DIY Solar Water Heater, 4026 Grass Valley Highway, Auburn, CA 95602-9138,

[leafs11cups]

It's also against gas code

[BrokenRRT]

Does anyone know were I can find the info on how to use/plumb an old water heater tank for my solar holding tank? I notice most folks tht use one do not use the top in and out nipples and and use the drain line plus the pop off ect. I need to find plns for this. We hve a pass through system built by place no longer in business and need new tank.

[paulpellicci]

...nice...

[NeyDuty]

valeu mano soooooooooooo

[ColeFried81]

GREAT fucking video man :)

[ndlballin510]

looks pretty ghetto to me. Great job on saving energy though.

[oarfrost]

Thanks for the upload ABTPlumbing. The trouble in the UK is that we are in the UK, where summer means three days of sunshine and a thunderstorm. Still, I will add it to the list of things I will have a crack at when I get time.

[lysergicaddict]

ahh grass valley...north american for heaven in my opinion :)

[annestahl]

thank you for sharing this! Now, doesn't it freeze hard in Grass Valley? Wouldn't those pipes burst every night the temps go below 32F?

[AMilitantAgnostic]

@annestahl not as long as there is water flowing



[stmotorsports]

just wondering why do you mention that an elec water tank would be more efficient? Is the cost of elec abnormally low where the user is located? Or are they utilizing solar elec as well?

[vutEwa]

This is a very ingenious idea. NO PUMPS!  well.... no mechanical pumps! Just convection! Very nice!

[youstupidmoron]

I was responding to the typical big headed idiot from the UK below! You may want to read a little before making an ass of yourself again!

[arshadcow]

you just need to supply fresh water to bottom and thats it? no motor to or anything .?

[PatandUli]

why arent the pipes Insulated ? and if you put glas on top you could trap the heat in the solar panel/heater

[Jthetinman]

Hmmm

[Jthetinman]

Hmm

[Geovani74699]

good job!

[youstupidmoron]

Tobyminty, you are WAY behind the times compared to us in the U.S.! We have been using these systems for well over 100 years over here! It's a good thing we shared it with you! You should thank us for our innovations!

[ABTPlumbing]

@youstupidmoron As a plumber I know we've been using solar patch water heaters for at least that long. But natural gas was found and was very cheap. The modern thing to do was heat your water with natual gas. So people ripped out the solar and installed gas.

[adamaus4680]

@youstupidmoron

and there is ur typical pig headed american

[bucktheusa]

That's one smart son of a bitch right there.

Too bad big business loves to profit from consumption.

It will take 1000 years before cottage industry tricks take us off the grid.

And where will the city, state and federal gov't get all their billions in fees, taxes and tariffs from if you don't pay utilities.

Trying to figure out a water ladder up to my roof for a solar pool heater.

Hear 90 degree fittings kill flow. Ideas?

[hybridracers]

@bucktheusa they do kill flow but why do you need 90 degree fittings? Just make the smoothest largest arc you can to wind up. Sure a tube bender costs a few bucks but its a tool, it should service enough to pay you back for not buying bags of 90s and having to sweat them together.

[tobyminti]

You guys are behind the times, compared to us innovators in the UK, just me for now

After 18 years in solar collector and tank designs, my house is fitted with a 80 gall thermal store in the attic (loft if you are British) and is directly heated by 44 heat pipe tube collectors with no freeze protection as this I designed out of the copper header

The water in the header is the same as in the tank, no coils.

This water is also the tiny amount of water in my waterless radiators for space heating

[528hemi]

@tobyminti That's some real nice bragging there.

[BigGreenZero]

You can build one of these with a small tank attached to the top of it similar to the solarhart model. The tank always has to be somewhat above the system. This makes it hard for roofmounts in residential areas. However using a heat exhange tank or loop with a small circulation pump(solar) you can get much better results. Avoid glycol and use corn based glycol. Also heat exchange using vegtable oil would also add efficiency.

[ABTPlumbing]

Great suggestion.

Thanks, Andrew

[shoges]

Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to share this with us.

[FishyMoe]

I might try this. Is it effective? Compared to the pre made ones? the pre made ones are like $3000 Jesus.

[ABTPlumbing]

@FishyMoe The factory made ones are going to be more efficient. But like you wrote, they can cost quite a bit.

Andrew

[naturalbonsai]

hey brother. great vid. thanks a lot for sharing this. very valuable info. good work and good commitment ... keep 'er up!

