efficientPV
Solar Addict
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2019
- Messages
- 1,347
To many it will just be entertainment. To the few that can understand it will be quite valuable.
This picture was handy and it had an expanded scale covering a little more than one day. It is the primary 6 gallon ECOsmart heater and typical of
daily cycle. This data taken last summer,time and date were not corrected after battery change. I hadn't saved it as a data file, just a pdf. Using
a caliper to determine time, it takes 2 hours to come up to temperature. The start of heating generally begins a little after 7am. Remember that
this array also charges the battery and is running the fridge. Even at this recharge time there is some excess energy available. Over nite it drops
20F from 127F to 107F. Daily repeat cycle time is about every 1.5hrs for a 3F drop. That gives an indication of expected heat loss. Tank is at
temperature 8 hours a day. Heating stops for 14 hours. Literature states tank can be set up to 150F, but max setting is actually 127F. This was
probably to avoid scalding water lawsuits.
The current 9 gallon preheat tank in series has more than double (>40F) the heat loss even with additional fiberglass blanket overnight. It still
shuts off mid day and is set to 140F. Tank was used when I obtained it. So old that it still uses fiberglass as insulation.
ECOsmart 6 water heater was chosen as a replacement for a leaking 10 gallon tank as it was available new on craigslist at a super cheap price. It is
also typical of a tank that many would use for a small camp with a 120V heating element that can not be changed. This overall design was intended
to supply some free hot water using existing panels of a small camp where ready hot water would be a welcome luxury. Even in a minimal configuration, one day could be used as a pre heat for the tank with some washing and a shower the following day when up to full temperature.
This picture was handy and it had an expanded scale covering a little more than one day. It is the primary 6 gallon ECOsmart heater and typical of
daily cycle. This data taken last summer,time and date were not corrected after battery change. I hadn't saved it as a data file, just a pdf. Using
a caliper to determine time, it takes 2 hours to come up to temperature. The start of heating generally begins a little after 7am. Remember that
this array also charges the battery and is running the fridge. Even at this recharge time there is some excess energy available. Over nite it drops
20F from 127F to 107F. Daily repeat cycle time is about every 1.5hrs for a 3F drop. That gives an indication of expected heat loss. Tank is at
temperature 8 hours a day. Heating stops for 14 hours. Literature states tank can be set up to 150F, but max setting is actually 127F. This was
probably to avoid scalding water lawsuits.
The current 9 gallon preheat tank in series has more than double (>40F) the heat loss even with additional fiberglass blanket overnight. It still
shuts off mid day and is set to 140F. Tank was used when I obtained it. So old that it still uses fiberglass as insulation.
ECOsmart 6 water heater was chosen as a replacement for a leaking 10 gallon tank as it was available new on craigslist at a super cheap price. It is
also typical of a tank that many would use for a small camp with a 120V heating element that can not be changed. This overall design was intended
to supply some free hot water using existing panels of a small camp where ready hot water would be a welcome luxury. Even in a minimal configuration, one day could be used as a pre heat for the tank with some washing and a shower the following day when up to full temperature.