Tony1 Posted September 28, 2021 Report Share Posted September 28, 2021 To be honest Rick, there was a thread a month or more ago where I was asking about panel mountings. I wasn't keen on drilling through the roof, but I obviously did in the end (and I used M8 bolts, because my panels seemed a bit too heavy for the M6 bolts used by the guy in the video). I would try searching for that thread because the folks here put in a lot of very useful replies. I remember one or two had used sikaflex only to mount the corner brackets holding the panels, and had no problems at all in any weathers. There was a suggestion about using glueing down a wider sheet of plywood or metal, and attaching the corner brackets to that sheet (so that you get more contact area for the adhesive). Also, there is a particular type of sikaflex that the website advise using (521 or 252, I think) for extra strength. In hindsight, seeing the strength of the stuff, I'd be tempted if using corner mounts (and smaller panels) to try using sikaflex only, but don't take that as advice- its only a thought. But if your panels are 20kg plus, that's quite a lateral push if you bump into a lock wall say, and I personally would hesitate about only using magnetic mounts (although I did think hard about them, and about larger magnetic blocks for even more holding force). I found these ones, but didnt end up getting them: https://www.bimblesolar.com/extras/mounting/magnetic-mounts-42 Re the height, I think as long as the panels are well clear of the edge of the roof they can go above mushroom vents, and mine sit no higher than my front panels, which are on triangle style mounts. There was also a discussion about how useful it is to tilt the panels, particularly in winter when the sun is low, and my own takeaway from that was that tilting is sometimes beneficial- specifically when the boat faces east-west or vice versa, so the the panels (when tilted up) can face south. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
system 4-50 Posted September 28, 2021 Report Share Posted September 28, 2021 I have/had UFO vents and they did not drip condensation themselves but where the steel roof they were set into was not adequately insulated then that did drip, even though it was just the narrow cut edge corresponding to the thickness of the steel. Insulating that edge stopped the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickS Posted September 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2021 1 hour ago, David Mack said: I changed my UFO vents for mushrooms, and the hole was the same size (4 inches/100 mm). The problem I had with the UFOs was that the interiors were full of green growth, and there was no way to take them apart and clean them - the outer cover was pop riveted to the roof. Not only did they leak, but the roof under the cover was horribly rusty. Read the first part of your post and thought 'yes, I can just change my mushroom vents for lower UFO types', then read the rest! Thanks for the info David, not neccessarily what I wanted to hear 🙂 but good to know . No point just changing one problem for another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted September 28, 2021 Report Share Posted September 28, 2021 21 minutes ago, Rick Savery said: No point just changing one problem for another. But they were only a problem because they were incorrectly installed (pop riveted instead of screwed down) We have never had any mould problems, and even when waves have broken over the boat they have not leaked. Simply remove screws and it justs lifts apart, you can clean or replace parts as necessary. They even have a sliding collar (inside the boat) so that if you don't want a draught you simply push it up and it blocks off the air flow. Our Sea going cruiser with 'flying saucer' vents (piture on River Trent) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted September 28, 2021 Report Share Posted September 28, 2021 3 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said: and are to the outside, Or into the space under a tight fitting cratch cover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickS Posted September 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2021 19 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said: But they were only a problem because they were incorrectly installed (pop riveted instead of screwed down) We have never had any mould problems, and even when waves have broken over the boat they have not leaked. Simply remove screws and it justs lifts apart, you can clean or replace parts as necessary. They even have a sliding collar (inside the boat) so that if you don't want a draught you simply push it up and it blocks off the air flow. Our Sea going cruiser with 'flying saucer' vents (piture on River Trent) Thanks Alan, I misunderstood David's post. I thought he was indicating that that was the problem with UFO vents rather than the method of isntallation. That is lot more encouraging and