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My existing panels (fitted end 2009) are held on with rails that look like this:


Does anyone know what type they are?

(Unfortunately this is probably rather esoteric knowledge unless you were a solar installer around 2010).

New rails I can buy from Fastensol and Renusol look different, although the brackets are very similar to these:
https://voltaconsolar.com/products/adju ... -and-scews
(I did have some pics of my actual ones but I've lost them).

I'm trying to work out if I can buy compatible rails so I can re-use what I already have and just add a bit more. Knowing what they are might help. My install docs from the time say nothing about the source/type of the roof hardware.

Looks like K2 rails.
The end clamps look like the Fastenol ones I got from city plumbing. F-BEC and F-BMC code.

That's Schuco.

They are discontinued. I do have various fitting available, that I have collected over the years, but no rails.

https://portal.segen.co.uk/reseller/doc ... gGuide.pdf

https://www.solartradesales.co.uk/Cache ... nglish.PDF

Ah cheers. That's very useful. Due to the old small panels there is quite a lot of rail, but I'd need a couple more rail-joiners. Do you have any of those?

I have enough rail for about 3/4 of the install, so I guess the best thing to do is use the old rails for one row and new rails for the other row. But if I could work out how to secure new rail to old rail (or just decide that it doesn't actually need to be) and make it all line up (harder) I could do half-and-half.

I have 36 brackets which is enough for the whole install, but modern rails assume side-mounting so I might have to drill some more holes and mount new rails ~20mm lower. Should be OK except that drilling chunky stainless is a pain.

And my existing clamps are for 46mm thick panels. new panels are 30mm thick so I'd need new clamps which is fine if they have M8 bolts because they will go into the existing Schuco rail-nuts. But none of the websites say what bolts the clamps use.
FastenSol, K2 and renusol all make similar clamps. Anyone know if they use M8 bolts?

So I think this can be made to work with some faff. It does save about £300 (fastensol prices) so worth some faff.

I re-used the old clamps to fit my new panels.

The clamps are Schletter. The end rails were for 45mm, just cut the edge down with a hacksaw to accommodate the 35mm panel. Gave more room for the clamp to bite without touching the rail.

Nobody will see the cut edge, so it's a saving on the cost.

Fueltheburn wrote: ↑Sat Nov 02, 2024 7:05 pm I re-used the old clamps to fit my new panels.

The clamps are Schletter. The end rails were for 45mm, just cut the edge down with a hacksaw to accommodate the 35mm panel. Gave more room for the clamp to bite without touching the rail.

Nobody will see the cut edge, so it's a saving on the cost.

Seeing your ones though, can't really be cut down. I will measure the fastenol ones I have here. They were dirt cheap from city plumbing.

I may have a couple of the rail jointers. I may have some 30mm clamps.

These are the slightly more modern schuco bolts.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276676225408

OK, so for that newer design they changed to T-bolt style. I can't see from the pics on that ebay listing, but presumably there is an internal thread all the way through the cyclinder so a clamp/M8 bolt can be screwed into the open end?

As you say, there is no way to cut down my clamps. I'll have to get new ones, but they are very cheap.

The 'nut' is a fancy thing, it's actually just got a socket for an Allen key.

The internal dims for the end city plumbing supplied fastenol clamp is 27mm allowing for 30mm+ panels.



The mid clamp has ribs to stop slippage as well.

Both are meant for a 22mm lipped rail.