🛒 EG4 Ground Mount: signaturesolar.com/eg4-bright... • Use Code: THESOLARLAB25 for $25 Off Your Order 🛒 Signature Solar: signaturesolar.com/?ref=theso... • Use Code: THESOLARLAB50 for $50 Off Your Order ☀ Get a Free Solar Estimate for Your Home: www.solar-estimate.org/solar-... 0:00 - Intro 0:59 - Un-Boxing 2:03 - Assembly 3:35 - Bonus DIY 4:57 - Instaling Panels 6:09 - Things We Don't Like 7:22 - Things We Like The EG4 Brightmount Solar Panel Ground Mount is one of the most popular budget friendly ground mounts on the market. In today's video we set it up and compared it to other ground mounts we've reviewed here on the channel. There's a lot we like (especially the price), but also some things that we don't.. and we wanted to answer the question - why is it so popular? 🔔 Subscribe to our RUclips Channel: @TheSolarLab ⚡ FOLLOW US: / thesolarlab / thesolarlab 👨🏼💻 The Solar Lab: www.thesolarlab.com We maintain an affiliate relationship with some of the products reviewed, which means we get a small percentage of a sale if you click our links, at no cost to our viewers.
Hopefully EG4 hears about the issue with the sliders and redesigns those pieces. Its probably a cut extrusion so it wont be too hard to change the die for it.
I mounted two brightmount arrays on top of a 20x20 pad I created with crushed white paver base on top. Then I used 6x6 posts to create the base footings. One array has four 415W Sirius panels and the other has three. They are all in series and power the EG4 2T mini-split. I set them at 30 degrees. At full sunlight they generate 280V 100 ft from my mini-split. Even though I have a heavy base, I also anchored the mounts to the ground with wire tie downs. The white base provides a good reflective substrate for the bifacial panels.
The clips are designed to be narrow so you don’t have to slide them into place just angle them while inserting. I did not know this at first but it does save time when you have 20 to build. Great review you just reminded me how much I like the Brightmount.
Brightmount Ver CAT1 has been posted on signature solar. looks like the rails can be adjusted but does not look as strong. The wind rating went from 105 to 90mph but the cost went up to $310. i was told the rails are different so if you have extras clamps and joining plates they are not going to work on the new version.
I have 2 installed hooked together have 6 325 watt panels and 8 200 watt panel Been up over a year no problems H2 coming and 16 360 watt panels coming will install this winter
Nice Mount, and one thing I like about them is its an easy way to folly the sun with a simple pic up and moving. One other way too is to mount casters on the bottom that have a lock (brake) on them. Also heck out the Makita 18 volt LXT battery powered impact wrenches that come in 1/4, 3/8. and 1/2 drives, and even higher, .that way with any of these drive sizes, you can drive them bolts on like butter with ease. The Makita 1/2 impact drive have that power to take on and off lug nuts on your vehicles including SUV's and Trucks multiple times on a single charge
I have been going with the cheap Amazon one, then get the upgraded 10ft unistrut from the local hardware box store. At the very least buy the solid 3/8 or whatever thick joining plate to bolt the smaller sections of unistrut together.
Mounting it on a 4"X6" makes it sturdier and gives it more support. I elevated mine 36" above the ground on 4 6"X6" treated lumber sunk 40" in the ground. It won't withstand a hurricane but I'm in the Midwest so it should be fine. They are included with their mini splits which come with a 4 panels, if you need more clips order them. Not something you'll find at Home Depot.
Reading the manual (online pdf), it says the stands should be 130cm apart max and built/fixed on / as a 5x50x85 cm concrete block each with an earth hole deep to 40 cm! Which makes a bit more stability (!!!!) than just the 4x6”! Somewhere in the middle my engineering brain says, will be the optimal foundation to the panels! I’ll start to built my (6) 400W panels up next week! Winter angle preset… wish me luck ;-)
I bought four of these and mounted them over the last two weeks. They can be a bit fiddly assembling the rails as you noticed, those tiny backing clamps that go in the rails are .. too small. I had to buy the extension kit to fit four panels on each since mine were around 44.5" wide. The hardware sometimes being in bags and sometimes not drove me nuts, as it can just float around the box. The rail "splice" part often had hardware not attached and floating around the box. All in all, I would use them again.
@@Scat.original they provide two inserts that just slide together. they provide screws to keep them from sliding apart. the combiner plate is long enough to combine all three pieces together.
Thank you so very much for this. I built my own and what a pain! Never again. Plus, with my home made system I have to set each panel for angle to the sun. With this and a helper, it would be all set at the same time. I am going to purchase from Signature after seeing this!! You didn't say or I didn't understand: Why did the larger panels not fit? Too long, too wide, too thick? What would make them work? My panels are huge! Where do I just go purchase the additional holders you robbed from another kit? Do I purchase more from Signature or Amazon? Do you have a link?
