Build a simple solar water

heater
Published on 2007-08-16 by Rob

Introduction
I’ve seen a few different designs for solar water heaters and I wanted to
share my own. It is quite an efficient design since every square inch of
collector surface is in direct thermal contact with the water being heated. You
can easily modify the design to any size you like. I made mine 8ft long by 22″
wide so that it can fit between the rafters in my attic. Tests showed that
system output averaged about 530 Watts, heating 20 litres of water from 24
degrees C (75 degrees F) to 47 degrees C (117 degrees F) in one hour.

Aside: I’m in the middle of re-roofing my house and plan to build in a

transparent section of roof in one area. Then I can experiment with different
solar collector designs like this one and install and remove them easily from
inside my attic instead of having to go out on my roof. It will make the
plumbing easier too. The drawback is that if a collector springs a leak, it will
leak into my home instead of into my gutter. See Build a solar attic for
details.
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Warning – Don’t drink the water

It is not my intent for this design to be used for heating drinking water. The
plastics and glues used will leach into the water so it’s a bad idea to drink
any water that has been inside the panel. If you want to use this design for
heating drinking water you should make a heat exchanger. Run the water
from the collector through a coil of copper pipe placed in a tank suitable for
drinking water. This collector design is also not meant to withstand city water
pressure, but if you use a heat exchanger and an appropriate tank (such as a
commercial hot water tank) you can use a collector like this to heat drinking
water at city water pressure.

Concept
The collector is made from Coroplast (see http://www.coroplast.com) which is
a corrugated plastic sheet, commonly used for making signs. It has multiple
square channels running lengthwise from end to end. When I first saw this
type of sheet I immediately thought, “Wow, this would make an excellent flat
panel solar collector if only there was a way to pipe water through all those
little channels.” Several weeks later, a method of doing so occurred to me. If
a slot of the right width is cut lengthwise in some ABS pipe (so the cross
section looks like a “C”) then this pipe can be fit over the end of the
corrugated plastic. The seams can be sealed to make everything water tight.
The sheet can be painted black and voila… you have a flat panel solar
collector.Because the whole collector is made of plastic, it is important that
the temperature doesn’t get too high or it will soften and possibly spring a
leak. 80 degrees C (176 degrees F) is about the limit. Don’t think it can get
that hot? Think again. In practice the maximum temperature is difficult to
guarantee. Water may stop circulating, or may drain out completely for a
number of reasons and the panel will overheat. Therefore this may not be a
practical design for residential installation but it is an inexpensive, easily
built experimental system that produces as much or more hot water than
commercially available systems. Mine cost about $60 in materials (about
$4.00 per square foot) and about 6 hours of construction time.
Tools and Materials
Tools

 Table Saw
 Hand Saw
 Drill press
 Power drill
 3/4″ drill bit
 1″ hole saw
 Exacto knife
 Tape measure
 Screw driver
 Digital thermometer
 Caulking gun for adhesive
 Coarse round file
Materials for collector

 1 – sheet of Coroplast plastic sheet (4’x8’x4mm) cut to 22″x90″ – $8.50

 1 – 4′ of 1 1/4″ ABS tubing – $6 (Note: Do not use PVC as it softens at
too low a temperature causing leaks.)
 4 – 1 1/4″ ABS caps – $10
 2 – threaded 1/2″ hose nipples – $1.00
 1 – cartridge of silicone adhesive/sealant suitable for plastic –
$3.50 (Note: since original publication I’ve found Marine GOOP to be
better)
 1 – can of flat black spray paint – $5.00
Materials for frame

 1 – 1/2″ sheet of plywood (4’x8′) cut to 24″x8′ – $8.00

 1 – 3/4″ sheet of polystyrene (2’x8′) cut to 22″x87.5″ – $2.50
 2 – 2×3 x 8′ – $8.00 used
 1 – at least 4’x10′ of transparent plastic sheet – $0 scrap
 misc screws and staples
Materials for tank / water circulation

 1 – cooler (or other water tank, preferably insulated) – $20 but I

already had one scrap
 1 – 15ft of 5/8″ garden hose – $5.50
 2 – 1/2″ hose clamps – $1.50
Total cost of materials = $59.50
Build the collector
1. Use an exacto knife to cut the corrugated plastic sheet to 22″x90″.
When cutting lengthwise, be sure to cut in a single channel for the whole
length.
2. Cut the ABS pipe into two lengths, each 20.25″ long. Check that when a
cap is placed on either end, the total length is 22″. I picked this width so
it would fit between the roof rafters in my attic.
3. Drill a 3/4″ hole in the side of two of the ABS caps. This will be easier if
you pre-drill with a smaller bit and gradually increase the size.

4. Enlarge the holes with a coarse round file until you can just thread in
the nipples. I did not have a tap of the right thread, so I planned to just
glue the nipples in place.
5. Drill a 3/4 diameter semicircular notch in the end of each ABS tube.
This is easiest if you clamp them end to end in a vise. Alternatively you
could drill this hole in the ABS tube before cutting it, and then just cut
through the center of the hole to make the notches. These notches fit
around the nipple end when the ABS caps are in place.
6. Using a table saw with a fence, carefully rip a slot down the full length
of each ABS tube. The resulting cross section should look like a “C”. The
ABS tube tends to compress as you cut, so that when you are done, the
slot will not be as wide as the width of your saw blade. Feed each tube
through the saw a second time to clean up the cut for a consistent
width.
7. Repeat the slot cutting process with the ABS caps, keeping in mind
what direction you want the nipples to be pointing when the panel is
fully assembled.

8. Do a dry fit, assembling the ABS tubes, caps, and hose nipples. You
may need to carve a bit out of the notch to get the slot in the tube to
line up with the slot in the cap.
9. Repeat the dry fit on the end of the corrugated plastic sheet. Carve up
the ABS as needed to get a nice fit everywhere.

10. After everything fits nicely, repeat the assembly, applying adhesive to
all mating surfaces before assembly, and applying a bead of adhesive to
all seams after assembly.

11. Repeat for the other end of the corrugated plastic.

12. Allow to dry for at least 24 hours.

13. After drying, cut the garden hose in half and clamp the cut ends to the
nipples.
 14. Fill the panel with water (just connect the garden hose to a tap on your
house) and check for leaks.

15. If there are any leaks, drain the panel, dry the area around the leak
thoroughly and seal with more adhesive, allowing another 24 hours to
dry.
16. If you are interested in calculating the efficiency of your collector later,
you need to know its volume. This is a good time to drain it into a bucket
and measure the volume (including the hoses). Mine contained 7.2 litres.
17. Once all leaks have been sealed, paint the surface of the collector
black.
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Build the frame

You could use the collector as is. Just lay it out in the sun and pump water
through it. However, much more heat can be captured by building an
insulated enclosure for it.

