Saturday, March 31, 2012
Situating the Drainback Tank
I scrounged two hours today between car wash-like winter storms and a mexican themed dinner that I was co-cooking for to build a stand for the five gallon SunEarth drainback tank.
The stand will have to cope with 70-ish lbs. of water and copper, so I anchored it to the existing hot water heater stand, the wall studs and ceiling joists. It's not going anywhere. The tank itself is a bit strange to mount. It can be seen in the picture as the matte black painted object in the lower right quadrant. The insulated parts do not afford a good attachment point as it would compromise the insulation. The top and bottom tubes I believe offer the best place to clamp it in place, but it will require some burly angle aluminum that I had left over from a Burning Man project and 3/4" plumbing brackets to make it work. I'm not sure how other folks do this. Part of the `fun' of this project is guessing what's required. Is this all to code? I hope so...
Monday, March 26, 2012
From Garage to Attic
Below is a picture of our upstairs bedroom closet, the back wall of which is situated just above our existing hot water heater. Behind that back wall is a space about 12" deep, 30" wide extending from the second floor up into the attic.
I knew from peeking at the space from below that it was a straight, sheltered run from where I had intended putting the solar storage tank to where plumbing and sensor lines would have to dogleg into the attic before the final run to the collectors. Below is my first bashful cut into the wall.
I'd shortly come to realize that the whole wall would have to come down. The 10" galvanized pipe on the left concealed an 8" diameter ceramic chimney that used to vent a wood stove that long ago was removed from the kitchen. It was all perched upon 4" thick disk of cement that was resting on the floorboards. At this point I was just hoping that I'd be able to get all the heavy sections (2' and ~40 lbs. each) of chimney out alone. I knew they were mortared together with brittle mortar, so I started by nibbling through the steel outer tube in a can opening fashion.
The other flue in the wall was for the furnace and water heater. The joy of working on older homes is that you find nasty old anachronisms at every turn - deep strata of lead paint and wonderful products like `Metalbestos'. Metalbestos exists to this day, although I suspect that they changed the insulation. You can have your Mentos! I have my Metalbestos!
Back to the less deadly tubing... I got the steel tube opened and made relatively short work of removing the pipes. For the more stubborn joints, I used a Bosch rotary hammer with a chisel bit which made doing this *way* easier.
To the left is the offending chimney in it's full glory.
Below left is the chimney removed, the space Great Stuff'ed (TM), R13 insulated with the conduit, bell wire (brown, hard to see), and plumbing installed. I used bell hangers for the plumbing to provide space for the foam rubber insulation with which I ultimately insulated the pipe. The conduit I put in because down the road I might want to install photovoltaics on the roof. The bell wire is for the temp sensor at the outlet of the collectors.
The rest of this job was significantly less fun. I drywalled, which I'm terrible at, and then didn't have quite enough time to fully reassemble the trim and floor-to-ceiling shelving. It created some `tension' the following week when the house was back up to full occupancy, but ultimately I got it all finished and we ended up with a closet that was better organized. Whew!
I'm waiting for FastJacks (3"), Oatey flashings, Geocel and peel and stick roofing for mounting the panels, so I've since turned my attention to mounting the five gallon drainback tank in the garage; more hopefully soon!
I knew from peeking at the space from below that it was a straight, sheltered run from where I had intended putting the solar storage tank to where plumbing and sensor lines would have to dogleg into the attic before the final run to the collectors. Below is my first bashful cut into the wall.
I'd shortly come to realize that the whole wall would have to come down. The 10" galvanized pipe on the left concealed an 8" diameter ceramic chimney that used to vent a wood stove that long ago was removed from the kitchen. It was all perched upon 4" thick disk of cement that was resting on the floorboards. At this point I was just hoping that I'd be able to get all the heavy sections (2' and ~40 lbs. each) of chimney out alone. I knew they were mortared together with brittle mortar, so I started by nibbling through the steel outer tube in a can opening fashion.
The other flue in the wall was for the furnace and water heater. The joy of working on older homes is that you find nasty old anachronisms at every turn - deep strata of lead paint and wonderful products like `Metalbestos'. Metalbestos exists to this day, although I suspect that they changed the insulation. You can have your Mentos! I have my Metalbestos!
Back to the less deadly tubing... I got the steel tube opened and made relatively short work of removing the pipes. For the more stubborn joints, I used a Bosch rotary hammer with a chisel bit which made doing this *way* easier.
To the left is the offending chimney in it's full glory.
Below left is the chimney removed, the space Great Stuff'ed (TM), R13 insulated with the conduit, bell wire (brown, hard to see), and plumbing installed. I used bell hangers for the plumbing to provide space for the foam rubber insulation with which I ultimately insulated the pipe. The conduit I put in because down the road I might want to install photovoltaics on the roof. The bell wire is for the temp sensor at the outlet of the collectors.
The rest of this job was significantly less fun. I drywalled, which I'm terrible at, and then didn't have quite enough time to fully reassemble the trim and floor-to-ceiling shelving. It created some `tension' the following week when the house was back up to full occupancy, but ultimately I got it all finished and we ended up with a closet that was better organized. Whew!
