Uploaded March 2016 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Update on the diy solar hydrothermal panel. The collector and heat pipes are working just fine, great heat transfer to the condensers. Unfortunately, the panel is too thin. The flat aluminum piece at the top that I'm using to cover the manifold (in place of the PV cells that were destroyed) is touching both the condensers and the glass, and is radiating a lot of the heat back outside. So I'll be making a new thicker frame to allow adequate space between the collector pieces and the glass, and create an insulated bulk head above the panel for the manifold to limit as much heat loss as possible. CAD preview of the new frame design is at the end of the video. More to come...
Update on the diy solar hydrothermal panel. The collector and heat pipes are working just fine, great heat transfer to the condensers. Unfortunately, the panel is too thin. The flat aluminum piece at the top that I'm using to cover the manifold (in place of the PV cells that were destroyed) is touching both the condensers and the glass, and is radiating a lot of the heat back outside. So I'll be making a new thicker frame to allow adequate space between the collector pieces and the glass, and create an insulated bulk head above the panel for the manifold to limit as much heat loss as possible. CAD preview of the new frame design is at the end of the video. More to come...