1. Cut one 2×3 to two lengths of 22″ for the ends of the frame. Screw the
other 2 2x3s into the ends to make a rectangular frame.
2. Wrap the transparent plastic around this frame to make a transparent
lid to fit over the collector. In my case this is for test purposes only, since
I intend to eventually install the collector between roof rafters
underneath transparent roofing material which will provide a ready
 made frame.

3. Cut the plywood to 24″x8′.

4. Cut the styrofoam sheet to 7’4″ by 3’9″ and place it centered on the
plywood. This will be the insulation for the back of the panel.

5. Test fit the collector and drill 3/4″ holes in the plywood where the hoses
will stick through. Make one of these holes into a slot by drilling two 3/4″
holes side by side and cutting away the wood between them. This is to
allow for thermal expansion of the collector. Plastics typically have a
high coefficient of thermal expansion. If you restrict the panel from
 expanding, it may warp and cause a leak.

6. Now stack the whole works together: First the plywood, then
polystyrene, then the collector, then the transparent cover.
7. Secure the transparent cover to the plywood back with several clamps
(or you can screw it on, but initially you might want to be able to remove
it easily for access to the collector).

Fill the panel

Filling the panel in such a way that you get all the air bubbles out is easier
said than done unless you use a few simple tricks.

1. Lift one end of the panel and rest it on a chair or other object (I used
my fence). Rest the other end on a couple blocks of wood so that the
bottom hose will have clearance from the ground (remember I
eventually want to install this on the underside of a roof, between
rafters, which is why I made the hoses connect through the back instead
of the sides).
2. Mount your storage tank higher than the panel and stick the top hose
in it.
3. Connect the bottom hose to a tap on your house and turn on the water
gently.
4. Watch as the panel fills. When water starts coming out of the top hose,
let it continue and fill the tank.
5. As the tank is filling, temporarily tilt the panel so the corner where the
top nipple exits is the highest point. This forces any air in the system to
move towards the exit nipple where it will be expelled.
6. Once you stop seeing air coming out of the top hose, return the panel
to its previous position.
7. Turn off the tap. Introduce a kink in the bottom hose to keep the water
from flowing out. Then remove the hose from the tap.
 8. Keep the bottom hose kinked, and the top hose under water in the
tank. Raise the end of the bottom hose above the water level in the tank
and release the kink. Slowly lower the end of the hose until water starts
coming out, then plug it with your thumb and quickly stick the end under
water in the tank creating a sealed system with as little air in it as
possible.
9. Orient the hoses so that the bottom hose draws water from the bottom
of the tank and the top hose delivers water to the top of the tank.
Whatever you do, be careful to always keep both hose ends under water
or you will “break the seal” and introduce air into the system which will
prevent circulation by thermo-siphoning.

Testing
If you have removed all the air and have a sealed system and there is
enough sunlight hitting the panel, it should start thermo-siphoning almost
instantly.

1. Turn the panel towards the sun and raise or lower the top end of the
panel to better aim it towards the sun. One end of the panel must be
raised higher than the other in order for thermo-siphoning to work. The
storage tank must also be kept higher than the top end of the panel.

2. Feel the top hose where it exits the panel. It should be hot if your setup
is thermo-siphoning. The bottom hose should still be cool. If this isn’t the
case, it probably means you have a vapor lock (air bubbles) somewhere
preventing the water from circulating. Connect the bottom hose to your
tap again and repeat the filling process, attempting to remove all the air
 bubbles.

3. Once thermo-siphoning starts, use a digital thermometer with probe to

measure the water temperature. By sticking the temperature probe
inside the ends of the hoses, you can measure the inlet and exit
temperatures of the collector. It took me about a minute after filling
before I had my thermometer set up. At that time the inlet temperature
was 23 degrees C (basically the initial temperature of the water) and the
exit temperature was 50.7 degrees C (123 degrees F).

4. Measure the inlet temperature over a period of an hour or so (or till the
temperature stabilizes). The inlet temperature should always be the
lowest temperature in the system. Measuring here will give conservative
results when calculating the amount of energy transfered to the water.

Results
See the image below for a plot of temperature vs time.

Thermo-Siphon Flow Rate

The hoses are setup such that the bottom hose draws cold water from the
bottom of the tank and the top hose delivers hot water to the top of the tank.
The water in the tank does not mix much due to the low flow rate. Therefore
the water drawn into the bottom hose stays at almost a constant
temperature (the original water temperature) until all the water in the tank
has been drawn out and been replaced by warm water that has passed
through the collector. Dividing the tank volume by the time till the
temperature starts to rise gives a rough approximation of the flow rate
through the collector.

Tank volume = 12.8 litres (Note: I filled it this much so the total water
volume would be 20 litres)
Time to empty: 25 minutes
Calculated thermo-siphon flow rate: 0.8 litres per minute

Note that the thermo-siphon flow rate decreases as all the water heats up
and the density imbalance difference between the tank and the panel is less.

Power Calculation

The temperature change I was able to achieve was about 23°C over a
period of 1 hour. The heat capacity of water is 4.18 kJ/kg/°C. There were
20kg of water in the system. Given this information it is possible to calculate
the average power that was actually input into the water:

Power = 4.18 kJ/kg/degreesC * 20 kg * 23 degreesC / 3600 seconds = 0.53

kW or 530 Watts.

Efficiency Calculation

The collector area is about 1.4 m2. Energy available from sunlight is about
1000 W/m2. Therefore the panel receives about 1400 W of incoming power
when aimed directly towards the sun. The efficiency is simply the power
actually extracted divided by the power available.

Efficiency = 530 Watts / 1400 Watts = 0.378 or 38%.

This is quite comparable to commercially available solar collectors. However,

I’m doing this in my back yard with uninsulated hoses, a non-air tight panel,
a single plastic pane that’s slightly opaque, an open topped tank and no
pump. The fact that I can achieve commercial level efficiencies with this
setup is a testament to the design and indicates there is plenty of room for
improvement in the industry.

Why this panel design works so well

Most home brew and commercial solar collector designs I have seen use
metal (usually copper) tubing to carry the water through the panel. Metal fins
are attached to the copper tubing. The fins are painted black. The fins heat
up and conduct the heat to the tubing. Metal is a good conductor, but the
heat has to travel a long way through a thin cross-section to reach the
tubing. In my design, I used plastic which is a poor conductor, but the heat
only has to travel about 0.3mm through a very large cross-section from the
front surface of the panel to the water. I’ll illustrate why this is better.

