morgantruce

According to the SunMaxx website, their thermosyphon system is "perfect for warmer climates where freezing conditions are not a problem.... Since both components of this system, including the storage, are exterior, it is imperative that you be in a non-freeze climate." Our winter temperatures here can drop down to as low as -20 degrees. Add in the very short portion of the day in which the sun could shine on our house (and factoring in the 50% of the time the sky is overcast) I'm not about to get into any sort of passive solar water heating device. I already have a 2-storey solar green house on the south facing wall of the house--with a considerable amount of mass in a masonry wall--and even with that, there are only about two hours a day when it makes any sense to throw open the large doors and and try to get some of that "heat" into the house. The 10-foot tall thermopane glass is most likely a net heat loser---and I already have enough twice-daily chores around the farm to consider adding insulating window shutters/curtains. As is, the lowest temperature ever recorded in that room (which is not heated by the woodstove) was 33 degrees. Considering how much time I already spend keeping ice and snow off of the solar photovoltaic panels, I wouldn't be keen on adding additional square footage in a water heating system which would require similar attention. I spent many hours figuring out the position of the roof overhang---and was delighted to find that, after construction, the sun actually strikes most of the back wall in the winter---and hardly shines in in mid-summer. See the big hill behind the house? There is an equally big hill right behind where the photographer was standing---and if it weren't for that hill, I might be a bit more open to another solar project. The picture was taken on a (rare) sunny day. To the right rear of the house you can see an old Zomeworks passive tracker on a pole which is holding eight Arco M-75 panels. As you can see, there's plenty of wood to heat with---although being late in the season, little of it is in the wood shed! Last week I finished stuffing it with oak and hickory--a feeling which is similar having to money in the bank. A note: After considerable browsing on this website, it is just becoming clear to me that the main thrust of the site is about house inspections. (Well, duh!) my posts have had nothing to do with house inspections---and I apologize for hanging around trying to soak up some information. I would add that no one has ever inspected this house----but I built it always thinking that some day someone might! As an owner/builder, I did a lot of book research, and kept my eyes open whenever I had the opportunity to visit with any tradesmen. I live in a part of the country where such attitudes are not the norm. Many people build their own homes, but few look beyond what methods their neighbor has used. As a result, there are a dreadful number of homes which have completely un-vented plumbing systems, inadequate foundations, and roofs which need re-shingling every presidential election. I remember once passing a neighbor's house and watching him beginning to shingle his house; he had started at the ridge and was on the third course down, when I pulled my car over and sat for a while trying to think how I could approach him diplomatically.

I've been a bit discouraged into looking at such a system---in the winter months, my direct sunshine is limited to between the hours of 10:30AM and 1:30PM. (The joys of having a house nestled between two steep hills...) I have a sizable investment in photovoltaic solar panels---and, while that helps a bit in the winter, I am not getting the full benefit because of early morning and late afternoon shading. They do very fine in the summer though--when the sun is higher in the sky. Perhaps I should sign up for one of those "mountaintop removal" projects they have going elsewhere in the state. (Heaven forbid!!!) When I first moved out here and was living in a backpacking tent while building a cabin, I rigged up quite a nice outdoor solar shower with a large surplus refrigeration coil, a pull-chain valve, and a huge flat-faced shower head which must have been delivering 10 gallons a minute! [] Basic truth: The worst possible shower--taken outdoors--is light-years ahead of the best shower taken inside a building. Over the years I have gone through all the phases of looking into just about every possible alternative energy source and have come to the conclusion that I have: too-little stream flow and head in my creek for hydro too fluky wind conditions for a wind turbine and not enough sun to warrant any year-round projects. Though none of this has stopped me from setting up really small demonstration projects to amuse myself. Now, I've decided to try to take advantage of using the small bits of energy which are presently escaping untapped---starting with my gas refrigerator. This morning I ordered a six gallon water heater which I will shoehorn into the cabinet above the fridge and use it as a preheater for my basement gas water heater. I'm hoping to hear a progress report from Billy_Bob on his "tank near the wood stove" project and tie that into the system as well. (I tried sending him an email, but that feature was turned off for me--- Hint, hint, moderator!) Oh, I'll probably go ahead anyway with the entire project because: The pencil sketch looks like Rube Goldberg inspired me. The (undeniable) bragging rights. and lastly, the consternation all of this is causing my lovely wife when she hears that she is about to lose a kitchen cabinet and also have to look at a "large, ugly, painted, tank in our smallish living room!" Life is short; might as well have fun.

Billy, I've been looking all over the internet---trying to find some information about putting a hot water tank NEAR a wood stove. I'm not much interested in CONNECTING a tank to the stove (way too hazardous for my taste!) Your post, is (so far) the only info I've found about the tank NEAR a wood stove idea. My situation is "slightly" different than yours. I'm presently using a 20 gallon gas hot water heater--- that small because it is running on a VERY limited supply of free natural gas. I can only run that heater on the tiniest of flames, but we manage to squeak out two showers a day---and the heater just barely recovers from that! So... I've been trying to come up with a pre-heater tank(s) for this little heater. I have a propane refrigerator which puts out a good bit of heat from the flue in the back. I experimented by propping up a 4 gallon pot of cold water over that flue---and it got up to 120 degrees ---AND held at that temperature overnight. SO... I'm going to get a 6 gallon electric water and install it in the small cabinet over the fridge. (I'm off-grid, so I cannot just plug in that tank!) I will aim the flue at the bared bottom of that tank--leaving the insulation on the rest of the tank. I'm quite certain that preheating will help our situation year round. THEN... I got to thinking about adding yet ANOTHER tank... a 40 or 50 gallon tank NEAR the wood stove---as either a pre-heater for the refrigerator tank (in the summer) and then just use a 3-way ball valve to let that wood stove tank be the main source of hot water during the winter--and then we might have enough hot water to consider ourselves living almost like normal folks! What a CONTRAPTION! So far, I've drawn a zillion diagrams---and always trying to design the valving so that no possible combination of valve settings would result in a "closed" system---with heated water having no where to expand into. My cold water supply is a 1200 gallon tank up on the hill that gravity-feeds down to the house. Any expansion in my hot water system would easily push that water uphill. HOW CLOSE IS YOUR hot water tank to the wood stove? Is it right up against it? A few inches? Please give me any additional details on what you have noticed and learned thus far. I'm contemplating using a new electric hot water tank for putting near the wood stove---and stripping away ONLY the portion of the insulation and jacket that faces the stove. I figure the remaining insulation would help CONSERVE whatever heat the stove puts into the tank. I'm a firm believer in Temperature Pressure Relief valves and will also install a small bladder-type expansion tank in the cold water line leading to the tank which will be near the wood stove. Safety first. All if this is SO MUCH more interesting than just installing a great big propane water heater---and then sending a huge check to Amerigas each month. My philosophy is to spend ANY amount of money investing in a situation which will allow me to live without paying monthly bills. I invested in photovoltaic panels and batteries to avoid an electric bill. But I do use a modest amount of propane for my cook stove and refrigerator. I have lived with a wood cook stove, but they are a bit of a hassle and not pleasant in the summer. PLEASE tell me any tidbits you have learned about this project. Thanks. Gene