EcoRenovator  

Go Back   EcoRenovator > Improvements > Solar Heating
Advanced Search
 


Blog 60+ Home Energy Saving Tips Recent Posts Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 06-28-12, 05:35 PM   #1
randen
Uber EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Strathroy Ontario Canada
Posts: 657
Thanks: 9
Thanked 191 Times in 129 Posts
Default What to do with surplus hot water

On a hot day in Ontario Canada last day of school and needing to cool off. "Dad the waters too cold" (direct from the well) I could get brain freeze." We have at this point more hot water than we can use and its all from the sun. A warm sprinkler why not.

Randen

Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	boy in sprinkler.JPG
Views:	507
Size:	252.0 KB
ID:	2393  
randen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-12, 09:15 PM   #2
MN Renovator
Less usage=Cheaper bills
 
MN Renovator's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 939
Thanks: 41
Thanked 116 Times in 90 Posts
Default

Just be sure you aren't pouring nearly boiling water on the grass because that will kill it. I use boiling water on weeds too kill them, it works well and seems to take away the fertility or something because nothing grows in that spot for quite awhile.
MN Renovator is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-29-12, 02:29 PM   #3
benpope
Helper EcoRenovator
 
benpope's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Little Rock, AR
Posts: 95
Thanks: 16
Thanked 13 Times in 12 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by MN Renovator View Post
Just be sure you aren't pouring nearly boiling water on the grass because that will kill it. I use boiling water on weeds too kill them, it works well and seems to take away the fertility or something because nothing grows in that spot for quite awhile.
Boiling water will sterilize the soil. It kills off the living plants, the roots and rhizomes, the weed seeds, earthworms and insects, and almost all of the microbial life. But boiling water will also scald skin, so hopefully randen isn't letting his son play in a scalding sprinkler of death!
benpope is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-29-12, 03:11 PM   #4
randen
Uber EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Strathroy Ontario Canada
Posts: 657
Thanks: 9
Thanked 191 Times in 129 Posts
Default

The young boy played in the warm Sprinkler for over an hour. He was a wrinkled prune when the water was shut off. He did make a dent in the water tank temp. 120 gal. from 61 Deg C down to 36 Deg C. and today the water is back up to 61 Deg. The cost for operation under $0.07 I'm thinking about the time when he becomes a teenager and some teenagers take some long showers. We pump our own water and heat with solar. Shower on.

Killing weeds we use a mixture of salt, vinegar and dishwash soap. I had tryed boiling water for the weeds that grow up the cracks and joints of the concrete but the concrete cools the hot water and defeats the effectiveness.

Randen
randen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-12, 02:08 PM   #5
Xringer
Lex Parsimoniae
 
Xringer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Woburn, MA
Posts: 4,918
Thanks: 114
Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts
Default excess heat in the attic..

Back in the 1970s, I installed a thermostatically controlled exhaust fan in one end of the attic.
It gets way too hot up there. I used to unplug it during the winter..
But for some reason or another, it was left unplugged for years on end.

The other day, I saw the it was over 120f up there and went up and plugged it back in..
It's been running on every hot day. Once the temp gets over about 115 up there, it's on.
As the afternoon sun angle changes and the temperature starts to drop (around 4PM), it will click off..

I think it's good to get rid of the excess heat, but it's costing me 218 watts while the fan is running..
But, since we are also cooling the living spaces for less money (ceilings not as warm), it's likely break-even..
__________________
My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits
EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..
Xringer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-28-12, 04:16 PM   #6
nexsuperne
Helper EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: 30 miles east of London, UK
Posts: 88
Thanks: 12
Thanked 19 Times in 18 Posts
Default

There must be a way to use the heat to power a peltier unit and use the thermal store like a huge battery?
nexsuperne is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-28-12, 06:39 PM   #7
randen
Uber EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Strathroy Ontario Canada
Posts: 657
Thanks: 9
Thanked 191 Times in 129 Posts
Default

Thanks Guys for the suggestions. My wife suggested an outside hot tub for the excess hot water. Not a bad idea. We have a neighbour with one and they pay $35.00/month for the electricity to heat it. Ouch. I think they have lots of money they still heat with oil!!?? My neighbour did help me lift the new panels into position I don't know why he won't make the change. I do have a 1000 gal fiberglass tank that could be insulated and buried but extra heat in the winter I don't think I have. The concrete floor seams to store all the heat we receive.
Anyone know anything about absorption type refridgeration??? Imagine an airconditioner that runs on hotwater!!


Randen
randen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-28-12, 07:46 PM   #8
sunspot
Apprentice EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Vancouver Island, BC
Posts: 146
Thanks: 30
Thanked 35 Times in 29 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by randen View Post
Anyone know anything about absorption type refridgeration??? Imagine an airconditioner that runs on hotwater!!
Randen
There are fridges that burn propane...
sunspot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-29-12, 09:38 AM   #9
vmike
Lurking Renovator
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Stillwater, OK
Posts: 26
Thanks: 0
Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Default

I did some experiments a few years back using my waste solar heat for cooling. The first one was a modified gas fired absorption air conditioning unit, way back in the 70s. It was a dedicated system, used hot glycol to boil the ammonia. I had to add a circulating pump to assist the refrigerant, the heat was barely enough. It did work. Experiment two, a few years closer in time was to wrap a copper coil around the generator tube in a propane camper fridge. It did cool, but wouldn't freeze water. What I'm thinking of doing now is a variation of my solar to steam experiments which were also marginal at best. Tried running a smallish steam engine with steam from my solar collectors. I plan to build up a two stage system using the waste solar heat to heat an intermediate working fluid, such as R-290, then expand the secondary fluid in a scroll compressor modified to be a motor. I hope to turn an alternator to charge batteries. Calculations show promise, just haven't built anything, yet.

mike

__________________
I tried to contain myself, but I escaped.
vmike is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:35 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Ad Management by RedTyger
Inactive Reminders By Icora Web Design