snail powered Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Just came across a website with solar powered hot water heaters. It works with your existing hot water tank. also uses solar power for the pump that circulates the water in the loop from tank to panels. Of course there are other sources online for these panels, I will have to shop around before I buy. Now that is something I might actually have a use for as I am in the process of getting rid of propane appliances in my rig. I will have to find the money and save some roof space for it as part of next year's round of improvement projects. In the meantime I can keep my eye out for a very good sale price on the pieces. http://bhasolar.com/126.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphinite no longer here Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Karin, I worked for the U.S. Fish and Wldlife Service for 7 years in Homer, Alaska. Our maintenance man there had just returned from being posted to Midway Island. While in Midway he built his own solar water heater. All he did was use black PVC pipe laid in loops on the roof of one of the USF&WS buildings there. A small pump circulated the water. I've often figured that if I lived in a sunnier place I'd build the same thing on the roof of the motorhome using a small solar panel to power the pump. One inch PVC is pretty cheap stuff and easy to work with and with enough loops would provide plenty of very hot water. I have the standard six gallon water heater in my '85 Dolphin now but I just don't use it very much so maybe the extra work and minimal expense wouldn't be worth it for me. We'll see... John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Isn't that just adding more weight to the camper? Karin I guess if you don't have any other methods solar is an option. They do make RV tanks that are heated with engine heat can't get much cheaper then that it's just wasted energy. Once my hot water is heated the pilot light actually heats it warmer then the thermostat set point over night so it really only runs once unless I take a long shower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snail powered Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 Isn't that just adding more weight to the camper? Karin I guess if you don't have any other methods solar is an option. They do make RV tanks that are heated with engine heat can't get much cheaper then that it's just wasted energy. Once my hot water is heated the pilot light actually heats it warmer then the thermostat set point over night so it really only runs once unless I take a long shower. I will be doing more longer stays on trips rather than driving around most days. So an engine heater does not make much sense for my needs. I won't have a pilot light, I am removing all the propane from my rig. But I will put in an electric heater element unit for use while in RV parks as those element systems are not overly expensive. The solar panel won't add very much weight up on the roof as even when filled with water it is less than 11 pounds. It won't add any more water weight overall. But I want to wait until I am at least a month or so into camping in the Southwest during the winter months to decide if it is going to be worth the $$$ to install a solar water heater. I am already taking out more than 250 pounds of weight in my rig by the changes I am making to it with getting rid of the stuff that runs on propane. But I will be adding about 100 pounds back in with the new stove/furnace, a 10 liter container of diesel fuel and a 12 volt fridge. Adding in another 10 lbs for solar water heat is not a big deal as I am still at less than half the weight of the previous appliances and the fuel for them. The space saved and the remaining weight saved by not using propane can go to a second house battery and solar panels for generating electricity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Any solar hot water panel will take roof space that could be used for solar panels. A circulating water pump will need power. Whats more important power or hot water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snail powered Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 Any solar hot water panel will take roof space that could be used for solar panels. A circulating water pump will need power. Whats more important power or hot water? its all a matter of space planning and the pump is running off of solar energy too. As to what is more important...guess that is up to me. Sometimes I might decide I can't do without washing my hair, and having a quick shower, other days I might need to charge lights or cell phone. There is no need to do all or nothing thinking in this situation. I might even make the hot water panel an installation that is removable and store it away until needed. It is not so heavy that I could not mount it with clamps onto that nearly useless ladder on the back of my rig. Or hang it off a track mounted to a side of my rig. That is not a fragile glass panel, it is very tough plastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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