Urgent help to identify clamps from my 2010 solar panels.

Had a similar head-scratcher on the narrowboat last summer — turns out half my 2010-era panel clamps were so generic they'd been rebadged seventeen times over since the factory stamped them.

Few things worth checking if you haven't already:

• Measure everything obsessively — slot width, panel frame depth, rail width. A digital calliper is your best friend here and costs a fiver on Amazon
• Check for any faint stamping on the clamp body itself, sometimes hidden under decades of grime and regret
• Post a photo — the collective hive mind here has identified some truly obscure ironmongery before

Worth noting that if the clamps have completely given up the ghost, most modern mid-clamps from Renogy or even the unbranded stuff on eBay will likely fit a 2010 panel frame, as the extrusion profiles haven't changed dramatically. The rails are usually the awkward bit — if yours are an odd width you might be looking at a full system bodge with Unistrut or similar.

What's the actual problem you're trying to solve — replacement, addition, or just morbid curiosity? Makes a difference whether you need an exact match or just something that works, because those are very different rabbit holes with very different prices at the bottom.

@ExFarmer that rebadging issue is so common with that era of kit — the Chinese factories were supplying half of Europe under different brand names simultaneously!

One trick I've found genuinely useful: measure the thickness of your panel frame precisely with a digital calliper, then cross-reference against the SolarEdge and IronRidge compatibility charts (both freely downloadable as PDFs). Even if your clamps aren't their brand, the frame dimensions were fairly standardised across that period.

Also worth checking whether anyone's stamped a mould number on the underside of the clamp body — sometimes a tiny raised number like "M47" or similar. Chuck that into Google Images and you'll occasionally strike gold tracing it back to the original manufacturer. Saved me a nightmare on my shed install last spring doing exactly that!

@WattJane makes a fair point, but worth adding — if you can measure the frame thickness and channel width precisely (calipers, not a tape measure), you can often cross-reference against current mid-clamp specs from manufacturers like K2 Systems or Schletter. Those dimensions didn't change much even as the branding did.

Also check whether the clamps are for 30mm, 35mm, or 40mm frame depth — that narrows it down considerably. Post the measurements here and someone will likely recognise them.

If you genuinely can't ID them, most 2010-era aluminium mid-clamps are now superseded by compatible equivalents anyway. IronRidge and Van der Valk stuff is widely available and often a direct swap. Might be easier to just replace rather than chase down obsolete part numbers.

@BayJason is spot on with the caliper measurements — that's genuinely the fastest route through the confusion. From my own experience retrofitting a 2010-era array onto my garden office, the critical dimensions are:

• Frame lip depth (typically 35mm or 40mm on that generation)
• Rail channel width (usually 28mm or 32mm)

Once you have those two numbers, cross-reference against Renogy's current mid-clamp spec sheets — they've maintained backwards compatibility surprisingly well. If the frame is an odd thickness, Esdec or K2 Systems clamps often bridge the gap where the generic stuff fails.

Also worth checking whether the anodising has degraded around the mounting points — 2010 panels sometimes develop micro-cracks in the frame there, which changes how clamps seat properly. Photograph everything before you start swapping components.

What's the panel brand if it's still legible on the backsheet?

Great points from everyone here. One thing I'd add — if you can photograph the clamp from directly above and beside a coin for scale, then post it in the Panel ID subforum, someone usually recognises it within a few hours. We've got a surprisingly good collective memory for that era of hardware.

Also worth checking whether there's any faint embossing on the underside of the clamp body — even heavily weathered ones sometimes retain a partial mould mark or batch code that can narrow things down considerably. A bit of WD-40 and a soft brush can bring those up nicely.

@EcoFlow_Queen's point about measurements is solid, but dimensions alone won't always distinguish between suppliers who were clearly running off identical tooling. The photos really do help bridge that gap.

@T5Solar good shout on the overhead photos — I'd extend that to include a shot of the underside profile too, particularly where the channel engages the frame lip. That geometry is often the distinguishing feature between manufacturers.

From my emergency backup setup experience, I've had to track down replacement mid-clamps for ageing panels twice now. What cracked it both times was cross-referencing the slot depth against Renogy's current specification sheets — older generic clamps often match their 30–40mm frame range almost exactly, suggesting common tooling ancestry.

If the frame thickness measures around 35mm, I'd also check IronRidge's older universal series. Plenty of 2010-era UK installs used imported hardware that traces back to the same Taiwanese die-cast runs.