11-23-13, 08:56 AM | #1 | |
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My $125 solar hot water heater (StarPak Solar Systems)
I bought these back in 2010, I figured I would post it here seeing as i haven't done anything with them yet. I would really like to work on a plan so when spring comes i can actually do something with them. I am planning on doing a drain back system but im not sure how i want to do it. i dont know if i can use the 80 gallon tank because of how tall it will be sitting in my basement. Im hoping everyone can help me put together a plan to actually do it. I also plan using the hot water loop(currently not being used) i have in my wood burner to heat the storage tank in the winter.
2010 Quote:
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11-23-13, 12:44 PM | #2 |
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Cool, thats a nice little setup. That should be able to provide most of your hot water needs! $125 is a killer deal too.
What do you mean it drains into a drain?
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11-23-13, 05:36 PM | #3 | |
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Quote:
It doesn't drain back to the tank. It drains it to a household drain when the panels get to cold. Then fills it back up when the panels are hot enough. So what im understanding is that there is always water in the panels if they are above freezing. If they drop below it just drains the water.
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11-26-13, 07:29 AM | #4 |
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Lance, that type of system is called "drain down". Just make sure you have very good motorized or solenoid valves. The problem with these system in the past was that the valves would fail to open when the system shut off and the panels or piping would split. The other issue with them is that sometimes a LOT of water was wasted draining out. I have made a couple of these systems where I put a "low water cutoff" from a boiler high enough that the water only drained to remain in the heated area. That said, all this was 20 years ago and you might have an easier time doing a "drain back" than a "drain down" system. You would only need a heat exchanger by the looks of it.
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