Adjustable brackets for panels

[ermracing]

I know some of you have made your own tilting setups for solar panels. If we didn't want to go that route and buy something off the shelf, the ones I've seen all say they are for 100w panels:

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Adjust...s%2C156&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-So...s%2C156&sr=8-4

The question I have is, has anyone used these for a large panel? We have 170w panels. Assuming they fit width and depth-wise, would they be okay to use?

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by ermracing

I know some of you have made your own tilting setups for solar panels. If we didn't want to go that route and buy something off the shelf, the ones I've seen all say they are for 100w panels:

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Adjust...s%2C156&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-So...s%2C156&sr=8-4

The question I have is, has anyone used these for a large panel? We have 170w panels. Assuming they fit width and depth-wise, would they be okay to use?

They are universal brackets. They bolt onto the edge of the panel, doesn't matter the size of the panel. Width is determined by the panel,

[Iceni John]

Whatever you buy, you'll probably still need to modify it anyway; ready-made brackets are not designed for bus roofs! And if you're going to need to modify them, why not just make them from scratch - it ain't rocket surgery.

For my eight 255W panels I made a support frame for each one (this prevents any bending or flexing loads being put into the panels themselves, something that could break their glass if bad enough), and hinged their inner edges to a walkway built between the two roof hatches. This way they can either sit down against the roof for travel at 21 degrees below horizontal, or be raised to 21, 33 or 45 degrees up depending on the season. It's not quite a good as having all the panels tiltable fully up, but achieving that on a bus roof would be a major engineering challenge, so this way I can have half the panels tilted to 21 degrees and the other half tilted all the way. I made simple stainless-steel telescoping/hinged/sliding/pivoting struts that lift the panels up, and they can be raised or lowered by hand without any tools. And to easily and safely wash the panels I put two quick-connect water outlets on the roof walkway, then I just plug my washdown brush into them and in five minutes all my panels are clean. So far, so good.

John