Rows of Fast Tub units loaded with ballast bags and connected by aluminium rails on a gravel flat roof at sunrise, before panels are fitted

Fast Tub 13°

A hybrid tub-and-rail system that installs up to 50% faster than conventional console mounts, engineered for the structural demands of flat roof and ground mount installations.

Overview

A Different Approach to Flat Roof Solar

Conventional console systems dominate the flat roof market, but they carry a fundamental structural limitation: each unit is isolated.

Every console manages its own wind load independently, ballast requirements are fixed at specification stage, and any deviation between survey and site forces a redesign with components that weren't built to flex. A vent, a cable run, a drainage outlet — any of them can bring the layout down.

The Fast Tub was developed out of direct experience with that problem. It takes a hybrid approach: the ballast capacity of a tub, integrated with the same rail system installers already use on pitched roof jobs.

The result is a flat roof mounting system that adapts to the site, rather than requiring the site to adapt to the system.

Close-up of Fast Tub units sitting on a gravel flat roof, with an aluminium rail being lowered onto the tub upstands

Why Console Systems Fall Short

Most flat roof systems on the market are built around vacuum-formed plastic consoles. The manufacturing process produces lighter, thinner shells suited to standard residential loads, but not engineered for the structural stresses of long-term commercial flat roof exposure.

More fundamentally, the isolated unit approach creates a systemic limitation. Because each console carries its own load independently, the array can never distribute wind resistance across the full footprint. Every position must be over-specified to compensate.

That means more ballast, higher structural load on the roof, and less flexibility on sites with tight load ratings.

The Fast Tub was engineered to fix all three problems simultaneously.

Rows of ballasted Fast Tub units linked by continuous aluminium rails across a flat roof, sharing load rather than working as isolated consoles

What the Fast Tub Is

The Fast Tub 13° is a ballasted mounting solution for solar PV on flat roofs and ground surfaces. It uses ballast to secure the array without penetrating the roof membrane. Suitable materials include gravel, paving slabs, concrete blocks, bricks, or any site-available equivalent.

Its defining feature is the patent-pending rail clamp mechanism, which allows the tub to integrate directly with the Renew Rail system used on pitched roof installations. The tub carries the ballast. The rail provides structural continuity across the array. Together, they form a unified mechanical structure, not a collection of independent units.

For installers already running a rail system, the Fast Tub is one additional component that opens up every flat roof and ground mount job on the books. No new system to learn. No separate stock line to manage.

Two injection-moulded Fast Tub units on a white background, shown from interior and exterior angles

Key Features

Monolithic Structural Bonding: The Raft Effect

When connected via the continuous rail system, the entire array behaves as a single rigid structure. Wind load is distributed across the full array footprint rather than absorbed unit by unit. This is the same raft effect used in commercial-scale ground mount engineering.

The practical outcome is significant: less total ballast is required to achieve the same wind resistance.

For roofs with low structural load ratings and high wind exposure, a combination that makes conventional ballasted systems unworkable, the Fast Tub's monolithic structure can be the difference between a viable installation and a job that can't be taken on.

Long continuous rails linking rows of ballasted Fast Tub units into a single array on a large commercial flat roof

Variable Wind-Load Reinforcement

High-exposure installations concentrate wind load at perimeter and corner positions. The Fast Tub's modular design allows additional tubs to be integrated precisely where wind exposure is highest, without over-specifying ballast across the entire array.

Conventional console systems have no equivalent. Ballast capacity is fixed by the unit at the point of specification.

Rows of Fast Tub units on a flat roof, each loaded with gravel ballast bags beneath the rail runs

Independent Tub Positioning

Tub position and panel position are entirely independent. The tubs attach to the rails and slide freely along them, left, right, or around any obstruction, without affecting the panel layout above.

A roof protrusion, drainage outlet, or access hatch that would force a console system redesign becomes a non-issue. Move the tub. The panels remain exactly where they are.

Fast Tub units laid out across a flat roof, positioned around chimneys and parapet walls before ballasting

Universal Panel Compatibility

The adjustable rail configuration accommodates virtually any solar panel size in both landscape and portrait orientations. No fixed module geometry is built into the system. A single product handles standard residential panels and large-format commercial modules without additional components.

