[RE-wrenches] trenching for solar thermal

[Dana]

>From Snow country in CO this is our formula:

 

Dig a clean trench with a flat bottom. Allow for height of insulated package
and sufficient back fill so you do not end up with a dead line of grass
across the yard.

 

Line with 12 mil plastic or heavier,  12 mil poly has a 12,000 year lifespan
when not exposed to UV[ all our garbage is nicely packaged for future
archaeologists] . Allow extra to fold back over side  to side and be able to
overlap..

 

Lay 2x4 blocks on edge every 3-4 feet, for temporary pipe support till the
foam sets up.

 

Install either soft or hard copper pipe [never use PEX or any kind of
plastic] and silver solder [only no regular solder] and then pressure check
for 24 to 48 hours. We install a ½” electrical PVC conduit to run sensor
wire through too so you can change it out if there is ever a problem.

 

Spray foam under over and around to achieve a minimum 4-5” coverage on all
sides. We have used commercial spray operations and the 5 gallon / 2 part
do-it-yourself commercial spray foam [Versi-foam] there are others out there
too. Allow foam to cure to hard before next step.

 

Fold plastic back over. Back fill carefully do not puncture plastic; if
rocky soil cover plastic with scrap card board, old carpet, or newsprint to
temporarily protect the plastic during backfill. Water will wick heat away
as fast or faster than exposed pipe.

 

We have 200’ runs that do not loose even1 deg. F end to end.

 

There are a lot of commercial products out there but this works great, is
relatively inexpensive, and to date never had a failure.

 

Enjoy -

 

 

Dana Orzel

 

Great Solar Works, Inc

www.solarwork.com

E - dana at solarwork.com

V - 970.626.5253

F - 970.626.4140

C - 970.209.4076

 

I will be the shift in how the world uses power! - Dana Orzel

 

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Nicholas
Ponzio
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 12:13 PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: [RE-wrenches] trenching for solar thermal

 

Esteemed Wrenches,

What is your preferred method for running thermal lines underground? We are
about to start a sizable ground-mount system and want to make sure we do
this right. (I've already seen it done the wrong way, the dirty way, and the
hard way.)

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Best,
Nik



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