copper heat collector ideas
 

So I have a lot of large size copper wire and I am not sure what I am going to do with it. It is worth more in wire form than junk copper so I havent thrown it away yet but I dont have the need to run 200 amp service anywhere. So I just let the 400 or so pounds of wire sit in my garage. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on how I could use the wire in a copper tube collector.

Wire might be worth $2 to $2.5 Current Buying and Selling Prices: Earthworks Recycling, Inc -- Spokane, WA
Might depend on where you live.

I'm pretty sure that copper wire can't be used in a solar-thermal collector.
At least no obvious method comes to mind..

Depending on the type of wire and it's insulation, it might be useful for solar PV battery charging setups.

It might be wise to keep a low profile about your copper..
There seems to be something in oxycodone that allows
addicted copper thieves to smell copper at long distances. ;)

You may be able to scrap the copper and instead of leaving it in the garage. You can then use the liberated funds to purchase a flat plate solar collector or evacuated tube collector and leave that to sit on you roof. I've built my own collectors with copper risers and copper fin all enclosed in a aluminum box with tempered glass front. I had scrap stainless that I had hoarded and had scraped it to buy flat sheet copper for my fin material ($600.00) The copper risers were from oil lines to feed an oil fired furnace and the tempered glass were patio doors. But the hours involved wow. They turned out well I have a good selection of tools. In hind sight the hours involved may have been better spent to make more money and buy the collectors. Anyway I have them installed the heap of stainless is gone and I'm saving a lot of money making my own hot water for in-floor heating and domesitc use. Don't hesitate the solar collectors for hot water work well.

Randen

I didnt think there were any good ideas either. the only Idea I could come up with is running the stripped copper wire across the copper pipe and creating a gridwork. but that would end up being a lot of copper in my collecter, it would look good to a potential copper thief.

I wonder if copper wires could be used as heat-pipes in a fresh air type heat exchanger.?.
If you had two sections of 12"x12" duct, side by side (1/2" foam between them),
and hundreds of 24" copper wires (like arrows) through small holes in the insulated wall.

Warm air from inside the house would be blown out the left side, (heating the 1/2 of all the wires)
and cold air from outdoors would be pulled in the right side, picking up heat from the wires..?.