[ABTPlumbing]

@naturalbonsai Thanks,

Andrew

[SpeedMetal4635]

Hello, I already downloaded the plans and I will make this system, I will use another materials and I will use two windows glass in the body. This is not new, but the important is how do you are connecting the solar heater to the boyler. This is a great idea very usefull, cheap and simple. Thanks a lot

[ABTPlumbing]

@SpeedMetal4635 Have fun with build, the connection to the water heater where made with copper fittings.

[kjviolin2]

There's a coupon for $50 off any EcoSmart tankless heater on

acehotline(dot)com

It's their "end of the month sale"

The coupon code is: 15952

Just though I would pass the word around :)

[BigGreenZero]

@canarsiemarsie You need to use evacuated tubes to be reliable in a cold climate. Most do it yourself flat plate collectors won't help much. Plus in order to heat your whole house you need volume of storage.

[ABTPlumbing]

@canarsiemarsie Yes!!!! Germany is one of the largest producers of clean solar energy. If they can do it in cold, clouy Germany, you can do it in the North East.

[steveincovina]

Andrew, Thank You for this video.

I have viewed it a few times over the past year and find it intriguing.

As you have stated it's not the best possible set-up but one that is basic and easy for us lay folks to understand. If only half the population had something similar to this imagine the fuel savings for our country.

My son and I are building a similar set-up in the hopes of cutting our gas bill and learning a little more about solar water heating.

Thanks again, Steve

[Stepanfo1]

Ups, now I actually heard what you are saying in the video - it is not your panel - so the remarks are not adressed to you but to the owner of the collector. Or to someone who yould like to make similar collector. It really is not good collector.

[ABTPlumbing]

Yes there are better ways to make a solar collector. But remember this is a DIY project built in someones garage, not in a factory and not by an engineer. Like all things in life you make compromises, in this case he used material readily, and cheaply available. He used the skill set he had to build it. Download the plans, take a look at them. Build one and let me know what your experience is with it, or hey modify the plans and make it better. Theyre FREE, what do you have to lose?

[Stepanfo1]

Fourths - the distribution od pipes density on sheet must be uniform. If pipes were arranged the way they are now, you would have stripes with high and low density. I am not sure how can you handle  critique, but you collector it the worst collector I have ever seen.

[Stepanfo1]

Sorry your collector is of very poor construction. First you need to use flat sheet under pipes and then CONNECT SHEET WITH PIPES (weld or solder), SO THAT HEAT FROM SHEET CAN GET IN TUBES! Second - you need to place sheet of glass on it so that the air convection cooling is obstructed. Third -you need to place insulation (rockwool?) under the sheet .

[kitfoxflyer]

I do the same with wood furnace -- hope to get a solar panel going soon as well -- great video. M video is up on my free hot water

[HvensFury]

I suspect they were draining this for the winter. Or was the sun hot enough to keep the pipes from freezing if it was being used since hot water freezes faster than cold? Or did they put anti freeze in it durning the winter? thanks@

[datzfast]

hot water doent freeze faster its a wives tale.

[HvensFury]

Sorry friend, we know that wives tale is no tale! Here at 6000 feet above sea level when it gets to freezing it is the hot water pipe that freeze and burst first. The reason for that is the molecules in hot water are spread further apart than cold and so the actually cool and freeze quicker. It doesnt sound possible but everyone here knows it , because it is part of the 'plumming experience' here in the winter.

[datzfast]

jesus thats not why a water pipe burst either. as water freezes it expands and because water connot be compressed the water pressure breaks the pipe. and yes it is a wives tale about hot water freezing quicker than cold water. just put some in the freeze with cold water and you will find out you are no man, just a wife.LOL dumbass.

[TheSporesguy]

Well, I have to say that you should know what the fuck you're talking about before you attempt to shit on anyone else. Water is a HIGHLY compressible liquid. Hydraulic fluid is not. Pipes burst because water expands as it turns to ice asshole.

[datzfast]

water. compressible, bullshit. hydro is latin for water.

[HvensFury]

A great big thanks! I'm headed to the website to see the set up!  Awesome

[Revolutionisnow1]

I love it, basic and simple but it works!

[ABTPlumbing]

Thanks for the reply.

[checotahbill]

cold water looks to me makes a 3-4 foot drop not 1/4 per foot. i guess i don't get it.

isn't the hot water more than a quarter grade. I don't understand. is 1/4 important

[ABTPlumbing]

A 1/4" per linear foot grade is a plumbers rule off thumb. Basically it needs grade or fall, and a 1/4" per ft. is what we use. Also it's marked on most plumbing levels so it's easy to figure.