There is a property of any thermal system called thermal conductance that

indicates how much heat (power) can be transfered from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’
for a given temperature differential. The formula is:

Thermal Conductance = K * A / L
where:
K = thermal conductivity (a physical property of the material)
A = cross-sectional area through which heat must travel
L = distance heat must travel (the distance from ‘a’ to ‘b’).

Comparison of a typcial tube-and-fin collector to a corrugated plastic

collector.

Lets calculate the thermal conductance of a typical flat panel

collector.
Assume the panel is 2’x8′ with 4 copper tubes running lengthwise and fins
sticking out 3″ on either side of every tube (6″ per tube x 4 tubes fills our 2′
width). Suppose the fins are 1mm thick and also made of copper. When the
fins heat up, the cross sectional area through which this heat must be
conducted to reach the tubes is 1mm * 8 ft * 8 fins = 19504 mm2. The
average distance the heat must be conducted is 1/2 the fin width or 1.5″ =
38 mm. The conductivity of copper is about 0.4 W/mm/degreeC.

Therefore the thermal conductance from the collector surface to the water is
0.4 W/mm/degreeC * 19504 mm2 / 38 mm = 205W/degreeC. In other words,
a 1 degreeC temperature difference between the water and the fin will result
in 205W of heat transfer. But the panel is receiving something on the order of
1400 W of incoming power from sunlight. To transfer all that power to the
water by conduction alone the fins would have to heat up to 7 degrees C
higher than the water temperature.

This is assuming a 1mm thick copper fin which is better than you’re likely to
find in most DIY tube and fin designs. For example, some DIY books I have
read recommend making fins from aluminum cans (typical wall thickness
under 0.15mm).

Now repeat the calculation for the corrugated plastic panel.

The cross sectional area through which heat must be conducted is the
receiving area of the panel itself (2′ * 8′ = 1486448 mm2). The distance the
heat must travel to reach the water is just the thickness of the plastic wall or
about 0.3mm. The conductivity of plastic is about 0.0001 W/mm/degreeC.
Note that it is over 1000 times lower than copper which makes sense since
plastic is general thought of as an insulator, not a conductor.

Therefore the thermal conductance of the system is 0.0001 W/mm/degreeC *

1486448 mm2 / 0.3 mm = 495 W/degreeC. In other words, a 1 degreeC
temperature difference between the water and the collector surface will
result in 495 W of heat transfer into the water. To transfer 1400W, the panel
surface only needs to heat up about 3 degreesC hotter than the water.

Of course in practice, not all of that 1400W goes into the water. The
conductance from the collector surface to the water is in parallel with
another conductance from the collector surface to the outside air. The
relative values of those two conductances determines how much heat goes
where (Aside: this is analogous to current in an electrical circuit with two
resistors in parallel.)

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Conclusion
In spite of the much lower thermal conductivity of plastic, using a corrugated
plastic sheet as a collector achieves over twice the conductance between the
collector surface and the water when compared to a copper tube-and-fin
design with 1mm thick fins.

Reader Built Systems

If you’ve tried building one of these solar collectors or something similar, feel
free to let me know (leave a comment below). I’d be happy to post photos of
your system and any data you are willing to share, or simply link to your
website if you have one.
  Alex Nuget has developed a similar design with a brilliant mechanism
for “turning off the panel”. He uses black particles inside the panel
which settle to the bottom of the panel if the water stops flowing. This
prevents catastrophic failure due to panel overheating in the event of a
malfunction in the circulating pump or some other component of the
system. He calls his design the Particle Panel. You can find out more
about it at www.particlepanels.com.
 John Hearty built a drainback system following a similar design to mine
but using black dye in the water rather than painting the panel black. He
has shared some photos which I have posted here: John Hearty’s solar
water heater.
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53 comments on “Build a simple solar

water heater”

1. Rob Steves

March 7, 2009 at 6:13 pm

As this article was originally posted on another site, I’ve included all the
original comments below.

Richard M. Izzo said … 13:28, 22 March 2008 (PDT)

Are store bought solar panels made from copper and aluminum considering
these materials would transfer alot more heat.
Rob said … 14:49, 23 March 2008 (PDT)
Most commercial solar thermal panels use copper due to it’s wide
availability, ease of assembly by soldering, and it’s high thermal
conductivity. As I demonstrated above though, higher conductivity
doesn’t necessarily mean more heat transfer. It depends on the
geometry. My plastic panel transfers much more heat than a similar sized
copper tube-and-fin design would. If copper panels were available with the
same geometry as the panels I made, they would be VERY efficient.
Unfortunately tube-and-fin geometry is the norm.

rick said … 02:57, 2 April 2008 (PDT)

I have the plan to use old central heating radiators as collectors. Thermal
conductance of steel is 0.08. what do you think about this plan ??

Rob said … 20:25, 8 April 2008 (PDT)

Hot water radiators, despite their name, are primarily designed to transfer
heat by convection, not radiation. As such they don’t make very good
collectors. The ideal collector geometry is a simple flat surface facing the
sun. This receives maximum sunlight with minimum surface area to lose heat
by convection. But if you can get a bunch of old radiators for free or cheap,
they’re worth trying. In order to work well, you would have to build an
insulated enclosure around them, with one transparent side facing the sun.
Also, be careful about what you call conductance and what you call
conductivity. These are two VERY different things. Conductivity is a property
of the material, independent of shape and size. Conductance is a property of
a system, which depends both on the materials used and on their shape and
size.

John said … 08:42, 11 April 2008 (PDT)

Great idea! Thanks for sharing! I’m building one at the moment to heat
my pool (10.000L). I’m going to use a pump though. Do you think it will
be ok to have a flow rate of 2-3 l per minute?

Rob said … 12:48, 11 April 2008 (PDT)

Power output is proportional to flow rate times temperature change (T_exit –
T_inlet). Increasing flow rate also reduces the temperature change but
transfers more heat overall. The optimum flow rate really depends on how
much it costs you personally to increase pump size vs increase collector
area. Both can capture more power, but usually one is cheaper per Watt of
additional power captured. A pump and collector are considered well
matched when the cost per additional Watt of adding panel area is the same
as the cost per additional Watt of increasing the pump size. Flow rate and
panel size both limit the maximum power you can hope to capture. The
maximum temperature change (T_exit – T_inlet) that I achieved was about
25°C. At a flow rate of 2-3 litres per minute, a temperature change of 25°C
is equivalent to a power output of 3500-5000W (remember, that’s only
when it’s sunny… average power output would be much less). That is
about the maximum you could capture with a flow rate of 2-3 litres per
minute. Assuming 40% efficiency, the panel area to capture this much power
in direct sunlight would be 9-13 m^2. As described above though, it might
be cheaper to use a larger pump and smaller panels to achieve the same
power output.

