean to offend or flame, was just stating what I have been through. I am assuming that its also easier to get your hands on that brand compared to the rest of the stuff.

If it is any consolation I have experienced the same with Gasy geysers. Ask for a Rinnai, Bosch or Paloma and get swung a Atlas thats R3k cheaper online. Asked for a closed combustion fireplace, get quoted on a megamaster cast iron thing with 60% efficiency.

It is just something that happens, mega frustrating. The buzz word of the year is definitely where it is the worst. 

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8 hours ago, vethomas said:

did not mean to offend or flame

Oh, neither did I. Some people do get terribly upset about the comparison, but I think I've been quite accurate in my criticism over the years 🙂 I do this sort of thing myself: I buy lots of Ryobi tools precisely because they are good enough for the purpose and cheap 🙂

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9 hours ago, vethomas said:

Hi,

 

 

I did not mean to offend or flame, was just stating what I have been through. I am assuming that its also easier to get your hands on that brand compared to the rest of the stuff.

If it is any consolation I have experienced the same with Gasy geysers. Ask for a Rinnai, Bosch or Paloma and get swung a Atlas thats R3k cheaper online. Asked for a closed combustion fireplace, get quoted on a megamaster cast iron thing with 60% efficiency.

It is just something that happens, mega frustrating. The buzz word of the year is definitely where it is the worst. 

 

1 hour ago, plonkster said:

Oh, neither did I. Some people do get terribly upset about the comparison, but I think I've been quite accurate in my criticism over the years 🙂 I do this sort of thing myself: I buy lots of Ryobi tools precisely because they are good enough for the purpose and cheap 🙂

@vethomas don't stress about it, both you hit the nail on the head, because some of this installers don't even tell you that they actually selling you a CLONE inverter because they don't even know that they selling a clone and then if you want to contact them if something go's wrong, then they missing in action.   

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