Hello All,
I'm in the process of building a DIY Solar thermal system and have run into yet another road block. I'm wondering if anyone in this forum may have some recommendations they could share with me in solving this perplexing problem.
I am looking for some sort of material to use as a thermal isolator to place in-between the copper holddown clips utilized for anchoring down a copper heat manifold pipe and the underlying steel-framing. The temperature of the glycol-water mixture within the manifold pipe will most likely reach about 350 degrees F, so what ever material I choose also has to be heat resistive as well, ie, not melt before my eyes. Whatever material that is chosen has to be relatively inexpensive, easy to drill through (for self-tapping sheet metal screws), and easy to fabricate.....which means it has to be easy to cut, saw, mill and machine, etc. Basically, I need to make thermal and heat resistive shims or washers. I was thinking of using some sort of readily obtainable plastic, but I'm afraid that most plastic would either melt or crumble from prolonged exposure to the high temps my system would be generating. I also have considered using some sort of ceramic washers or shims, but drilling through them would be highly impractical, plus I don't want to buy extremely expensive drill bits I'll use only a few times. I have all sorts of cobalt and HSS bits to use in my industrial grade drill press, but none of them will make a dent in any of the ceramic materials I have tested them on. So much for ceramics, unless someone has a good handle on where to buy inexpensive or industry surplus diamond-tipped bits in the USA!!!! LOL
I want to ask the opinion of the folks here about a material I was considering on using. I was brainstorming (hahaha!) last night about what type of material I could employ in my gizmo, and I think may have hit upon a possible solution: Would a high quality two-part resin epoxy cast into some sort of shim meet my specs? If so, what sort of thickness should I cast them? The approximate contact area of a simple copper holddown clip (obtained from the local plumbing supply store) is 2 x 1-inch squared. I envision the clips with shms would be spaced @ 24-inches o.c. anchoring down a 1 1/4-inch or 1 1/2-inch Type L copper pipe manifold. The heat bulb connections from the encapsulated solar collector tubes will be spaced along the manifold pipe @ 4-inches o.c.
Any suggestions and help would be greatly appreciated. TIA, and please have a great weekend!!!!
In Search of Thermal Isolator Material
Re: In Search of Thermal Isolator Material
"Almost" Good Answers: