Cheap DIY solar water heater

[Mr. Blank]

This is one I will be building for sure.

http://www.builditsolar.com/Experimental/CopperAlumCollector/Construction.htm

[Tactical Badger]

Nice!!  I like that a lot!

[TXChikk]

I like it too! This will be great for the ranch a friend & I plan to own "someday". Thanks for the link and +1! 

[LdMorgan]

I just finished a solar box designed to pre-heat the water that goes to my electric water heater.

I made it out of scrap materials, except for the copper pipe & valves, fiberglass insulation, and caulk. I had an old sliding door lying around that provided the glass, and I scrounged an old 40-gallon water tank from someone that had just upgraded their water well. I painted everything flat black inside after reading that tests back in the 1920's showed that to be exactly as efficient as fancy internal reflectors.

I was lucky: I had a South-facing wall close to my electric water heater, so I just went in through the wall and tied in to the existing lines. It was a cramped installation, and I spent a l-o-o-o-ng time figuring out how the pipes and valves could be made to fit, but it worked.  They say short feed lines are important, so I went for the shortest.

The whole project cost about $100.00, and seems to be knocking about $45.00 a month off my electric bill--and it's not even summer yet. That sure beats those projects that promise a hefty payback in only 15 years.

I'll have some pics up in a day or two. Gotta get batteries for the camera.

[Mr. Blank]

Looking forward to those pics. 

[archer]

The whole project cost about $100.00, and seems to be knocking about $45.00 a month off my electric bill--and it's not even summer yet. That sure beats those projects that promise a hefty payback in only 15 years.

I'll have some pics up in a day or two. Gotta get batteries for the camera.

Oh nice! Looking forward to pics and to see how it does this summer.. +1

[LdMorgan]

Here's pics of the box and the valve setup inside the washroom. Real short pipe runs. I can cut out the tank with the two top valves and work on it without a major flood. While still having water pressure to the house, I mean.

It's all standard 2X4 stud construction, with plywood walls & fiberglass batt insulation. Just a box with an old tank in it.

The glass needs a little cleaning, but it's still workin' fine.

[archer]

Nice job. I could almost do that... +1

[P_Coltrane]

And on the plus side, you have an additional 40 gallons of water storage.

Great job!

[archer]

And on the plus side, you have an additional 40 gallons of water storage.

Great job!

Very good point!

[smkymtn]

 Thanks Trioxin!

[Mr. Blank]

 

[Possenti2264]

I read somewhere about a DIY parabolic mirror using a curved screen tv (if you can find one, heh).  Of course, it would evaporate the water and fry the container.

[frankd4]

I run my dump load to DC heating elements in my water heater, once my batteries are charged instead of wasting the power into the dump load I heat my water.

[keebler]

very nice job---thanks for the write up & pictures..

[Beetlebum]

This is one I will be building for sure.

http://www.builditsolar.com/Experimental/CopperAlumCollector/Construction.htm

Wow, that looks like a fantastic site! Aaaand... bookmarked. I've already seen great points made for now construction, great DIY projects and the common sense strategy of planning and understanding your upgrades. I hope it continues to impress. Thanks!

[Perfesser]

The connection between the absorber plate and pipes is the key to this kind of heater and eventually with expansion forces it will corrode and degrade . I was able to solder narrow copper sheets to the pipes (at a much closer spacing) for a better, longer lasting connection.