Poor Man's Guide

to
Solar Hot Water

©Copyright Notice
2006, Richard Lewis
No part of this document may be reproduced, transfered or resold.

Violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the Law.

The author of this document assumes no responsibility for any mishaps of any kind while
following these guidelines. These are just suggestions of things that have worked in the
past and should work if all proper safety precautions are followed. You work with scalding
hot water AT YOUR OWN RISK!

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Table of Contents

Safety first ......................................................................2

Introduction ....................................................................3
Principles of Solar Heat .................................................3
Soldering Copper Pipes .................................................4
Batch Heater Gravity Feed Design ................................6
Base ....................................................................7
Walls ...................................................................7
Black Liner and Piping ........................................8
Vent / Loop Seal .................................................8
Top Glass or Glazing ..........................................9
Reflector .............................................................9
Hose and Valves ................................................10
Operation of Batch Heater ............................................11
Some Math ...................................................................12
Water Pressure .............................................................12
Some Facts to Remember ............................................13

Safety first

● Always wear safety goggles when soldering.

● Soldering gets hot, wear some gloves to protect your hands.
● Be careful when working at heights. Always have someone helping you in case
you fall and need medical attention.
● Always use lead-free solder and rosin flux for plumbing projects.
● Always use caution when using a torch near wood. Cover the wood with a piece
of sheet metal to prevent direct exposure to the torch flame.
● Read and follow all safety precautions on the propane torch canister.
● This hot water batch heater can produce hot water up to 160° F or more on a hot
summer day. Always mix the hot with the cold at the faucet to maintain
temperature. And always be aware of kids that could burn themselves.
● If the system can't maintain 140 degrees F for at least 1 hour every few days, in
the colder months, the system should be taken off line until the warmer weather
returns.

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Introduction

Let's face it, hot water is one of

man's greatest achievements.
Maybe you don't believe me,
but try to go without a water
heater for just one day. I don't
mean take a shower 2 hours
after a power outage. There
can still be warm water in the
tank for several days after a
loss of power. I mean take a
shower when the water is as
cold as it gets under ground in
the pipes. On Vancouver
Island that temperature is
about 57° F all year round.
And that, my friend, is cold! Actually, 70° F water is cold. And 100° F is warm, 105°
is a good shower temperature, and 110° is scalding hot. Funny how sensitive
humans are to just a few degrees difference in water temperature. Not as bad with
air, but with water it is a big deal. It is because conduction works so much better
than convection for heat transfer.

In this book I'll discuss how to make a solar hot water system “on the cheap”. (This
is a Poor Man's Guide after all) It will be a simple gravity fed setup and will be the
cheapest and easiest to make, by far. This system will keep your existing water
heater in tact and fully functioning, although, the power going to the water heater will
be turned off. Also, the existing water heater will act as a pre-heater for the entire
system. Why heat 57° F water when you can start heating with 72° F water? Well,
the idle water tank that used to waste about 20% - 30% of your electric bill, can now
be used for something different. It just sits in your house, that is probably about 72°
F or so. When water sits in that tank for a day or two, it will heat up from its colder
temperature to the ambient temperature in your house. It is then fed into your solar
system, thus making the whole system more efficient.

Principles of Solar Heat

Solar heat and the greenhouse principle is actually very simple. The sun puts out
about 1300 watts per square meter or 10.8 square feet. Let's assume we have a
wooden enclosure with the inside painted flat black and a glass lid on top. The short
waves of the sunlight enter in through the glass and hit other objects. Those objects
absorb that heat and then emit infrared waves. The darker the color of the object hit,
the more efficient this conversion process. Those longer infrared waves try to
escape but can't travel through the glass as easily as a shorter wavelength can.
Thus, most all of the heat emitted stays within the enclosure.

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Conduction of the heat through the glass or the container walls accounts for most of
the heat loss. So the trick is to use enough insulation for the container. This
includes the glass. But there is a point of diminishing returns. If you had 20 layers of
glass, it would be a great insulator, but only a small fraction of the sun light can make
it through.

Also, orientation of the solar collector should be toward the sun. In the northern
hemisphere, that means that the sun is always to the south. An easy thumbrule is
based on your latitude. The angle of the collector should be latitude -10° for summer
and latitude plus 10° for winter and, ideally, about 5 degrees to the west.

Soldering Copper Pipes

In this guide I'll show you how to make a very simple solar batch heater that will hold
45 gallons of water. It can go from 70° F in the morning to about 150° by 3 in the
afternoon on a hot summer day. Or it could get up to 110° F by 3pm on a
moderately clear but cold day in the 40's.

But, no matter how simplistic this design is, you will still have to solder copper pipe
joints if you want to tap into your existing hot water system. So, let's get started.

First, don't get in a hurry. That is a very common mistake. You'll want to make sure
that there is no water in the copper pipe you are soldering. Otherwise, it will not
work. The water will keep evaporating and taking the heat down to 212° F and the
solder will not melt.

Also, make sure that the copper pipe and fittings have been cleaned thoroughly.
Otherwise, you will have leaks. Luckily, this system isn't under pressure because it
is an open batch system. The only pressure will be where you tap your line into.
And even that is only during winter when and if you drain the batch heater and use
regular water pressure.

Before you solder, make sure that the pipes fit together properly. It is better to find
out at this point than after you start soldering.

Step 1

Make sure you have all the pipes and tools you are going to need before you start

Step 2

Cut all the straight pipe to length. Don't forget that some of the pipe will slip into the
fittings at both ends. A tube cutter works best but you can use a hacksaw. Just
make sure you don't bend the pipe or have nicks that protrude out.

Step 3

Use the reaming blade on the end of the tube cutter to remove any burrs

Step 4
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Use an emory cloth to thoroughly clean the end of the pipe. This makes for the best
solder job.

Step 5

Use a round wire brush to clean the insides of the fittings.

Step 6

Make sure the pieces you are about to weld fit together. Cut another piece if you
have to, but the two pieces should slide together with a snug fit. Then disassemble
and use the flux brush to apply flux to the ends of the pipes and the insides of the
fittings. Then assemble everything again.

Step 7

Get ready to solder. First make sure that you protect all flammable materials near
each joint by covering the flammable materials with a piece of sheet metal. Next,
take your roll of solder and unwind about 10 inches. Bend the last 2 inches into a
90-degree angle. Light your torch and adjust to a 1-1/2" flame. Heat the area on the
fitting where the straight pipe slides into it. You want to use the inner flame tip and
move it around slightly so that it heats the whole overlapping area. After heating for
about 10 seconds, touch the solder to the joint at its highest point. If it is properly
heated, the capillary action should pull solder into the joint. If solder does not pull
into the joint, apply more heat and try again. When solder drips out of the bottom,
the joint is ready.

Step 8

Once you have completed soldering all joints, you can turn the water pressure on
and watch for any leaks. If you get a leak, you will have to drain water out again
from just that section and re-heat and apply solder.

To disassemble a joint

Heat it up with your torch. While the joint is still hot, quickly grab the pipe and fitting
with 2 pairs of pliers. Twist and pull the pipe and fitting apart. Be careful - they are
hot! Using emery cloth you can clean the pipe and reuse. Do not reuse fittings.
They are too difficult to completely clean for a leak-free joint.

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Batch Heater Gravity Feed Design

Let's assume that you are making a batch heater that is 27 inches
by 77 inches (inside diameter) and that it will be 6 inches deep
(inside diameter).

What you will need (estimation):

Qty Description Price (US

First things first, you'll
$)
2 2x6 boards - 10 feet long have to get some glass. I
$ 15
1 4x8 plywood 3/4 inch thick prefer the sliding glass
$ 30
1 roll of aluminum tape $3
doors for three reasons.
1 mylar thermal blanket $1
They are a really good
1 double layer tempered safety glass door $ FREE
size for a batch heater,
1 section of 4-6 mil black plastic $5
3 feet of copper tubing
they are tempered safety
$6
1 water valve glass and they are double
$3
2 “T” connector for copper piping layered for insulation.
$3
1 tube of Aquarium Silicone You can usually get them
$5
5 copper elbows for loop seal drain pipe free just by making some
$ 12
1 can of spray adhesive calls to local glass and
$5
1 25 foot rubber industrial hose 3/4 inch - 200° $ 25
window shops and asking
2 hose clamps them. Some places give
$3
Total $ 116
them away so they don't
have to dispose of them and some places charge $10 to $20 for one. You want a
cheaper one that doesn't block a lot of the UV radiation. Since it is tempered safety
glass, you CAN NOT cut it or drill it AT ALL. If you see any damage at the edges,
don't use it.