[prayfortruejustice]

@ABTPlumbing

What is the purpose of the slope? Is it for drainage or air in the line? What if that collector was on the roof and there were vertical supply *prob with a pump) and return lines?

[CTOL1]

Andrew I have placed your video as THE featured video on my channel !

It has been there for some time because this is very VERY cool information.

I obtained a flood damaged gas heater (1 year old) that I have since removed the gas control and burner that yield another 3/4" NPT opening. I will be attempting to install some soft copper coil as a heat exchanger so I can run glycol. The Panel will be made up of soldered copper pipes behind a dual pane patio door.

This rocks big time, BEST video yet

[ABTPlumbing]

CTOL1, Thank you for the positive comment, it means alot to me. I'm glad it helpful to you. BTW if your going to build a immersed heat exchanger, make sure your water is at a higher presure than you glycol so if it leaks the water will leak into the glycol and not the other way around.

[CTOL1]

I have a bit of a change of plans, not sure if this is going to work but I am committed. New car radiator as a heat absorber indoors in a closed loop to the tank heat exchanger (freeze proof) and low static pressure. Solar Hot AIR unit outside, fan draws air from back side of radiator (cooler) returns to Panel outside. Water heater IS in Basement.

I didn't want a pump, thermodisc T stat limits fan to both low on temp and high off temp

Pumps can leak fans move light air. Thanks again Andrew

[orchispurpurea]

The first thing I have to say is that the collector's pipes shapes are very thiny and have many curves, so the pressure loss will be huge and a pump must solve this. The other thing is the geometry of the accumulation tank. The mixing inside the tank will break the layering because of the pumping. And I agree with ABTPlumbing about freezing time...and many other things...anyway...keep moving!

[ABTPlumbing]

@orchispurpurea. I understand your concerns about the pressure drop. But the solar side does not supply domestic water to the house only to the heater. You want the water on the solar side to move slowly to allow it time to heat up on the collector. In regards to mixing temp. in the tank, again slow moving water, it will not break the strata. The system does not need a pump and has never had a pump and has worked for over 30 years. KISS keep it simple Simon.

[Baraquiel62]

I'd put that on the roof not there..

[ABTPlumbing]

@Baraquiel62. You could put it up on the roof but you would also need to then put a tank on the roof. Unless you pump the water up the collector on the roof. This installation was ment to be as simple as possible, no electricity, no pumps, no added roof structure, etc.

[Baraquiel62]

no needs for a pump while you get the down pressure, is like sucking gasss from a car with a hose. "gravity", you should try it I have this techniq in my own house.

[MrWombatPPC]

This is great. How good does it work in the winter.? im guessing it would still make water above the outside temp due to it being inside a box.

[xxxxminkxxxx]

you mentioned that "they didn't drain it and it burst" what did you mean by that? do you periodically have to drain the system and if so why?

[ABTPlumbing]

In our area, Grass Valley, Ca. it freezes ever year. He forgot to shut it down and drain it for the winter season and it froze.

[xxxxminkxxxx]

0_o LOL right. I was raised a SoCal girl I always seem to forget that some places freeze over in winter. sorry.

Thanks for the vid Ive seen a similar idea where they used an old water heater painted black and placed in a cabinet with a pane of glass over it. Accomplished a similar task. I love the simple perfection of the idea. Thanks again.

[ABTPlumbing]

@xxxxminkxxxx Your reffering to a batch solar water heater and they work great in mild climates. There are a few really good vids on youtube about batch heaters as well.

[madbillt66]

Thanks for that mate, a simple system WORKING.

I am looking at the same,but being in Northern Europe,I will have to go for solar tube in combination with a woodstove combi.

Cheers

[JonDeth]

Very cool but the design doesn't seem very efficient.

[PhysicsGuerrilla]

@JonDeth I agree at not very efficient however solar is free it is a no-brainer free heat is free. Best Regards.

[BostonVideoPromo]

thank you for sharing

[ABTPlumbing]

My Pleasure and thanks for the comment.

[blademon7]

The fact that it has lasted 30 years with only 1 service call is a tribute to the builder. I suspect it has paid for itself over and over.Thanks for sharing.

[ABTPlumbing]

There where a few freeze repairs done by the owner over the years. But it was well built and paid for it's self many times over.

[mymacki]

Farkasplumbing:

This systemworks in all climates....we are in Montreal , Canada.

