10-16-11, 04:38 PM | #41 |
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Drainback Level
A drainback tank only needs to be a small distance below the bottom of the solar collector. The shortest distance is best. Not sure why you would go to all the effort to dig through your floor?
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10-16-11, 08:07 PM | #42 |
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That part of your basement is weird.
I have no idea why anyone would have built it like that. There was no reason at all for that part to be higher. I thought for sure, there must have been a cistern or something under there!
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10-17-11, 11:44 AM | #43 |
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The panels will be roughly 80 feet from the tank on a rack outside. That means I need 20 inches of vertical slope to have all the water drain back to the tank. The lower I can get the tank in the basement, the less fill I'll need outside to bury the pipes.
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10-17-11, 11:46 AM | #44 |
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I talked to my neighbor who used to own my house about 15 years ago. He said at one point there was a shallow well pump right in that area. I don't see why that would have any effect on the platform... But, thats what he was able to tell me.
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10-17-11, 05:10 PM | #45 |
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Would it be better to have a closed loop with anti freeze and heat exchanger instead of trying to make a drain back system?
If it freezes on you it could be a lot of work to repair. |
10-19-11, 10:54 AM | #46 |
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Drain back systems are cheaper, simpler and a little more efficient. So, unless I run into some other major issues I'll keep it as a drain back.
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10-22-11, 09:07 PM | #47 |
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While adding drain tile to the basement we also used the rented jack hammer to punch a hole in the wall to run pipe out to the solar panel rack, and take out a platform that had been made in the basement.
We also poured a new slab under where a raised platform used to be. This will give me a bit more room for the tank.
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10-23-11, 11:01 AM | #48 |
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Keep up the good work!
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03-30-12, 09:01 PM | #49 |
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How is your tank project coming along? Please do keep us posted.
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03-31-12, 08:07 AM | #50 |
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There are no updates as of right now. However, I was thinking of this just yesterday. With spring here, I'll be starting to work on the whole solar system quite soon.
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