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Old 02-02-11, 11:34 AM   #21
strider3700
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OK here are my final 2 drawings. The only difference between them is how to connect to the hotwater tank. In the first the tank has 2 ports specifically for this purpose so hook up is trivial. In the second it's identical to a regular hotwater tank so you have to put cold in to the drain and loop it back through into the cold to get your circulating loop. The thermal expansion tank is required by code apparently and is on his check list. Why a regular water heating system doesn't require it but this one does I don't know and don't care anymore. It's cheaper to just add one and make him happy then the time is worth fighting over it.

I still haven't heard if anyone can actually find the first tank in Canada that's why I've got the second one.

Tank is hopefully a Rheem Marathon CMTS85345


Tank is a Rheem Marathon MR75245


At this point my only concern is on the inspectors check list it states "System parts to be Certified and Approved (BCBC 7.2) "

If this means the potable parts then I'm golden. If he is going to insist on the solar collectors being certified then the project goes without permit. There is zero money savings if I have to buy the panels.

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Old 02-02-11, 02:09 PM   #22
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Trip #3 to the library to read the building codes tells me that since I don't have backflow preventer's I interpret it as meaning I don't need the pressure tank. If he says I do anyways I'll do it. Not worth arguing over.

For the collectors bcbc 7.2 states that everything in the domestic side has to meet plumbing requirements. pipe, fixtures,... at the very end it says solar has to meet 379.1 which is the section on the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger will meet that requirement. I suppose I'll find out this afternoon.

For anyone counting this has been 3 weeks and 7 different drawings with dozens of hours of research to get the permit for this. I could be done the install by now instead I haven't bought 1/2 the parts...
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Old 02-02-11, 04:20 PM   #23
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Pricing has returned. The GEA dw4-6 would be $600-$700 and I would have to wait at least 3-4 months so the duda diesel model it is.

No word on availability on the marathon cmts85345 and it appears that noone actually has it anywhere. Most have never heard of it. So the inspector will be getting the drain to cold circulation loop drawing.
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Old 02-02-11, 06:53 PM   #24
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Spoke with the inspector. Everything is fine and I can get the permit based on the drawings. He will however fail it if I don't buy an approved commercial collector and just use that. His reasoning is it's in the rules. We both agreed it's just a cash grab by the solar industry in Canada that made the rules the way they are and he pointed out that now that the government rebates are gone the industry has died because the systems are too expensive but nothing I can do about it.

So I'm going to figure out what it takes to meet CSA approval for the panels. I'm also going to figure out what it takes to get that sticker and if it's worth doing. I know that I read that Kit panels are available to save on shipping so maybe an approved kit already exists that is cheap. If not maybe one will soon. I'll also be speaking with the politicians that will listen to get these rules changed. This is bull****.

Nothing says I won't have panels in my backyard soon anyways. Until someone complains noone can say a thing about it
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Old 02-02-11, 08:56 PM   #25
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With all the hassle its been its no wonder anyone even interested in solar wouldn't be turned off from doing it.
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Old 02-03-11, 01:10 AM   #26
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There is a way to do it hassle free. Call a local certified installed and give him a check for roughly $10,000. A few weeks to a month later you have a working system. at my current usage 25 years from now the system will have paid for itself assuming nothing failed out of warranty and the guy was around to fix what ever did go wrong during that time.
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Old 02-03-11, 06:11 AM   #27
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Strider, I'm impressed at how you're plowing through all this red tape. I hope that all the time you've put into this will pay off. Good luck!

Quote:
Originally Posted by strider3700 View Post
Spoke with the inspector. Everything is fine and I can get the permit based on the drawings. He will however fail it if I don't buy an approved commercial collector and just use that.
Would it be possible to get one small commercial collector (the cheapest possible) to get the system certified and OK'ed, then add your own solar panels when the dust has settled?
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Old 02-03-11, 10:21 AM   #28
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I've heard that this approach has been taken before And I may go with it as well. We'll see. The cheapest I can find so far is $400 and it's on the wrong corner of the continent so shipping will hurt.
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Old 02-03-11, 11:17 AM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by strider3700 View Post
OK here are my final 2 drawings...
Strider,

Another way I have seen this done is by using two circ pumps in series for lifting the water from the tank after draindown.


The idea is that the pumping power required to initially fill the collectors and get the circuit going is greater than the pumping power required to maintain circulation. A timer is used to kick-in the second pump as the first pump comes on so that they are pumping together in series... then when the time period elapses, the power is cut to the second pump and first pump alone maintains full circulation.

They tell me that the head loss from pumping through a non-powered pump is pretty small.

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Old 02-03-11, 02:49 PM   #30
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Man that is some insane code up there! Keep fighting the good fight.

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