You get what you pay for. A little more money for durability will pay for itself in the long run. Would you rather have rails that stay straight and rigid then those that sag and corrode in short time? I would invest in solar panels but have too many trees around my house and surrounding area. I like your fair and honest reviews. When I sold satellite receivers, I stuck with high quality products. One man tried pitting me against another company by saying, "What if I told you I can get the model xyz (same high end receiver I had) for __ dollars less?" I told him go for it but I would wonder where he's cutting corners. And I knew where the corners could be cut. Cheaper is not always the best value.
Great video, helped so much... good stuff, truly... but you left out some major details, like you didn't mention the holes in the adjustable angle inner sliding piece don't actually help... it only has 3 places the hold... so despite your comment about 'firing in a bolt at the position you want', is absolutely impossible to get the right angle if you are in NC in october, and need around 50 degrees... you can't even set it to 45 degrees. it's kind of sad... I will have to drill more holes... they could have done that, but apparently chose not to, OR.... somehow yours is different than my EG4 mount. My GUESS is the way to be accurate is to just use the set screws to hold it in place... which does not seem very strong to me. So for now, I'm drilling holes at 45 degrees, even though 51 is ideal this month.
For longevity's sake, if you're going to mount on a treated lumber base similar to this... it'd be best to use long bolts through holes drilled all the way through both pieces of wood - with large fender washers. Similar to what you'd do when framing a deck. Then use some ballast (weight) on the 'legs' for wind resistance.
Good review… I also have the eco worth and eg4 mount… the eco worth been in the element for over a year and the eg 4 still in the box since 1st or 2nd quarter of the yr 😂
P.S. My brightmount panels came in a few weeks ago. I complained to SS that the bolts were defective. The bolts go on easy enough, but if you make a mistake or need to change something the bolts do not come off. My theory is that when tightening, the nut or the bolt threads bend. This makes it impossible to remove. I had to remove two bolts and with a 2 foot breaker bar and broke the bolts I need to remove. If you never plan on removing the bolts, no big deal. SS would have never found the quality issue just checking the bolts. Maybe it was just my batch. I will buy them again for my next array, but I will not tighten anything until I am sure everything is assembled properly.
Are they Stainless Steel bolts? If yes, then you need to apply anti-seize before assembly. If you do not then then the nut will seize ... exactly as you discovered.
What's the length from the top horizontal rail to the bottom horizontal rail? I tried to find it on their web page but I didn't see it. Good video; thanks.
Two questions I have is can you connect 2 systems together to be able to install 8 panels across. Second is how far would you have to put 2 different 8 panel mounts apart from the other to prevent shading.
I would like to purchase panels from them. But it shows you have to purchase 10. I may be wrong.. I'd like to start a ground mount. I have a 3000 w battery generator I would like to charge.
Seem pretty good but I'm needing a ground mount system that i can lower flat to the ground before a hurricane hits. Know any that can lay flat? Wonder if I can modify this one to lay flat. Thanks!
It would probable be cheaper and easier to make it mobile and move it to safe place if possible. This one is not designed to lay flat. It is very sturdy though, as he points out.
@@RichardQuaidwood would be easy but the termites would eventually get to the treated lumber, they even chew through concrete to get to wood in houses here. I'll probably have to fabricate and weld some together. Thanks!
is there a solar wattage being produced calculator using different angles for the panels? It does not have to be spot on accurate just a ball park figure.
🛒 EG4 Ground Mount: signaturesolar.com/eg4-bright...
• Use Code: THESOLARLAB25 for $25 Off Your Order
🛒 Signature Solar: signaturesolar.com/?ref=theso...
• Use Code: THESOLARLAB50 for $50 Off Your Order
☀ Get a Free Solar Estimate for Your Home: www.solar-estimate.org/solar-...
0:00 - Intro
0:59 - Un-Boxing
2:03 - Assembly
3:35 - Bonus DIY
4:57 - Instaling Panels
6:09 - Things We Don't Like
7:22 - Things We Like
The EG4 Brightmount Solar Panel Ground Mount is one of the most popular budget friendly ground mounts on the market. In today's video we set it up and compared it to other ground mounts we've reviewed here on the channel. There's a lot we like (especially the price), but also some things that we don't.. and we wanted to answer the question - why is it so popular?
🔔 Subscribe to our RUclips Channel: @TheSolarLab
⚡ FOLLOW US:
/ thesolarlab
/ thesolarlab
👨🏼💻 The Solar Lab:
www.thesolarlab.com
We maintain an affiliate relationship with some of the products reviewed, which means we get a small percentage of a sale if you click our links, at no cost to our viewers.