It's simple and with a few add ons it is great.

Keep things simple!!!!!

Frank

[arthousefilms]

THANKS FOR SHARING THIS!!  Excellent! I love the simplicity. I'm going to do that.

[ABTPlumbing]

Thanks for the good responce.

[danratsnapnames]

and when its night time and your taking a shower, its wasting heat by heating the contraption.. dude,. its a radiator nothing more. i saw it was a gas water heater, is that gas turned on? does it heat when its night time? you turn the hot water on, does it flow through this thing, if so, then your wasting gas heating.

[ABTPlumbing]

In Responce,

Dude it aint perfect, it's home made. Yes it's a radiator, and yes if you turn the gas on it will use gas to heat the water. You can get a whole lot more sophisticated and put a thermal switch, pump controller and a pump to make it more efficient, but then it's not a simple DIY project.

[mistertentpole]

I have a hot water boiler system for heating my home. The hot water gets to 180 degrees Fahrenheit at 10PSI when it leaves the Slant-Fin gas boiler. I was thinking about adding something like this to lower my gas costs. Would it work? Would I need some kind of automatic "drain and fill" system to keep the system from freezing up when temps drop? It gets cold (-5 sometimes) where I live.

[ABTPlumbing]

You'll need a commercial panel to get your water temp right. This is really a summer type of system or for southern climates.

[inthepresentraw]

Thanks for sharing You are awesome. This is what I need. I am also going to build a convection heater. Can I combine the two together!

[ABTPlumbing]

Unfortunately I dont know the answer to that question.

[SansAuthoritas]

His partner? What business were they in?

[wingnut4427]

oops My bad. $10,500.00 savings over 30 years. Not a bad chunk of change !

[ABTPlumbing]

OOPS....

[ZAGTHEGREAT]

DIY hot water heater? If the water is hot, why do you need to heat it? Isn't this a "Cold water" heater? Seems that Dr. Stinky is stinky and not too smart!!

[boutinik]

Thanks for sharing...that is a really ingenious solution...I can't afford a solar panel...this is an interesting option

[waderiver]

Hi , i am going to build a copper pipe hot water solar collector, the problem i have is the best way to connect it to my low pressure hot water cylinder. It will be below the cylinder so the Thermosyphon affect will work. I want the water to be able to circulate when hot, i will be leaving the element in as a backup for colder days. Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

[ABTPlumbing]

Okay, as long as the solar collector is lower than the tank, the thermal siphon will work. You will need to prime the system with a drain valve, pulling the hot water from the collector towards the tank. As far as using a back up element. When the back up element comes on you will need to isolate the solar panel from the system with shut off valves. I hope this helps. We have a full diagram and instruction booklet on this site.

[waderiver]

Thanks for that, so how do i purchase the Do-It-Yourself Guide.

[ABTPlumbing]

I really don't know how to comment on that.

[MrBorges53]

Do u smoke? U seems to be very tired

[zkaegi33]

This is awesome! I am trying to build one of my own, but I have a problem. I don't quite understand how the wtaer gets in it, I know cold water runs in to the bottom but how do the water rise and how does more water come in? This might be a dumb question but I just can't grasp the answer.

[ABTPlumbing]

There are no dumb questions. This system works with out pumps, it uses convection. Heat naturaly rises both air and water. Once the system is primed, ie open the drain valve on the hot water pipe near the heater, the system starts cycling. Hot water rises, cold water sinks. It's beautiful in it's simplicity. The ebook helps explain it better, hit the link above for your copy. Thanks, Andrew

[AndrewKFletcher]

Brilliantly simple design. Thanks for sharing. Making my own version soon.

Check out my rainwater harvesting system :)

[ABTPlumbing]

The pressure relief is still on the water heater. It would not be a bad idea to have one at the solar panel as well.

[Seven7hSon]

Where's the pressure relief valve? Does the cold-water-out replace it? Thanks

[irisauser]

Thank you for the video.

I'm considering doing something like this.

[gehngus]

I want to build some of these. but im not sure how to get hot water into the house so that it can be used by the appliences/shower etc.

We have a gravity fed water heater (immersion heater) with the cold water tank in the loft feeding the hot water tank below. it isnt pressurized.

Is it posible to plumb this solar panel directly into my hot water tank? or do i need to have a separate tank and some kind of expensive gizmo to transfer it?

thanks

[alienorbiter]

I have plans to do exactly the same thing in my house. Thanks for filming this, i needed to see this working.

