Poor Man's Solar Hot Water results

[Nofossil]

I spent last summer tweaking my solar hot water system. Month of May performance is in: 13 oil boiler cycles for th month vs 105 before solar hot water. Total oil consumption: 3.3 gallons. I added the panels to my existing hot water storage that I built for my wood boiler. The glazed panels are reclaimed from a town dump. Total investment: about $200. 83% reduction in oil consumption: Priceless!

Writeup is here.

 

[eba1225]

Nofossil,

Wow that is great. I am currently working on my solar panel and hope to have it up and running by mid Jun. My mine work 1/2 as good as yours.

Erik

 

[Nofossil]

Nofossil,

Wow that is great. I am currently working on my solar panel and hope to have it up and running by mid Jun. Do you have any other pics of the design? Want to compare my design against what you have there as it looks like it is really impressive..

Erik

When people look at my installations, 'impressive' is rarely a chosen adjective - thanks. I don't have a lot of photos, partly because it's so simple. In the picture below, you can see it before I added the glazed panels, buried the lines, and finished the storage insulation. Check out the extremely hi-tech 'floaties' from K-Mart that I used to insulate the lines. $1 per 6 foot length, closed cell foam. Hard to beat.

My system thermosiphons, so there's no pump, no controls. Just the panels connected to a HX coil in my storage tank. The HX is a rectangular 40" x 60" spiral of 1" copper. I bought all of the copper for it (used) for $20. Probably worth more than that now ;-)

The writeup on my site chronicles the development and the internal plumbing.

 

[Nofossil]

Here's a shot of the storage tank with the panel connections....

 

[MrEd]

nofossil - I really enjoy your posts and website - I am learning a lot.

Question that maybe you can help me answer:

Background:
Currently have a oil boiler, and get my hot water directly off the boiler with a domestic loop - very inefficient and boiler runs all summer. I have a tarm solo which will be installed this summer, and may or may not also add heat storage this summer, but defintely will by next year.

I am going to order an Superstor indirect fired water heat (60 or 80 gallon), and add it as a loop on my existing oil boiler, as a first step in reducing oil usage. My tarm will be plumbed in parallel (I am pretty sure) to my existing oil boiler later this summer. Since I won't have storage at first (except the 80 gallons in the superstor), I'd like to limit how many fires I need to run during the summer, so I'd like to ad an inexpensive solar loop to the superstor - they sell tanks with dual heating coil loops for this purpose, but they are pricey.

My question is, is there any reason I can't plumb in a loop on the outside of the superstor (basically a 'T') so that a solar panel feeds hot water to the same 'boiler in' nipple on the indirect-fired superstor, and add an extra circulator that pushes hot water thru the superstor when the panel on the roof is hot, and if its not, let the oil boiler do the work (which when the tarm is running the heat will come from the wood).

Basically I am working towards a setup that in many ways is similar to the diagrams you provide on your website, but at first I don't have the large storage tank to work with so I need to customize as I go along...

 

[eba1225]

Nofossil,

Your post inspired me to complete my panel. It is 6'x3' utilizing a patio door as the insulating glass. Had it running Sunday and managed to achieve 140F in a 20gal barrel that was constatntly recirculated through the panel. Building the fins for the pipes was a real pain, but now that it is running it is very gratifying.

Plan is to use it to create hot water that will be used to heat the basement. If that works out then it will be used throughout the house.

Erik

 

[solarized]

I just found this discussion on Google, and I'd like to monitor it for any expert advice. I also have a Super-Stor, like MrEd, connected to my boiler. Today I picked up five large solar hot water panels at a giveaway price. I'd like to add them to at least preheat my boiler water. I suspect that another, larger storage tank will be necessary, but cost will push the project back a bit. We just got done with installing and paying for the PV up on the roof.

 

[jtp10181]

I like the use of pool noodles as insulation, great idea.

 

[carbon neutral]

No Fossil,
I really like the idea of floaties for insulation that is very cost effective!
Could you tell me how you found copper coils for such a good deal? I have looked on e-bay but haven't found anything near that price. I would say your coil is probably worth its weight in scrap at only $20!