One thought is the simplicity of having at least warm water. Desalinated water will stay at ocean temperature while stored on the boat. The thought is to create a simple small water "warmer" and store the warmed water in a separate tank. This will be accomplished by running 40' of 1/4" hose through a solid piece of fiberglass. The top of the fiberglass will be painted black, and 4 solar cells attached to the surface. As the sun shines, and warms the block, the solar cells will produce just enough power to run a small windshield washer pump, and slowly pump the water from the warm water tank through the 40' of hose on the heater. The sun should take the chill off the water, possibly even create a warm tank of fresh water.
Uses could be...
-Warm water to start when boiling water for cooking (less energy to heat the water)
-Warm water for bathing. Must be a luxury compared to cold ocean water for bathing!
Here is the design...
Machining the fiberglass block...
Hose installed into grooves...
Solar panels to be added to the top... (after we encapsulate the hose in fiberglass)
We'll get it all together, put it in the sun, and see if it works! Updates to follow once complete.
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