solar water heater under $5

[FarmerChick]

I was checking around and came across this and posting it for anyone interested....ya never know if someone might need hot water in a barn or somewhere else.....

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/08/make_a_solar_wa.php

 

[FarmerChick]

bumping back up
wondering if anyone is going to try and make one of these....I am thinking about it but when, time is a problem for me??? anyone see good use for it??

 

[patandchickens]

I thought about doing something like that when we first moved here, to give me the capacity to make hot water in the barn (like for bathing horses, soaking horse feet, etc)... but then I thought, you know, how often do I actually bathe a horse anymore (indeed, the answer has turned out to be: 0 times in the past 5 yrs), and I usually soak abscessed feet in the evening when the unit wouldn't work anyhow. So I never bothered.

OTOH if a person DOES have a real use for hot, or at least warmed, water -- particularly if it is just an occasional need and you can wait to fulfil it til the sun is shining and the water has heated up -- it seems to me like it'd be a useful setup indeed.

There are also less bits-and-bobs-y versions that will preheat the water for your house hot water heater -- to drink, or if you have hot water heating for your home, or both -- but because those are Serious Units I do not think it would be smart to try to do 'em yourself unless you have appropriate plumbing experience and the actual right parts.

Pat

 

[scrambledmess]

We won't be doing this anytime soon, but I bookmarked it. They said it could be modified for a house.... not sure if that would be true for the size of my family, but hey, ya never know

 

[FarmerChick]

LOL you sound like me...I have so much bookmarked and if & when I will ever use the projects and such ???who knows...LOL But I don't want to lose the info, ya never know like you said!!

 

[Nifty]

I don't know a ton about this, but I've always wondered why a huge long roll of black water hose coiled up into a spiral wouldn't work?

Whenever I have a hose out in the sun it gets CRAZY hot and the hose must be holding a lot of water.... heck, you could even get a big old used water heater and circulate the water from the coiled hose back into the tank so the system is always keeping the water in the tank at a specific temp.

 

[MorelCabin]

I don't know a ton about this, but I've always wondered why a huge long roll of black water hose coiled up into a spiral wouldn't work?

Whenever I have a hose out in the sun it gets CRAZY hot and the hose must be holding a lot of water.... heck, you could even get a big old used water heater and circulate the water from the coiled hose back into the tank so the system is always keeping the water in the tank at a specific temp.

People here heat thier swimming pols with long coiled up lengths of black hose. It works really well. If you took a hose and put it on your roof with a shower head on the corner of the house or something you really could do this in the summer anyway. Heck bring a length of it in the kitchen window and leave it by the sink and you would have hot water for dishes all summer long. Good idea...Hmmmm

 

[CitySlicker]

I don't know a ton about this, but I've always wondered why a huge long roll of black water hose coiled up into a spiral wouldn't work?

Greetings from a newbie!

Over half of the energy used in the average water heater goes toward heating cold/new water vs. maintaining the targeted temperature range. With this in mind, you can connect your cold water feed from the house (previously going to the water heater) to a rooftop solar system with the return line coming back down and in to the cold water inlet to your water heater. For the system itself - use enough coiled up black landscaping hose (the semi-stiff stuff) to hold a volume of about 10 gallons. Use brass connectors with metal hose clamps when connecting multiple lengths as the pinch-plastic connectors will fail under the heat. If you want to maximize your system, encase it in a wooden box (plywood bottom - 2x2 sides) with glass over the top and insulation under the hose. Recycle using single pane, 1/8" (3mm) thick glass - typically from a large slider or two clear shower doors from a tub/shower. Don't let the hose touch the glass and keep in mind that reflective insulation is not needed as the hose catches all (but the corners of your box) of the sun's rays.

The weight (>130 lbs.) gets spread out enough that it's not a structural load concern for any roof unless you live in a thatched hut.

In So. California - I save over $20.00/mo. with my family of six, very clean bodies

Best wishes,

Glenn

 

[miss_thenorth]

Welcome City slicker--I like your sig line.

 

[enjoy the ride]

I was wondering if it would work to make a hot bed in a cold frame?

How could you get it to circulate without power though?