# Cheap and easy solar hot water



## nj_m715 (Oct 31, 2008)

I just finished a little write up on my blog for a couple different ways to get a hot shower while primitive camping. It can be adapted to a house or off grid cabin. If you're thinking about a way to do it this should give you some ideas.


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## Knotted (Jul 20, 2010)

Very nice!


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Very good article! Gave me plenty of information to chew on all while thinking of how to make one and how to maybe "up" the temp so that when mixed with cold water it will last longer.

If you have a permanent spot to put it in, you could put the coil of hose/black pipes into a glass topped box with the inside of the box painted black also-like the solar pumps that heat the air for inside your home or for solar dehydrators. insulate the box if possible and caulk the holes that the pipes go thru.
I have been thinking of making something similar to this but a sealed system filled with antifreeze to heat a water tank for keeping the chickens warmer in winter and keep their water supply from freezing.
Just a box with a coil of black hose/glass topped outside(painted black inside) with a coil of hose going into a tank in the shed natural hot/cold circulation will keep the antifreeze moving during the day and as long as it is not too cold the water would radiate the heat back to the chickens at night and keep water from freezing. The next day everything starts all over again. Only downside- we get stretches of sunless days here.


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## nj_m715 (Oct 31, 2008)

Lots of guys use old sliding doors for the lids on thier collector boxes. The price is right and they can stand up to small hail.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

nj_m715 said:


> Lots of guys use old sliding doors for the lids on their collector boxes. The price is right and they can stand up to small hail.


If you play your cards right you can sometimes find them on the side of the road! I would stop and pick them up the hubby would probably shoot me!
At the moment I have a stack of very heavy duty tempered glass that used to be used as shelves in old Gibson fridges.. my parents both worked at Gibson ( Frigidaire, eletrolux, white consolidated, it changed names several times ) they were going to go out in the trash, so they brought them home for something, who knows what, but too nice to toss out!. Am planning on making a solar dehydrator and maybe using some as "lites" which are smaller panes of glass for cold frames (its French, so am not sure if I spelled it right).


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## flatwater (Dec 15, 2008)

I have an indoor shower. It is a tank that sits above the shower with a hose hanging down with a common garden nozzle. two gallons of cold water and one gallon of scolding hot water is just right for two people to shower with enough water to rinse out the shower. passive solar hot water has always been to unpredictable for me.


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## Kevin108 (Aug 29, 2011)

I'm all about multi-use items so my setup is simple. Although it's fine for a shower, it shouldn't be used to provide water for drinking or cooking.

We have a 100' dark-colored hose filled with water and left hanging on the southern corner of the house attached to a small lawn sprinkler. We use the hose for daily plant watering and I use the sprinkler for rinsing mud and sand out from under the vehicles after going offroad.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

up until the time between WW2 & Korean War most homes in FL had passive solar hot water tanks on the roof... last year we helped a friend put one inside a reflector box on his roof

old water heater that won't hold pressure for standard use painted black

plywood box with tank mounts and reflectors inside with a clear glass top and holes for pipes in one end

supposedly this type of 'frontier' water heater has been used as far north as Wyoming


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

Emerald...small world...my mom was at Tappan/White/Frididaire/Electrolux for17 years, many years ago...
Yeah, we really enjoyed those free silver things that go under the burners!!!
A little dent?/ No problem.


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## Mommy Magic (Sep 10, 2011)

nj_m715, where might i be able to veiw this? you see we choose to live without electrisity BUT we have been informed that it is eleagal here, its a fine of $ 250.00 each day per person in the household. (even if we can do it) i pitched a fit and went to the court house to find out why, the said its a health violation, i asked how? why?, make long story short........ water has to come out all the faucets at 120 degrees, its BS if you ask me! anyways lol


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## nj_m715 (Oct 31, 2008)

It's here, veggear.blogspot.com but it might not help you. It's not going to meet any codes,it's just a down and dirty setup for our camper. It doesn't do much on cloudy cold days. You can build one that works better or look into something wood fired.


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