The simplest solar heater is a barrel painted black and filled with water. Black color absorbs solar energy better than other colors and converts it into heat. As a result, the water in the barrel will heat up.
Naturally, this is the most primitive way to collect the thermal energy of the sun. I will show you how to make a portable solar water heater, a simple design of the available parts, which can easily be bought at any hardware store. This water heater will be efficient and very easy to manufacture.
What is a solar water heater?
The solar collector is a copper tube, twisted in a spiral, enclosed in a rectangular case with one transparent wall. The water heater has a small weight and size, therefore it is easily transported, for which a carrying handle is screwed on its side.
What is the purpose of this solar water heater?
I personally use a solar water heater to quickly heat the pool water. Since it can work in the winter, it can even be used for heating in the daytime.
Pros of heating water with solar energy
- Everything is free, it helps save energy.
- The solar collector also works in winter, but with less efficiency.
- Does not require special costs for the manufacture of equipment.
- Pumps that drive water away can also be powered from the sun using solar panels.
Solar collector manufacturing process
We will need:
- A coil of copper tube 15 meters long and 6 mm in diameter.
- Plastic cable ties (nylon ties).
- Plywood for the rear wall.
- Wooden blocks and slats for side walls and glass fasteners.
- Plexiglass or organic glass.
- Black paint spray.
- Fasteners (nails, screws, screws).
- Transition fitting for copper tube.
Maybe I missed something else.
So, Mr., it is necessary to decompose the tube in one layer with a slight indentation to estimate the size of the future solar collector. And you can immediately take a certain size of the box, and then cut off the extra tube.
After the size has been chosen by drawing pencil lines up and down. These will be the tube attachment lines. Lay out the phone. We drill holes along the diameter of the clamps and fasten the tube with them, see photo.
So gradually fix the whole skein. Then, the sticking parts of the clamps are cut off with wire cutters. The plywood on which our coil is now located is not the back of the case. We will do the case separately, and we will put this panel there.
We collect the box under the panel with a coil.
In this box we put our plywood with a coil. If you plan to use the collector in the winter, then I recommend putting insulation between the back wall and plywood with a coil.
We drill holes in the side bars to output the tube.
We nail the slats on the inside, on which the glass will lie.
We measure glass so that everything is flush, without extra grooves.
We fasten the adapters under the garden hose.
I fasten the handle for carrying and transporting.
Spray paint the inner surface.
We close it with glass.
We connect a hose with water and give a small pressure.
On a sunny day, the outgoing water at an average pressure can heat about 75 degrees Celsius.
Work summary
A solar water heater heats water well without unnecessary difficulty, so I recommend repeating it.
Such panels can be arranged in groups, then the effectiveness of such a system will be many times greater.
In large garden pools there is an autonomous water filtration system, which works constantly. By turning on the water heater in this system you won’t lose anything, and the water in the pool will always be warm. And indeed the entire pool may be in the shade, and the solar collector in the sun.
DIY video of a solar water heater built
Heated with several panels, using not a copper tube, but a garden rubber hose. Efficiency is of course lower due to poor heat conduction by the garden hose.
