1 Abstract................................................................................................................................... 4
2. Solar Collector Fabrication..................................................................................................... 5
2.1 The Heat Exchanger......................................................................................................... 5
2.1.1 Serpentine Bending ................................................................................................... 5
2.1.2 Joining the serpentine to the absorber plate with wire ............................................. 10
2.2 The Frame...................................................................................................................... 11
2.2.1 Side Sections........................................................................................................... 11
2.2.2 Frame Backing Plate................................................................................................ 13
2.2.3 Frame Assembly ...................................................................................................... 13
2.2.4 Top of the frame....................................................................................................... 13
2.2.5 Enclosing the Absorber in the Frame ....................................................................... 13
2.3 Mounting Brackets/ Clamps: Fabrication ........................................................................ 14
2.4 Mounting the Collector Cover and sealing...................................................................... 18
3 Fabricating the Hot Water Tank............................................................................................. 19
3.1 Hot Water Tank Design................................................................................................... 19
3.1.1 Insulation ................................................................................................................. 19
3.1.6 Weather proofing ..................................................................................................... 21
3.2Hot Water Tank Fabrication ............................................................................................. 21
3.2.1 Making the holes in the inner and outer tanks ......................................................... 21
3.2.2 Assembling the Inlets................................................................................................... 22
3.2.3 Creating the rubber washers.................................................................................... 22
4 Installation............................................................................................................................. 23
4.1 Selecting the Site ........................................................................................................... 23
4.1.4 Position of the Solar Installation relative to the shower............................................ 23
4.2 Pipe-work ....................................................................................................................... 24
4.2.1 CPVC....................................................................................................................... 24
4.2.2 Copper: Protection against high-temperatures ........................................................ 24
4.2.3 Pipe-work installation for thermo-siphon. ................................................................. 24
4.2.4 Pipe Lagging............................................................................................................ 25
4.3 System Charging: procedure for air-venting ............................................................... 25
4.4 Thermal Mixing at the Shower .................................................................................... 25
4.5 Mounting Systems ...................................................................................................... 26
5. Material Costs in Guatemala................................................................................................ 28
Appendix 1 Constructing the Pipe Bending Set ....................................................................... 29
Appendix 2: Alternative Bending Set with dimensions ............................................................. 35
3