Mike Hughes said … 08:23, 21 April 2008 (PDT)

Rob Awesome idea just the kind of thing that I have been looking for I am
anxious to start building and testing one myself. Have you any insight into
the longevity of the system leaks etc. I also wonder if epoxy for the joints
might work better than silocone caulk any thoughts?

Rob said … 11:19, 21 April 2008 (PDT)

Mike, unfortunately I have not experimented with this panel over long
periods. I would be reluctant to install it anywhere that a leak could damage
property. The silicone adhesive was a poor choice. It is more of a sealant
than an adhesive, and is too flexible. There is a product called Goop that
I’ve had better results with. It remains flexible after curing, but has a
much stronger bond. Epoxy may work well too, but it is important to use
something that will remain flexible at cold temperatures.

Mike Hughes said … 12:16, 21 April 2008 (PDT)

Rob, I understand the leak problem and am thinking that if installed off of the
building at ground level then leaking may not be a problem. also I live in
Texas so cold here is not the same as where you live. I think the low the last
couple of years was somewhere around 20 deg F. Also I work for The Trane
co. HVAC controls are my business and know a little bit about systems..
Anyway I am going to put your idea to work and will update you with
feedback. Also I have been doing a bit of thinking and the corrugated plastic
may also make an excellent plate and frame heat exchanger.. Just some
thoughts.

AndrewChristian said … 10:37, 15 June 2008 (PDT)

This is great. I have built 2 panels w/ 1/2 inch poly and lots of “tees” to
make a grid. Hooked them up to an old h2o tank. This one looks the most
efficient. Did the pipe tend to roll at all when sawing the notch or did you
have some type of jig to hold it steady? Thanks for a great idea-MAybe we
can straighten out the world after all!

Rob said … 15:19, 17 June 2008 (PDT)

Mike, I have used corrugated plastic to make air-to-air heat exchangers
before. Just cut squares and glue them together with the channels of every
second layer turned 90 degrees. This makes a cube with 4 open faces and
two solid faces. Then you just need to build an enclosure to channel air
into/out of the appropriate face.
AndrewCristian, the pipe isn’t very difficult to feed through straight
freehand using the table saw fence to keep the blade centered. I thought
about making a jig but found it wasn’t necessary. The writing on the side
of the tubing helps visually to keep from rolling the tube during cutting.

Bernhard said … 23:39, 20 June 2008 (PDT)

I wonder how long this plastic sheet would stand up under UV? I thought the
sun would break it down or at least make it brittle in a year or two?

Col said … 19:54, 22 June 2008 (PDT)

We had this material on the roof of our chicken shed for about 10 years till it
was hail damaged. It was quite brittle by this time but still intact except for
the holes punched through it. Without any water pressure it should last for at
least 5 years I would imagine.
Bob from Canada said … 11:03, 30 June 2008 (PDT)
The corrugated material is also available in different materials, I was thinking
of clear polycarbonate and using plumbing antifreeze died black. Another
idea was to remove some of the internal corrugations and put a tight fitting
cap on the ends causing the antifreeze to zigzag through the panel. Most
sign suppliers have the corrugated polycarbonate and they also have very
good sealants and adhesives. Also a note to Bernhard above the sign
suppliers also have corrugated sheets with aluminum bonded to the front but
I don’t think they are polycarbonate though.

Peter Hitchman said … 00:32, 2 July 2008 (PDT)

Hello Rob, I am in South Africa. How important is the size of the panel? Are
your measurements mainly to suit the design of your roof? It would suit me
to make larger panels, say 8′x 4′. Would this be OK? My e-mail add.
ismwperoc@mweb.co.za Kind Regards, Peter Hitchman.
Rob said … 15:13, 2 July 2008 (PDT)
The panel size is not that important. I made an 8′ x 4′ panel before this
one and it worked equally well. I made this one smaller so I could install it
between my roof rafters.

dbutlerdid said … 04:12, 3 July 2008 (PDT)

Hi Rob, Was wondering if you have updated/redisigned your solar water
heater since last year. Also, what part of the country do you live in?

Rob said … 16:32, 5 July 2008 (PDT)

I live in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Unfortunately I haven’t found the time to
develop this design any further since last year.

peter said … 23:43, 6 July 2008 (PDT)

Hi Rob,thanks very much for this simple but thorough analysis. I was half way
through making a copper sheet and tube collector and this has stopped me
in my tracks. I’m a bit embarrassed that I did not do the same
calculations before starting. I will at least need to halve the distance between
the tubes. However, I have made a very efficient collector using recovered
heat exchangers from air-con units. A simple insulated box with a glass front
gives a peak of 700 W / m^2 in March – April on clear day. I currently have a
150 litre tank at 75 C. See imageshttp://piments.com/panel/panel-plus-
sm.jpg andhttp://piments.com/panel/150tank-txI.jpeg. Clearly it is not hard to
get hot water on a hot summer’s day , the challenge is to capture useful
heat in autumn, winter, and spring. For this you need to be boxed. I’ve
tested using similar polycarbonate sheet instead of a glass front. It insulates
better but does block some energy because it is not truely transparent. I
measured a 10% reduction compared to a glass panel in spring. In this case
the light has to pass through three layers of plastic. The air-con units are
definitely the best capture I have seen and there is an almost endless supply
at non-ferrous scrap dealers if you can get there before they destroy them.
Great to see panel project with some science applied. Probably saved me
wasting a lot of time installing this copper sheet design before realizing it
was inefficient. Thanks.
greg said … 20:40, 7 July 2008 (PDT)
Wow. I just went to lowe’s tonight and bought some pvc and endcaps. I
spent the day on ebay looking at solar pool heaters and I was trrying to think
of a thin material that I could push water through. I do signs and it just so
happens that I have a sheet of BLACK coroplast. Told my wife the plan and
she couldn’t believe it when I showed her the picture of the pipe and the
coroplast. I did a search on black coroplast and solar heating and yours was
the first to come up! And here I thought that I was the first one to come up
with it! My plan is to maybe use a solar water pump. Kudos!

