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  • Question about solar water heater.

    Hi guys,

    I have the solar water heater on my roof. because the hard water, the pipes inside the absorber is blocked. I try to clear them with some mild acid. I want to know if all the pipes are clear. The absorber is 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide. it has 7 pieces half inch pipes measure 82 inches long and 2 pieces 3/4 inches pipe measure 48 inches long. Can someone tell me how much water this absorber should hold? so I can determine if all the pipes are cleared.

    Thank you

  • #2
    Google fluid capacity of copper tube and calculate it from there.
    NABCEP certified Technical Sales Professional

    [URL="http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?5334-Solar-Off-Grid-Battery-Design"]http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showth...Battery-Design[/URL]

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    • #3
      Originally posted by paulcheung View Post
      Hi guys,

      I have the solar water heater on my roof. because the hard water, the pipes inside the absorber is blocked. I try to clear them with some mild acid. I want to know if all the pipes are clear. The absorber is 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide. it has 7 pieces half inch pipes measure 82 inches long and 2 pieces 3/4 inches pipe measure 48 inches long. Can someone tell me how much water this absorber should hold? so I can determine if all the pipes are cleared.

      Thank you
      I'd suggest blowing some air through the collectors first. While your idea will work in theory, I doubt if you will get any result that will point in a successful direction. Fouling often starts in areas of relatively low fluid velocities like the inside bends of corners and may block entire risers. Unless the fouling has gone on for a long time any vol. reduction by fouling will probably be too small to measure reliably by a volume tare. You will also need to know the size and wall thickness of the tube and bend radius characteristics for a reliable guess at volume.

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      • #4
        Air conditioning techs get really good at this and I believe that they have to continuous circulate the acid through the coils for it to work.

        It is quite odd that the SHW system is a direct heat exchanger for potable water. Most aren't rated for that use

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        • #5
          Originally posted by peakbagger View Post
          Air conditioning techs get really good at this and I believe that they have to continuous circulate the acid through the coils for it to work.

          It is quite odd that the SHW system is a direct heat exchanger for potable water. Most aren't rated for that use
          The product that I use is Rydlyme, much safer than hydrochloric acid. Circulate from a 5 gallon bucket and any pump with enough head to to push the solution through the coils.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by peakbagger View Post
            Air conditioning techs get really good at this and I believe that they have to continuous circulate the acid through the coils for it to work.

            It is quite odd that the SHW system is a direct heat exchanger for potable water. Most aren't rated for that use
            Indirect systems are common in climates where freezing may occur. Also more common in U.S. where many (most ?) codes now require closed loop antifreeze sys. Direct systems w/out heat exchangers are much simpler, more efficient and less expensive - until the first freeze failure and then it gets quite expensive. Many direct solar DHW sys. exist in warmer climates. There are other ways to provide freeze protection that are pretty good but not perfect - especially during a power outage - like controllers that recirc. when the coll. temp. drops and cycles accordingly. The cost is a bit of hot water once in a while or a lot, but depending on climate probably much less than the cost of a heat exchanger, often double wall, along with its added efficiency penalty and complexity. I've had a direct system for many years. It supplies almost all my hot water needs. As for Rydlyme, I'd be concerned about 2 things initially: toxicity and assurance of clearing the system completely and material compatibility.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by J.P.M. View Post
              . As for Rydlyme, I'd be concerned about 2 things initially: toxicity and assurance of clearing the system completely and material compatibility.
              My tankless water heater requires periodic descaling, and the recommendation is just a vinegar solution pumped through via the T fittings and isolation valves at input and output. A small pump and a bucket for the reservoir.
              No high toxicity and if you can taste it you have not rinsed well enough.
              SunnyBoy 3000 US, 18 BP Solar 175B panels.

              Comment


              • #8
                Here is the msds for rydelyme
                http://www.apexengineeringproducts.c...dlymedescaler/
                For commercial use, once you use it you will not use anything else, it is a huge time saver.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by LucMan View Post
                  Here is the msds for rydelyme

                  For commercial use, once you use it you will not use anything else, it is a huge time saver.
                  You can find the oddest things when reading specifications in detail:

                  An exception to number 10 is that hazardous vapors may occur when encountering high concentrations of sulfur,
                  chlorine, or liquid TNT.

                  If would tend to believe that if I were dealing with liquid TNT I would have a lot more to worry about than gas generation during descaling.
                  SunnyBoy 3000 US, 18 BP Solar 175B panels.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by LucMan View Post
                    Here is the msds for rydelyme
                    http://www.apexengineeringproducts.c...dlymedescaler/
                    For commercial use, once you use it you will not use anything else, it is a huge time saver.
                    How much do you have to use for clear the water heater?

                    Thank you guys for all the replies. my installer told me it use 1 us gallon water to fill the heat absorb collector,(the pipes) but I only be able to fill less than half gallon of water.

                    Thanks

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by paulcheung View Post
                      How much do you have to use for clear the water heater?

                      Thank you guys for all the replies. my installer told me it use 1 us gallon water to fill the heat absorb collector,(the pipes) but I only be able to fill less than half gallon of water.

                      Thanks
                      This pdf should answer all your questions.
                      Attached Files

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                      • #12
                        Thank you

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