Solar Water Heater
The first step is to make panels to collect the sunrays. They can be made out of the old aluminum awning type windows. You can easily buy them from the dealers of the old and second hand items. The aluminum units being light are very easy to install.
For example, you can make your sun rays collector of 34 inch X 90 inch size. You may also get glass cover for the collector. The glass panes of the discarded windows can be a great help.
A second hand water heater to be used for the storage tank can also be arranged without much expense. Now you need black plastic pipe and some odd fittings and nails to fix the pipes.
Some insulation material such as two or three sheets of Styrofoam must be arranged. You also need copper pipes and 12 gauge sheets as copper is very efficient at absorbing and releasing heat. The copper sheet acts as the main “heat catcher” inside the box. Copper sheet is usually available in 36 inch width. Suppose you need a width of 34 inches, it is suggested that instead of cutting the sheet by 2 inch it is better to fold it by one inch on each side. It is better to get ¾ inch copper pipe rather than ½ inch as the smaller diameter pipes are too restrictive for a good flow of water.
Given the above dimensions of the copper sheet, you can make the 34inch x 90 inch rectangular frame. This rectangle is used to support the collector plate by some minor additions and modifications to brace it up.
The next step is to cover the frame’s ‘bed’ with a piece of 1/8 inch pegboard Masonite and two sheets of heat-holding Styrofoam insulation.
Now the main task is to weld the copper sheet pieces together. The first stage is to construct a manifold structure with four ‘bars’ inside the frame-fitting rectangle. This work may require a lot of cutting and soldering at the manifold ends.
Place the copper collector sheet on a level concrete surface and fix the pipe-to-sheet assemble to its wood and Styrofoam frame bed. Connect the supply, discharge and relief valve lines properly and put the finished structure at the roof etc.
The last step is to paint the collector sheet and the manifold flat black and coat the exposed wood with a protective oil based covering. Set the water heater in place and attach the storage tank. That’s it. Go and take hot shower.
