DIY Solar Water Heater, Grass Valley, Ca near Auburn, Ca,

Get your very own FREE do-it-yourself solar water heater guide here: smart-think-marketing.com Home made solar hot water heater. It’s been working in Grass Valley, CA. near Auburn CA, about an hour out side Sacramento, Ca for the last 30 years. Simple and cheap to build. On grid or off grid. You can also find us at www.easyasabt.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

  • Share

25 Responses to DIY Solar Water Heater, Grass Valley, Ca near Auburn, Ca,

  1. PatandUli says:

    why arent the pipes Insulated ? and if you put glas on top you could trap the heat in the solar panel/heater

  2. Jthetinman says:

    Hmmm

  3. Jthetinman says:

    Hmm

  4. ABTPlumbing says:

    @youstupidmoron As a plumber I know we’ve been using solar patch water heaters for at least that long. But natural gas was found and was very cheap. The modern thing to do was heat your water with natual gas. So people ripped out the solar and installed gas.

  5. Geovani74699 says:

    good job!

  6. youstupidmoron says:

    Tobyminty, you are WAY behind the times compared to us in the U.S.! We have been using these systems for well over 100 years over here! It’s a good thing we shared it with you! You should thank us for our innovations!

  7. bucktheusa says:

    That’s one smart son of a bitch right there.

    Too bad big business loves to profit from consumption.

    It will take 1000 years before cottage industry tricks take us off the grid.

    And where will the city, state and federal gov’t get all their billions in fees, taxes and tariffs from if you don’t pay utilities.

    Trying to figure out a water ladder up to my roof for a solar pool heater.

    Hear 90 degree fittings kill flow. Ideas?

  8. 528hemi says:

    @tobyminti That’s some real nice bragging there.

  9. tobyminti says:

    You guys are behind the times, compared to us innovators in the UK, just me for now
    After 18 years in solar collector and tank designs, my house is fitted with a 80 gall thermal store in the attic (loft if you are British) and is directly heated by 44 heat pipe tube collectors with no freeze protection as this I designed out of the copper header
    The water in the header is the same as in the tank, no coils.
    This water is also the tiny amount of water in my waterless radiators for space heating

  10. ABTPlumbing says:

    @canarsiemarsie Yes!!!! Germany is one of the largest producers of clean solar energy. If they can do it in cold, clouy Germany, you can do it in the North East.

  11. ABTPlumbing says:

    @SpeedMetal4635 Have fun with build, the connection to the water heater where made with copper fittings.

  12. ABTPlumbing says:

    @naturalbonsai Thanks,
    Andrew

  13. ABTPlumbing says:

    @FishyMoe The factory made ones are going to be more efficient. But like you wrote, they can cost quite a bit.
    Andrew

  14. ABTPlumbing says:

    Great suggestion.
    Thanks, Andrew

  15. BigGreenZero says:

    You can build one of these with a small tank attached to the top of it similar to the solarhart model. The tank always has to be somewhat above the system. This makes it hard for roofmounts in residential areas. However using a heat exhange tank or loop with a small circulation pump(solar) you can get much better results. Avoid glycol and use corn based glycol. Also heat exchange using vegtable oil would also add efficiency.

  16. BigGreenZero says:

    @canarsiemarsie You need to use evacuated tubes to be reliable in a cold climate. Most do it yourself flat plate collectors won’t help much. Plus in order to heat your whole house you need volume of storage.

  17. shoges says:

    Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to share this with us.

  18. FishyMoe says:

    I might try this. Is it effective? Compared to the pre made ones? the pre made ones are like $3000 Jesus.

  19. naturalbonsai says:

    hey brother. great vid. thanks a lot for sharing this. very valuable info. good work and good commitment … keep ‘er up!

  20. SpeedMetal4635 says:

    Hello, I already downloaded the plans and I will make this system, I will use another materials and I will use two windows glass in the body. This is not new, but the important is how do you are connecting the solar heater to the boyler. This is a great idea very usefull, cheap and simple. Thanks a lot

  21. kjviolin2 says:

    There’s a coupon for $50 off any EcoSmart tankless heater on
    acehotline(dot)com
    It’s their “end of the month sale”
    The coupon code is: 15952
    Just though I would pass the word around :)

  22. steveincovina says:

    Andrew, Thank You for this video.
    I have viewed it a few times over the past year and find it intriguing.
    As you have stated it’s not the best possible set-up but one that is basic and easy for us lay folks to understand. If only half the population had something similar to this imagine the fuel savings for our country.
    My son and I are building a similar set-up in the hopes of cutting our gas bill and learning a little more about solar water heating.
    Thanks again, Steve

  23. ABTPlumbing says:

    Yes there are better ways to make a solar collector. But remember this is a DIY project built in someones garage, not in a factory and not by an engineer. Like all things in life you make compromises, in this case he used material readily, and cheaply available. He used the skill set he had to build it. Download the plans, take a look at them. Build one and let me know what your experience is with it, or hey modify the plans and make it better. Theyre FREE, what do you have to lose?

  24. Stepanfo1 says:

    Ups, now I actually heard what you are saying in the video – it is not your panel – so the remarks are not adressed to you but to the owner of the collector. Or to someone who yould like to make similar collector. It really is not good collector.

  25. Stepanfo1 says:

    Fourths – the distribution od pipes density on sheet must be uniform. If pipes were arranged the way they are now, you would have stripes with high and low density. I am not sure how can you handle critique, but you collector it the worst collector I have ever seen.