So, once you have the glass door, you will know
what size to make your batch heater. A typical
door size is about 27 inches by 77 inches. If you
make the heater 6 inches deep by using 2 x 6
boards for the walls, and you lose half an inch to
the overflow pipe and half an inch to the bottom
drain, then that would be 10,395 cubic inches or 45
gallons. You would also have 2,079 square inches
available for sunshine. At 1366 watts per square
meter, that would be 1830 watts. If the batch
heater were 60% efficient, then that would be 1100
watts of heating during the sunny times. The
normal electric water heater is about 5,000 watts but it can heat up 50 gallons in a
relatively short time. This version would heat up about 3 to 4 times slower than that,
but it can easily heat up the 45 gallons to a good shower temperature by noon or so.

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Another option is to string two or three of these batch heaters together and only use
2x4s for the walls. That would give about 25 to 30 gallons per heater but with the
same surface area as before for each heater. So, with 4 of these heaters, you could
heat up about 100 gallons in just an hour or two. But frankly, I don't see the point in
that kind of speed. I say just fill up every day. As long as there is some hot water
already in there, then it will heat up the new colder water and they will meet
someplace in the middle. If you have 20 gallons of 150° F water and you add
another 25 gallons of 72° F water, then the resulting temp of the water would be
about 105° to 110° F. And that is perfect for the next shower or washing your hands.

The reason this batch heater should be placed on the roof is because it is a gravity
feed system.

Base:

Once you have all the pieces you

can start to build. You can build
the enclosure on the ground and
hoist it and the glass up separately
if you have a flat roof. Otherwise,
you will want to start with the base
plywood mounted to 6 short pieces
of 2x4s. This will support the
heater on both sides and allow the
peak of the roof to support the
centerline.

You can use wood screws to mount those legs

by drilling through the base plywood straight
down into the 2x4 legs. It helps to pre-drill the
holes to keep the 2x4s from splitting. You'll
have to make sure that the base is level.
Then, use wood screws to secure legs to the
roof. Use silicone rubber around the base of
each leg and around the wood screw's head.
This will ensure that your roof doesn't leak
when it rains.

Also, if this setup doesn't coincide with the

position of the sun, then it can be rotated 90
degrees and mounted so that it is perpendicular to the roof peak.

Walls:

Once the base is resting on the roof with the legs attached
and is level, you can add the 2x6 wall pieces. The 80 inch

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pieces can be attached to the 27 inch pieces via wood screws as well. You should
still pre-drill the holes so the wood doesn't split. Then, drill up through the baseboard
into the 2x6 walls to secure the two together.

Black Liner and Piping:

Take a piece of 4 to 6 mil

black plastic and lay inside
the enclosure with excess
you can cut off later. In a
corner of the enclosure,
most convenient to
running feed line to the hot
water tank, drill a hole just
big enough for the pipe
you are using. Just cut a
small cross in the plastic at the spot you will drill.
The pipe coming from the bottom of the enclosure
should just be about 6 inches long and you should
screw the flange piece on the end in an inverted
fashion so that the flat side is pointed down when the
pipe is in the hole. Also, the hole should be just big
enough to let the pipe slide through. Then, use the
aquarium silicone to seal under the flange around all
4 screw holes and around the pipe hole and screw it
down with 4 short wood screws. This type of silicone
is safe for potable water.

The flange also ensures that there will always be some water left in the tank (about
half an inch) to prevent the black plastic from melting. It also will maintain very hot
water that will help to heat up any fresh cold water put into the tank.

Vent / Loop Seal:

This will suck air in as water drains

during use. And, when you fill the tank
again, water will reach the top of the
tank and overflow through this vent
pipe. Since it has a curve like a drain
pipe, water will get caught there and
keep bugs from getting into the tank. It
will also help maintain heat in the tank
versus it all venting out to the
atmosphere. One more thing it does is
overflows when you fill the tank to the

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top. When you see water coming off the roof, you will know that the tank is full. The
loop seal should be mounted close to the top of the tank. You can use copper
elbows and pipe. Make sure that the top of the loop is at or slightly below the top of
the heater's wall height. Otherwise, water will slip between the glass door and the
walls when filling.

