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Forum Index : Solar : Deciding if I should build this solar heater

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rogerdw
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Joined: 22/10/2019
Location: Australia
Posts: 918
Posted: 12:16am 06 Aug 2025
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Well it's finally up there. Rescheduled for 8am this morning  ...  and took about 45mins from when the crane got here till it was in place.

Went very smoothly and I'm hugely relieved to say everything lined up perfectly. Only thing that could have gone better was if the bottom edge was in place first.

Because the top edge was lowered onto the supports first  ...  they sagged a few mm and so we had to put pressure on the lower ones for the bottom bar to sit inside the brackets. Very minor issue though.

The rain was a bit of a worry for a while but it held off during the lift and bolting down time. Got my shoes and socks in front of the fire drying out now. The wet grass was the killer.

Oh, and he only charged me $300 cash.  











You can just see the top of the original prototype over on the rhs.


Edited 2025-08-06 10:26 by rogerdw
Cheers,  Roger
 
Godoh
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Joined: 26/09/2020
Location: Australia
Posts: 536
Posted: 12:26am 06 Aug 2025
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Fantastic, looks great. We wait for the reports of how it works.
Glad it all fitted perfectly
Pete
 
KeepIS

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Joined: 13/10/2014
Location: Australia
Posts: 1885
Posted: 01:32am 06 Aug 2025
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Awesome build from start to finish    
NANO Inverter: Full download - Only Hex Ver 8.1Ks
 
wiseguy

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Joined: 21/06/2018
Location: Australia
Posts: 1214
Posted: 03:24am 06 Aug 2025
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Well done Roger congratulations! You seem to be an all round artist, whether it's an inverter or solar heating structure, full marks for presentation & appearance.
Now waiting impatiently for the clouds to vanish for the ultimate test results...
If at first you dont succeed, I suggest you avoid sky diving....
Cheers Mike
 
rogerdw
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Joined: 22/10/2019
Location: Australia
Posts: 918
Posted: 03:54am 06 Aug 2025
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Thanks for the interest and the encouragement Pete. And yeah, it was a big relief to see it all slot together.

Nothing ever happens fast around here  ...  but I feel like I'm finally making progress. Now just need to hook up the fan and some ducts  ...  and transfer the control system over from the other one.

Thanks for the kind words Mike (KeepIS) though don't look too closely at the welds.

And thanks to the other Mike too (wiseguy). I think I've surprised myself with some of the building tasks and I'm sure I could make improvements in any future projects  ...  but still very happy with how it's turning out.

Of course the sun is already out, it only had to rain while we were out there  ...  though what's the saying  ...  if that's the worst thing that happens today  ...  I'm a blessed man.
Cheers,  Roger
 
Bryan1

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Joined: 22/02/2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 1489
Posted: 04:27am 06 Aug 2025
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Roger great to see it went into place nice and easy and when your ready to install the glass tubes hopefully I won't be busy again and I would love to come and give you a hand  

As 2 people would make it much much easier to get them up on the roof as doing it by yourself one slip and ............ ouch
 
rogerdw
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Joined: 22/10/2019
Location: Australia
Posts: 918
Posted: 06:44am 06 Aug 2025
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Thanks Bryan, and yeah a real pity he changed the time on us  ...  I was looking forward to catching up again. Hopefully your appointment went well.

I hope to fit the tubes on Saturday as the sooner I can fit them, the less rain can get into the insulation and cause issues perhaps. If you were available sometime during the day would be very helpful  ...  but no real drama. It's something my lad could help with and get him off his computer for a few hours.

Each box of 10 is 20kg if I recall correctly  ...  120kg total of glass. They are well packed, so just need to slide the boxes up on the roof and open them up there.

I pulled a clanger in that I hadn't actually checked to see if I had enough fittings  ...  the cups that locate and protect the ends of the tubes  ...  and the rubber seals that go at the other end. I started this so long ago, I forgot that was something I needed to do.

After I went through the other boxes I found I was still a few short  ...  even if I pinched the ones off the old heater  ...  so I ordered more from aliexpress. I hope they'll be here tomorrow or Friday. If not, I can fit the remaining ones when they do arrive.
Cheers,  Roger
 
Bryan1

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Joined: 22/02/2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 1489
Posted: 08:34am 06 Aug 2025
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Well lets make it a date Roger Saturday morning and I'll get all the stuff done from what the doctor said this morning over the next 2 days.
 
rogerdw
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Joined: 22/10/2019
Location: Australia
Posts: 918
Posted: 11:47pm 06 Aug 2025
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That sounds great thanks Bryan, it'll make a lot of difference with some help.

I ususally do the parkrun on Sat mornings but get home around 9am  ...  so no screaming rush time wise. Thanks again.
Cheers,  Roger
 
mab1
Senior Member

Joined: 10/02/2015
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 253
Posted: 01:26am 07 Aug 2025
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That really is impressive!    Must've been a huge relief when it went in ok.

Looking forward to seeing it with the tubes!

Marcus
 
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