Mark said … 13:36, 8 July 2008 (PDT)

Pity you are leaving all the objectionable and “irrelevant” comments on
your site! I suggest that you clean it up. Otherwise very interesting. I wonder
if running water in a shallow “bath” (box) with glass top and a black
corrugated sheet of metal lying over the water would prove comparably
efficient, more robust and simpler to construct…

quilin said … 05:59, 11 July 2008 (PDT)

This is a really interesting design. I am wondering if multiwall clear
polycarbonate sheets that are used for greenhouses could be altered in this
way to use as the walls/solar collectors for a radiant heat floor for the
greenhouse.
SharkyTM said … 06:56, 18 July 2008 (PDT)
A good choice for adhesive would be 3M 5200 Marine Sealant, its a room-
temp curable polyurethane caulking, and is incredibly durable. Its available
at WalMart, or any marine supply store.

Chris said … 17:52, 21 July 2008 (PDT)

Excellent idea. I’ve been toying with the idea of making my own heat
pipes, vacuum sealed and everything, but in the end, you are looking for
return on investment – This has a low cost, provides a good way to get into
solar.In terms of leaks, if this was on my roof, it wouldn’t matter if it
leaked – it’s just like rain. I’m in Halifax, so I have a similar climate to
yours. I was thinking of using city water pressure in the summer to drive it to
my roof, and just disconnecting in the winter time. Tho I’d have to think
about the chemicals in the build before I ran drinking water through it.
Maybe closed loop is better..

Arul Thomas said … 21:58, 21 July 2008 (PDT)

this is best way to create the solat heater. really useful to everyone.
everyone should read this.

MarkD said … 14:11, 26 July 2008 (PDT)

This looks like a great idea. The Coroplast panels are made from
Polypropylene which is also used for food containers. Polypropylene pipe and
fittings are also available,
e.g. http://www.industrialplasticpipe.com/pages/PolypropylenePipe.htmand ht
tp://www.usplastic.com/catalog/category.asp?
catalog_name=USPlastic&category_name=13671&Page=1. If everything is
Polypropylene then bonding with a polypropylene adhesive should be
preferable/longer lasting to other adhesives. e.g.: Scotch-Weld
DP8005http://www.stealth316.com/2-dp8005.htm looking forward to trying
this myself, thanks.
Frazer RM Ross said … 20:27, 1 August 2008 (PDT)
I am wondering if instead of corrugated plastic, one could use a double pane
window (possibly layers of) instead?? They are abundant and easily can be
freely found.
Graham Hammond said … 10:25, 7 August 2008 (PDT)
I built two panels about 40 years ago, one using an old radiator and the other
out of odd bits of copper pipe. They were still heating my hot water when I
moved ten years later. I am about to build again. Gas has just gone up 35%
here in the UK. Great site, thanks.

Ed Davies said … 14:31, 10 August 2008 (PDT)

Some people in the UK are using silicone tube in the solar collectors for
freeze protection: if/when the water freezes the pipe just expands so there
shouldn’t be any problems. Have you any idea how well coroplast would
do in that respect?
http://www.itsnoteasybeinggreen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6709. The close
connection of the water to a large area is very attractive. However, it does
mean that the mass of water in the collector is somewhat larger than that in
tube type collectors so the thermal mass is slightly larger making it less
efficient when there are short bursts of sunshine – say on days when half of
the sky is covered with cumulus clouds floating by.
Rob said … 12:47, 12 August 2008 (PDT)
Hi Ed, I think coroplast will burst if the water freezes but I have not tested it.
Antifreeze would likely be required. Higher thermal mass does not affect
panel “efficiency” (all other things being equal). It simply changes the
thermal time constant (ie it takes longer for the temperature to rise/fall)
resulting in an averaging effect. For example suppose a low thermal mass
panel ranges between 5 and 25 degrees change (Tout – Tin) as clouds pass
over. A higher thermal mass panel (with identical conductivities and flow
rate) might range between 10 and 20 degrees change instead. The average
temperature increase is still 15 degrees and thus both designs will transfer
the same power, assuming they have the same flow rate. The coroplast
design having a higher conductivity from panel to water, will be more
efficient regardless of it’s thermal mass.

Rob said … 12:55, 12 August 2008 (PDT)

Hi Mark, A shallow bath with glass top and black sheetmetal lying on the
water would be much more robust. It’s major drawback is that it can’t
be tilted, making it a poor choice for most rooftop mounting or for collecting
heat in the winter (when you want it most).
Nitack said … 12:47, 20 August 2008 (PDT)
Hi Rob, Your design is exactly what I was looking for. I have been working on
a design for a poor mans solar generator using a thermal siphon setup. The
whole discussion on how it would work is listed at
Hypography,http://hypography.com/forums/engineering-applied-
science/15744-passive-electrical-generator.html. I think your design for the
heat collector is perfect for my needs and wanted to alert you to my little
project in case you found it interested and wanted to weigh in. I would have
spent a lot of time or money buying copper/aluminum piping or trying to find
old refrigerator coils if not for you. Thanks!
Dwayne said … 10:16, 26 August 2008 (PDT)
Dont know if anyone mentioned it ( didnt see it ) but there is a much more
robust product they make for greenhouses. They sell this stuff under the
name solexx and its guaranteed for 8-10 years (doubt if that would include
this use though. It may however be strong enough to weld the tubes to the
solexx and would probably be able to handle higher temps.

AllanJ said … 06:48, 1 September 2008 (PDT)

I thought this was an excellent idea, and then I went to find suppliers of
panel plates of polycarbonate (I live in northern europe). Plenty of suppliers,
but a word of warning from one of the manufacturers – it seems the material
will start to break down when subjected to water above 60 centigrade! Not
water alone, and not heat alone – but hot water. Since this is more or less the
entire idea, this could be bad news. Any experiences with alternative
materials? Someone mentioned something call solexx, but I can not find this
material in my corner of the world – any info?

Gary said … 09:31, 1 September 2008 (PDT)

Hello Rob A very interesting article. But are your calculations for the heat
transfer of a copper tube with fins correct? The conductive area of one eight-
foot fin that is 1mm thick is 2438mm^2, four tubes with one fin each side is
19500mm^2. Doing the maths equates to about 205W/C power transfer for a
copper system (rather than the value mentioned of 25W/C). This value is still
about 40% of the ‘plastic’ value, but means that the copper fins only
needs to get about 7C hotter than the water and not 56C. What is the
manufacturing tolerance of Coroplast sheets? If the wall thickness increases
to 0.4mm from 0.3mm, then the power transferred reduces to 370W/C. For
my money there is not a lot of difference between ‘copper’ and
‘plastic’ collectors when all other things (construction, durability,
power transfer etc) are considered.