Top Glass or Glazing:

Place the double layered tempered safety

glass door on top of the enclosure. You
can even leave the frame molding on as
long as it sits flush. That way you don't
chance breaking the glass removing the
trim. The black plastic liner should be
hanging out a foot or so on all sides.
When the tank is filled, it will fill in all the
gaps and pull the plastic tight. Only then
should you cut off the excess plastic. The
black plastic will help seal and the weight
of the door holds it down. To make sure
that it doesn't shift, or the wind blows it
off, you can place a few short pieces of
2x4 on each of the edges. You don't
need one on the north side, because that is where the reflector is. You can use
wood screws to attach these small pieces to the enclosure side.

Reflector:

Notice that you started with a 4 foot

by 8 foot piece of plywood. You
used 30 inches of that width for the
base which leaves you 18 inches for
the reflector. What I like to use is
that thermal blanket material called
mylar. It can be picked up for cheap
in the dollar store. It is by far the
most reflective material for the price.
Another option is looking for a
cheap or free mirror or mirrors. But
the mylar is the best bet. Just use
spray adhesive on the plywood and,
with the help of another person, lay
it flat on one end and use a paint
roller to work out air bubbles toward
the other person as they hold their
end up. Cut the excess off the edges with a box cutter. Line the edges of the
plywood with aluminum ducting tape. Just mount the reflector to the north side of the

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enclosure (if you are in the northern hemisphere). Make sure the wood screws
aren't too long and penetrate the plastic liner.

Hose and Valves:

Now you can connect the

rubber hose to the
galvanized drain pipe by
cutting off the end connector
and fitting with a hose clamp.
Run the hose to the water
heater. Technically, it
doesn't have to tap into
where the water heater is.
But it makes it more
convenient for filling and
draining and it also is easy to
get to the water heater pipes.
If it is difficult to run the hose
to your water heater, it is
possible to tap into the hot
water line somewhere else in
the house. But try to avoid that if at all possible.

You should know that normally, garden hoses are dangerous to drink from for a few
reasons. Firstly, because they aren't used for long periods and bacteria can be
growing in them. And, secondly, because there is lead used in the brass fittings. In
this plan, you will remove the end fittings and just use hose clamps. And since it is
used in your hot water system, it will be used all the time. Most would drain the
system in the winter and then refill in the early spring. The initial flush and the fact
that the chlorine water sits in the hose killing any bacteria solves that problem. And,
also, the winter isn't conducive to bacteria growth.

You should get some foam pipe insulation for the short galvanized pipe and the few
feet of hose that is exposed to the outside. Also, try to make the hose length as
short as possible. You should use a 5/8 inch hose as a minimum, but I recommend
a 3/4 inch.

The only thing new to your existing system is the hose coming down from the batch
heater, the batch connect valve, and the “T” connector at the Hot Out valve to tie it
all together.

Don't forget to paint the enclosure with some good marine paint to help protect it
from the elements

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Operation of Batch Heater

The gravity feed batch solar heater is very simple to use. First, you'll have to fill it up.
The “cold in” valve should be in the on position at all times (except when installing
the system). The “hot out” valve is normally closed and the “batch connect” valve
should stay open at all times, unless you are shutting the system down for the winter.
Open the “hot out” valve and let the tank start to fill. It will take probably about 5 - 10
minutes or so to get 45 gallons into the tank. When it does, you will see the water
draining off the roof. Then you should shut the “hot out” valve. At this point you are
ready for normal gravity fed operation.

Then, whenever you open a hot water valve in your house, such as a sink or shower,
then it will gravity feed. You should be careful because the water can get very hot,
especially after noon. You can control the temperature like normal by opening the
cold water valve at the shower or sink.

