Solar panel cable trunking (1 Viewer)

[Minxy]

I made a start on my solar install yesterday ... shouldn't have bothered ... took me ages to find some of the stuff that hubby had 'tidied up' (ie hidden and forgotten where!) then my tools wouldn't play ball ... a slipping chuck on my mains drill meant the bit kept jamming in the hole I was drilling and stopped dead with the chuck still spinning. Getting the cable down through the hole was a feat in itself and fed down to the top of the B pillar - I tried to remove a decor panel on the side of the overcab locker/shelf, having to carefully slot my head in without taking my ears off, all to no avail as it wouldn't budge once the screws were out ... then the crappy cable ties I had kept breaking not to mention other stuff that decided it wasn't gonna give in easy either!

The ONLY thing that worked well was getting the cable down the B pillar as I found I didn't need to use my plumb bob method (ie drop it down the inside and tie the cables to the string and pull them down) ... all in all what should have taken a couple of hours max in total took waaaaaaayyyyyy too long although I did get the regulator installed along with a feed to the cab battery and a cab battery charge display but not the solar panels themselves this was by choice though as the camper was due to go into Fiat today for some warranty stuff so I didn't fit the actual panels themselves as I was concerned the adhesive wouldn't have sufficient time to set so that'll be the final job when it comes back home hopefully by the end of the week ... I'm missing fettling it already!

 

[scotjimland]

Mini Trunking still needs to be held down on a Motorhome roof.

I never suggested to use self adhesive mini trunking.. or how it should be installed..,I buy it without the self adhesive strip and bond to the roof using Sikaflex..

in a domestic installation self adhesive wont stick to rough surfaces very well either, if that happens you can use fixing screws.. or indeed bond to wall or skirting board with adhesive such as No Nails. I prefer screws as they easy to remove if ever required.

No - that’s overkill - move with the times and technology- sticky pads far more practical and can be made to look very good

not a case of moving with the times but using the correct cable fixing system for the job.

If you had your house wiring run on the surface with sticky pads you wouldn't call that "moving with the times" you would call it a bodge ..


... sticky pads are untidy and over time due too heat and climate may come undone and you end up with cable flapping about the roof.. they are intended for use inside industrial electrical panels, gaming machines, PCs, domestic appliances etc .. which are generally dry and warm .. not motorhome home roofs exposed to the elements, or indeed any other outdoor installation , domestic or motorhome.

Question and answer from a sticky pad manufacturer

Question:
can this product be used externally ?
Answer:
If you mean outside in the open air and rain, then probably not. They will stick to metal and plastic surfaces but they are really designed for electronics related things. This includes tying down audio & control cables in your car that may run through the inner cabin under the carpets etc. They also work fine inside PC's where most people see them. If used outside I would guess that a bit of rain and cold weather would wear out the sticky pad quite quickly and it would fall off whatever it was attached to. Hope that helps! see less


do it once.. do it right or sooner or later, do it again..

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Sticky pads for this type of job are a total bodge however much care you take to try and make it look pretty.

They aren't suitable for external use for anything ever. End of story. The only place they should ever be used is inside a proper enclosure.

Proper cable containment such as mini trunking is the only thing that should ever be used for this sort of job.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[funflair]

Well I also think that trunking is neater and it matters to me even if I can't see it once its done BUT on a practical level when you are brushing under low branches the last thing you want up there is loose cables that a twig or branch can get under,

I think these 6 cables bunched up with cable ties and sticky pads would be a bit of a mess.

Martin

 

[scotjimland]

when you are brushing under low branches the last thing you want up there is loose cables that a twig or branch can get under,

yes , good point.. but sometimes people just have to learn by their mistakes.. which of course can be costly .. but they know better

 

[Minxy]

Okay, okay ... I get the message ... I'll use trunking!!!!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}