![]() ![]() To show you what I mean, here’s a PVC pipe laid at the 21″ mark.Īs you can see, the junction box isn’t in the way and the cables can easily be moved out of the way.ĭecide how wide to make your stand. At that width, my panel’s junction box and cables won’t get in the way. I ended up deciding to make my stand 21″ wide (indicated by the pencil). (If you’re junction box isn’t in the way this won’t be a consideration for you.) The main consideration here for me was to make sure the panel’s cables and junction box wouldn’t get in the way when I collapsed the legs. You’ll likely get a different number if you have a different panel or choose to mount yours vertically. I decided to mount mine horizontally because my panel’s junction box and cables would get in the way of the stand if mounted vertically.įind the crossbar length by measuring the distance between the inside of the frame from one side to the other. Crossbar Lengthĭecide whether you want your solar panel to stand horizontally or vertically. Once we know these measurements, we can find the length of all the individual pieces of PVC. We need to find the following dimensions: For instance, my 1/2″ PVC pipe is about 13/16″ in diameter. Tip: PVC sizes refer to the diameter of the pipe’s hole. My panel’s gap is just under 1″ tall, so I decided to use 1/2″ PVC for the crossbar and 3/4″ PVC for the legs, base, and joints. Use this number to determine the thickness of the PVC pipes and length of the self-drilling screws you use. Measure the gap between the frame’s rim and the back of the panel. ![]() Now let’s get building! Step 2: Measure the Gap of Your Solar Panel’s Frameįlip your solar panel over. (Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to find all the measurements.) The dimensions for all the sections of PVC need to be customized for your specific panel. This allows the tee joints to slide back and forth across it freely. Note that the crossbar is a thinner pipe than all the others. The crossbar is then attached to the panel with self-drilling screws. The sections are all connected together with PVC tee and elbow joints. Here’s the design for the stand we’ll be building: 3/4″ PVC for legs, base, and support beam.Follow Step 2 and Step 3 to find the right sizes for your panel. Note: I’ve listed the sizes I used for my specific panel, a 100 watt HQST solar panel. What’s more, this homemade stand is adjustable, portable, and easy to build. Store-bought solar panel stands and mounts regularly cost five times as much. I recently built a DIY solar panel stand that cost me just $11. ![]()
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