Solar Water Heater Build Your Own
This thermosyphon solar water heater is a bolt together design that can be built in the average home workshop with a limited amount of engineering skills and equipment.
25 Responses to Solar Water Heater Build Your Own
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I could not understand how did you make this.
svtuition
January 7, 2012 at 10:27 am
@solarwaterheater So for how long does the tank keep the water at this temperature? How hot would the water in the tank be in early morning?
kakarott829
January 7, 2012 at 11:08 am
Solar power is indeed the future of our planet.
amberjacksolar
January 7, 2012 at 12:03 pm
This is what is called an ICS system. People in NZ, Hawaii, etc. can safely use these, but they will not work in most areas of the world due to freezing.
JTGOB2
January 7, 2012 at 12:47 pm
@oomblikkies, I fail to see anything constructive from you & what part of over 30 yrs & 150 * F (60*C) so you not understand?
It works. Get over it.
tmomof6
January 7, 2012 at 1:12 pm
@vutEwa Why would I be envious – I told you I have my own solar powered geyser and it works very nicely, thank you.
oomblikkies
January 7, 2012 at 2:01 pm
@vutEwa No, I will not butt out just because you say so. I will continue to give my honest and constructive criticism because I do have a physical and chemical science background and much of the operation of these heaters are based on some very simple properties of water as well as the temperature transfer from the collector (solar panel) to the water in the geyser. Your approach reminds me so much of the cliche “if you can not argue the science, then attack the man”.
oomblikkies
January 7, 2012 at 2:29 pm
@oomblikkies (cont.) see even you recognize there is a “fantastic way to save electricity”. so where is the negative aspects of making a system like this? you’re out of place with your comments and out of place with the mood of the self-sufficient independent spirits who are trying to improve their lives. BUTT OUT. you’re not wanted here!
vutEwa
January 7, 2012 at 2:58 pm
@oomblikkies well I am one of the possible millions of people on this planet who detest people like you who make negative comments without offering a solution. that leads people to confusion. since this is a public forum, i wish to point out that my interpretation is you are envious of the video maker because he took the time and effort to educate. perhaps in your mind you are thinking “how dare he post that video”. people like you should just butt out unless you offer a positive improvement.
vutEwa
January 7, 2012 at 3:03 pm
@vutEwa I do have a 300litre solar heated geyser and that is why I know where the pitfalls in solar heating will occur. Yes, it is a fantastic way to save electricity, but one must be aware of the limitations in solar heating – there are so many different solar heaters commercially available, some with obvious shortcomings that it pays to do your homework before you decide on a specific heater.
oomblikkies
January 7, 2012 at 3:54 pm
@oomblikkies where’s your better solution, or better video? oh.. let me guess, you only know how to degrade those who actually make things that work by pointing out something that you don’t like about it. so where’s the advantage to your method of cutting down others? let me guess…. you do not have solar water or electricity or anything. i bet you slave for the man, live paycheck to paycheck and will never build anything with your own hands.
vutEwa
January 7, 2012 at 4:47 pm
Can you prefeed a pressure geyser this way or will it cause a problem??
catatonicable
January 7, 2012 at 5:25 pm
@andrew0901280 Less twenty then half it, thats roughly, or double it and add 20 if you want to go from c to f.
catatonicable
January 7, 2012 at 5:55 pm
whats the formula how do you get the answer
andrew0901280
January 7, 2012 at 5:57 pm
@andrew0901280 60 degrees celsius is 140 fahrenheit.
redsonya100
January 7, 2012 at 6:38 pm
— wow, very nice man. I’ve read lots of the project designs at “Builditsolar” (dot) com and am building my own Batch heater. Your design looks very cool and I’m impressed you were able to pull it off back in 70’s without all the bells and whistles that most of us take for granted now… I even see on builditsolar another Kiwi built a thermosyphon unit in the 60’s (there’s a fairly detailed pdf on it there). Was it a big movement back then, or were you both just ahead of the curve? =D
cantecleer
January 7, 2012 at 6:53 pm
Yes you are wright the volume is not the best it was my first video .
solarwaterheater
January 7, 2012 at 7:40 pm
I was really interested but had a really hard time hearing it….Issue with the volume
lisag65256
January 7, 2012 at 7:42 pm
I like it.
RikterZilla
January 7, 2012 at 8:33 pm
Because the coldest water in the tank will sink to tanks bottom & flow into heat collector.
RikterZilla
January 7, 2012 at 9:11 pm
(continued) for one, you can have a tube with a full barrier in the middle. Inside is 2 fans connected to each other through the barrier, and 4 connection points (1 before and 1 after each fan):
O>O|O>O
Connect 1 to output from heater, 2 to reservoir hot, 3 to reservoir cold, and 4 to input to heater. Acts like a turbocharger to help circulate the water faster.
sabriath
January 7, 2012 at 9:56 pm
What i never understood is why people put the hot water line at the top. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to put both cold and hot on opposite side of the bottom? The heat of the water rises, which would make the hot water exit into the “colder” parts of the water and make it hot, so that when the “cold” gets pushed into the heater, it will have already gotten a little heat from the outlet. Then again, I think the design can be completely reworked for high efficiency.
sabriath
January 7, 2012 at 10:06 pm
Hi Here is the answer to your question.
On my website I have a photo of my first swh the collector size was 1200*2400 mm it was connected to a header tank of 135 litres in the N Z summer it would heat water to 82 Celsius.
Answer
Temperature(Fahrenheit) = Temperature(Celsius) * 9 / 5 + 32
So in this case:
60 degrees Celsius * 9 / 5 + 32 = 140 degrees Fahrenheit
solarwaterheater
January 7, 2012 at 10:21 pm
very very good sir
TheWindMillMan
January 7, 2012 at 10:57 pm
60 degrees c.
so whats that in F
andrew0901280
January 7, 2012 at 11:03 pm