Dwayne said … 13:41, 1 September 2008 (PDT)

AllanJ you can find info about solexx via google. Here a place that sells rolls
of the stuff: http://www.farmwholesale.com/panels.php3
Drone said … 21:33, 8 September 2008 (PDT)
Great site, thank you for taking the time and trouble to do so & maintain it.
My comment mostly relates to a suggestion of free flowing water within a
closed box collector, is there not the likelyhood of algae and bacteria growth,
particularly when the temperature is in the mid 30-40s.

Rob said … 00:43, 14 September 2008 (PDT)

Gary… Thanks. You’re right. I’ve made the correction. It’s also
worth noting that 1mm is on the thick side for a tube and fin design (I’ve
seen DIY tube and fin plans that recommend cutting up aluminum cans to
make the fins). But I agree 100% that Coroplast is not robust enough for
permanent installation. I recommend it only as a cheap way to experiment
with solar heating and I wanted to demonstrate that its performance (while it
lasts) is as good or better than commercial panels. I’m not suggesting
that plastic is better than copper but rather that the widely adopted tube and
fin geometry is not necessarily the best choice.

Rob said … 00:49, 14 September 2008 (PDT)

Drone… Yes, algae and bacteria growth would be an issue. Chemicals can
be added to prevent that (as well as to prevent freezing).

Paul Smith said … 03:35, 15 September 2008 (PDT)

Great article! I have often looked at these channels and thought that they
ought to have water flowing through them. My question is, “what do you
do with the hot water?” It may seem obvious but I want to know to where I
can pipe the hot water. Is it stored in the hot water tank? Directly or via heat
transfer coils as in my immersion heater? Or do you pipe it directly to your
hot taps? Can this system be used to effectively preheat the water going into
an ‘on-demand’ hot water heater? How could I use this system to
augment my gas-fired-central heating radiators? I am happy to fit as many
motorised three-port valves as would be needed and I can handle controling
these with appropriate temperature sensors and a bit of logic but what would
be a sensible, minimum impact way to plumb this in to existing systems?

Rob said … 21:45, 20 September 2008 (PDT)

Hi Paul, for domestic hot water heating, or for using a preheating tank for an
on demand system, there is a heat exchanger called a Solar Wand (try a
Google search) that can be installed in an ordinary hot water tank allowing
an external fluid to be pumped through it. This is a “minimum impact”
way of heating water. For home heating, solar thermal panels go great with
radiant floor heating. A typical system would involve a large insulated water
tank and a series of tubes running under the floor. Water is circulated from
the tank to the panels to heat it up, and from the tank through the tubes to
heat the home. As you can imagine, it is not nearly as “minimum
impact” as the installation for domestic hot water heating.

PRALHAD BHIDE said … 00:10, 22 September 2008 (PDT)

Respected Sir,I am quite impressed with your innovative idea of using
corrogated plastic for making solar water heater and planning to build one.
Do you have any data about the life of Corrogated plastic material. As it will
go constantly under temperature cycles , how long it will last?

Rob said … 22:14, 22 September 2008 (PDT)

Sorry. I have no lifetime data. I only built this as a proof of concept and did
not install it. I’m currently pondering more robust designs for installation
in my attic.

Frank said … 21:19, 23 September 2008 (PDT)

Very neat application of an idea I have been toying with for over ten years.
You simply worked it all out.I have done some experiments and have maybe
some valuable additions: If the sheets are polycarbonate (PC), they will bond
very well to glassfibre reinforced polyester (but AllanJ wrote that PC could
have issues with hot water). Polypropylene is a better choice: it is (within
limits) much more compatible with hot water as well as with freezing
temperatures. But the thin walls will permit less and less pressure as the
water heats up, so it is imperative to have a pressureless system (open to
air) as water expands quit a bit while heating. You must give the water ample
room to expand and compress. As PP is a real “plastic” it is far more
flexible compared to PVC and PC and even ABS, there is a fair chance that
the panel will withstand freezing. I have never heard of a PP pipe bursting by
frost. But there stays the weak point of the collectors and their bonding to
the panel. PP can more or less easily be melted, thus welding might be a
solution. But the thin walls are a challenge. One way to possibly solve this
would be to use square tubes as collectors, cutting a slit in one of the sides
of the square as well as in the horizontal surface of the panel, aligning both
slits, then hot wire welding the collector and the panel together with two
parallel wires (possibly leaving the hot wires in the weld, which is a
commonly used practice for welding PP fittings on pipes). then all you have
to do is to seal off the ends of the panels (possibly by welding them shut too)
and you have a monolithic panel. I have read somewhere that if the PP is
black, it will have good UV resistance as the carbon used to blacken it forms
a UV protection by itself. If not, the right paint will ensure UV protection. One
last thing: the same panels can be used as wall or ceiling radiators inside the
house. Many thanks.

Deniz from Turkey said … 10:56, 14 October 2008 (PDT)

thanks for theexplain for build a solar water heater,I will tray to built in
soon,again thanks a loot

fromhull said … 20:46, 15 October 2008 (PDT)

For all the canadians out there…if you’re interesting in trying this, there
are thousands of election posters hanging on posts and poles all over the
country. Guess what they’re made of. oh yeah. i just grabbed myself a
few.

Arthur HasHagen said … 10:23, 30 October 2008 (PDT)

Thank you Rob, and thanks to all of the contributors for your thoughtfull
input
Dean – Vancouver Island said … 13:59, 6 November 2008 (PST)
Great info, Rob, thanks.For a more permanent installation, could one use 2,
3mm copper sheets, separated by 3mm vertical strips. It’s almost
mimicking your poly unit but the greater conductivity of the copper could be
beneficial. I’ve tried to calculate the thermal conductance of this by
swapping out the plastic conductivity with the copper and changing the
thickness of the material. My result is not believable (too large). Would you
provide some insight to this idea? Thanks again.

Rob said … 14:54, 6 November 2008 (PST)

Hi Dean, conductance is proportional to conductivity and inversely
proportional to the distance heat must travel through the material. Switching
from a plastic to copper panel of the same area increases conductivity by
4000 times, and going from 0.3mm to 3mm thickness increases the distance
by 10 times. Therefore, the new conductance would be 400 times greater
than for plastic panels. So the conductance of such a copper panel would be
around 200000 W/degreeC. That doesn’t mean you can transfer 200000
Watts of heat. It just means that to transfer say 1000W of heat, there would
be only a 0.005 degreeC temperature difference between the panel surface
and the water inside the panel. That’s the good news. The bad news is
your panel would weigh over 70kg empty and contain about $270 of copper.
3mm thick is overkill. Going thinner would provide better results.

