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Pre heating water in the attic
By zmoz, Section Remote Living Posted on Thu Apr 22, 2004 at 11:31:26 PM MST
Some questions....

I want to try preheating the water that goes into my water heater using the hot air that's in my attic. First of all, does it matter if the pipe is black or not when it's in the dark? Does black still soak up more heat? How warm do you think I could get the water before it goes into the heater, if it runs through around 150 feet of pipe on an ~80 degree day?
Thanks guys!

Pre heating water in the attic | 8 comments (8 topical)

Re: Pre heating water in the attic (none / 0) (#1)
by KHB1 on Fri Apr 23, 2004 at 03:36:38 AM MST

Will work but you will get condensation on pipe depending on humidity level.
Good luck.
As you slide down the banister of life may the splinters point the other way.

Re: Pre heating water in the attic (none / 0) (#2)
by wooferhound on Fri Apr 23, 2004 at 08:41:47 AM MST

Here is a rather long thread about using your attic as a heater.
http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2003/9/2/204452/0898
The very last post by troy says that Black will absorb the heat radiation better than white. As for how hot will it get, I'll answer with another question, How hot does your attic get ?

}=- W o o f -={

Re: Pre heating water in the attic (none / 0) (#3)
by wooferhound on Fri Apr 23, 2004 at 08:48:20 AM MST

forgot to mention the idea in the thread I just posted.

The guy was talking about using the pool water to cool the house which heats the water for the pool . . .

}=- W o o f -={

[ Parent ]

Re: Pre heating water in the attic (none / 0) (#5)
by Gary D on Fri Apr 23, 2004 at 09:38:29 AM MST

Great thread woof! You might want to add a filter beyond the cutoff/drain down for recharging in the springtime. You could then easily disinfect the pipes/ hotwater heater by adding a few ounces of clorox in the filter bowl before turning on the system each year. Just watch out how much you add becouse it can burn! After using a few tanks or flushing it out, no bacteria. That concern wasn't adressed in the thread. Have fun, Gary D.

[ Parent ]

Re: Pre heating water in the attic (none / 0) (#4)
by Victor on Fri Apr 23, 2004 at 09:37:13 AM MST

The color of the pipe will matter only for heat that is being transfered by radiation. I would think that most of the heat in the system you are thinking about would be conducted.

In any case I dought that this will be worth doing even if the pipe was free.

On the other hand if the pipe was exposed to the direct sun I think it probably would work pretty well. There is a home here( Boulder Colorado) that had three large unglazed coils of black poly lying on the roof. I used to wonder how well it worked. After seeing it for years(10 or 15) and wondering if it was in use, it dissapeared.I figured they gave up. Then a few weeks later it reappeared as a much neater and more labor intensive grid of black poly covering the south side of the roof on 12" or 18" centers. Obviously this can only be used seasonally in Colorado's climate, but it must work well enough for the guy (or gal) to put in the extra effort.

Victor

Re: Pre heating water in the attic (none / 0) (#6)
by JB on Fri Apr 23, 2004 at 02:26:46 PM MST

I have my water pipes in the attic. They are hot and cold pvc. I put them in there there a long time ago when I decided to add living quarters to my garage and move out of the garage. They are Probably not to code. I have a layer of insulation over the top of them to kep them from freezing in the winter and in the summer I can get by without a hot water heater. They also build up pressure in the summer something to be considered. JB

[ Parent ]

Re: Pre heating water in the attic (none / 0) (#7)
by jubalearly on Tue Apr 27, 2004 at 04:51:32 PM MST

Prior to Y2k, there were a lot of posts in Miscelaneous Survival on DejaNews regarding this. 'Nick' had a lot of posts calculating the heat rate. Maybe Tony or Nando has a reference to his page.

At any rate, it seems that my idea of 3 x 4 or 6in. pvc pipes of 40 to 50ft. each would allow me to replace my water heater altogether. I was planning to run these mounted right under the peak of the roof. Watch the weight.

Re: Pre heating water in the attic (none / 0) (#8)
by jubalearly on Tue Apr 27, 2004 at 04:52:48 PM MST

Pardon me, I meant to say Troy, not Tony

Pre heating water in the attic | 8 comments (8 topical)

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