How heavy a solar panel can I mount on air x tower pole?

[Mariner777]

I want to add some more solar panels this time on side of pole mounts to my Air X marine tower. The kyocera 135 seems to be very popular and have a good reputation and at 27.5 pounds it seems light enought that I might be able to mount it on a side of pole mount on my air x marine tower. I figure these are such common parts that someone must have tried something like this or have a sense of if it would work or turn into a disaster. There seem to be ready made side of pole mounts in stainless and aluminum for this application. Anyone tried this? Should I go with a smaller 85 watt panel perhaps? Im referring to the pole and stay kit and hardware kit that is sold specifically for the air x/ breeze.

[Mariner777]

Have seen a side of pole mount for about 200 that will do 2 kyocera 85s on a 2" diameter pipe... Hmm perhaps the air X tower could withstand another 40 pounds on it? As I have two towers that could add 340 watts to my PV collection if I mounted 4 KC85ts on the side of pole mounts - as this would be off my transom it would also provide shade almost like an extended bimini... I just wonder if the windage and forces might be to much for the towers and if the whole thing might come crashing down around me...

[kd3pc]

I think that the wind load would be a greater worry than the panel weight...by the time you get a side mount for the panel or two...and the weight of the panel...could be approaching 50 lbs...and 4-6 sq ft of wind resistance

YOu might contact air-x for specifics on what their pole will handle...given how it is mounted on your boat...most that I have seen are simply thru bolted or epoxied...but the anchor point is still rather thin FRP of some sort.

[Mariner777]

My L brackets are through bolted with 1/4" SS bolts with washers in somthing like 1/2" - 3/4" fiberglass on the transom and one of the stays might be bolted into something like 3/8" fiberglass on the side. Perhaps 4 panels might be excessive windage though fiberglass and steel is probably quite a strong combination. I found a 90 watt monocrystalline panel thats 17 pounds - a pair would be 34 pounds on a 10 pound mounting. Each panel is 21x48" in dimensions so if I went for four the total would be about 8x2 feet or 16 sq feet. I would try to mount them close to horizontal though I think the mounts have a minimum of about 10 degrees of tilt by design. The mounts claim to be good for 125 mph winds. Am pretty sure that Southwest would just say dont mount anything on our pole or something to that effect to avoid any responsibility for mishaps... I definitely want to put some panels back there the question is how much can I get away with? Am a coastal cruiser with no plans of crossing oceans any time soon and spend most of my time in protected harbors and bays. I do encounter the odd blow and the gusts can hit you even in a protected marina.

[Mariner777]

Am thinking something like this on the tower pole IronRidge Uni-Sp/02 Side-Of-Pole W/45" Support @ AltE Store