I did some more work today on the junction boxes on the roof.
For one thing, I couldn’t get one of the 1/2 liquid-tight connectors to seal up. I ended up replacing it with a 3/4″ version instead. Of course, by that time, I had sort of messed up the whole box and ended up re-doing it.
I also started connecting the three boxes with conduit, which is pretty straight-forward. Lastly, I was trying to figure out the best way to get the conduit AROUND the roof and down the side of the building. I experimented with a few PVC elbows and got the conduit roughly where I want it to go. However, it still doesn’t look great. I think I can solve that by using a 90 degree pulling elbow. That should make a nice tight connection around the roof. At this point, I haven’t cemented any of the PVC. I’ll wait until the electrician comes out so that I can ensure things are to code before making anything permanent!
I’ll also want his input on the BEST way to make the conduit look nice! I have an appointment with the electrician later this week, but we’ll have to see how the weather holds out. I can’t walk the metal roof in the middle of a thunderstorm!
Until next time, stay charged up!
-Ben
PS: In the photos below, please note that NO plastic touches the roof. The PVC boxes are screwed right to the aluminum racking, and the conduit runs UNDER the racking, but does not touch the roof. At this point, I’m basically experimenting with cheap materials to see what will and won’t work out well on the roof. The PVC boxes will all be UNDER the solar panels and not visible when the project is complete.
