i got free solar hot water stuff from craigslist.

[georgeodjungle]

last month i posted "wanted solar stuff" on craigslist.

i got 5 hits.

and after 10 emails and 6 phone calls.

so today we picked up 4 of them.

with a total of about 200 sq feet of collectors.

all it cost was some gas,and caulking.i even used the 50 year good stuff.

my dad and i  went out and got them.

took less than a 1/2 hour each to disassemble and load up.

i'm so glad we brought a barrel with us.

only one leaked but still could use most of it.

come to find out up here in snow country there's two kinds.

 one that drains "drainback" and ones that have antifreeze.

 thay are all a closed loop systems.

i realy like the drain back system.i think i'll try that.

i wonder what i'm gonna do with about 80 gallons of the green stuff.

so i had a realy good time to day.

got to spend some time with the old man and got caught up on things.

scored on some free solar hot water stuff.

if nothing else a life time of antifreeze, and a cuple hundred pounds of copper, aluminum and 4 new friends.

so if ya have a craigslist around a town near you? works for me!

p.s.

thanks dad see ya next month!

[FishbonzWV]

george,

Farmers use the antifreeze in their tractor tires for ballast. If you want to get rid of it see if your local ag dealer would want it or put it in the ad bulletin.

[Volvo farmer]

Oh man, that's cool. I need to gather up a half dozen more collectors myself.

As for the antifreeze, I believe farmers use CaCl and water in their tires, not Ethylene Glycol. If you really need to get rid of it, just put it in the river (just kidding). I believe oil change places do antifreeze flushes and may be able to dispose of it for you. Personally, I'm planning on using glycol in my system, Drainback looked too complicated and should something fail to drain back on a cold night, you've got busted frozen panels.

[georgeodjungle]

it looks, feels and tastes like antifreeze.

acording to our body logan.

he'll try just about any thing for 10 bucks.

well the shot of 16% pepper spray to the face cost 50.

any other way to test it?

[GaryGary]

Hi,

If you use the drainback style (a good way to go I think), make sure that all of your plumbing to the collector has slope toward the drainback tank.  If you don't do this, it won't drain when the pump stops, and you will have freezing problems.

Drainback systems also require a high head pump, because the pump has to overcome the pressure head from the drainback tank all the way up to the collector on startup.  The closed loop systems don't have to do this because they are always full of fluid.  If your collectors are (say) 20 feet above your drain back tank, then you need a pump with at least 20 ft of head capability (9psi).

Take a look at the article on drainback systems here:

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/water_heating.htm

Good Luck!

Gary