The Panels and mounting

I found some really messy solar panels.  I am going to take them apart and then repaint the elements inside so they are back to normal.  they are pretty rough shape.

When I took them apart they were full of junk, even dead mice.  there is nothing inside that is damaged though except maybe a little insulation.  the seals are still in excellent shape!

I only have two of these units, but they are very large.  I am still planning on going geothermal, but these will be good for some extra heat.  I think I am going to put them onto my basement floor heat as it does not take much to heat my whole house from the basement heat.

They cleaned up really nice, almost done re-building them.

This project is on hold until testing is complete on my Freon solar located below.

Ok, back to original project, going to get these panels mounted and working.  I have very little parts I need for this to be finished, so I decided to complete this.

I got the fittings that convert the input / output pipes into a 3/4 " fitting.  I am going to use Pex to plumb it into the house.

These panels are now ready to mount, just need a system to hold the panels...

While at the dump, I thought these would work great as a mount for the solar panels.  They are old bed frames.  I have to cut the width down a bit but this will be a very inexpensive mount.  this should work perfectly.

Bed frame mounted to house

One Panel Mounted - this looks pretty good, you cannot tell its salvage bed-frame from the dump!

Both Panels Mounted - Turned out GREAT!  didn't spend a dime for one piece of metal.  I used the bed rails for the mounts at the bottom of the panels to angle the panels to correct angle.  They are set for the winter months as you can tell from the steep angle.

Check this out - this is just from the heat up the pipes inside the panels.  I have no fluid in this system yet, but if it works this good, it should be no problem getting some heat from these.

I have it all hooked up now, outside and inside.  I ran it through a dedicated hot water heater thinking that it will store a bit of heat.  also I can set the water heater low, and if the solar outside is not able to keep up with the winter temperatures, that the water heater can make up the difference.  This should work pretty well.