Hi Sharky,
I drop by every few days to see whats shakin'.
I'm starting on the kitchen. I have the propane cookstove/oven, sink, gas/electric/heatexchanger hotwater heater, waterfilters. Now I need to think about the solar hot water heater. I have an area of maybe 2X3 feet.
Would you build one or find one and cut it down to size.
Thanks
The Summit summer festival is the 18TH.
Fun will be had by all
Jerry
Solar water heater?
Moderator: TMAX
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Jerry Campbell
- Posts: 96
- Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2004 3:24 pm
- Location: Summit, Or
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A 2x3 area isn't very large, but I guess any gain in temperature is an offest of what you have to heat with fuel of some type.
I built my first flat plate collector out of copper plumbing and 6" copper strap. The project itself was a major PITA, and the finished product worked, but was not as efficient as a manufactured unit. I didn't have access to the low-iron glass that is best for glazing, and the flat black paint I used to cover the collector surface didn't have the anti-reflective qualities that a commercial collector would have. Still, it did heat water.
Cutting down a manufactured collector isn't going to be much fun. First of all the glass is tempered, so it will have to be discarded/replaced, there goes your low-iron advantage. Disassembling and cutting down an extruded aluminim casing, removing the heat sink, cutting the pipes, silver soldering it all back together, why don't you just take up Golf if you need that much annoyance in your life?
If I was going to put together a small collector, I'd be looking at the evacuated tube models. They are more "modular" and a smaller unit may be able to be assembled with less trouble. They are also the most efficient at heating water, and work well in cloudy weather.
Another option is to build a "batch" heater (I'm assuming this is all going to be used in Manyana-land more than up here?). I wouldn't want to travel with a big load of water on the roof, but if you were going to use it when stationary, it could be transported empty.
These days, I have to shut down my 4x8 manufactured flat plate collector by about 4:00 PM, or the bath tub is too hot to use even after sitting until 9:00 PM. Solar water is the best use of the sun's rays!
I built my first flat plate collector out of copper plumbing and 6" copper strap. The project itself was a major PITA, and the finished product worked, but was not as efficient as a manufactured unit. I didn't have access to the low-iron glass that is best for glazing, and the flat black paint I used to cover the collector surface didn't have the anti-reflective qualities that a commercial collector would have. Still, it did heat water.
Cutting down a manufactured collector isn't going to be much fun. First of all the glass is tempered, so it will have to be discarded/replaced, there goes your low-iron advantage. Disassembling and cutting down an extruded aluminim casing, removing the heat sink, cutting the pipes, silver soldering it all back together, why don't you just take up Golf if you need that much annoyance in your life?
If I was going to put together a small collector, I'd be looking at the evacuated tube models. They are more "modular" and a smaller unit may be able to be assembled with less trouble. They are also the most efficient at heating water, and work well in cloudy weather.
Another option is to build a "batch" heater (I'm assuming this is all going to be used in Manyana-land more than up here?). I wouldn't want to travel with a big load of water on the roof, but if you were going to use it when stationary, it could be transported empty.
These days, I have to shut down my 4x8 manufactured flat plate collector by about 4:00 PM, or the bath tub is too hot to use even after sitting until 9:00 PM. Solar water is the best use of the sun's rays!
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