>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 - d...@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-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@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 No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.709 / Virus Database: 270.14.87/2536 - Release Date: 12/02/09 00:33:00
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