This DIY Solar Heater project took me all of two hours to complete. It is made from two full lengths of 12mm polyethylene irrigation pipe, at a cost of about $50, a recycled galvanised disc with a steel frame, cost $0, and four lengths of recycled 25 x 25 x 2.5 aluminium channel , cost $0
Solar water heating, especially in Australia, makes so much sense. Its a ‘no-brainer’, but some might disagree.
I like the way it looks and it has heated our hot water on all but the coldest overcast days. It has provided free showers for us and our guests for many years. Its especially good on very hot days.
Being a disc, its easy to reposition to take full advantage of the sun. We avoid full sun in summer when the output is close to boiling. I am happy to run outside in the morning and gently roll it into position. I love to catch the early morning sun as it breaks through the mist from the valley below.
In Practice
When taking a lazy shower, the hot water very gradually cools from really hot to warm over about 20 minutes. That is time for 3 or 4 normal showers, and it reheats again in about the same time. There are the conventional controls, a hot and a cold tap, though in this case they are somewhat ‘agricultural’.
The capacity of the system is about 1cc per cm, or 1 Litre per 10 Metres of tubing. I used 200M of tubing all up. Although it could be called an invention, it is more of a rearrangement to me. The water adds about 20Kg to the weight of the disc. This stops it blowing away in high winds. I secure it to a tall fence pole for safety.
The nice thing is – it works so well! No moving parts.