Construction of the System

Panel:
The panel is built on concrete pier foundations using 12” diameter tubular
cardboard forms poured 18” deep into the soil with angle iron brackets attached
to rebar embedded in the concrete.

A framework of treated 2 x4 rafters and cross braces is fastened together and to

the piers with lag screws. A plywood frame is installed at a slight slope down to
the east (¼”per ft.) to promote drain-back of all water when the pump stops
flowing to prevent freeze up.
 Construction of the System

The framed box was lined with polyisocyanurate high temperature foam
insulation 1” thick.

Finned Tube Fabrication:

Using a 2x10 board with a ¾” routed groove and a ¾” steel rod as a mandrel, 10
ft. long strips of copper were formed into a grooved shape using a sledge hammer
and wooden blocks. ½” copper tubing was set into the groove and fully soldered
lengthwise to form twenty six 10 ft. long and thirteen 4 ft. pieces of finned tubes.
This assured 100% metal contact between the tube and fin for highest efficiency
of heat transfer.
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 Construction of the System

The finned tubes were installed into the box and soldered together in place to
span the 24 ft. long panel. They were soldered into tees in vertical 1” copper
header pipes on each end.
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In order to achieve balanced flow through all horizontal runs, and to allow
complete drain back of water after the circulating pump shuts down, the flow
path in and out of the panel was designed this way:

So long as the return from the panel to the tank has an air gap above the top
surface of the water in the tank, when pump flow stops, air will enter the return
line and allow water in the panel to drain down through the pump and the return
line. This empties the panel of all water for freeze protection and maintains a
flooded pump suction for restart without priming. The panel was leak tested,
painted black, and then glazed with clear corrugated plastic roofing panels. Seams
on each panel were supported by ½” electrical conduit. Exposed wood surfaces of
the panel were covered with aluminum flashings for protection. After six months
all wood was coated with water-sealant for further protection. Piping from the
panel to the tank was wrapped with foam tube and run underground through 4”
corrugated plastic drain piping. A temperature sensor is installed inside the solar
 Construction of the System

panel to read panel temperature, its cable runs inside a plastic conduit,
through the tank, pump box and to the microprocessor.
 Construction of the System

Tank Construction:
Stone construction was chosen for the tank because it matched the existing wood
shed material, is permanent and maintenance free. First, an excavation was made
down to solid rock adjacent to the existing structure and close to the wood
heater. This required some jackhammer work.
 Construction of the System

A concrete slab was poured and wall construction began using 2 ft. tall forms
which were slipped upwards as the wall was built 2 ft. at a time.

Rebar was run up from the slab into the wall, and was also laid into each corner
for reinforcement. The exterior surface is stone laid against the outer form, and a
stiff concrete mix was laid against the inner form so that surface is smooth. This
‘slip form’ stone wall construction method makes wall building very accurate and
makes good use of stones which only need to have one flat face. After one day
the forms can be removed and raised up to continue building. As the wall was
laid, entry holes were made to accept piping in and out of the tank. After
completion, the inside walls were finished with stucco and painted with Thoroseal
for water tightness, and mortar was applied between the stones on the outside.
Construction of the System
 Construction of the System

Two inches of polyiso foam board was applied inside the tank. Piping was then
run to the pump and solar panel embedded into the second 2” layer of foam for
freeze protection. The gray PVC pipe carries a submerged temperature sensor
which monitors tank water temperature.

Inside the foam board, the two layer plastic liner was attached with screws to PVC
boards laid on the top edge of the foam boards, and a 4” thick foam board
covered with liner material was installed for the tank top. An access hatch cover
made of foam board was also constructed. A hinged galvanized steel roof for
weather protection was installed using a rafter system of recycled plastic deck
material.

In the left side photo above, you can see a coil of stainless steel tubing. That is a
100 meter long loop of ¾” flexible tubing which is the potable water heat
exchanger. It is submerged in the hot water tank and pre-heats domestic potable
water for bathing and washing before the water enters the normal electric hot
water heater. Thus, the tank functions ordinarily as a hot water heater which
 Construction of the System

reduces hot water heater electrical bills to almost zero. Here is a close up view of
the heat exchanger coil before installation, showing in and out connections:

CIRCULATING PUMP, PIPING AND CONTROL VALVES:

An important part of the system to recognize is that there are two circulating
pumps each drawing off and returning water to and from the same tank. One
pump circulates water through the solar panel and the other pump, preexisting
on the wood fired system, circulates water through the radiant floor. By taking
advantage of the tendency of warm water to rise and cold water to sink, called
stratification, and by proper placement of suction and return piping a separation
of hot and cold water can be achieved in the same tank of water.
The circulating pump draws cold water from the lower part of the tank and sends
it through the solar panel. Heated water then returns to the tank at the water’s
surface and because of thermal stratification tends to remain in the upper part of
 Construction of the System

the tank. For that reason, the solar panel circulating pump suction is located low
in the tank where colder water resides.
Similarly, cold water returning from the radiant floor returns to the lower part of
the tank and the radiant floor circulating pump suction is located in the upper
part of the tank where the warmest water resides. This is illustrated here:

The solar panel circulating pump is installed inside an insulated weatherproof box.
Piping and wiring passes through a galvanized steel duct insulated with foam. The
pump and all piping are heat-traced with a thermostatically controlled freeze
proof heating tape designed to maintain 50 degrees F.
 Construction of the System

Four 3-way valves are arranged to control and select flow of radiant floor water
and potable water to either the solar tank or the wood heater. Since the wood
heater is only used during winter, while the solar heater is functional year-round,
normally the potable water circuit will remain selected to the solar tank. This
illustrates the four 3-way valves and flows:
 Construction of the System

Electrical Controls
The existing control system for the wood heater used a 24 volt control
transformer and power relay. An additional switch and power relay were installed
to power up the microprocessor and pump. A manual switch was also installed to
control the freeze prevention heater. The microprocessor monitors both panel
temperature and tank temperature. It is programmable using an LCD display
showing tank and panel temperature and system status.
When the microprocessor senses tank temperature is below 120 degrees F and
panel temperature is 20 degrees higher than tank temperature, it switches the
circulating pump on and water flows through the panel. If panel temperature
drops below that point, for example, if cloudiness or sunset occurs, the
microprocessor switches the pump off and the panel drains back to the tank. If
tank temperature reaches the set point of 120 degrees, the microprocessor
switches the circulating pump off for tank temperature control. This image shows
these elements:
 Construction of the System

Video of first circulation test:

https://www.facebook.com/thechief762/videos/10203503267021073/