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Place for SIMPLE thermal solar water heater tank tank parts solar water heater storage tank stuff plans

Question:

If you haven’t

solar water heater tank tank parts

guessed solar water heater storage tank by the subject line I’m looking for plans for some simple solar thermal items. Two things in specific I have read about and would like to find some info and plans for. The first is what I call a ’solar window box’. The way I understand it in its simplest form it is a glass covered box which is placed in the bottom of a window. It takes the cooler air from low in the room then uses the sun to heat it and pushes it back into the room, all via thermal siphon. The other is more complicated. I have an old water heater tank that has a hole in it but can be welded enough to stop the leak. I want to take the tank and make a solar water heater. I’m looking for a very simple plan. A lot of people talk about the efficiency of their design but its been my experience that the more efficient the more complicated. The idea for the heater is just to make something to show it will work. After that I can justify to SWMBO adding a better more permanent system. The thoughts I have had so far are: 1) Just painting the tank black and use it as a 50 gal batch heater. Should warm up enough during a summer day to get a shower out of. I’ve been told that it might even get TOO warm so I should consider having some how to mix cold water with it at the shower head. 2) Paint the tank black and plumb it into my hot water line with an easily accessible by pass set up. 3) Do the same as #2 but add a collection system of black plastic pipe under clear plastic. 4) #3 with the tank in a plastic covered box to reduce heat loss. Remember this is going to be solar water heater storage tank nothing but an experiment/demonstrate so nothing fancy, complicated or expensive (e.g. glass boxes mounted on the roof) will fly. Any palce to get the building plans for either and any ideas or thoughts on either project will be a great help.

Response:

… The first is what solar water heater storage tank

solar water heater tank tank parts

I call a ’solar window box’. The way I understand it in its simplest form it is a glass covered box which is placed in the bottom of a window. It takes the cooler air from low in the room then uses the sun to heat it and pushes it back into the room, all via thermal siphon.

Is this what you’re talking about? http://www.jrwhipple.com/sr/solheater.html The other is more complicated. I have an old water heater tank that has a hole in it but can be welded enough to stop the leak. I want to take the tank and make a solar water heater. I’m looking for a very simple plan.

I think you’re looking for a batch water heater. Essentially paint the tank black (remove any insulation around it’s outside first) and place it in the sun. Pipe it in between the cold water and the inlet to your normal water heater. It’ll work better if it’s in a glass (or plexy) faced box that is insulated on the sides that don’t face the sun and that maybe has a couple of reflectors. Most folks lay the tanks down on their sides when they do this and slope the glass at an angle that is about equal to their latitude so it faces the sun more square. If you really want to get fancy you could add an insulated door or shutters that open when the sun is shining and close when it’s dark. These can be operated by a fairly simple device using counterweights and half filled glass bottles or the like. solar water heater storage tank

Response:

solar water heater storage tank You could just paint it black -

solar water heater tank tank parts

fill it with water, and put a thermometer inside it – see what happens – don’t even have to plumb it into the house systems at first. Give it a few days and chart the water temps, day and night compared to air temps. Leave some air space at the top for expansion. Stage 2 – lay it down against a south facing wall – maybe a piece of styrofoam to separate it from the ground, and lean a storm window over it. Or a simple frame solar water heater storage tank of 1×2 with clear plastic stretched over it. 3: Ask around if anyone has a ‘dead’ freezer big enough to put the tank in. The freezer is well insulated and has a door with a seal. Put the freezer on it’s back, with the lid lying on the ground. Close when the sun goes down. 4: cover the open side with plastic or storm window 5: put reflective mylar inside the box and on the inside of the lid so that when the lid is open it reflects more sunlight into the box. If you do a few days at each stage, recording temps morning and evening you will get an idea of how much you gain each day, how much you lose each night, and how much each stage improves the results.

solar water heater tank tank parts

If you post the results here it will be very interesting for many of the rest of us.

solar water heater tank tank parts