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  • Optimum Angle?

    I am planning a trough system that will track E-W but will be N/S stationary and am wondering what my optimum angle should be.

    This Site -
    said that my December optimum would be 30 degrees and June optimum 78 degrees.

    Should I split the difference or lean more toward the Dec Angle, because that is when I will need it the most?

    I am in the Ozarks and winter nights of 15-20 degrees are fairly common.

    I still have the option to wood heat, as a backup, but am getting a little old to cut wood, so want to keep that to a minimum.

    I also hope to produce enough steam to run a generator a couple of hours a day.

    Opinions Please.

    Thanx, Alan

  • #2
    Originally posted by estes53 View Post
    I am planning a trough system that will track E-W but will be N/S stationary and am wondering what my optimum angle should be.

    This Site -
    said that my December optimum would be 30 degrees and June optimum 78 degrees.

    Should I split the difference or lean more toward the Dec Angle, because that is when I will need it the most?

    I am in the Ozarks and winter nights of 15-20 degrees are fairly common.

    I still have the option to wood heat, as a backup, but am getting a little old to cut wood, so want to keep that to a minimum.

    I also hope to produce enough steam to run a generator a couple of hours a day.

    Opinions Please.

    Thanx, Alan
    Since you ask:

    At the risk of sounding patronizing and before anything else, consider safety before you proceed. Ever seen a steam system after failure ? They are called boiler explosions for a reason.

    FWIW, A rough first cut would have the axis of a N-S aligned absorber tilted at an angle to the horizontal of something like the local latitude.

    Lots of other things like reflector design and changes to system costs as f(tilt) would change that.

    If this is for a hobby, as the level of sophistication of your question seems to imply, enjoy but be safe. If this is for practical reasons or a money making/saving enterprise, I'd respectfully suggest you would be money ahead/not spent by finding other ways to generate steam.

    In either or any case, enjoy, but be careful.

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