fishing for wires under roof

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fishing for wires under roof

Postby Bezoar » Fri Aug 06, 2021 8:16 pm

How do you guys get the wire for solar out to the top of the roof? If I run it before finishing, it will be in the way of fiberglass/epoxy/paint and, If I leave it between the spars and fish it out later, it'll probably take a much bigger hole in the roof than the diameter of the wire. Am I overthinking this!?
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Re: fishing for wires under roof

Postby halfdome, Danny » Fri Aug 06, 2021 9:34 pm

If I were thinking of mounting a solar panel on the roof I would frame in the area of the wire.
Then make a removable access panel cut out in the interior ceiling.
If you’re insulating cut a piece to fit into the framing.
The framing would have to be thick enough to hold the ceiling and the access panel that would be screwed in place.
This is how I mount my 50 Pontiac tail lights in the hatch.
It was very easy to replace one of my LED tail lights that the brake stopped lightning this year.
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Last edited by halfdome, Danny on Fri Aug 06, 2021 9:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: fishing for wires under roof

Postby TimC » Fri Aug 06, 2021 9:38 pm

A grommet... sorry if I'm not reading your question correctly. I made a homemade silicone gasket to seal this one.

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Re: fishing for wires under roof

Postby noseoil » Sat Aug 07, 2021 8:03 am

This is a similar solution to timc's roof. They're called "cable glands" when you look online for them. Easier to do the work prior to skinning, but with a bit of care you can do it after the build is done, just a PITA...
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Re: fishing for wires under roof

Postby Socal Tom » Sat Aug 07, 2021 9:10 am

TimC wrote:A grommet... sorry if I'm not reading your question correctly. I made a homemade silicone gasket to seal this one.

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This is the one I used. I went through the wall instead of the roof.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0111 ... UTF8&psc=1

I felt there was less chance of a leak if I went through the wall, and that put the wires at the back of a cabinet so I can route them to the galley where I keep the battery.
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Re: fishing for wires under roof

Postby twisted lines » Sat Aug 07, 2021 9:40 am

TimC wrote:A grommet... sorry if I'm not reading your question correctly. I made a homemade silicone gasket to seal this one.



Did it leak before you made the gasket? I think that's the one I got and may drill holes today;

Then it's top, side or maybe the back :thinking:
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Re: fishing for wires under roof

Postby TimC » Sat Aug 07, 2021 11:00 am

twisted lines wrote:
TimC wrote:A grommet... sorry if I'm not reading your question correctly. I made a homemade silicone gasket to seal this one.



Did it leak before you made the gasket? I think that's the one I got and may drill holes today;

Then it's top, side or maybe the back :thinking:


Well, it came with no gasket which is kind of useless. Instead of returning it I improvised by making my own gaskets with 100% silicone. Works well. No leaks on the wire ports. Butyl tape would work as well.
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Re: fishing for wires under roof

Postby lfhoward » Sat Aug 07, 2021 11:19 am

TimC wrote:… Butyl tape would work as well.


I can verify that butyl tape does work. I installed cable glands on my roof in 2016 and still no leaks as of 2021.
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Re: fishing for wires under roof

Postby twisted lines » Sat Aug 07, 2021 11:33 am

Thank's Guy's :thumbsup:
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Re: fishing for wires under roof

Postby Tom&Shelly » Mon Aug 09, 2021 5:52 pm

Bezoar wrote:How do you guys get the wire for solar out to the top of the roof? If I run it before finishing, it will be in the way of fiberglass/epoxy/paint and, If I leave it between the spars and fish it out later, it'll probably take a much bigger hole in the roof than the diameter of the wire. Am I overthinking this!?


Right now, I have a plug for solar under the frame, under the floor, for weather protection, and I use a portable panel that we can lay on the ground at the campsite. (Doesn't work so well here in the cloudy northeast, but when we are in the southwest it's pretty good.)

I'm contemplating an upgrade by mounting a horizontal panel on (actually about an inch above) the tear roof. If I do so, I plan to run a cable of 10 gauge wire down the outside of the tear to that plug. No new wire penetration at all. I'll probably cover the wire on the side with some sort of protection, like a metal or plastic cable runway, which will be screwed into the side, but with pieces of butyl tape preventing water from getting in around the screws, as I did with the screws for the door frame. The solar panel, likewise, will be on a frame screwed to the sides, not the top, of the tear with butyl tape.

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