Dean – Vancouver Island said … 18:06, 16 November 2008 (PST)

Thanks for the explanation, Rob.Yes, $270 is a bit expensive. Maybe
aluminum would be a better option. Further on the idea, is there any reason
why the internal strips couldn’t be removed and just leave the spacer
around the perimeter of the panel to create the volume between the 2
sheets?

Rob said … 00:56, 18 November 2008 (PST)

Hi Dean,Without internal ribs, the pressure difference between the inside and
outside of the panel will cause it to either expand or contract. With that
much area to act on, it takes very little pressure to generate a huge force (ex
a 0.5 PSI difference over 16 ft^2 of panel results in over 1000 lb of force). It
takes about 27″ of head to generate 1 PSI. So if the top of you panel is
27″ higher than the bottom of your panel, the pressure at the bottom will
be 1PSI more than the pressure at the top. To withstand the resulting forces
you either need lots of internal ribs or some kind of external support.
If the panels are the highest point in your system and you pump the water
into the top of the panels rather than the bottom, and you pump the water
slowly enough, you can create a scenario where the pressure inside the
panel is lower than that outside (effectively the water draining out of the
bottom of the panel results in a partial vacuum inside the panel). In this case
you can replace the internal ribs with any appropriate material to hold the
two panels apart by a few millimeters while still allowing water to flow
between them.

I once built a small panel like this out of 18″ wide aluminum flashing (from
the roofing supplies section of Home Depot). Rather than put something
between the panels to hold them apart, I used a center punch to put divots
in the front panel on 1″ centers. When the two panels are squished
together by outside air pressure the divots held them apart, leaving enough
gap between the two panels that water could still flow. It worked reasonably
well, but was much more labor intensive to construct than the coroplast
panel.

Chris – England said … 01:30, 18 November 2008 (PST)

Fascinating read, Rob. Did you ever measure its performance in the absence
of sunshine eg cloudy day? How well do you think it would work in England in
winter, latitude 52N with much lower insolation? I can’t find info about
relative summer/winter Watts per sq metre from sunshine. Any pointers
would be appreciated. PS I’m thinking about heating a barrel of water in
a greenhouse during the day to provide a source of heat for the cold winter
nights.

Rob said … 12:39, 18 November 2008 (PST)

Hi Chris, I didn’t measure its performance on a cloudy day. I’ve no
idea how well it would work in England. I’m also not sure about
summer/winter variation in W/m^2 of solar power. Sorry.
acwhite farms said … 10:35, 20 November 2008 (PST)
What about the solexx panels? Will they work as will as the coroplast? They
are havey duty enought to stand up to tones of abuse on the farm hot or cold
weather. They would hold more h2o. I would like to build one about 4×8
inclose it in a insluated frame and plumb it to my electric h2o heater. Can I
hook it to my city water line that feeds my hot h2o tank. Would the coroplast
work better if you painted it black?

SdM said … 14:23, 5 January 2009 (PST)

Good answer, wrong science! In your get-up the solar energy is transmitted
to the water through radiation not by conduction (polycarbonate, specially
this thin, is essentially transparent). The fraction of energy absorbed by a
transparent material is Qa = Qi e^[-1/(t x gamma)] where Qi is the incident
radiation, e is 2.72, ^ denote exponentiation, t is the thickness of material
and gamma is the absorption coefficient. For pure water gamma varies
between 0.0001/cm (blue) to 0.01/cm(red) to 1/cm (near IR)
< http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/vibrat.html#c>. Gamma is 1/cm to 3/cm for
polycarbonate and is pretty flat with wavelength, but in your material it is so
thin that it will not absorb much. Your sunlight (mostly visible and IR
< http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Solar_Spectrum_png>)
traverses at best 0.8cm of water (through the sheet once and then reflected
back from the white styrofoam) and can only absorb about 25% or the solar
radiation and mostly in the IR. You would get better results by adding dye to
your water to turn it practically opaque or by painting the back of your panel
(the part against the styrofoam) black. This will cause all or practically all the
radiation to be absorbed directly by the water or transferred to it by
conduction from the back panel. I’d be interested in seeing a comparison
test.

Rob said … 22:32, 6 January 2009 (PST)

Hi SdM, thanks for the comment. However, I think you missed the part where
I painted the front surface of the panel with a flat black spray paint (after
testing for leaks)… and the part where I measured a 38% efficiency, which
would be impossible to achieve if only 25% of the solar radiation was being
absorbed. So the solar energy is transmitted to the painted surface of the
panel by radiation and to the water by conduction. I agree it would be
interesting to compare painting the front of the panel vs painting painting
the back of the panel black, or dyeing the water. My impression, looking at
my particular panel was that the bare panel was quite reflective (to visible
light anyway). Thus I chose to paint the front surface black instead of the
back.

SdM said … 05:57, 7 January 2009 (PST)

Sorry I missed step 17.

Fer said … 08:43, 12 January 2009 (PST)

I was wonder if using Bayer Makrolon sheet will work better?
http://www.mesem24.de/product/9699/Stegplatte%20Makrolon.html?
et_cid=10&et_lid=67077 They have white and transparent.
Daddyo said … 13:47, 23 January 2009 (PST)
Really nice work. I’m aiming to use this to heat a pool. One thing about
your selection of plastics that you probably considered is that the coefficient
of expansion of Coroplast (polypropylene) and ABS (unglassed) is very
similiar – a good thing for structural longevity. A good paint to use should be
Coroglosshttp://www.nazdar.com/pdf/7900%20LF%20Rev%207%20CR.pdf Iâ€
™m testing it right now. I had to add a bit of flattener since it comes glossy,
and thinner. It is very expensive ($40/quart) and has lead in it, so you
probably don’t want this in your drinking water. But lead always made
paint good right?? There’s information on the web regarding roof
temperature vs. roof color, and I’ve found that with black there’s a 50
C (90 F) rise above ambient air at low wind velocity
(http://eetd.lbl.gov/CoolRoof/ref_01.htm). Since I don’t get higher that
110 F locally I think I should be below 200 F w/o water cooling. The melting
point of polypropylene is 329 F (165 C) which gives 129 F margin at best,
seems like plenty for low pressure systems like a pool.
(http://www.inteplast.com/worldpak/IntePro/Technical%20Properties%20of
%20PP%20IntePro.pdf)
I’ve also found two manufacturers of similar design, but you’ll pay 3x
easy for their premade products. They’re joints are very robust.
Here’s one of them, their Vortex
linehttp://www.solardirect.com/pool_heaters/solar_pool_heating/inground_sol
ar_pool_heating/sph00.htm
I’m thinking with the UV protection of paint on here I may get 7 years life
out of this setup. I do wish there was a better seal from the headers to the
collectors though, I’m thinking a fillet using a 90 degree right angle piece
of plastic, or rectangular plastic rod on the joint may do the job. I’m still
not sure I need an insulator behind the panel, most pool heaters don’t
have such a thing. I’m looking for someone to talk me out of covering 1/2
my roof in the next couple months with this, otherwise I’m going for it.

