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In another thread, there is a tip to use a black water bottle to warm up a small amount of water to save a few ounces of gas.
Not knocking that, but would it be possible to scale it up a bit, in our street there are thee houses with solar water heaters on the roofs.
How much of a job would it be to knock one up, a cheap pump, a insulated tank, some satin black copper pipe, a few clips, I'm sure there's a bit more to it, but not much.
I seem to remember watching something ont telly a few years ago, where you used a parabola arrangement to heat a fluid in a pipe, this fluid was circulated through a water tank and gave up it's heat to the water.
Don't know what the fluid was or if it would work on a camper roof, or even if it's worth the bother on a cost basis, but most of this technology came from someone buggering about in a shed, and there is the environment to consider.
I've got solar hot water - it's quite a simple system, but a bit more complicated than your idea.
Basically I have the panels on the roof which are heated, the fluid inside having anti-freeze so I don't have to drain it down in winter.
There is another heat exchanger coil in the bottom of the HW tank, with a temperature sensor on the bottom of the tank. There is a basic control panel which compares the temperature of the fluid in the panel with the water temperature in the tank. When the external temp is 8 degrees above the tank, a central heating pump starts up and circulates the fluid until the difference in temp is 4 degrees. The system works from about March to October, and basically pre-warms the water up to about 50 degrees - on a really hot day it can go higher, so the system is pressurised to prevent boiling.
I have reprogrammed my water heating from the gas boiler so it only runs for two hours in the evening, and this raises the water temp to about 55-60 degrees. The system is usually running by 0730 in the morning as we both have showers at about 0700. It cuts in and out until about 1500, when the sun is falling on the panel at a low angle.
Cost of system - about £5k including new tank and boiler.
Savings - gas usage about 30% of previous summer usage, so payback time is a long time - but I do feel rather virtuous when I hear the solar pump cut in.
I'm waiting for a bond to come out, when it's solar PV panels - these pay back a lot quicker than the water, just a shame you can't sign up a DIY system, you have to use a registered installer.
I'm waiting for a bond to come out, when it's solar PV panels - these pay back a lot quicker than the water, just a shame you can't sign up a DIY system, you have to use a registered installer.
Ian...make sure you get them installed before April 2012. The FIT is reduced for installations after that date.
We're thrilled to bits with ours. They're performing much better than we dared to hope....though it is summer.
Well if you really want to knock something up quickly and cheaply, this is what we use when wildcamping in Botswana and Namibia - I know it's a lot hotter there but I'm sure it would still work well with European sunshine.
Take a black garden hose from a raised header water supply, maybe a 5 gallon tank, down to an inverted dustbin lid, raised a couple of feet off the ground. Coil the hose around inside the lid and then down to ground level with a tap or stop.
Primitive it may be but we've used it for years, as have many other African wanderers - it works and it's free.
OK - it might need a bit of adapting to suit mh needs - how about covering the whole of your roof with a coiled hosepipe?
I just don't think MHF is yet ready for this to be added to the useful downloads.
______________________________________________________________ Tony
If you have a small van without a shower, you can get enough water from a couple of large plastic pop bottles for a shower (or wash down).
You need the large black or brown bottles, fill em up and leave them on the dash all day. It's surprising how hot the water gets.
Following on from the Southern Africa tip, a West African tip. Get a 45 gallon drum, paint it black and fit a float valve. Hey presto, showers for umpteen people. There is more water round those parts admittedly.
______________________________________________________________ Diplomacy is overrated.
"The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage". Thucydides 460 - 404 BC
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