EcoRenovator - View Single Post - Desigining & building a solar hot water panel rack

Xringer · 10-12-11, 09:33 PM

I take it this will be a drain-down system with a vacuum breaker on top of the highest panel plumbing?

If the lines are really long in the down hill part, once the pump shuts down and the vacuum breaker opens air into the loop,
the water in the down hill section will really be pulling a good suction on all the water,
so even a couple gallons stuck in a little dip in the lines might sucked right back into the tank..
You might need to test the idea to see how it works.

It all depend on how low the tank is and how long the down-hill section of line is..

My neighbor across the street uses a long down-hill run on his sump pump hose..
Many times, 10 minutes after his pump turns off, the long hose is still siphoning
water out of his sump hole. It's got to lift that water up about 8 feet out of the basement..

10-12-11, 09:33 PM	#23
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	I take it this will be a drain-down system with a vacuum breaker on top of the highest panel plumbing? If the lines are really long in the down hill part, once the pump shuts down and the vacuum breaker opens air into the loop, the water in the down hill section will really be pulling a good suction on all the water, so even a couple gallons stuck in a little dip in the lines might sucked right back into the tank.. You might need to test the idea to see how it works. It all depend on how low the tank is and how long the down-hill section of line is.. My neighbor across the street uses a long down-hill run on his sump pump hose.. Many times, 10 minutes after his pump turns off, the long hose is still siphoning water out of his sump hole. It's got to lift that water up about 8 feet out of the basement..