MTD Solar Collector Kits

MTD Sun Shed

The shipping expense alone for solar collectors discourages most people. Cross country shipping for a 90 pound glass covered, copper based solar collectors can easily exceed $300. Add $700 per collector and another $2000 for the pump, storage tank, and plumbing  plus $3000 for the plumber and you'll have a 3 collector solar hot water system and an empty wallet. Tax credits on a professionally installed system could lower the expense a little if you take the time to fill out the paperwork BUT $6000 for a three collector system that only saves $400/yr is not the best investment we can make.

SO WHAT CAN WE DO? 
We can build a Modified Trickle Down collector for $4/sq. ft.  Home Depot and other building suppliers have almost all the materials needed. MTD collectors are light, easy to build and easy to install and the MTD modular design facilitates the addition of future collectors so you can start small and add more collectors as time and money permit. An MTD kit is a collection of odd parts as well as a construction guide that you'll need to build your first collector, but it's a lot more than this alone. The guide will show you how to mount the collectors and join them to a complete multi drum heat storage and heat distribution system.

Copper flow tubes and copper absorber plates are not part of the MTD systems. A Trickle Down Matt replaces conventional copper flow tubes and conventional copper absorber plates with a specially designed water dispersion system you can build from an MTD kit. This TDM is the heart and soul of the MTD collector.

Heated water from the TDM  is transferred directly into heat storage containers without the need of: EXPENSIVE COPPER HEAT EXCHANGE COILS, ANTIFREEZE, EXPANSION TANKS, DEGASSERS, PRESSURE RELIEF VALVES. FILL AND PURGE SPIGOTS AND COPPER CARRIER PIPES. I use an inexpensive, flexible, easy to install heater hose, that has minimal heat loss to carry water from the coldest tank to the top of the MTD collectors. Energy from sunlight is a simple concept. Let's keep it that way.

There are a few, hard to come by, materials I put together in the form of a kit to introduce you to the wonderful world of MTD solar heating. This kit comes with: Trickle Down Matt materials, a Trickle Down Distributor, a TDD connector, Burger Brother Bibs, a PVC end cap and a Gutter Support Stop. ALSO the kit comes with: 
An MTD construction booklet that provides a step by step guide for both wood frame and steel stud slot frame MTD collector construction. IN ADDITION the kit comes with:
a CD for PC that contains multi media shows about solar plumbing as well a collection videos that guide you through the process of steel stud slot MTD collector construction.

The MTD Collector Kit and instruction guide are specific for 2'x8' collectors but once the concept is understood the technology may easily be applied to 12 foot or 16 foot long collectors that butt together to form MTD arrays like this:

Wouldn't it be nice to get all the energy we need directly from sunlight and live in a house like this someday. 
Unfortunately we don't all have an ideal roof to work with, HOWEVER  if your  roof receives a fair share of sunlight you can still benefit from an MTD system. Here is what my friend Richard Heiliger did: 

All MTD applications are a little different but you will need basic construction skills to install any MTD systems. A simple wood frame MTD collector frame can be made from two 1"x6"x8' planks  and few strips of plywood, but there are a lot of rips and cuts involved before assembly  so you'll need a table saw and a miter saw. You'll also need  solid insulation, a sheet of Suntuf glazing, a 2" PVC pipe, a pump, a  Solar Controller , heat storage drums, a heater hose and PVC pipes to drain water into your storage system, I supply the materials necessary to get you started and you supply the energy needed to put the system together. I could do all the work for you but just think of all the fun you'll have with this do-it-yourself solar heating/DHW project. 
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" (Lao-tzu)

1. COLLECTOR INPUT AND OUTPUT METHOD... Since the flow rate of the pump is 120 GPH the heat gain may be calculated by observing the collector input and output temperature. From the graph above you can see that this temperature difference is about 20⁰ F. 120 gal has a weight of 120 x 8lb = 960lb. 960 x 20 = 19,200 BTU/hr.
Under ideal conditions of direct sunlight the energy available to this 9 m² MTD array would be 27,000BTU's/hr. We'll call it 25,000BTU's/hr.( even though I think the sunlight energy available was less.)  SO... 19,200/25,000 = 76.8 %

2. STORAGE TEMPERATURE DIFFERENTIAL METHOD ... From the graph above you can see a 5⁰ F temperature rise take place in the coldest tank however the average temperature rise within the 200 gallon system was 8⁰F. With this in mind razing 200gallons of water 8⁰ F/hr. requires 200gal x 8⁰ x 8lb =  12,800 BTUs/hr.  That's 12,800/24,000 = 53% The actual MTD collector efficiency would be somewhere between 50% and 80 %.
    As heat energy is consumed the differential between collector and storage increases along with collector efficiency. Orientation and pitch of  MTD arrays also have a profound effect on the heat harvest. A cold ambient temperature may limit heat collection a bit but sunlight intensity, collector surface area and glazing orientation are the most important factors associated with solar heat gain.

COST CONSIDERATION... Conventional copper based solar collectors have a price tag of about $30/sq ft, and home made MTD collectors have a price tag close to $4/sq ft. so you can definitely save by building your own MTD collectors... BUT remember collectors are just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. By building your own heat storage system and by installing your own MTD collectors additional savings can be realized. You probably won't get a tax write off but your initial cost savings as well as the short payback period will more than compensate for any government tax incentives.

STARTER KIT... The starter kit is designed to facilitate the first time construction experience. The kit contains a construction guide book, TDM materials (2'x8' polyester felt, two 30"x8' sheets of polypropylene, five Berger Bros Bibs), a Trickle Down Distributor, a gutter end cap, a gutter compression support and a 3/4" L connector.  The kits  comes with an instruction booklet for a wood frame  MTD collectors and a CD with an MTD steel stud slot instruction video and a Solar Plumbing multi media shown. This CD runs on standard PC computers. You really need a kit to get started. 

FULLY ASSEMBLED 2x8 MTD 
STEEL STUD SLOT COLLECTORS
are available, but shipping is not included

CONTACT

Keep a starving solar thermal energy applications writer off the streets and on the internet.

  MTD Collector Starter Kit  with construction guide and CD video      USA shipping only                 $75