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Solar hot water heat

Rick W.
Rick W. Member Posts: 30
in THE MAIN WALL
Hey Eric,

Was wondering what type of solution you plan to flow through your HX and floor? Was also wondering where you sourced those plate collectors? Looks like you're really gaining on it! Troybilt for trench? Looks great.

Comments

  • Ericjeeper
    Ericjeeper Member Posts: 179


    well I finally have the panels up and running . I placed the tank sensor into a capped off copper tube down into the water.(Thanks Rob) my current water temp is 95. an hour ago when I placed the sensors into the well.I was reading 93.1 so in a little over an hour it has raised it almost 2 degrees, and that is almost 500 gallons of water.
    The system is not tied into my house system yet. so basically I am just heating water in a tank. As soon as I can manage to unroll that 300 foot rool of 1 inch barrier pex.. I will dig my trench and run it into the house.
    I am wishing to use the solar loop providing the tank temp is above95 or so. problem is I currently have two pumps in the mech. one flows the loops in the slab and other flows through the heat exchanger. I want to use a zone valve for the 1 inch loop from and to the storage tank.I was planning to tie the zone valve into the system using a bulb stat and line voltage.
    Someone made mention to me to use another differential controller. which I assume could easily do the trick.But I am not sure about the wiring of it.
    Another issue is the heat exchanger pump. I do not want it to come on when the storage tank is up to temps and the zone valve is open.I only want it to come on when the tank temps are too low to heat with.
    I have some pics of my setup, and I will go take some of my interior setup so you can maybe get a better feel of my issues at hand.
    I am a homeowner/carpenter not a heating and cooling or plumber as you will surely see from my pics. I promise never to bid any HVAC work either..smile
    www.pbase.com/ericjeeper/solar
    Thanks for all of your help.
  • Ericjeeper
    Ericjeeper Member Posts: 179


    when I last checked the tank temp it was 97.7. I am rather curious to see what it is in the am.. to see how much standby loss I have.
  • Ericjeeper
    Ericjeeper Member Posts: 179
    lost .3 degrees

    I am pretty pleased tank has only lost 3 tenths of a degree in 4 hours.outside temp is 45 degrees currently.
  • Mad Dog_2
    Mad Dog_2 Member Posts: 7,518
    What is the brand of storage tank, Eric?

    Mad Dog

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
    Consulting by Mad Dog & Matt Jr.
  • Ericjeeper
    Ericjeeper Member Posts: 179


    It is an earth bank, home made dug out hole in the ground. six inches of Pink board on all sides.

    Having a buddy that can dig a pretty darned near perfect hole with a backhoe is a must,,Otherwise you will do lots of shoveling. Basically lined a flat bottom hole with six inches of pink board. Put in a pvc pond liner.and capped it off with another six inces. and then 4 inches of reinforced concrete.
  • Tim Gardner
    Tim Gardner Member Posts: 183
    how about some pictures?

  • Ericjeeper
    Ericjeeper Member Posts: 179
    link to pics

    The link to my online gallery is
    www.pbase.com/ericjeeper/solar
  • Tim Gardner
    Tim Gardner Member Posts: 183


    Great pictures! Thanks.
  • Rick W.
    Rick W. Member Posts: 30


    Eric, was wondering how far your house is from collector site? How deep for your trench? What form of electric for your pumphouse, PV? Carpenter here too; was considering remote collection also due to shading near house. Have you referenced Home Power magazine website? Looks like fun project, good luck!
  • Ericjeeper
    Ericjeeper Member Posts: 179
    50 feet from house

    I am only digging the trench a foot deep/. as the lines will be placed in a 6 inch non perforated field tile.and insulated as best as I can seperately. going to use the 3 foot lengths of pipe wrap slid on to the pipe so I do not have to slice them open,then tape the two 1 inch pipes together and wrap with the foil bubble stuff.
    I will run two runs of 110 to the pump house.. I am currently running it on an extension cord.. My pump is running on as low of speed as it offers.. My current tank temp is 113 degrees F. and my incoming glycol from the panels is 124.8.. That is not to shabby. I had to redo a check valve that was leaking this am. so I had to drain the system back down. When I recharged it I ran it quite a while before the sun was hitting the panels hard. and I lost a little over 2 degrees tank temp. so once the air was out.The system in 4 hours has basically made 20 degrees rise in the storage tank temps.
    I have no idea how many btus 600 gallons of water contains.I am not sure how long I can draw from the storage before I suck the temps down to below what I need by design.. as long as I have 95 degree tank temps it should adequately heat my house.3200 square feet
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