Inexpensive solar heat

[Saidrich]

The picture shown is a solar water heater I built using scrap materials around my yard. (I was told by the village office I needed to clean up) Other then some scrap 3/4" copper tubing no money was spent to build this unit. The solar collector has been used in my house, which is located in a northern climate, to heat our domestic hot water for three years. I decided to place it on the roof of the house and use a 75 watt circulating pump instead of using convection so it would not be broken by the many children I have playing in the yard. The collector box is an old wooden pain window. I insulated the back with pieces of styrofoam and covered it with lumber wrap.  

[commanda]

Do you mean this picture?

[Saidrich]

Thank you for your help, I am a new user here.

[WXYZCIENCE]

How much hot water do you get from this unit. Joe

[Saidrich]

At first I was only able to increase my water 80 degrees in mid July. I had a few problems with the design. First the back of the unit was not insulated and any air movement across the back would cool the pipes very quickly. Secondly there was to much air gap between the glass and the copper tubing. I also had my angle of attack to sharp for the months of use and my flow rate was to high. After I fixed these problems I was able to add about another 20 to 30 degrees. I heat my hot water and home off grid so the summer months need assistance. This unit brings my water temperature to about 120 degrees. Although this is not as warm as my wood boiler will bring the water, it heats the entire hot water tank in eight to ten hours.