I'm waiting for FastJacks (3"), Oatey flashings, Geocel and peel and stick roofing for mounting the panels, so I've since turned my attention to mounting the five gallon drainback tank in the garage; more hopefully soon!
Monday, February 13, 2012
Storage Tank Stand and Pad
1. Angle grind flush to the garage floor three half inch concrete anchors that had held my bench grinder stand.
2. Cut treated (`ACQ') 2"x4" lumber as feet for a DIY plywood water heater stand.
3. Cut a 2" thick (R10) Dow blue styrofoam pad on which to set the tank.
I've also found a nice plumber (Colin) from Pagco Construction to help out with code questions and potential crisis moments when I need a pro. He told me that there is no water heater stand requirement for electric hot water heaters in SF. Thank you Colin!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Slow Going
I didn't get much done this weekend. What I did do was buy the following and do a bit of basic carpentry:
4'x8' sheet of 0.703" ply
R13 fiberglass insulation
Dow Blue styrofoam insulation panel
4"x4"x8' pressure treat lumber
With the above I hope to create a ~62"x48" wall behind where the solar storage tank will be. Currently the wall is completely unfinished - just studs, mineral felt, and stucco. On the wall my plan is to nicely, neatly mount plumbing pipe, valves, etc. around the tank. As long as I'm finishing the wall, it might as well be sealed (with Great Stuff (tm)) and insulated. The exact timing of which will depend on when I determine how the solar collector loop pipes are going to be run, as I don't want to seal up the wall before I've plumbed it. I haven't figured out how I'm going to get them from the roof to the garage (attic or outside run). I'm hoping I'll get up in the attic and be able to see a clean hole to the garage. As our attic is cramped, filthy, and bristling with cranium puncturing nails I'll procrastic at least another day on this.
I've decided that I should have a plumber on retainer b/c it's annoying trying to figure out plumbing code. For instance, the solar storage tank has a backup electric heater which I'm not going to use, and it's my understanding that electric hot water heaters don't need to be on stands in the garage, but who knows? I might get an inspector who doesn't like the distance between my eyes and thus deem my homemade stand (4"x4" and ply) DIY devilry. Pay now or potentially pay later.
Pardon the whining, but tinding time for all this with a toddler and a busy schedule is probably the most difficult part of this project.
4'x8' sheet of 0.703" ply
R13 fiberglass insulation
Dow Blue styrofoam insulation panel
4"x4"x8' pressure treat lumber
With the above I hope to create a ~62"x48" wall behind where the solar storage tank will be. Currently the wall is completely unfinished - just studs, mineral felt, and stucco. On the wall my plan is to nicely, neatly mount plumbing pipe, valves, etc. around the tank. As long as I'm finishing the wall, it might as well be sealed (with Great Stuff (tm)) and insulated. The exact timing of which will depend on when I determine how the solar collector loop pipes are going to be run, as I don't want to seal up the wall before I've plumbed it. I haven't figured out how I'm going to get them from the roof to the garage (attic or outside run). I'm hoping I'll get up in the attic and be able to see a clean hole to the garage. As our attic is cramped, filthy, and bristling with cranium puncturing nails I'll procrastic at least another day on this.
I've decided that I should have a plumber on retainer b/c it's annoying trying to figure out plumbing code. For instance, the solar storage tank has a backup electric heater which I'm not going to use, and it's my understanding that electric hot water heaters don't need to be on stands in the garage, but who knows? I might get an inspector who doesn't like the distance between my eyes and thus deem my homemade stand (4"x4" and ply) DIY devilry. Pay now or potentially pay later.
Pardon the whining, but tinding time for all this with a toddler and a busy schedule is probably the most difficult part of this project.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Panels on the Roof
With the help of my two good friends Mark and Tom, we wrestled the two 4'x 8' (1.2 x 2.4m), ~120 lb. (55 kg) panels on the roof. We threaded them through my small house, which was a bear. Unfortunately my 16' extension ladder wasn't quite long enough to make getting them up from the ground possible. Happily we didn't drop the panels, bang up the house or throw out our backs in the process. This is definitely a three+ person job!
The picture is looking north over the roof, where you can see downtown SF in the background. For now I'm leaving the panels flat on their backs until I figure out the exact placement of the rack and how best to fasten the rack feet to the roof joists.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Permits 'n Parts
Permits
Yay! I got my plumbing permit yesterday at the SF Department of Building (1600 Mission Street) for $164. I had no idea how much it would cost me and this price seems very reasonable.
Dave the Inspector was not interested in the system schematic that I created. He said their biggest concerns are: (1) how the panels are affixed to the roof, (2) placement and strapping of the solar storage tank, (3) that I'm real careful about not allowing water from the sytem backfeeding into the potable supply. He recommended that I refer to the California Plumbing Code for any code questions that I will have. Unfortunately for this project, I'm much more familiar with the electrical code (NEC) and how to find things in it than for plumbing, so I might have to bring on a consulting plumbing. We'll see...
Parts!
