Quote:
Originally Posted by SKIN
How long does the collector hold heat? If you take a shower at night, do you have hot water or are you manually adjusting the valves so that the water heater takes over at night?
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I havent used the water heater since i installed the Solar Collector 3 weeks ago. Right now in Northern Florida, its been 93 F. + every day and normally sunny --- at 4 pm I start to loose the sun on the Collector and at that time of day the water is between 145-160 f. depending if its a totally sunny day or partial . Ive taken a shower as late as 9 pm , and the water is still so hot that I have to cool it down alot at the shower faucets. I dont adjust the manual bypass valves at the water heater...i leave them alone. The Box holds the heat pretty well with it being 2x12's as well as the double pane glass . Im expecting it to work quite well in the winter months when we only reach 55-60 f. for a daytime high , because all i need for my shower is 90-95 f. water (anything hotter than that and i have to cool it down with cold water at the faucet) .
After the sun beating down on the wood for 8.5 hours which is painted flat black, the surface is so hot you cant keep your hand on it. And this is at a 30 degree angle from vertical. So, it has exceeded my expectations by far.