Denver in Ohio Does a $1K System for $800!

This is a very nicely designed example of a $1K type solar water heating system by Denver who lives in Ohio.

The system has several unique new wrinkles:

The tank is a relatively small footprint but is relatively tall and holds a good deal of water.  It is the plywood box, framed with 2X4 perimeter frames at 4 levels.  The tank uses internal polyiso insulation and  the standard EPDM liner.

The pump is the Swifttech pump, which is intended for cooling PC processors, but works well as a solar pump.  Denver built his own controller, but its similar to the type of differential controller that John C. sells on his site as a kit.  The pump and controller combo are only about $100 total.

Denver used the 300 ft coil of 1 inch PEX for his heat exchanger, but took pains to recoil it for better heat transfer.

With some good design and creative scrouging, Denver managed to keep the total cost of the system to $800 -- this is about 1/10th of what equivalent commercial systems cost!

All the details on Denver's $800 DIY Solar Water Heating System ...

More examples of $1K DIY Solar Water Heating Systems here...

Thanks to Denver for sending this material in!

Gary