Simple passive solar water heater
Hey, I made a simple solar water heater with a 55 gallon barrel elevated slightly. Took a garden hose connected to a well and made a connection for the rather cold water on the bottom, the barrel i...
Forum Discussion
Old-Biscuit wrote:
55 gallon barrels are 'containment' vessels built to HOLD fluids.
They are NOT designed for Pressure
Yep, 40 psi on the base of a 2' diameter drum will exert around 18,000lb of force on the bottom of the drum.
Short of building a custom extremely strong drum, you simply aren't going to be able to pressurize it.
Two viable solutions:
- Raise the drum and let the "head" generate pressure (this is why water towers are TOWERS) but probably not practical for an RV as it needs about 92' of height to generate 40 psi.
- Add a pump on the outlet pulling water from the unpressurized barrel.
Bigger issue is a large barrel will take a long time to heat up. You need lots of surface area to heat quickly.
