DIYTransit
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2022
- Messages
- 5
I'm sure the shear volume of water required got some clicks!
I have been very happily running a ~1000W solar system on my Ford Transit for a few years. I don't own a home, so my list of solar 'projects' are relatively limited. However, I do own part of a large brewery, which uses a tunnel pasteurizer to process its beverages. Effectively, this is a very long sealed tunnel that heated water is pulled from basins, and recirculated over the canned beverages passing down a long conveyor. The cans are heated from cold (34F) to very hot (160F) for the purpose of killing any bacteria in the liquid or package. The primary heating function is a boiler fed by natural gas, but our usage is astronomical.
I'm curious as to the feasibility of installing solar (significant or insignificant amounts) as a way to supplement our boiler/natural gas use. The tunnel pasteurizer gets run all day, every day, through primarily solar generating hours (6AM - 7PM). Any heat that can be added to the system would be a benefit to our overall energy use and costs, and I do not expect to size the system to replace the boiler.
The advantage of this system is that it is relatively simple to install (power is in direct current, with no inverters or battery), with very little risk in undersizing. If it is cloudy one day, or we have lower output in the winter, it is all irrelevant as we still have the boiler to make up our heat needs.
I'm just starting here as a litmus test - is this even worth exploring, or a waste of time and money?
Thanks!
I have been very happily running a ~1000W solar system on my Ford Transit for a few years. I don't own a home, so my list of solar 'projects' are relatively limited. However, I do own part of a large brewery, which uses a tunnel pasteurizer to process its beverages. Effectively, this is a very long sealed tunnel that heated water is pulled from basins, and recirculated over the canned beverages passing down a long conveyor. The cans are heated from cold (34F) to very hot (160F) for the purpose of killing any bacteria in the liquid or package. The primary heating function is a boiler fed by natural gas, but our usage is astronomical.
I'm curious as to the feasibility of installing solar (significant or insignificant amounts) as a way to supplement our boiler/natural gas use. The tunnel pasteurizer gets run all day, every day, through primarily solar generating hours (6AM - 7PM). Any heat that can be added to the system would be a benefit to our overall energy use and costs, and I do not expect to size the system to replace the boiler.
The advantage of this system is that it is relatively simple to install (power is in direct current, with no inverters or battery), with very little risk in undersizing. If it is cloudy one day, or we have lower output in the winter, it is all irrelevant as we still have the boiler to make up our heat needs.
I'm just starting here as a litmus test - is this even worth exploring, or a waste of time and money?
Thanks!