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Forum Index : Solar : New solar project
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Tinker Guru  Joined: 07/11/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1904 |
OK Mac, googling for beginners  :
1. highlight the word "arduino" 2. Do a cntrl C on the highlight 3. go to the top of the page and click on 'google' 4. position cursor in find window do cntrl D 5. select first search result 6. read all about it... 
 Klaus |
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MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Tink That's not exactly what I had in mind when I said someone here would pop in with an answer. To be truthful, I have very little, if any, interest in electronics. Add to that 2/3 cup laziness and that's where I reside. Besides, I use a real computer and the copy function is "apple key C"!
. . . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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readyakira Senior Member  Joined: 17/07/2008 Location: United StatesPosts: 114 |
Well, an uppdate. I changed the plumbing around a bit. the solar guy that showed me how to hook it up I think was a bit confused. When the solar heats the panel, and the pump comes on, the pump circulates water through both tanks. But, when using water the cold in is only on the main tank. Therefor, I wasnt using any of the hot water in the storage tank. This worked well for one person but if two people were to take a shower I would run out of hot water. So now the cold in is in the storage tank. This allows me to use the hot water from both tanks. The water is still just about as hot, but, I now have seemingly endless heated water. I am still trying to figure out a few things I would like to be electricaly controlled. Like I would like to switch between the small tank and both tanks depending on how hot the water is. In order words if the sun is not strong enough to produce enough hot water to bring both tanks up to temperature it would only circulate thru the smaller tank. The water is completely heated by solar now. No more 110v powering the pump. It is now powered by 60w of solar photovoltaics that charge a battery with a charge controller. This battery is connected to a small UPS device strong enough to power the pump. This way if the sun is shining the solar charges the battery. If the pump comes on the sun must me charging the battery. The PV panel will charge even in low sun, so the battery stays charged. My only concern to this is if the temp falls below 45f at night then the pump comes on and the battery is not being charged at the same time. This should only become a problem if I am away or forget to turn the pump manually off. I drain the collector and plumbing to it when I know the temp will be below that and turn the pump off to prevent cooling the hot water in order to prevent freezing. So far I am very very happy with this project and would like to build another to heat the jaccuzi as well. Don't you think Free/Renewable energy should be mandatory in new buildings? |
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| readyakira Senior Member Joined: 17/07/2008 Location: United StatesPosts: 114 |
I have wrapped the hot water tanks in insulation. And although the water cools a bit overnight there is enough during the morning for at least on comfortable shower. I try to encourage everyone to take showers between 11am and 6pm so the water is heated and usually very very hot. Even at 60f the solar turns on if the sun is shining. of course it really hasnt been any colder then that during the day, but when I was a kid in N.Y. we had a system that used coolant instead of water and a huge heat exchanger to heat water. Water was still scolding hot in the middle of winter. Don't you think Free/Renewable energy should be mandatory in new buildings? |
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WindyMiller Regular Member  Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 62 |
On the subject of solar hot water I was wondering the following? I can get ahold of some large flat AC type condensors and I was considering a oil system to try and power a small steam engine. I was wondering what the best oil to use is since the oil lines will be exposed to the furnace which can reach 2000 degrees or so while burning wood or coal on cloudy days. My proposed boiler is a steam generator like these Steam only setup more like a steam car boiler with a regular fire box etc. I am looking for 75 to 80 PSI of steam. The system I am working on could actually run up to 150 PSI but I chose not to go that high for safety sake. Robert |
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