Appendix E
A Winterized Solar Water Heater
Note: This water heater was created quite some time ago and was only the third thing I had tried making instructions for. I’ve tried to update parts of this PDF since then as I’ve had ideas for explaining things better while building other things and have also tried to make the instructions more clear to understand, but there are some things that could be explained better where I had tried to show too many things at once. Eventually I would like to make them more detailed but currently there are too many other things to write instructions for. So just to mention, some areas of building this could be a little rough, but all the measurements are there and there are also pictures of building the water heater that can be looked at for reference. So hopefully you should be able to figure it out still while building it. You will also definitely want to look at some of the other ways of doing the reflectors talked about further above in the Explanations of Supplies section, rather than using the Masonite shown here. This is just because the Masonite really does add a lot of weight to the water heater that is unnecessary and makes it harder to use. Also, after having tested the idea of using two pieces of glass on a different project, I would very much recommend not using two pieces of glass since it adds a very large amount of weight without raising the temperature very much. I didn’t use two pieces and it was already getting a little heavy, so using two pieces would be very heavy. This is also talked about in the Explanations of Supplies section talked about above. And that’s everything. Hopefully all goes well if you decide to build this.
About the Water Heater
The basic idea for this Water Heater originally came from a Youtube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btQtPQpUf90. In the end, the basic design of the heater has remained the same as what you see in that video, but being in a much colder climate as we are, around latitude 40, adjustments have been made in order to have something that will still work well enough in the winter. This is definitely one thing you learn about using solar stuff is that a lot of it works quite well if you are in a southern latitude, and it also works well enough in the summer if you are in a northern latitude, but when you are in a northern latitude and winter comes, things tend to not work so well :). The reason for this is that, not only does it get quite cold outside, but there are a lot of days that the sun only gets around 20-30 degrees high as it's highest point in the sky. This means that more of the sun's light gets filtered out by the atmosphere, which also means the actual sunlight is dimmer and won't have as much energy in it. So not only do you have to deal with much colder temperatures, but the actual amount of energy coming from the sun is less as well.
So in light of those things, the main differences between this water heater and the one in the video above are things that have been added to try to make the heater run more efficiently. Some of those things being that this heater has more insulation on the back of it to keep more heat actually in where the water is at. It is also about twice the size of the heater above in each direction, giving a heater that is about 4 times as big in the end. This is so that the water is able to go through more copper pipe, and therefore be warmed by more sunlight, before it actually exits out of the copper pipes. There are also reflectors that have been added to this water heater in order to have more sunlight go on to the copper coils, and a piece of glass has been added over the top of the heater to keep the warmth in the heater better.
Another thing that has been added to this Water Heater, that isn't for performance sake, but more of a nice feature, is a way to have gravity fed water go through it instead of using a house's hose and water pipes. This is done by creating a stand, and using buckets as a water reservoir that can then feed water into the water heater. You can see some of these things in these pictures of the final water heater:
So those are some of the major differences between the heaters.
One thing to mention about this heater that is a drawback is that it does end up getting rather heavy in the end, and even heavier when there is water in it. You also have to lift the back of it in order to line it up with the sun, meaning it is something you will have to deal with a lot while using the water heater. So just to mention, you will want to try to use all of the weight reducing things mentioned in the instructions for building it if you can. There are also some things mentioned in the section labeled "Some Additional Explanation of Things Used in the Water Heater," below.
It's also good to mention here that, if you have a really large area, you can also use arrays of coils to heat water, without going to the work of adding reflectors and glass to them. I don't know how well they might work during the winter, or how they would compare to this heater, but here are a couple that give the idea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2AlUycwlWI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BplFZt6DCqY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Garu9T5ReAI
There are also vacuum tubes that can be used as a hot water heater. These too seem to work well, but one drawback to them is that you usually use them to heat up a large tank of water, which means you have to wait a while before the water is actually hot. With these coil methods, since the water is flowing through hot pipes that heat it, it gets heated almost instantly as it is flowing through. So it only takes about 20 minutes for the pipes to heat up for the first time, and after that you have constant hot water. You may not be able to have a large amount flowing through at one time, because if there is too much water flowing through, the sun isn't able to heat the pipes quickly enough, but you can get a small amount of constant very hot water, almost right away after setting it up. Although on the other hand, even though it takes a while for the water to heat up with the vacuum tube method, if you need a large amount of hot water all at once, you would have it eventually. So there are kind of pros and cons to both. Here are some vacuum tube heaters online if you would like to compare them with this heater.
https://www.amazon.com/Duda-Solar-Collector-Evacuated-Certified/dp/B00HP846KK
https://www.amazon.com/Solar-Hot-Water-Tubes-Evacuated/dp/B00IK0PT7G
Just as a side note, when comparing the performance of this heater with what the reviewers talk about in those links above, the temperatures you get seem to be about the same in the end. One reviewer talked about getting 10 gallons up to 120 degrees after five hours on a day that it was in the 80's and 90's. For comparison, you can see in the performance data talked about in a section below, this heater seemed to get to almost 130 with it's constant water temperature on a day that was also in the 80's and 90's. So they are pretty close to each other in that regard. Also worth mentioning is that when the heater sat for 5 or 10 minutes, the water in the coils got up to about 170 or 180. So it can get really hot if you need it.
