DIY Solar Water Heater! - Deluxe "Aluminum Backed" COPPER COIL Solar Water Heater! 175F Full Instr.

DIY Solar Water Heater! - Deluxe "Aluminum backed" COPPER COIL Solar Water Heater! 175F Full Instr.

Step 1: Watch the Instructional Video...

Step 2: Read the Description...

Deluxe DIY Solar Water Heater! Solar Thermal "Aluminum backed" COPPER COIL Water Heater! Easy DIY w/Full Instructions. Super Hot water, super fast. reached 125F in 5 minutes ...and near 175F after about 15. no soldering required! uses just one coil of 3/8" copper tubing (amazon $23) and push-to-fit connectors. only tools used were screwdriver, hammer, tin snips (or scissors), hack saw and a drill. great for use as a stand alone unit or can be hooked into home's plumbing as supplemental heating for water heater. notes: using the aluminum backing adds roughly 10F to the water (but is optional). system is relatively lightweight and is easy to move and store *and the design allows for multiple units to be easy connected together (if a larger system is desired). details: outer board 1/2" plywood 23.7" x 23.7" (sold that way - no cutting required). inner board 1/4" plywood 19 3/4" x 19 3/4". glass 20"x20" (or use Plexi-Glas).4 3/8" Square wooden dowels. 2x2 lumber 2 pieces cut to 20 1/4" and 2 pieces cut to 23 1/4". Hardware: Four (#10) 2 1/2" wood screws. Eight (#10) 1" wood screws. Fourteen 3/8" screws (to hold down the aluminum). 12 1.5" (#16) wire nails. heavy duty heat resistant zip ties (or use wire). 5 3/4" satin brass finish door pull (the handle).

Step 3: Have Fun Building and Using It!

for any clarification or questions just drop a note in the comments section. i'll check often and answer

Step 4: Here's Some Extra Pics...

Comments

[jbuttinger]

How high is the thermal output you can achieve with one of these?
Would it be enough for 2 showers in the evening if it would be in the sun for the whole day (Summer, temperate climate)?

[PrashantB61]

What's the thickness of copper coil and it's inner and outer diameter?????

[clorenc]

Maybe I missed it, but what's the length of the coil you use—and how much water does it store? Am I right that I need about 20 gals for a single shower? (Which is the use/need I have.) What's the best way to generate that volume? How much coil and/or some separate storage tank?

[Papa62]

Umm, I'm new here and just a bit confused. Is there any more details on the build and is there a picture of the finished product and how it functions?

[desertsun02]

hi there. at the moment all the details on the build (including the finished product and how it functions) are in the video. i experimented with Video-only instructables, but i've decided to make all of my instructables with both video and all the steps. this is the only one that i haven't added steps too. i'll be adding all the steps shortly.

[tytower]

Use black plastic agricultural pipe for more heat absobtion and a long life in the sun . Much cheaper and it lasts.

Those white plastic fittings won't last long in the sun where the black ones will. Take it from someone who has done it .

[desertsun02]

hi there. i've made these type of heaters out of the black poly pipe in the past but they only last about 3 years in the 'desertsun' (where i live). also you have the issue of leeching with plastic. but it is cheaper ($) for sure (and works well in the short run). they do sell both of the fittings in metal/brass as well. *just not at the 2 home stores i go to. *technically they are *permanently "out of stock" lol

[tytower]

Ok . I'm in Australia top end and we get
40C + often. I use black ag pipe all over the farm for water to stock
,lots of it just laid on top of the ground for convenience . Pipe I put
down 20 years ago is still good and working even with cattle standing on
it from time to time .

An alternative then is to get the better
quality blue or green lined pipe which has a thicker wall but the
fittings are slightly more expensive too..

I notice i have some
laid in the ground feeding the house that is about a foot down in the
ground . During the day the water gets very hot so the heat is getting
down to the pipe somehow even at that depth.

I wonder if covering your device with sand would increase the heat absorbtion

[jwzumwalt]

What was the outside temperature when you heated the water to 175deg?

[DIY Hacks and How Tos]

That looks like it to save a lot of energy in the summer. Does it still work in the winter?

[desertsun02]

hi there. it sure does.

[Jobar007]

A more expensive but better transfer of heat to the coils would have been to use Liver of Sulfur on the copper tubing. It would have applied a patina to the copper that would have a better heat transfer since it is part of the copper than the paint (which is slightly insulative).

[desertsun02]

hi again, quick update to my last post... i just re-spoke with an instructables manager and they changed their minds. they now say that my current instructables meet their new guidelines... so i'm not shutting down the account after all :)