It became time to install the solar heat heat collectors. Of course, I might have started earlier in the year, but this have a way of happening when they happen. So, late on October we started the work.

We started by having a trench dug up through the shale. The trench is 40 inches wide and 4 feet deep most of the way. It's about 190 feet from the Bathroom Yurt to the spot where the rack will be assembled -- all up hill.
This is the solar trench looking down the hill to the Bathroom Yurt. It's quite a grade - a 30+ degree incline.

Six 6 X 6 inch, 8 feet long pressure treated posts stand ready for the rack that will hold the evacuated tubes.

You can check out the installation process on this system by checking out the Radiant Floor Company of Vermont's web site.

We constructed a conduit from 2 inch "pink board" rigid foam insulation. The conduit is 12 inches wide and 4 inches high.

3/4 flexible copper tubing was laid inside the conduit along with a wire that will connect to a thermister at the output of the evacuated tube heat exchanger on the solar rack.
Looking down the hill. The bottom and the sides of the rigid foam conduit are in place and the flexible copper and wire have been laid in the conduit bed.

Here you see the flexible copper wrapped in the Thermo-Cel insulation. This insulating pipe wrap is not the type you would use to wrap your hot water pipes in your cellar or crawl space; it is designed to withstand temperatures up to 190 degrees fahrenheit.

Beginning to enclose the Thermo-Cel wrapped copper in the conduit.

We added another 2" piece of rigid foam on each side and an additional 2" piece on the top. This increased the insulation to about R-23.
Here you can see the additional foam insulation on the sides of the conduit.

This is the completed conduit. After the additional 2 inches of foam was added to the top, we placed a 12 inch wide piece of 3/8 inch plywood on top of the conduit and held that in place with pieces of shale. We then hand back-filled the trench to the point that the conduit was completely covered, so that the more "aggressive" back-filling done by bull dozer would not crush the conduit. It all worked.
Here's Travis at the posts, completing the construction of the conduit and the stringing of the flexible copper - a hard working man.
Here's Frank "hiding" in the trench, working on the conduit. He managed this installation - a great neighbor.
The trench filled in. Up the hill you can see the posts for that will support the rack for the evacuated tubes.
We also had a trench dug to the shed/shop. We need electricity and conduits for eventual satellite ISP and perhaps other utilities.

These are the pipes that enter the back of the Bathroom Yurt. Two of the four copper lines are the supply and return lines from the evacuated tubes on the hillside and the other two lines are supply and return from a 120' 3/4" copper line laid in the ground as a heat dump to dissipate excessive, unneeded heat from the evacuated tubes. The gray PVC pipe is for electricity to the shed. Two of the 4" corrugated black plastic tubes go to the shed/shop and one goes up to hill to the solar rack; I eventually hope to install photovoltaic technology - at least enough to run the heating and water systems.
The platform assembly starting to take shape. The cardboard boxes contain the actual racks for the evacuated tubes.
Looking out at West Camden Ridge.
Note that the platform rack is higher in the back (on the left in this picture) than in the front. This is so that the rack will be positioned at 43 degrees (the rack is closer to 40 degrees) - that's the latitude of Tug Hollow. This angle is critical for efficient exposure to the sun.
Travis and Frank assembling one of the racks for the evacuated tubes.

Here they are, making a decision.

There will be 32 of these tubes mounted on two racks.
The rack is assembled. The 32 evacuated tubes are in four cartons underneath the green tarp. Travis brought these up the hill strapped to the carrier on the back of his ATV.

The rack assembled. The wood frame is 16' wide. That's a 6' step ladder.

We'll be installing the tubes and firing the system off in early January 2008.
One last view up the hill of the assembled racks.
 
Posted on 12/2007

-Stanley