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Solar HW Collector Test
By dexxy, Section Solar Posted on Mon Jun 2nd, 2008 at 02:04:18 PM MST
I got around to hooking up my solar collector...

Hi,
I got around to hooking up my solar collector to test it out and was blown away with it's ability to generate hot water. I hooked up a garden hose to the input side. Check out the picture of the steam coming out of the collector.
I could use some advice on how to use this thing. I'm debating whether to hook it up directly to a hot water tank or if I should use a heat exchanger and keep it separate from my hw tank. Any suggestions?

Solar HW Collector Test | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 editorial)

Re: Solar HW Collector Test (3.00 / 0) (#1)
by swmiwindnsolar on Mon Jun 2nd, 2008 at 08:48:38 AM MST
(User Info)

Hello Dexxy.

It depends on what your current hot water setup is and how much you can/want to alter the existing plumbing.

I have a simlar collector heating a 120 gallon solar only tank via a heat exchanger which then feeds a 40 gallon electric tank that supplies hot water to our home.

You can see a slide presentation of the setup at this CNN iReport website.

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-9941

Hope this helps, Art.
Lawrence, Michigan.
swmiwindnsolar

Re: Solar HW Collector Test (3.00 / 0) (#2)
by Ungrounded Lightning Rod on Mon Jun 2nd, 2008 at 12:42:04 PM MST
(User Info)

That's a low-temperature hose you've got hooked to the high side. Hit the hardware store for a high-temp hose or you'll find it failing PDQ.

Also: Is this going to be hooked into the drinking water system? If so, and you'll include flexible hoses, you'll need hoses that are drinking-water safe. (Be prepared to replace them once a year and shade them from sunlight.)

Re: Solar HW Collector Test (3.00 / 0) (#3)
by Ungrounded Lightning Rod on Mon Jun 2nd, 2008 at 12:49:36 PM MST
(User Info)

Didn't read closely.

Yes: Use a heat exchanger. The slight loss of power is a small cost for the safety - from contamination, freezing (you can put an antifreeze in the panel's water), and from leakage. (If the panel plumbing fails you only dump a small amount of fluid with a heat-exchanger system. With a direct-connect system you dump water until it's shut off - which might seriously damage or destroy your building.)

Also: You don't know whether the panel itself is drinking water safe. But you do know it was previously run with a heat-exchanger system so it may have contained some toxic antifreeze/anticorrosion additive.

Finally: I'd keep it shaded until it's been hooked up and filled, to avoid risking thermal damage.

[ Parent ]

Re: Solar HW Collector Test (3.00 / 0) (#4)
by fcfcfc on Mon Jun 2nd, 2008 at 01:53:11 PM MST
(User Info)

Hi:

It looks like you have an evac collector there, in which case all the plumbing to and from should be copper. If you know the MFG, you should get the specs and the exact kind of evac it is. There are different styles of those with different engineering specs and designs... Drain back is also a possibility which can be more efficient than a closed loop system... any open loop system can spring a leak including your kitchen sink or toilet.. so that in and of itself is not a good criteria to base a decision on.... the flow rate for a unit of that size should be about .15 to .20 GPM, as near as I can tell from the photo...

Solar HW Collector Test | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 editorial)

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