Julian. said … 14:30, 2 February 2009 (PST)

Very good article. A friend of mine in France made a similar system to feed
his swimming pool. He has quite a large swimming pool surrounded by trees,
so he built around 8 or so panels about 40′ up a slope above the pool
level, fed by a large pump. It’s been running for about 10 years or so,
and the only (minor?) problem he’s had is that over time the wall
between adjacent cells break down. It isn’t too much of a problem away
from the edge, but he’s had to fibre-glass reinforce the edges on a couple
of panels. I’m planning on building a downsized version for my 12′

paddling pool this summer

M.D. Naughton said … 04:28, 3 February 2009 (PST)

Excellent project. Well considered and argued. However i have a suggestion.
Would you consider bonding a layer of TiNox/Blue Tec etc. coated copper to
the front of the plastic sheeting? One could use high temp bonding (heat
paste) to make the connection. I know you will have to increase the distance
that the heat energy must travel from 0.3mm to 1.3mm but coated copper is
a much better absorber of energy than an insulating plastic.Have you also
considered using insulated glass units (Double Glazed) as the primary
glazing cover? Once again, thanks for the article.
Daniel said … 13:52, 7 February 2009 (PST)
What if, instead of using styrofoam as insulation in the fourth “building
the frame” section, I used housing insulation? Would that keep more heat
in and make the system more efficient, or is the styrofoam better?

Tony said … 12:50, 15 February 2009 (PST)

Hi 8foot (2438.4mm) * 8 fins (76.2mm) = 1486448.6 mm2 Not 19504 mm2
…..Am i reading the sums wrong?

Rob said … 20:57, 15 February 2009 (PST)

Hi Tony, You’re calculating the collecting surface area. In a conventional
tube and fin design that is NOT the same as the conducting cross-sectional
area. The cross-sectional area through which the heat must be conducted to
reach the tube is equal to the fin thickness (1mm) times the fin length (8ft =
2438.4mm) times the number of fins (8) = 19507.2 mm^2 (I had rounded 8ft
off to 2438mm to get the value of 19504 in the article but it’s close
enough). This is the disadvantage of a tube and fin design. The conducting
cross-sectional area is usually much less than the collector surface area,
impeding heat transfer. In my design the two areas are the same.

Rob said … 21:01, 15 February 2009 (PST)

Hi Daniel, It makes no difference what kind of insulation you use. All that
matters is R-Value (the higher the better). I find styrofoam is easy to work
with since it is rigid and doesn’t compress under the weight of the panel.
Also, if the panel leaks, styrofoam won’t soak up the water like a sponge.

Adam said … 13:36, 17 February 2009 (PST)

Hi Rob. I think you are doing a commendable job of enlightening those who
are in need. Thankyou.Adam.

Jeff said … 20:59, 17 February 2009 (PST)

Would yo allow me to use your procedure for my science fair project. My
topic is discovering if a solar powered water heater can sufice for the daily
needs (of hot water) of a family. I have done other research and it seems as
though it actually can. Please let me know. Thanks.
 jacob said … 14:42, 19 February 2009 (PST)
hi i would like to do this to heat my poollike the store bought solar pool
heaters. but the only local supply i found for the sheet.has it in 10mm do you
think this will be ok

Ron said … 10:50, 27 February 2009 (PST)

Hello Rob – really a great idea – any update on how well the material and the
glue joint has held up? I’m planning on trying cpvc end pipes (abs is hard
to find here)and believe the glue joint would be a lot stronger if the pipe slit
could be pryed open wide enough to pass the sheet through with a bead of
the glue/caulk on either side of the sheet contact area, then released to
squeeze a bead of it inside – that would likely seal better because the
pressure would be trying to drive it into rather than out of the joint. Thanks

Rob said … 19:30, 6 March 2009 (PST)

Hi Ron, Sorry. I have no data on how well this would hold up over time. I only
built it as a proof of concept and did not install it.

Rob said … 23:55, 6 March 2009 (PST)

Jeff, yes, you are welcome to use the procedure for you science project.
Before fossil fuels and electrical power were widely available in North
America, solar water heaters DID suffice for the daily needs of families.
It’s ironic that most people think of this as a NEW and progressive
technology when it has been much more widely used in the past than it is
today. Good luck with your project.

Rob said … 23:56, 6 March 2009 (PST)

jacob, yes, 10mm would work just as well. It will just be a little heavier when
filled so you will need to support it well. You may also have a bit more trouble
cutting wider slots in the header tubes but you can probably manage OK.

2. Eric
 May 14, 2009 at 7:09 pm
I believe that another reason why copper is used in collectors is sanitation.
Copper is naturally bacteriacidal. So, no bacteria growth in the collector,
lines, etc etc. Plus, copper is a proven container for the safe storage of
potable water, even when repeatedly heated and cooled. The plastic, glue or
solvents you use in your homemade collector MAY not be designed or
intended to be used with potable water, or are not designed for the heat/cool
cycles that you intend to put them through. Plus, biofilms (bacterial growth
on the surface of the plastics) will occur and be maintained unless proper
sanitary processes are conducted on a regular basis. Just some thoughts.
Cool to make the hot water collector so inexpenisvely and with as high an
efficiency as you observed. Not so cool to potentially cause harm to your
family. Get the facts, check out your plastics and go for it!!!

3. Rob Steves

May 18, 2009 at 12:23 am

Hi Eric. This collector design is not intended to be placed in series with a
potable water source. Not only would nasty chemicals leach into the water,
but the panel will not survive city water pressure. However, in Canada at
least, even copper pipe collectors are not designed for circulating potable
water. The water would freeze in winter and burst the pipes. Therefore,
antifreeze must be added to the water circulating through the collector and a
heat exchanger (such as a Solar Wand) must be used to transfer the heat to
a water tank containing potable water.

4. Westy