Solar hot water

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Dod42

Here is the article

Thanks Andy for a great article. It looks like a perfect system for my needs, though I might need the antifreeze system here in Tassie? Do you know who is likely to distribute it in Aussie? Cheers

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[witzgall]

Originally Posted by rgesner

In another forum, a sailor who installed the Heliatos system had this to say:
"After about 4 weeks of cruising in the Med I can say that this solar hot water system works very well, hot water at the tap is obviously a joy both for showering and washing up. The circulating pump is plugged in to my 12V boat power supply (I do have solar panels), the quite silent circulating pump does not use much electricity and is connected to a 12V timer which in summer I set for 12 hours operation. Obviously the placing of the panel/panels is crucial and on an arch (which I don't have) would be close to perfect but anything on a boat is a compromise in some way."

You can omit the timer by simply powering the pump from solar. No sun, no pumping. We had this on our 2kw solar hot water system on our last house. In partly cloudy weather, you could hear the pump ramping up and down as the sun dodged the clouds.

Chris

[GILow]

A caution to those considering the pool heating system. The physics of those systems break down at very low temperatures as they start to shed heat as fast as they collect it. Pool temperatures are quite low, so the cheap black plastic tube systems are ok, but if you want to get reasonable temperatures you need something a bit more complex. A magazine in Australia called "Renew" has some excellent articles, and from time to time covers home built solar hot water.

I have built a solar-hydronic heating system for our house and found the most cost effective mechanism these days are evacuated tubes, but I concede they are too fragile to use on a boat.


Matt

[Dod42]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

Thanks Andy for a great article. It looks like a perfect system for my needs, though I might need the antifreeze system here in Tassie? Do you know who is likely to distribute it in Aussie? Cheers

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I'm not sure if Tim Rix has set the business yet but I can pm you his details otherwise if you email Aki at Heliatos he can give you all the details. Good people to deal with. If you are ever up in Brisbane feel free to come and have a look.

Over all very pleased with how well it works. Even in the current (bloody cold) Brisbane weather it's still working well. You can notice it not as hot as summer but still pleasantly warm.

The only issue for many is the realestate required. We had space but for many the space may be better used for solar PV panels. Horses for courses


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[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Dod42

...Over all very pleased with how well it works. Even in the current (bloody cold) Brisbane weather it's still working well. You can notice it not as hot as summer but still pleasantly warm.

Thanks for the info DoD. Still a few years away from needing one. Hopefully the Aussie supply will be sorted by then. Of more concern is how well it will work in a Tassie winter. Saying that even barely warm water is much quicker to boil than our normal freezing water!



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[Privilege]

I'm not sure if this counts as a thread hijack but if you have the room and a pre-existing propane supply, an instantaneous/tankless propane water heater is worth considering. They are a few hundred bucks to buy, easy to install and very reliable. They sense when there is water running through and fire up from a 'C' battery. I have two barbeque-size propane tanks on board and they will easily last six months for the two of us showering once or twice a day. The only downside is that you have to find a way to vent the exhaust overboard. I installed a clamshell vent on the deck.

[GILow]

We had one of those on our boat when we bought her. Scared the crap out of me. Couldn't disconnect if fast enough. So many ways to fail and dump gas into the bilge.

Matt


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[senormechanico]

Given solar (more or less every day) which makes more sense?
Packing the power into a LiFePo4 bank, turning on a hot water electric element when you need hot water, or heating water every day even if you don't necessarily need it and trying to keep hot water in a tank with aerogel or other insulation?

Basically, all I'm saying is which has less loss, the LiFePo4 bank or your hot water tank insulation?

I've had both systems, one each on two boats.
I prefer solar electric and LiFePo4 with electric tank heating because we don't have to worry about freezing lines, periodically burping the high spot on the water loop, recirculating pump annual replacements etc. Just throw a switch for 20 minutes and we have hot water.

Summertime, when we use the boat the most, we always have enough solar (320 watts) to have all the juice we need AND hot water for all our needs including making water and showers.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Privilege

I'm not sure if this counts as a thread hijack but if you have the room and a pre-existing propane supply, an instantaneous/tankless propane water heater is worth considering. They are a few hundred bucks to buy, easy to install and very reliable. They sense when there is water running through and fire up from a 'C' battery. I have two barbeque-size propane tanks on board and they will easily last six months for the two of us showering once or twice a day. The only downside is that you have to find a way to vent the exhaust overboard. I installed a clamshell vent on the deck.

We have one of these on the boat and almost never use it. Any fluctuation in water pressure (like when the pump cycles) and it cycles from burning hot to icy cold.

We went with the solar shower bag. I think something similar with an inlet and outlet hose would do the trick. No need to leave the circulation pump running all the time. Maybe every couple hours have it cycle the water thru.

I wouldn't count on 30 C water unless it's pretty hot out...in which case, really hot water isn't so critical.

[Dod42]

Australian distributor Tim Rix

http://www.solaexchange.com.au

Near Moolloolaba Qld


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