DIY building of solar collectors



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Preparation 0700
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Pipe bending table
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Collector as asbestos protector
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Serpentine bending procedure
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Mounting pipe on a welding table
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Paste is applied after some pipe cleaning
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Pipe is pressed on a plate with strings
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Cleaning cell
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Intermediate store (nearly empty)
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You need experienced guys for bending.
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But not to fast
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Cleaning is really a brain killer
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Welding preparation is a bottleneck
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Pipe must be tight to a plate
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Final splash before drying
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Welding paste must be removed
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Lunch 1200
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Lunch 1230
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Lunch
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Finished with welding at 2100
Total of 66 solar collectors were built by 25 people. Welding process was not shown as I forgot to picture me and 3 other guys :( It takes 10 minutes for each collector..

Similar shots with much better camera. Courtesy of M. Zupan (ZRMK)

Acknowledgments

Solar collector (Do It Yourself) DIY project was initiated by Slovene Ministry of the Economy and leaded by the Civil Engineering Institute ZRMK. GI-ZRMK organizes several courses of DIY solar absorber and provides tools. Over 200 collectors are built yearly. ZRMK often cooperate with a Energy advisory network ENSVET . A member of ENSVET VITRA joined people and coordinated our DIY fun-time.

Domestic Solar Water Heater System Installation




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Profile used as a ruler down under
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Top right corner measurement for plate
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Top Left
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Wood profiles aligned
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Top detail shows space for collector coupling pipe
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Bottom
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Top straight view
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Lower right detail measurement
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Sunset view
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Straight plate at bottom
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Roof glazing profile at a top
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Low iron temper proof glass
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400l DHW + 113l tank under the boiler
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Expansion vessel
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Collector manometer
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Pressure regulator is necessary
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Three-way valve at the boiler side
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Side roof glazing profiles
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Cross section detail
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Fixing of the bottom glazing plate
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Mounted side glazing
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Bottom glazing detail
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Right glazing tilted for concrete tile
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Manometer again
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Side flashing tilted without cutting!
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Bottom steel plate bending with wood bar helper
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Connecting bottom and side plate
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Bottom plate should be bent over the side plate
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Glazing profile and side plate detail
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ALU glazing profile at bottom
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Fixing top L wooden profile
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Fix it with the 3x35 screws
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Side plate installation
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Cleaning
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Installing top glazing plate.
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Trimming side plate for top sheeting
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Side-bottom plate finished
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Glazing profiles at a top
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Side profile fixed with nails at a side
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Supply pipe opening/cutting
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Cut from both sides!
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Side profiles bent
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Top right
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Far view at a root
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Collector plumbing
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Safety valve at a top
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Cleaning of the collector fittings
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Top glazing plate fixed
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Temperature sensor pipe welded neat top pipe
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Cutting procedure without waste. First diagonal..
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Push down. Cut off triangle.
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Finished with two cuts!
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Last collector welding
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Hot water return pipe
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Welding one collector and mounting insulation for another.
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Hot hotter supply and expansion vessel
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Hot water return line and safety valve at top
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Charging pipe used as releif valve for pressure checking of the vessel
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Expansion vessel 50l for 7 collectors
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View at a finished collectors. No glazing.
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Testing at 4 bar with air. Use soap for searching failure if testing spray unavailable.
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Close 250kPa safety valve before testing.
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Glazing installed
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Bottom right gum detail
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Bottom middle glazing detail
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Top right glazing
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Top middle
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Bottom left
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Bottom left gum installation at side plate tilt
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Top left
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Really black view thru the looking glass
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Glazing in the morning
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Top right glazing
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Pipe insulation is a two fold. 13+13mm. Outer insulation with a zip (PlamaPUR)
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Supply and return pipe
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Before return insulation mounting
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Solar medium and distilled water
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Operating pressure 1.8bar (0.8 bar of static pressure)
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Top middle glazing detail
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Bottom
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Water drops at the bottom left
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Top left
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Finished and waiting for sun.
You may also check my software for calculation of some parts of solar system.
Leon Kos
Last modified: Mon Aug 27 08:55:29 CEST 2001