worth looking into more. Now I need to find one that requires the same size hole through the roof as the mushroom vent. i read earlier, I think, that they are the same, although was told by someone else that the UFO vents used a smaller diameter hole - I suppose it depends on whether my mushroom vents are 'standard' or not 5 hours ago, Yellowback said: Remove from where it is, and replace somewhere more convenient ? I have about 8 mushroom vents on my 66 foot boat, and not all on the centre line, a couple off to the side, so I think losing one should still be OK - but I will double check before any removal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted September 28, 2021 Report Share Posted September 28, 2021 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Rick Savery said: Thanks Alan, I misunderstood David's post. I thought he was indicating that that was the problem with UFO vents rather than the method of isntallation. That is lot more encouraging and worth looking into more. Now I need to find one that requires the same size hole through the roof as the mushroom vent. i read earlier, I think, that they are the same, although was told by someone else that the UFO vents used a smaller diameter hole - I suppose it depends on whether my mushroom vents are 'standard' or not I have about 8 mushroom vents on my 66 foot boat, and not all on the centre line, a couple off to the side, so I think losing one should still be OK - but I will double check before any removal I'm sat under a 'flying saucer' as we type. The hole from the inside is 100mm diameter (4 inch in real money) Examples : 101mm here Stainless Steel Solar Deck Vent - 78-434-100 (marinestore.co.uk) 96mm here Force 4 Venticlear Stainless Steel Vent | Force 4 Chandlery 92mm here Force 4 Waterproof Ventilite Shut Off Vent 97mm here Stainless Steel Mushroom Deck Vent with Clear Centre (228mm OD) (asap-supplies.com) Chech the size of your mushroom hole Vetus Mushroom Vetus Mushroom Vent Portos 117mm (4.5). - portos1 (marinestore.co.uk) Edited September 28, 2021 by Alan de Enfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickS Posted September 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2021 2 hours ago, Tony1 said: To be honest Rick, there was a thread a month or more ago where I was asking about panel mountings. I wasn't keen on drilling through the roof, but I obviously did in the end (and I used M8 bolts, because my panels seemed a bit too heavy for the M6 bolts used by the guy in the video). I would try searching for that thread because the folks here put in a lot of very useful replies. I remember one or two had used sikaflex only to mount the corner brackets holding the panels, and had no problems at all in any weathers. There was a suggestion about using glueing down a wider sheet of plywood or metal, and attaching the corner brackets to that sheet (so that you get more contact area for the adhesive). Also, there is a particular type of sikaflex that the website advise using (521 or 252, I think) for extra strength. In hindsight, seeing the strength of the stuff, I'd be tempted if using corner mounts (and smaller panels) to try using sikaflex only, but don't take that as advice- its only a thought. But if your panels are 20kg plus, that's quite a lateral push if you bump into a lock wall say, and I personally would hesitate about only using magnetic mounts (although I did think hard about them, and about larger magnetic blocks for even more holding force). I found these ones, but didnt end up getting them: https://www.bimblesolar.com/extras/mounting/magnetic-mounts-42 Re the height, I think as long as the panels are well clear of the edge of the roof they can go above mushroom vents, and mine sit no higher than my front panels, which are on triangle style mounts. There was also a discussion about how useful it is to tilt the panels, particularly in winter when the sun is low, and my own takeaway from that was that tilting is sometimes beneficial- specifically when the boat faces east-west or vice versa, so the the panels (when tilted up) can face south. Thanks Tony1. I will look for that thread. I hadn't thought of lateral force being a possible issue but as a new boater it is possible I may bash into stuff at first. I looked at those magnet mounts too on Bimble's site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted September 28, 2021 Report Share Posted September 28, 2021 Or how about just removing the dome and leaving the upstand 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheshire cat Posted September 28, 2021 Report Share Posted September 28, 2021 How about rewinding and asking how tall is your cabin. I fitted a box to my cabin roof and cut a hole in the bottom to accommodate a mushroom. I then fitted a solar panel to the top of the box. So far we haven't come close to running out of clearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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