Note: for portrait installations using parallel rails, mounting point locations must align with the panel manufacturer's specification data sheet.

Full-size solar panels mounted in landscape at 13 degrees across a completed Fast Tub array on a flat roof

Injection-Moulded HDPE Construction

The Fast Tub is manufactured by injection moulding, not vacuum forming. The process produces consistent wall thickness, higher structural integrity, and a tub built to carry up to 200 kg of ballast and sustain that load for the full life of the installation.

Empty injection-moulded HDPE Fast Tub viewed at an angle, showing the ribbed internal walls and the rail clamps fitted along both sides

Roof-Friendly, Penetration-Free

Ballast-based fixing eliminates roof penetration entirely: no membrane damage, no specialist fixings, no compromise to the existing roof warranty.

The system sits on the roof surface and is secured by weight alone, with wind load calculated per project by structural engineers.

Fast Tub units loaded with ballast bags sitting directly on a gravel flat roof, secured by weight alone with no fixings through the membrane

Video

See how it goes together

A 75-second animated walkthrough of the full installation, from first tub to final torque check.

Still frame from the 3D installation animation, showing Fast Tub units and rails assembled on a flat roof

In Practice

Engineered for Your Site

Every Fast Tub project is supported by certified, project-specific wind load calculations to ensure full code compliance. The engineering team produces structural calculations on a per-site basis, accounting for exposure, roof geometry, ballast availability, and array configuration.

Constructed from injection-moulded HDPE, aluminium, and stainless steel throughout, the system is corrosion-resistant and UV-stabilised for long-term performance across the full range of rooftop environments, coastal and inland.

Domestic and Commercial

The Fast Tub scales from a single-row domestic flat roof installation to a large-scale commercial ground mount without changing the installation logic or adding product complexity. The same tub, the same rail, the same five-step process.

For installers looking to expand into commercial flat roof and ground mount work without retooling the van, that is a concrete competitive advantage: one product, every job, no additional investment in stock or training.

The System

Explore the system

The tub carries the ballast. The rail provides structural continuity.

Three ballasted Fast Tub units linked by two continuous aluminium rails, panels removed so the tubs, ballast bags and rail clamps are visible

Choose what the model shows

Toggle the panels away to see the structure underneath.

Installation

Monolithic array. Less ballast. No roof penetration.

The Fast Tub installs on any flat surface without penetration into the roof structure. Suitable for flat roofs with up to 5° existing pitch, or ground mount applications.

The system provides a fixed 13° tilt angle, optimised for UK solar yield on flat and near‑flat surfaces.

  1. Fast Tub units laid out in rows across a flat roof, positioned around chimneys and parapet walls before ballasting

    Layout

    Position the tubs on the roof with a 300 mm overhang from each end of the rail. Refer to the tub spacing calculation below to confirm the correct number of tubs and spacing for your rail length.

  2. Rows of Fast Tub units on a flat roof, each loaded with gravel ballast bags

    Ballast

    Load each tub with ballast in line with the project‑specific wind load calculation. Distribute weight evenly to keep tubs stable during rail installation.

  3. Installer stepping between ballasted Fast Tub units while aluminium rails are laid out across the roof

    Rails

    Align each rail's centreline with the tub upstand. Secure using a torque wrench at the specified setting. Torque: 11 ± 1 N·m (A2‑70 stainless steel M8 bolt). Do not overtighten.

  4. Two installers fixing portrait-orientation solar panels to the rails with an impact driver

    Connectors & Panels

    Place mid and end connectors into approximate position on the rails. Set panel position, then connect and tighten with an impact driver.

  5. Completed Fast Tub array with full-size solar panels mounted at 13 degrees across the flat roof

    Checks & Completion

    Verify all connections, alignment, and ballast placement before sign‑off.

Trade

Trade Pricing & Availability

Available to trade accounts. Contact the team for volume pricing, project-specific wind load calculations, product samples, or technical support.