Solar panel install prep work, Cougar Paws and more

brucewo1b

When I was a kid my neighbor who was a carpenter before retiring and in his eighties reshingled his roof with dress shoes and rubbers on his feet, said that was the only way to walk on roofs.

hr

6/12 roof pitch

isn't a cake walk for me anymore. So I just invested in a pair of Cougar Paw roof shoes. Incredible grip and no damage to warm asphalt roofs.

I used the Rems tools to limit the solder joints. Both the Curvo and expander tool saved me fittings and joints in the attic.

I used a steep pitch roof jack backwards to provide alevel tube to penetrate the roof with the copper and wire for the PV panel that powers the pump. A back rubber test cap will be used after the final install. The 45 merely keeps the rain at bay till the install.

I'll use a crane to lift the flat plate 4X8 panel next week. I have all the piping and mounting haedware ready for a quick lift and place.

As luck would have it the foundation crew left a spare concrete footer for the Vaughn Solar Tank (very heavy) to sit on

hot rod

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Dan Foley

Solar

Interesting job, HR. Keep us posted on the progress. Which panels are you using? I have had several architects contact me re: solar. Looks like it is time to expand my horizons. -DF

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Uni R_2

Jet Pack

Hey Hot Rod, I'm surprised you needed to use the cougars. I figured that you'd probably just whip up a jet pack with the Curvo tool! ;-)

What size is that Vaughn tank?

hr

Dan, check out

the Schuco system. A very nice, dare I say, German product.

Caleffi just sent this nice solar module my way. Has all the right components for plug and play. Except the 230V circ, which they are working on. Also a 12v DC.

hot rod

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hr

Uni, you bomber

That's a 65 gallon Vaughn, all 400 plus pounds of it. They also offer 80 and 120.

I like that they offer the tanks with an electric element on top for back up. Removable HX coil also.

hot rod

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Weezbo

That is a crafty looking Caleffi component...

is it listed on their U S site ?

the thought of cougar paws ...having laid thousands of squares my mind immediately superimposed the sprinters running shoes from back in the days of sharp needle like spikes and natural turf

[Deleted User]

Hr.....

I know the kid in you says Keep Going, but I hate to tell you this, and you're probably in LOT better physical shape than I am, but we (you and me and PAH and all us other hydronic geezers) are getting WAY to old to be dancing with cement lined storage tanks and hopping around like jackalopes on a roof. This is a job for the much younger and agile at heart.

I know, I know, some one has to show these kids how to do it, but it's a LOT safer to do it from the ground then it is from the air or behind a 2 wheel dollie.

A good friend of mine that did solar on a regular basis told me one time, as we were standing on top of a 3 story victorian in Boulder Colorado, remounting solar panels, "If you step off the roof, as soon as your eyes pass the gutter, you're FIRED!"

Work safely my friend, you don't heal nearly as fast as you used to.

ME

Dave Yates (GrandPAH)_1

Cat's Paws?

HR, where do you get them? Coulda used em yesterday(G). Our roof is a 36-degree pitch & I used our confined space entry harness yesterday while working. Tied myself off to my truck - figgured that even tho I'm not getting any thinner, I still can't drag a pick-up over the roof(G). Good thing too. While hammering nails to set the second roof jack, I slid and the rope/harness stopped my fall.

Nice rig on the back of the truck. Store bought or home made for lifting? Weight limits? Pictures??? Looks like a nice back saver.

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hr

www.cougarpaws.com

I called in an order and had them two days. Very nice.

The truck crane is an Auto-Crane I believe. Picked it up used and added the hydraulic cylinder. Lifts about 1000 lbs. Nice for cast boilers.

hot rod

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Constantin

Very nice!

Those soles remind me of the climbing shoes I have. Very sticky, yet hard around the edges so you can hold onto small cracks and crevices.

Looks like a lot of good prep work and my back hurts just thinking about how you got the Vaughn up on that pedestal. I hope you had a ramp?

Great job as always, can't wait to see the finsihed product too!

jp_2

REMS hand bender?

hot rod, have you ever run across a hand bender like the REMS you have? I've looked for one but haven't run accross anything.
thanks