Home Made Solar Water Heater - Reflecting Trough - mobile format

Jason demonstrates how to estimate the effective wattage of his home made solar water heater. Also, Jason's water heating element is shaped in such a way that it more coincides with a plane of focal points, characteristic of a semi-circular vs. a parabolic reflector. Jason's 5 ft long device gave an estimated maximum output of between 200 - 400W.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• solar
• heat
• heater
• water
• power
• energy
• calculation
• estimate
• pond
• koi
• Jason
• Lye
• trough
• concentrate
• watt
• joules
• Atlanta
• reflector

[preparedchipmunk]

I really liked it, what are you doing with it now? Are you heating water for washing or some specific purpose?

[Koiboy70]

@preparedchipmunk : Not using it right now - but will use it to warm my koi pond in the winter.

[trailkeeper]

Wish we could get our hands on those evacuated or vacuum tubes for this type of heater like on one of Dan's vids.

Your effective surface area seems to be: 5feet x 6in? or = 5 ft x 0.5 which is 2.5 sq feet = 0.232 sq meters. In good sunlight and if your system axis is perpendicular to the sun, then 1000W per sq. meter is expected. At about 23 percent of that area then, you could expect then about 232 W max it seems.  Am I close, or does anyone else have any input on these numbers?

[Koiboy70]

@trailkeeper : Interesting! I have not calculated the efficiency - thank you!

[Koiboy70]

Sorry that the "Results" are so blurry...

[blurglide]

It'd be more efficient if the water went the same direction down both pipes. Currently, you have the coldest and hottest section of pipe touching each other. It's basically a heat exchanger.

[amazonhippie]

You sound like a young Richard Dawkins. :) Nice video.

[noreplyism]

Do you need the pump? As the water heats and expands it should push itself out into the bucket and suck more cold water through...

[seven7arrows]

@trailkeeper Dan sells those on his website.

[shutinanxiety]

it's nice to see when people back their experiments with some simple physics. not many people even record data and/or share it!

[eloid777]

you need to make a glass square tube case over your pipe, get some glass cut

ie 2 inch wide by the desired length, make a jig ie v shap trough and silicone the glass 90 to eachother use hight temp silicon leave to dry, make other sides the same silicone all sides, get 1/4 thick brass plate drill hole need as need for you pipe, buy some threadable air nib ie just like tire steam, then silicon end plates

leave to dry with pipe installed paint flate black, then vacum air out of tube...

[Hanibaleken]

dude, you should fit this parabolic collector according to the optimum angel or try to put sun tracker to improve the efficiency (W/sq)

I'm also doing some experiments like this and i get 800W/sq

[Koiboy70]

@trailkeeper : I'm glad for the interest and enthusiasm. All feedback welcome. Jason