Hopefully EG4 hears about the issue with the sliders and redesigns those pieces. Its probably a cut extrusion so it wont be too hard to change the die for it.
I mounted two brightmount arrays on top of a 20x20 pad I created with crushed white paver base on top. Then I used 6x6 posts to create the base footings. One array has four 415W Sirius panels and the other has three. They are all in series and power the EG4 2T mini-split. I set them at 30 degrees. At full sunlight they generate 280V 100 ft from my mini-split. Even though I have a heavy base, I also anchored the mounts to the ground with wire tie downs. The white base provides a good reflective substrate for the bifacial panels.
The clips are designed to be narrow so you don’t have to slide them into place just angle them while inserting. I did not know this at first but it does save time when you have 20 to build. Great review you just reminded me how much I like the Brightmount.
Brightmount Ver CAT1 has been posted on signature solar. looks like the rails can be adjusted but does not look as strong. The wind rating went from 105 to 90mph but the cost went up to $310. i was told the rails are different so if you have extras clamps and joining plates they are not going to work on the new version.
I have 2 installed hooked together have 6 325 watt panels and 8 200 watt panel Been up over a year no problems H2 coming and 16 360 watt panels coming will install this winter
Really great review. Many places don't require any paperwork or permitting for ground mount arrays.
Using the BrightMount Extension Rail Kit would that allow it to hold you 415 panels?
Nice Mount, and one thing I like about them is its an easy way to folly the sun with a simple pic up and moving. One other way too is to mount casters on the bottom that have a lock (brake) on them. Also heck out the Makita 18 volt LXT battery powered impact wrenches that come in 1/4, 3/8. and 1/2 drives, and even higher, .that way with any of these drive sizes, you can drive them bolts on like butter with ease. The Makita 1/2 impact drive have that power to take on and off lug nuts on your vehicles including SUV's and Trucks multiple times on a single charge
I have been going with the cheap Amazon one, then get the upgraded 10ft unistrut from the local hardware box store. At the very least buy the solid 3/8 or whatever thick joining plate to bolt the smaller sections of unistrut together.
Mounting it on a 4"X6" makes it sturdier and gives it more support. I elevated mine 36" above the ground on 4 6"X6" treated lumber sunk 40" in the ground. It won't withstand a hurricane but I'm in the Midwest so it should be fine. They are included with their mini splits which come with a 4 panels, if you need more clips order them. Not something you'll find at Home Depot.
Reading the manual (online pdf), it says the stands should be 130cm apart max and built/fixed on / as a 5x50x85 cm concrete block each with an earth hole deep to 40 cm! Which makes a bit more stability (!!!!) than just the 4x6”! Somewhere in the middle my engineering brain says, will be the optimal foundation to the panels! I’ll start to built my (6) 400W panels up next week! Winter angle preset… wish me luck ;-)
I bought four of these and mounted them over the last two weeks. They can be a bit fiddly assembling the rails as you noticed, those tiny backing clamps that go in the rails are .. too small. I had to buy the extension kit to fit four panels on each since mine were around 44.5" wide. The hardware sometimes being in bags and sometimes not drove me nuts, as it can just float around the box. The rail "splice" part often had hardware not attached and floating around the box. All in all, I would use them again.
How is the extension installed?, no document on the site
@@Scat.original they provide two inserts that just slide together. they provide screws to keep them from sliding apart. the combiner plate is long enough to combine all three pieces together.
Thank you so very much for this. I built my own and what a pain! Never again. Plus, with my home made system I have to set each panel for angle to the sun. With this and a helper, it would be all set at the same time. I am going to purchase from Signature after seeing this!!
You didn't say or I didn't understand: Why did the larger panels not fit? Too long, too wide, too thick? What would make them work? My panels are huge! Where do I just go purchase the additional holders you robbed from another kit? Do I purchase more from Signature or Amazon? Do you have a link?
You get what you pay for. A little more money for durability will pay for itself in the long run. Would you rather have rails that stay straight and rigid then those that sag and corrode in short time? I would invest in solar panels but have too many trees around my house and surrounding area. I like your fair and honest reviews. When I sold satellite receivers, I stuck with high quality products. One man tried pitting me against another company by saying, "What if I told you I can get the model xyz (same high end receiver I had) for __ dollars less?" I told him go for it but I would wonder where he's cutting corners. And I knew where the corners could be cut. Cheaper is not always the best value.
Great video, helped so much... good stuff, truly...
but you left out some major details, like you didn't mention the holes in the adjustable angle inner sliding piece don't actually help... it only has 3 places the hold... so despite your comment about 'firing in a bolt at the position you want', is absolutely impossible to get the right angle if you are in NC in october, and need around 50 degrees... you can't even set it to 45 degrees. it's kind of sad...