[ABTPlumbing]

I'm glad I could help. Thanks for the comment.

Andrew

[Cartercentral]

I'm considering something similar, but with a closed glycol system warming a secondary accumulator tank that will then feed my gas water heater. It won't take me completely off the grid, but the warm water feeding the water heater should cut back gas usage considerably and I won't have to worry about a freezing waterline. Thanks for sharing video.

[ABTPlumbing]

Thats a great idea for places that freeze. One thing to keep in mind, glycol becomes acidic after a couple years or so in a closed system. You'll need to change it once every couple years or it will eat through the copper plumbing.

[MrGuvEuroman]

One of my gas colleges made his own out of an old window and an old cylinder winding. Great for pre heating combi boiler/Unvented cylinder's mains water inlets to get a better temp rise+to stop the boiler working so hard= Save on gas/fuel. I'm gonna make own to preheat my boiler inlet water too! :)

[WildRoses2012]

You are amazing.

[kaduisaui]

That's pretty neat!

[gravityisweak]

Wow, imagine if an entire roof was made based on this concept. The potential is huge. In areas where the temp doesn't really drop below freezing it would be practically zero maintenance.

[ABTPlumbing]

Like I said in the video. This system has worked for over 30 years with little to no maintenace. Pretty good for DIY.

[london1817]

so, when the water comes in to the electric (or gas) inside the house.. water heater It has a 3 way vauve system ? Thanks...Rick.

[ABTPlumbing]

No, cold comes out of the bootom of the heater and thermal siphons into the top hot water tank/ pipe. There are only isolation valves on the panel side. BTW I just bought one of those solar PV panels from Harbor Frieght you've got up on your site. Gonna give it a try on the travel trailer this week. I'll let you all know how it works out.

[keylock000]

looks like a simple gravity fed system and works well it seems

not sure if you would be able to use it in the built up areas because there is too many regs ( they would lock you up in the UK for sticking this up on your house, and then use real criminals on community service orders to remove it!) but out in the sticks and with no nosey peeps this is a good idea

[WoundedEgo]

Does this work all year?

And I don't get the routing. Is there cold water going in at the bottom from a T in the cold pipe? And hot water coming in through the top? Where does the hot water come out?

[ABTPlumbing]

The cold water feed comes in the cold inlet on the top of the W/H were you would normally hook up the cold. The hot feed to the house does the same, it comes out of the hot side of the W/H. I'm putting together a how too plan and diagram to answer all these questions in more detail, stay tuned, or subscribe.

[WoundedEgo]

What happens when the ambient temp drops to 20 degrees centigrae?

[ABTPlumbing]

It will freeze unless you shut off the loop and drain it done.

[WoundedEgo]

Oops, I meant Farenheit. But I guess you figured that out.

[centervilletn]

your video really helped me and i just wanted to say thanks!...i have an idea to make a solar heater using some of the same principles...i live in the southeast...we have lots of sun to play with..even in the summer...those of you doing similar projects msg me...id love more ideas.

[centervilletn]

hey i used some of this in my solar water heater ..I used corrogated roofing, painted black, 1/2 inch flexible tubing painted black (comes in rolls for plumbing houses 180degree)in an insulated box made of a metal 2x4 and a piece of "sign grade" lexan that i bought at a plastic recycler for 20 dollars. Corrogated metal has almost 2x the surface area of flat metal this increases your heat sink x2..im getting 140 degree water..by recycling the water through the heater slowly with a 12 volt pump

[InvalidMemberAccount]

Efficiency would be greatly improved via insulating the piping & storage tank, & glass over collector. The black corrugated metal does little good without glass. This design works without a pump because the storage tank is above the collector(hot water rises and colder water sinks). Thanks for sharing.

(people give away glass frequently on craigslist as well as water heaters which can be used as storage tanks for preheated water to the main tank)

[AnnieBarryZed]

Good job, man! Very cool of you to share... I also like the shaky camera and close ups. Makes me feel like you are going to get 'busted' any second!

[jwsoup]

sweet I do the same at my hunt camp.Thanks for posting that.

[ccbengals11]

Awesome video-gives me an idea on how to heat my pool

[0urGaia]

Thanks Andrew, that is the most simple solar water heater Ive ever seen, love it.

[asialovesusa]

Excellent sharing of a functional, practical and economical, do it yourself, can do system.

Thanks

[Darkelf0001]

Andrew, kudos to you for taking the time to share the setup.