For the last ten years or so, we have been getting almost free hot water into a 58 gallon hot water heater tank in the basement using a ridiculously simple method. This article will show how we do it, and explain how it "happened".
When our hot water heater failed, we ran out and bought another one. After examining the old one to see why it failed, I found a simple iron pipe that was connected to the top outlet totally plugged with calcium or iron deposits. Since the tank was laying on the cement floor, I was able to use some large wrenches to remove the top and bottom 220 volt heating elements and replaced each one them with 1" diameter pipe nipples and a valve. (I should add that the tank had several inches of limestone particles that I removed by rolling the tank around on the floor.) At the upper valve I installed a garden hose adapter.
At the bottom valve, I installed a 115 VAC TACO 006 pump, which is recommended for the circulation of hot water. The output of this pump is connected to the industrial grade garden hose, through a similar garden hose adapter.
In operation, the pump takes water from the bottom of the tank and forces it (through the hose) 12 feet up to a vent hole in the basement ceiling, which is at ground level on the South side of the house. It then goes under a sidewalk, and into 200 to 300 feet of hose that lays in an old fiberglass satellite dish.
(The amount of hose in the dish depends on how much hose we need for the garden!) The hose had been used to water the vegetables in the garden, and to provide clean drinking water for my cows, so it is NOT new hose. New hose can give water a bad taste (smell) from the lubricant used with the die to form the hose. (I think, but not 100% sure.) The intensity of the smell decreases with time.
The hot water leaving the dish is forced into the top of the tank, and water from the bottom of the tank goes back out into the hose in the dish.
We have the pump on a timer, so it runs for 30 minutes, and then pauses for 30 minutes. Before that, we used a manual switch and a kitchen timer. It takes 12 minutes to empty our shortest hose assembly, so we flipped the switch on for 12, then off for 30, etc. Using the timer, we open the valves sometime after lunch, and let the timer run in the 30/30 cycle. After about 2 hours, we shut if off, because the water is too hot for comfortable showering.
Here is a photo of two water tanks. The one on the left is full of hot water
The one on the right is used during December, January, and February or during extended rainy periods when the sun doesn’t shine. (This area is in an Exceptional Drought, and the sun just bears down all the time.) It is very interesting that the water in the tanks will "stratify", in that all the hot water rises to the top. Therefore, I have disconnected the lower heating element on the new heater, so it only heats the water in the top part. The first person in the shower gets the hot water, the second person gets warm, and if a third person wants to shower, it is only luke warm. (Unless, of course, you leave the power on.) This heater is also on a timer, with a manual over-ride, so our mode of operation is to turn it ON for an hour or so, then switch it off, and shower. (No use storing hot water that just gets cooler.)
Here is a photo of the switch/timer. (not the one on the solar tank.)
For some reason, if the water is left sitting in an unused tank for several months, it smells like something out of a swamp. Therefore, we sometimes remember to turn the valve OFF on the output of the solar heated tank, and turn the valve ON on the electrically heated tank (but leave the power OFF) and set our clothes washing machine to use hot water. (It gets cold water, instead, but that flushes the stale water out of that tank.) The valves are set in that mode in the photo that shows the two tanks side-by-side..
Freezing? We live in the Sub-Tropics, less than 30 N. I never have worried about the hoses freezing. City water pressure is on the hoses only when the valves are open, and if there is a leak water either drips or sprays high into the air. When that does happen, I cut the hose, fix it with a piece of steel pipe and two worm drive stainless clamps. (Use high quality hose clamps) Our hose is industrial grade (lettering on the side) so hose repair kits from Wal-Mart won’t work, because they are for smaller diameter hose.
Pipe Insulation. I have some here and there, and definitely on the piece under the sidewalk.
What I would like to have is a set of evacuated tube solar collectors. This Spring, I found some on eBay for something like $1000 plus truck freight, and was really considering taking the plunge...but wife said some like, "if it ain’t broke, why mess with it?" followed by (louder) "HOW MUCH?" I thought perhaps there might be tax credits, but it appears a system has to be installed by a certified government approved installer, and not a DIYer. A box collector using an old refrigerator is another idea, but the refrigerator is still standing in the barn.
I have a roll of very stiff black PVC irrigation pipe but I cannot get any connectors to stay attached, so it lays out behind the barn...People tell me that I should not be using the black rubber hose because it will cause "U name it". Well, if the water is hot, you mix it with cold water, so you might only get a half dose of whatever it is. Plus that, these hoses were used to water my lettuce, arugula, spinach, and swiss chard, so were they all contaminated with "U name it"? That is one advantage of using old hoses. Besides being too hard to handle in the garden, they no longer "stink of hose". If skin cancer is the concern, I suggest the damage done by UVA and UVB during the first 30 years of life might be more dangerous than something in the water from a hose. (We do not drink this water, or use it for cooking.)
Notice the plastic bottles on part of the hose. I put these on the hose because I was convinced during a period of very high winds that my water wasn’t getting hot enough because the hose was being cooled by the wind. I used a one inch hole drill to put holes in the bottom of each bottle, and then threaded them on the hose. These bottles quickly blew off the dish, and took some of the hose with! I am still saving bottles, and have another 30 to drill holes in. I will probably put them on the hose next time I have to repair a leak. I might have to wire the string with bottles to the fiberglass dish. The dish does have several drain holes to carry away rain water.
The dish has a heavy chain and weights to keep it from taking off during a storm. So far, it has not flown anywhere, but there have been many mornings where I have looked out the window to see if was still there!
How much do we save? In one of the photographs above, you can see a yellow tag on the side of the 58 gallon hot water heater on the left. The tag says $450 annual cost when electricity is about 7.6 cents/KWh. We pay about 10 cents/KWh (including the green energy extra charge) plus a hefty monthly service charge. Before we switched to their Green Energy Program (our energy is supposed to come from Wind Energy in West Texas) we were subject to a PCRF (Power Cost Recovery Factor) multiplier on our bill. Now that charge multiplier no longer shows up on the bill. The Taco 006 pump is 1/40th horsepower, or less than 20 watts. This month, in July, it only runs about 2 hours (max) per day. We have way too much hot water. It is hot, so we can shower at will, but who wants a hot shower when the sweat is dripping off your face...Also, there is a bucket in the shower, so the water is captured and used to flush the toilet. (True gray water!) Yesterday, we installed a fiberglass insulation wrap around the storage tank, and insulated a few more feet of the hose running from the collection area to the tank in the basement. Now we have even hotter water! Plus that, we don’t spend $400 or so buying the electricity to heat the water!
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