DIY building of solar collectors

• Collector type: serpentine, mounting in the roof
• Size: 1.9m x 0.74 m
• Pipe: Cu 10x1mm, length 12.5 m
• Covered with solar lack

Preparation 0700	Pipe bending table	Collector as asbestos protector
Serpentine bending procedure	Mounting pipe on a welding table	Paste is applied after some pipe cleaning
Pipe is pressed on a plate with strings	Cleaning cell	Intermediate store (nearly empty)
You need experienced guys for bending.	But not to fast	Cleaning is really a brain killer
Welding preparation is a bottleneck	Pipe must be tight to a plate	Final splash before drying
Welding paste must be removed	Lunch 1200	Lunch 1230
Lunch	Finished with welding at 2100

Similar shots with much better camera. Courtesy of M. Zupan (ZRMK)

Acknowledgments

Domestic Solar Water Heater System Installation

Profile used as a ruler down under	Top right corner measurement for plate	Top Left
Wood profiles aligned	Top detail shows space for collector coupling pipe	Bottom
Top straight view	Lower right detail measurement	Sunset view
Straight plate at bottom	Roof glazing profile at a top	Low iron temper proof glass
400l DHW + 113l tank under the boiler	Expansion vessel	Collector manometer
Pressure regulator is necessary	Three-way valve at the boiler side	Side roof glazing profiles
Cross section detail	Fixing of the bottom glazing plate	Mounted side glazing
Bottom glazing detail	Right glazing tilted for concrete tile	Manometer again
Side flashing tilted without cutting!	Bottom steel plate bending with wood bar helper	Connecting bottom and side plate
Bottom plate should be bent over the side plate	Glazing profile and side plate detail	ALU glazing profile at bottom
Fixing top L wooden profile	Fix it with the 3x35 screws	Side plate installation
Cleaning	Installing top glazing plate.	Trimming side plate for top sheeting
Side-bottom plate finished	pdrm0358.jpg	Glazing profiles at a top
Side profile fixed with nails at a side	Supply pipe opening/cutting	Cut from both sides!
Side profiles bent	Top right	Far view at a root
Collector plumbing	Safety valve at a top	Cleaning of the collector fittings
Top glazing plate fixed	Temperature sensor pipe welded neat top pipe	Cutting procedure without waste. First diagonal..
Push down. Cut off triangle.	Finished with two cuts!	Last collector welding
Hot water return pipe	Welding one collector and mounting insulation for another.	Hot hotter supply and expansion vessel
Hot water return line and safety valve at top	Charging pipe used as releif valve for pressure checking of the vessel	Expansion vessel 50l for 7 collectors
View at a finished collectors. No glazing.	Testing at 4 bar with air. Use soap for searching failure if testing spray unavailable.	Close 250kPa safety valve before testing.
Glazing installed	Bottom right gum detail	Bottom middle glazing detail
Top right glazing	Top middle	Bottom left
Bottom left gum installation at side plate tilt	Top left	Really black view thru the looking glass
Glazing in the morning	Top right glazing	Pipe insulation is a two fold. 13+13mm. Outer insulation with a zip (PlamaPUR)
Supply and return pipe	Before return insulation mounting	Solar medium and distilled water
Operating pressure 1.8bar (0.8 bar of static pressure)	Top middle glazing detail	Bottom
Water drops at the bottom left	Top left	Finished and waiting for sun.