So those are just some other options that are out there that are good to know about.
Lastly, as with all the things I build, I just want to give credit to God for all the amazing ideas He gives during the designing and building of these things, because it is so much because of Him that they even work as well as they do :). He really is an amazing person, and it is always such a fun thing and a treasure to get to build these things with Him. The truth is, I never could do it without Him, whether it be through direct ideas He gives, as He talks about doing in Exodus 31:1-6, when He gave people the wisdom and understanding to create the things He wanted them to create:
"Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.
And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you:"
or it's just because of His ability to make me in a way that I could create these things, it is always because of Him in the end that they exist, and not because of my own amazingness to do them. With each of us, when we are born and given life, we don't know why or how we are able to do the things we do, or why we are just naturally better at some things versus other things. While it is true that throughout life we can learn new things and become good at things, even this ability to learn and grow is something that none of us know how we do. We just are who we are, and we don't have an explanation for it. But if none of us actually know how we are able to do what we do, how can we then take credit for it? It is only because of God's amazingness to create us in a way to do these things, that we can then do them. So is it not God, the one who made us able to do the things we do, the one who should have the glory for what we do? And in this way, even when He doesn't give ideas for things directly, it is still only because of Him that I can create these things.
The story of Nebuchadnezzar being turned into an animal in Daniel 4 really shows this as well, that without God's ability to make us understand life and how to create things, we never would be able to. Our understanding of things and ability to reason is only as much as what He gives us. I'll just quote a little bit of the chapter here:
"All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.” That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws. And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever:
For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom is from generation to generation.
All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand
Or say to Him, “What have You done?”
At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me...Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down."
So I really do give Him the glory for what He has done, whether it's giving direct ideas, or creating me in a way that makes it possible to think through these things, and I just hope that my expression of Him will be a blessing in your life that shines with the incredible love and goodness that is in His heart. Because this is the real and amazing purpose of why He does give these things. They aren't just for our own use, but to love others with them. This was really what John the Baptist was trying to say in Luke 3:7-14 when he talked about giving your extra things to others that don't have what you have:
"Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?...And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?” He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.” Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do? So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”
As though to say, "Use the things of this earth to bear good fruit and love others with it, because it's all going to be destroyed anyway. Put a purpose to it and do something good with it. Use the things in this life as a tool to store up treasure in heaven instead of here on earth." As Yeshua (Original Hebrew name of Jesus) also says in Matthew 5:16, let your light shine so that others may see your good works, and glorify God, and come to know God, because of them:
"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. "
So it is in that love He has given these things, for as He says in Matthew 6, He knows the things that we need in life, and as such a loving Father, is so glad to help, and it is also in that love and in His love that I give them as well, hoping that what He gives out of that love will be a help to you as it has been to us.
Heater Performance
For the performance of the final heater, you can find all the data we have collected so far in the spreadsheet labeled "Prepping List_Appendix E_Solar Water Heater_Data_Performance." Sadly, I haven't had a chance to use it very much, so there is only one day in there right now that I actually kept track of the temperatures. As we do use it though, we will be updating the data in there further. So far, during the Summer with the ambient temperature in the 80's, we had water at about 130 degrees with a constant flow rate of about 1 and 2/3 cups per minute, or a little over a gallon every 5 minutes. While this doesn't seem like a very fast flow rate, we have found you can still fill a large basin of water for dishes at this rate, and still have the water be over 120 degrees when it's full, which is too hot to put your hands in. Also, if you let the Water Heater sit for about 5 or 10 minutes, the water inside of the pipes gets up to about 170 or 180 degrees. So if you need really hot water, one way to get it is to let the water heat up in the pipes, then empty that heated water into some kind of vacuum sealed carafe. This way the water you've heated up will stay hot while the water in the Heater heats up again, and you just keep filling carafes until you have enough really hot water.
As of right now, we haven't had a chance to try it in the winter yet, but it should still heat water high enough to clean clothes and wash dishes. It will just take a little longer to get hot.
Building the Solar Water Heater
Preview of Instructions and Images of Real Life Build
Since these instructions are quite long and everything can already be downloaded for free in the "Downloadable PDFs" section to the left, here is just a preview of those instructions and some images showing what is involved with creating this. All of these images will also be in the PDF along with further explanations for things.
Also as another note, if you decide to build this project, as will be mentioned in the PDF there is a spreadsheet with links to all of the supplies needed to build this project, which is also found in the Download section to the left, under the file labeled, "Prepping List_Appendix E_Solar Water Heater_Data_Cost." It "should" :), be a complete list of everything used in the project and also has the cost of each item, as well as measurements for cutting most of the wood.
Now on to the preview:
