Has anyone installed a do it yourself cheap geothermal system?

nightshade

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To get started you might want to look at this website for some one in your area WaterFurnace.com. That is the brand of geo thermal heat pump our company has installed for 22 years. Now lets try to do some explaining don't mind my typing please. Their are two different types of loops for example their are closed loops and open loops. horizontal loops or trenches are closed loops, they can be slinkied like if you stretch out a slinky you simply stretch the coil out with out rolling it this normally requires a jig to assure the slinky is spread evenly. We most commonly simply just run the pipes along the bottom of the trench along the sides. If the ground is rocky however screenings are used for beading to protect the pipes both beneath them and above. The amount of screenings would be determined by your soil or how rocky it is. When a backhoe is used we lay one loop in each trench about 4 ft deep although when using a excavator or a track how with a much larger bucket two loops are placed in one trench 6 ft deep. Typically 300 ft of pipe per ton of heating btu's. Then their are vertical loops which are also a closed loops. In this instance a well drill is used to bore a hole in the ground at the requested depth then the loop is rolled out weighted on the end were the u bend is filled with water and dropped in the hole. If the ground is good no casing is needed and we don't want any either because we are after heat transfer from the ground. After the loopes are dropped the holes are then filled with a slurry mixture. We run two main lines from the home to the header witch is located at a central location between the loops were they are tied together one pipe from each loop goes to each line to the home to be tied into a pump pack that is mounted inside on the wall near the unit to circulate the water/methanol mixture through the loops. You can also do a closed loop in a pond if the pond is deep enough 8 to ten feet will normally make a heating contractor who knows what he is doing happy. Then their are open loops or pump and dumps witch ever you want to call them they take water from your well run it through the unit and disperse of it into the ground a pond or a drain. The way they work is typical of a air to air heat pump except they use they steady ground temperature rather than the fluxeuateing air temperature. The liquid from the loops no matter which kind never never go through the compressor their work is done once they go through the heat exchanger. Where their is a tube inside of a tube and they flow around each other in the refrigeration process that the gasses flash of. Before i forget nobody that has a clue about what they are would ever use copper or barbed fittings in a geo thermal system. Special pe pipe that is to be heat fused with a 500 degree iron is how it should be assembled. I hope this helps and i hope i said this all correctly

nightshades hubby.
 

nightshade

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okay that is a way bigger unit then you need! you need to find out how big your house is by square footage and get a unit sized for your house not just what you think you will need. The average home uses a 4-5 gal a minute rate on an open loop system.
 

adoptedbyachicken

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Check you local laws, yes there are concerns of erosion and contamination with open loop geothermal units. Here the Province of BC will not allow them anymore. The units already in place have to be tested at least once a year and can be shut down if they show any contamination.

I can't see how they think that a feild can drain off that kind of water volume. Think about your septic system, you would totally overload it with that much water, and if you dig enough trenching to get a feild the size they would need you can put a closed loop in way easier and for less money in the long run. I would not even consider open loops really, what if the aqufer can not support you? What then? No heat in the middle of winter? Feb is the low time for all water, but when you need the most heat.
 

Libertyhomestead

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We're putting in geo ourselves. Geo is not a turnkey thing. If you think of it that way it could be a failure. The most difficult part is the sizing calculations because each house is as unique as a fingerprint. It's these calculations that make diy geo so rare. If your calculations are off your system will either not work or not work well enough to return the investment. A good site to visit is http://threeacres.wordpress.com/200...ulating-residential-heating-and-cooling-load/

The second thing that makes it difficult is the technique to join the geo tubing. It is a type of plastic weld you'll have to learn and practice or you'll have to hire a professional.

That said, it can be done diy at a fraction of the cost, but you'll need to do a lot of self education before you dive in.
 

sylvie

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Libertyhomestead said:
We're putting in geo ourselves. Geo is not a turnkey thing. If you think of it that way it could be a failure. The most difficult part is the sizing calculations because each house is as unique as a fingerprint. It's these calculations that make diy geo so rare. If your calculations are off your system will either not work or not work well enough to return the investment. A good site to visit is http://threeacres.wordpress.com/200...ulating-residential-heating-and-cooling-load/

The second thing that makes it difficult is the technique to join the geo tubing. It is a type of plastic weld you'll have to learn and practice or you'll have to hire a professional.

That said, it can be done diy at a fraction of the cost, but you'll need to do a lot of self education before you dive in.
First of all-- :welcome
Thanks for that link! Definitely one I will use scrutinize! Bookmarked it.

I was originally thinking PEX tubing with the Pex tool that crimps the pieces together. Are you referring to a completely different system of tubing?
I would love to know how you are installing yours.
 
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