Refurbishing Solar Hot Water Panels

bennelson · 09-16-09, 12:26 PM

This last weekend, I traveled about 4 hours drive to visit relatives.

The event was at my cousin's house, where she lives with her husband, three children, 2 dogs and a cat.

It's a big old farmhouse made from cinder block, with high ceilings, and a wood furnace in the basement. It also had about 10 solar hot-water panels mounted on the ground in front of the south side of the house.

In the time that they owned the house, the panels never worked.

When I visited, I was surprised to see that the panels were stripped down, and stacked against the side of the garage, the glass and copper pipes seperated out, ready for recycling.

It turns out that they got a plumber out to look at the solar system to see what would need to be done to get it up and running again. The plumber's opinion was that NOTHING was ANYWHERE near to code. Likely, it was a DIY hook-up back in the 70's, when there were some good tax breaks, and cheaply-made products. Also, this system had the house tap water run straight through the panels, completely inappropriate for a northern climate.

They had the plumber cap off the system, and they removed the panels, with the idea to take them in for scrap metal prices, maybe saving the glass for a small greenhouse or coldframes.

It occured to me that not only I, but several of my friends would be VERY interested in used solar panels, doing whatever might be needed to get them back up and running.

I grabbed one of the panels and its glass cover, and brought it home with me. When I get a chance, I am going to take it apart, see how they connect together, check to make sure they hold pressure, and see what else might be needed to get these up and running.

While I was originally just planning a single panel system to get some hot water from, having access to a large number of used panels means that I just might be able to have that solar-powered garage I always wanted....

Photos of the panels can be seen here:
Solar panels for refurbishing - a set on Flickr

09-16-09, 12:26 PM	#1
bennelson Home-Wrecker Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 546 Thanks: 3 Thanked 165 Times in 96 Posts	Refurbishing Solar Hot Water Panels This last weekend, I traveled about 4 hours drive to visit relatives. The event was at my cousin's house, where she lives with her husband, three children, 2 dogs and a cat. It's a big old farmhouse made from cinder block, with high ceilings, and a wood furnace in the basement. It also had about 10 solar hot-water panels mounted on the ground in front of the south side of the house. In the time that they owned the house, the panels never worked. When I visited, I was surprised to see that the panels were stripped down, and stacked against the side of the garage, the glass and copper pipes seperated out, ready for recycling. It turns out that they got a plumber out to look at the solar system to see what would need to be done to get it up and running again. The plumber's opinion was that NOTHING was ANYWHERE near to code. Likely, it was a DIY hook-up back in the 70's, when there were some good tax breaks, and cheaply-made products. Also, this system had the house tap water run straight through the panels, completely inappropriate for a northern climate. They had the plumber cap off the system, and they removed the panels, with the idea to take them in for scrap metal prices, maybe saving the glass for a small greenhouse or coldframes. It occured to me that not only I, but several of my friends would be VERY interested in used solar panels, doing whatever might be needed to get them back up and running. I grabbed one of the panels and its glass cover, and brought it home with me. When I get a chance, I am going to take it apart, see how they connect together, check to make sure they hold pressure, and see what else might be needed to get these up and running. While I was originally just planning a single panel system to get some hot water from, having access to a large number of used panels means that I just might be able to have that solar-powered garage I always wanted.... Photos of the panels can be seen here: Solar panels for refurbishing - a set on Flickr __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.