Going off grid with the Solar Hybrid Hot Water Controller from TechLuck.com in a different configuration than normal. I also show a small tank that would be perfect for going off grid or using…
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Apr
16
Off Grid Solar Hot Water Heater Project Using PV Panels With No Plumbing – The Easy Way
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Jon Offgrid says:
April 16, 2015 at 1:06 am (UTC 0)
no one sale one on ebay no more ?
nrodge1 says:
April 16, 2015 at 1:26 am (UTC 0)
A normal water heater thermostat will turn on ABOVE the setpoint about +5F
to +10F and off below the setpoint about the same, so you really do go to
130F quite often (several times a day, killing everything) if you have it
set to 125F and most manufactures have it set to 120F – SO HOW ABOUT THAT?
You don’t hear about water heater bacteria problems much, it’s mostly
outside things like big industrial water cooled air conditioning units so
please do your research before freaking out.
Kevin Pean says:
April 16, 2015 at 2:22 am (UTC 0)
very nice. i looove that idea.
Hugh Jaanus says:
April 16, 2015 at 2:53 am (UTC 0)
“a HOT water HEATER”………….it’s already HOT, why heat it.
John Millett says:
April 16, 2015 at 3:23 am (UTC 0)
To gazzat5 pv works better when you have constant day time temperature -10
c or below like in canada.You still get 9 hrs of sun but the cool
temperature make a solar power water heater with black pipe pretty much
useless in the winter time.
John Millett says:
April 16, 2015 at 4:18 am (UTC 0)
tp nrodge what are you using for pv panels and are you using battery
storage as well?
naturalbornhazer says:
April 16, 2015 at 5:03 am (UTC 0)
how much are the solar hybrid hot water controllers? i found them for about
300. is there any cheaper?
Robert Pope says:
April 16, 2015 at 5:17 am (UTC 0)
Where can this be purchased the link to eBay has expired
Thom Westergren says:
April 16, 2015 at 5:59 am (UTC 0)
Wouldn’t it make sense to use this with wind, since it would be heating the
water at night? Then it would be ready in the morning (when most people
want hot water).
Lesa Dietz says:
April 16, 2015 at 6:39 am (UTC 0)
could I use 4 100 watt panels that are 12 volts
super slacker says:
April 16, 2015 at 6:42 am (UTC 0)
gazzat5 says:
April 16, 2015 at 7:40 am (UTC 0)
fair point! Are you getting the water up to 65c/150F? This is to kill off
and prevent legionnaires growth
The Do It Yourself World says:
April 16, 2015 at 8:06 am (UTC 0)
Actually if you wrote the article in the last couple weeks, I am behind and
have not read it. Hope to catch up soon. Sorry. I did watch the full video,
I think you sent it.
RadicalRC says:
April 16, 2015 at 8:48 am (UTC 0)
I doubt it, but maybe you have tons of hours to waste. I have already done
the shopping. In my article in your forum, I even give a link to a recent
purchase, best price I could find. I get the feeling you’ve skimmed that
article and not taken time to digest it. I’m doing my second setup now in a
63 Airstream. The product above is weird and not explained at all. Possible
to get 12v direct heating elements out of Europe, but not sure of threads
and not complete kits with thermostat.
nrodge1 says:
April 16, 2015 at 8:56 am (UTC 0)
Thanks!
108Marycelestial says:
April 16, 2015 at 9:47 am (UTC 0)
Bugger my hot water heater is located outside. Maybe I could find some
water proof box. Or maybe just use an inverter and wire the water heater
straight into the inverter.
helloman1976 says:
April 16, 2015 at 10:46 am (UTC 0)
Good job! Looks really good!
gazzat5 says:
April 16, 2015 at 11:04 am (UTC 0)
Seriously, why would you use electricity from solar to heat water?! Build a
solar water heater with black pipe, and save the electricity for your
batteries, fans or whatever
shartne says:
April 16, 2015 at 11:27 am (UTC 0)
Genius idea! I didn’t know you could do that and that is a really nice way
to do it. I guess that the 220 element dont care what kind of voltage it
uses or if its AC or DC current. I really want to try this. Lowes in my
area has one of those 30 gallon for 236. dollars.
DAFTEK says:
April 16, 2015 at 12:14 pm (UTC 0)
I would be more worried about legionnaire disease if not over 140F as you
can die from it.
gazzat5 says:
April 16, 2015 at 12:20 pm (UTC 0)
300 watts continuously is a lot unless you have kw of solar pv. What if you
want to run fans/cooling? What if you drain the batteries overnight?
RadicalRC says:
April 16, 2015 at 12:33 pm (UTC 0)
Can you explain something? Is your controller stepping up the voltage? Or,
are you telling us the higher wattage element is 300 watts when driven at
your lower DC voltage? Your controller, is it somehow deciding only to warm
the tank after your battery bank is full? Or, is your controller reading a
temperature and controlling DC power to the heating element?
nrodge1 says:
April 16, 2015 at 12:45 pm (UTC 0)
It’s like a light bulb on a dimmer, if you turn it down to where it only
uses 300W, the light bulb will still dissipate the 300W (in heat and
light). The water heater element is a simple resistor, you push 300W into
it and 300W goes directly into the water. The voltage in this case is
around 65V to 70V from the “48V” panels and also pulses at high frequency
so it’s more like AC. There are no batteries involved, uses the stock
thermostat. See the FAQ at the TechLuck.com page for a lot more info.
nrodge1 says:
April 16, 2015 at 1:00 pm (UTC 0)
Thanks! For me it was a lot easier than trying to run a bunch of pipes off
the roof.
nrodge1 says:
April 16, 2015 at 1:19 pm (UTC 0)
Thanks! It might be a clean way of doing this for a RV with just one 24V
panel on the roof and a 12V element for a small tank, I have tested that
and it works perfectly. You would still be totally mobile and it would work
in the cold winter too! PV panels like the cold. No worries about leaks or
freezing either. And you could put a switch on it for when you don’t need
hot water as much as electric for other things so it could be dual purpose.