Solar PV tracker

Step 2 Making the base, and mounting the wheels

To make a nice, sturdy base I cut the 2x4's at angles and put them together to make two triangles. You can make them whatever size you need, depending on the size of your panels. I then tied them together with a couple of 2x4's at the base, and a couple up top. This made a nice, sturdy base to mount the wheels to.

I cut a couple of small pieces of angle iron with a hacksaw, found the mid point on the cross members, and attached them exterior woodscrews. I put the wheels through the holes, and spun them with satisfaction.

Here is a picture of the top wheel being mounted.

Comments

[Laral]

I like the overall design of this but one big improvement that would take very little extra effort would be an equatorial mount. You need to align the bicycle wheel axis to the earth's polar axis and keep it there as the sun's declination varies throughout the year. You already have your right ascension (RA) axis so all you need do is add a declination axis. You need an axle at a right angle to your RA axis mounted on two triangles of plywood. It would be very simple to do.

[bwitmer]

That is a great improvement, thanks for the idea.