Quote:
Originally Posted by fairweatherfisherman
Any guess as to how much that setup would weigh?
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I wish I had asked the builder about weight - but I didn't. So here is how I would SWAG it.
Assume that the inner tray is 6 feet X 6 feet. That is 24 feet in circumference. If I build the inner tray using 1 x 1 x 1/8 aluminum right-angle stock, the aluminum angle weighs about 1/4 pound per linear foot, and 24 feet of angle stock weighs about 6 pounds.
Now double that number, to account for cross-braces, struts, nuts, bolts, etc.
The finished inner tray is expected to weigh about 12 pounds.
Assume that the outer tray weighs about the same as the inner tray. Add maybe 5 pounds for the wood wrap. The total weight of the two trays is about 30 pounds.
Bruce tells us that the panels weigh about 20 pounds per 100 watts. The builder installed 360 watts of panels, so they weigh about 72 pounds.
Conclusion: Total weight for the entire thing is expected to be around 100 pounds.
Most of the weight is in the solar panels. They dominate the overall weight. The trays contribute relatively little.
You might choose to beef up the trays by increasing some of the pieces to 3/16" thick aluminum angle, or even 1 x 1 x 1/8 aluminum U-channel. They will be stronger, and the weight of the trays might increase from 25 pounds to 40 pounds. Quite reasonable.
Just my WAG, very loosey-goosey. Anyone want to suggest different numbers?
Bill