Yesterday, the first small bits of my system arrived via UPS. The parts on hand from pinky to thumb are: a pressure relief valve, gate valve, flowmeter, 3/4" full port ball valve, and a tempering valve. Additionally I received a swing check valve (plumber's diode) to keep water moving in one direction. Getting the the first few parts makes this project seem more real than any Dia diagram or SketchUp model can. woO! The big component (panels, storage tank) will be coming up on a separate non-UPS truck in the next week or so. It's time to make space in the garage...
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Parts Ordered!
I put in the order today for the components of my solar system with
Solartrope of Orange County, CA. At this point I'm not sure that
this system requires an expansion tank like I have on the schematic.
I have asked SunEarth in an email whether or not it is and hope to
hear back soon. Ideally the air headspace in the drainback tank
is all the expansion space I'll need. This would be better because
I wouldn't have to buy yet another component, a large one at that,
and the rubber diaphragms in expansion tanks eventually wear out.
One less thing to go wrong is certainly a good thing.
The quotes I got from both Solartrope and another company both
specified a painted SunEarth collector (Mdl. EP-32). For ~$100 per
collector I opted for the black chromed ones. They're a bit more
efficient. Also, when the pump on the system turns off because the
solar storage tank is up to temperature, then the collectors should
drain, leaving that paint cooking at 300+ F (150+ C) in full sunlight.
Double, double toil and trouble, sunlight burn and black paint
bubble!
Parts List:
SunEarth 80 HE-1 80 Gallon Tank with Internal Heat Exchanger.
SunEarth EC-32 Collector, Black Chromed, 4x8, 1" Header.
STECA 0301U Steca Controller with display, freeze protection and 2 sensors.
Mixing Valve (075NL-S) 3/4" Mixing Valve, Sweat Connections
Grundfos UP15-100F
Grundfos CF075 Flange, cast iron 3/4"
Winters Hot Water Thermometer
3/4" Brass Swing Check Valve
Pressure relief valve (150 PSI) 3/4"
Blue White 0-10 GPM Flow Meter
3/4" Ball Valve - Full Port 2
3/4" Male, Threaded Drain Valve
SunEarth 5 Gallon Drainback Tank
SunEarth RexRack 2... 3 RexRack Front Feet
SunEarth RexRack Rear Telescoping Legs (58-97")
27 #12 3/4" Self-Drill SS Steel Screws
8 3/8" SS Strut Nut Assembly w/Clips
5/8" BA SolarStrut
My good friend Dominic is allowing all this gear to be sent to his
place of business nearby here in the city so that I can avoid
expensive crating charges. If you have access to a proper
shipping/receiving area that can accomodate large trucks and has a
forklift, you can save a couple hundred dollars!
Parts should be here within two weeks. woO!
Next, I'll submit a bunch of docs (schematic, rack specs, and
SketchUp 2D view of panel location) to the SF Bldg. Dept. May all
that go smoothly...
Solartrope of Orange County, CA. At this point I'm not sure that
this system requires an expansion tank like I have on the schematic.
I have asked SunEarth in an email whether or not it is and hope to
hear back soon. Ideally the air headspace in the drainback tank
is all the expansion space I'll need. This would be better because
I wouldn't have to buy yet another component, a large one at that,
and the rubber diaphragms in expansion tanks eventually wear out.
One less thing to go wrong is certainly a good thing.
The quotes I got from both Solartrope and another company both
specified a painted SunEarth collector (Mdl. EP-32). For ~$100 per
collector I opted for the black chromed ones. They're a bit more
efficient. Also, when the pump on the system turns off because the
solar storage tank is up to temperature, then the collectors should
drain, leaving that paint cooking at 300+ F (150+ C) in full sunlight.
Double, double toil and trouble, sunlight burn and black paint
bubble!
Parts List:
SunEarth 80 HE-1 80 Gallon Tank with Internal Heat Exchanger.
SunEarth EC-32 Collector, Black Chromed, 4x8, 1" Header.
STECA 0301U Steca Controller with display, freeze protection and 2 sensors.
Mixing Valve (075NL-S) 3/4" Mixing Valve, Sweat Connections
Grundfos UP15-100F
Grundfos CF075 Flange, cast iron 3/4"
Winters Hot Water Thermometer
3/4" Brass Swing Check Valve
Pressure relief valve (150 PSI) 3/4"
Blue White 0-10 GPM Flow Meter
3/4" Ball Valve - Full Port 2
3/4" Male, Threaded Drain Valve
SunEarth 5 Gallon Drainback Tank
SunEarth RexRack 2... 3 RexRack Front Feet
SunEarth RexRack Rear Telescoping Legs (58-97")
27 #12 3/4" Self-Drill SS Steel Screws
8 3/8" SS Strut Nut Assembly w/Clips
5/8" BA SolarStrut
My good friend Dominic is allowing all this gear to be sent to his
place of business nearby here in the city so that I can avoid
expensive crating charges. If you have access to a proper
shipping/receiving area that can accomodate large trucks and has a
forklift, you can save a couple hundred dollars!
Parts should be here within two weeks. woO!
Next, I'll submit a bunch of docs (schematic, rack specs, and
SketchUp 2D view of panel location) to the SF Bldg. Dept. May all
that go smoothly...
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