Arduino Circuit Bench test

This is Arduino temperature Differential circuit. The LCD displays the temperature of the collector (SolarTEMP) and the water tank temperature. It also shows the status of the water pump and the the heating element.

Week 3 (January 31st-February 6th)

Copper pipe and fittings were purchased and cut to size. Soldering could not be completed due to lack of sufficient material. This will be completed in the week to come.

It was determined that 1" copper pipe was needed to fit the heating element. The element will screw into a threaded female fitting, which will then fit into a "T" fitting. This "T" fitting will also be the water inlet location. At the other end of the fitting, and 1" to 1/2" bushing will be used to downsize the pipe. An exploded view of this setup can be seen in image 3 below.

Image 1

 Image 2

Image 3

Week 2 (January 24th-30th)

-During this week, we have begun building the collector. The frame was constructed using the 2x4x8 and the dimensions are 2.5'X1.5'. A piece of plywood was cut and fitted to the under-side of the collector as well. A light cream color paint was applied for a more appealing visual appearance. 

-It was also determined that using PVC piping (and fittings) for the heating element section may not work as well as we had hoped. The concern lies in the potential for the plastic melting where the element will be fitted. Even with cold water running through the pipe at the time of use, it is feared that it will not provide sufficient cooling to prevent catestrophic failure. To be on the safe side, copper piping will be used instead. 

-The fittings and piping may need to be enlarged from 3/4" to 1" in order to compensate for the size of the element. (This will be determined in the week to come)

-We also decided this week, due to costs, that 1/2" copper piping will be used for the remainder of the collector, rather than 3/4". This will not change the integrity of our presentation, but will allow for a most cost effective design. 

-Adapter fittings will be utilized to go from 1", where the element ends, into 1/2" for the rest of the piping network.

-Arduino code is continuing to be worked on at this time as well

***Pictures of the collector are not available at this time, but will be posted within the next few days***

Week 1 (January 17th-23rd)

-Created a detailed blueprint of the collector, and purchased some of the materials for piping. Materials included:

• Fittings (PVC-necessary to assemble the section that will hold the heating element)
• PVC pipe
• Heating element (120V/2000W)
• Wood 2X4X8 for collector framing
• Plywood for backing

-Arduino code was also worked on during this week.

Note: The collector's wood frame and heating element are being used solely for presentation purposes. It would be difficult to capture enough of the sun's radiation to use for demonstration.

The following image shows the blue print of the collector design. This is a rough draft copy however, as dimensions may change in the following week.