I will have to drill more holes... they could have done that, but apparently chose not to, OR.... somehow yours is different than my EG4 mount. My GUESS is the way to be accurate is to just use the set screws to hold it in place... which does not seem very strong to me. So for now, I'm drilling holes at 45 degrees, even though 51 is ideal this month.
So, what does it connect to? Is it like a wall plug?
Why did the Sirus panels didn't work?
Does mounting only 7” above the ground give enough clearance for 30 degree or 35 degree panel angle? Thanks
Can you flip this around and use it as a wall mount unit? I am looking at making a solar awning and this looks like it may work.
For longevity's sake, if you're going to mount on a treated lumber base similar to this... it'd be best to use long bolts through holes drilled all the way through both pieces of wood - with large fender washers. Similar to what you'd do when framing a deck. Then use some ballast (weight) on the 'legs' for wind resistance.
That is what I did with these brackets.
@@RCTVAccountWill 1/2" bolts work?
Nice video yet again, guys! Good work.
Looking for 3D printable end caps for the mount. They are magnets for wasps! Great video by the way.
Good review… I also have the eco worth and eg4 mount… the eco worth been in the element for over a year and the eg 4 still in the box since 1st or 2nd quarter of the yr 😂
P.S. My brightmount panels came in a few weeks ago. I complained to SS that the bolts were defective. The bolts go on easy enough, but if you make a mistake or need to change something the bolts do not come off. My theory is that when tightening, the nut or the bolt threads bend. This makes it impossible to remove. I had to remove two bolts and with a 2 foot breaker bar and broke the bolts I need to remove. If you never plan on removing the bolts, no big deal. SS would have never found the quality issue just checking the bolts. Maybe it was just my batch. I will buy them again for my next array, but I will not tighten anything until I am sure everything is assembled properly.
Are they Stainless Steel bolts? If yes, then you need to apply anti-seize before assembly. If you do not then then the nut will seize ... exactly as you discovered.
@@MrSummitville Yes they are Stainless Steel. Maybe SS should add that advice to their unclear manual.
It's not SS fault that you over-torqued stainless steel bolts. Everyone knows stainless threads will curl when you over-tighten. That's on you.
What's the length from the top horizontal rail to the bottom horizontal rail? I tried to find it on their web page but I didn't see it. Good video; thanks.
What panels would you recommend to max out this array?
Love to see what you think about the battery evo WALRUS G2???
@TheSolarLab What is the length of the 3 feet?
So, one EG4 panel fits six 200-watt solar panels, i.e., 1KW?
Two questions I have is can you connect 2 systems together to be able to install 8 panels across. Second is how far would you have to put 2 different 8 panel mounts apart from the other to prevent shading.
Yes, but you need extra connectors for the rails
I would like to purchase panels from them. But it shows you have to purchase 10. I may be wrong.. I'd like to start a ground mount. I have a 3000 w battery generator I would like to charge.
Good review!
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I need a mount for larger solar panels, 200W is too small.
If I were to add a second row behind the first row how would I compute the distance needed to separate the rows for maximum solar power?
Depending on the location and angle. there are calculators online, for CT where I am 7’ space between the rows is good
peace of mind is priceless. i would never cheap out on the mounting hardware, i would want things to stay solid for 10+ years easily.
Bifacial panels with a rear reflector is a bit better.
Would the Brightmount extension rail kit allow you to mount the Sirius 415w panels?
Yes...I mounted four Sirius 415W panels on my bright mount with the extender (in the middle).
Seem pretty good but I'm needing a ground mount system that i can lower flat to the ground before a hurricane hits. Know any that can lay flat? Wonder if I can modify this one to lay flat. Thanks!
It would probable be cheaper and easier to make it mobile and move it to safe place if possible. This one is not designed to lay flat. It is very sturdy though, as he points out.
@@RichardQuaid no safe place on the island when a hurricane comes! I might need to do a custom build
@@slugbyte It would be easy to make a custom one by me, but I imagine lumber isn't cheap by you. Good luck!
@@RichardQuaidwood would be easy but the termites would eventually get to the treated lumber, they even chew through concrete to get to wood in houses here. I'll probably have to fabricate and weld some together. Thanks!
is there a solar wattage being produced calculator using different angles for the panels? It does not have to be spot on accurate just a ball park figure.
You can print it off
Great overview and to the point. ❤ +1 Sub
I Like Eco Worthy 200 Watt BiFacial Panels & Stand and went 800 Watts and could have gone 1200 Watts on Their Teacking Stand for Allot More Money
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Its not really 250 dollar. after tax and shipping its still 300+
Kinda shocked that a energy battery channel doesn't have any battery powered impact tools? Hmmm... haha!
Sorry but there are better options.
I am looking for a couple more mounts, which ones would you say are better?