In the winter time, you may wish to drain the system. It is really easy. Just open a
hot water valve in a sink or shower and let the system drain. When it is all drained,
shut the “batch connect” valve and shut the hot water valve in the shower or sink.
Then open the “hot out” valve at the electric water heater and turn the breaker on. At
this point, your
Spring & Fall 92° start Summer 98° start
system will be
Time Temperature Heat gain Time Temperature Heat gain
8 am 93° +1 functioning the 8 am 100° +2
9 am 96° +3 way it used to. 9 am 104° +4
10 am 101° +5 10 am 110° +6
11 am 107° +6 Also, if you go 11 am 118° +8
12 noon 114° +7 12 noon 128° + 10
1 pm +8
away from your 1 pm 140° + 12
122°
2 pm 129° +7 house for 2 pm 150° +10
3 pm 135° +6 awhile in the 3 pm 158° +8
4 pm 139° +4 spring to fall, 4 pm 165° +7
5 pm 141° +2 then you should 5 pm 171° +6
6 pm 141° +0 6 pm 174° +3
7 pm 139° -2
fill up the tank 7 pm 175° +1
8 pm 134° -5 before you 8 pm 175° +0
leave. It will
slowly evaporate through the loop seal. But it lasts a good long time. You always
want to keep water in the tank in the warmer months. Otherwise, the black
plastic can melt very easily. If you go away for longer times, you should drain
it and put a cover over the heater like a tarp or some more black plastic.
Some Math

In the above example, you have 27 inches by 77 inches of glass exposed to the sun.
That is 2,079 square inches. If you divide that by 144, then you get 14.4 square feet.
The sun typically adds 250 BTUs per square foot. So this heater applies 3600
BTUs. If 360 BTUs are added to 45 gallons of water for one hour, then it raises
temperature by 1° F. So, we should get 10° F per hour in a perfect world and if the
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tank is full. But there are a few exceptions. First, the sun slowly rises and the day
gets hotter and then it starts going down. Also, the hotter the water gets, the more
the heat tries to escape.

The following tables show what you can expect on a typical sunny day from spring to
fall. Luckily, the reflector adds some to the efficiency and gives it a bonus on that 10
degree per hour number. If you add some foam to the outside of the enclosure, then
you can expect to add roughly 10° - 20° F to the max after a few days.

Also, those charts above show temperature gains after several days or weeks of
operation. Each day, the water gets a little hotter, to a point. You may start with 72°
water and the next morning after mixing new water in, you may have 78° water and
so on.

Water Pressure

Most people have 120° F to 140° F hot water in their house. And when they shower,
they turn on the hot and cold together. Mostly they are both turned on about half and
half. A typical house has about 40 to 50 psi water pressure and if you were to turn
the hot and cold valves all the way open in the shower, then you would get that full
40 psi (assuming nothing else is running). Most people don't do that though, they
turn each up about half way or so. The people that turn theirs all the way up should
look into a low flow shower head.

So, typically, you are looking at a total of about 20 to 25 psi during the shower with
about 10 psi from both the hot and the cold side. height delta in feet hot water PSI
10 4.7
The static water pressure in a gravity-fed system is 11 5.2
simply a function of the vertical distance between 12 5.6
the opening of the hose and the top of the water 13 6.2
14 6.7
level in the tank. The pressure of a column of water
15 7.1
is one atmosphere (about 15 psi) for every 32 feet 16 7.6
of height. So, if the water level in the tank is 20 feet 17 8.0
above the hose nozzle, the water pressure at the 18 8.5
nozzle will be about 9.4 psi. So, to take a 19 9.0
comfortable shower, and if you needed 30 psi at the 20 9.4
shower head, you would use more cold. But to 21 9.8
compensate, the hot water temperature would have 22 10.3
to be about 140° F instead of 120° F. But 23 10.8
remember, with this new configuration, the cold side now has the full 40 to 50 psi, so
you shouldn't turn it up as much as you used to. It only takes a few times to get used
to the new system.

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 Double tank system - 90 gallon

So, remember some facts to help in your computations:

● height x width x depth gives you cubic inches

● height x width gives you square inches
● sun is typically 250 BTUs per square foot
● square inches divided by 144 gives square feet
● 8 BTUs per gallon of water will raise 1° F per hour
● 32 feet equals 15 psi water pressure
● typical house pressure is 40 to 50 psi
● with this batch heater a typical one story house will see about 5 - 7 psi
● with this batch heater a typical two story house will see about 5 -12 psi
(depending on shower location)

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 Well, good luck in your new endeavor for energy independence!

“May your hot water never run dry, may your energy savings always be great, and may
you learn something every day for the rest of your life.”
Richard Lewis

For more great books and ideas, go to

http://www.PoorManGuides.net

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