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Do the Drain Back Boogie? Hot H2O pre-heat

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  • Do the Drain Back Boogie? Hot H2O pre-heat

    Do y'all recommend a Drain Back system for pre-heat that incorporates a propane water heater? If so, did you build your own:
    1. Drain Back Tank
    2. Heat Exchange Coil
    3. Collector Panel

    Did you use a pump to push water through the collector and into the Drain Back tank?

  • #2
    Drain back seems okay in cold weather.

    I've been using drain back for 5 years. Location is Alberta, Canada. My panels are on the roof, about 15 feet above the water storage tank. I sloped all my lines, sloped the panel header - to make the drainback work, I just pulled the little plastic check valve out of the Grundfos pump. To drain the panel, I just shut off the power (as in every night) - the system takes care of itself from there. I am not using a pressurized system, the return water from the panel goes to the top of an atmospheric tank - so the supply side has greater head than the return side. I thought I'd have to add an air vent at the high point, I tried it without an air vent - works fine.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Chipper5783 View Post
      I thought I'd have to add an air vent at the high point, I tried it without an air vent - works fine.
      One of the nice things about an open system is that if the flow rate is high enough tiny air bubbles will end up pulled along the return pipe and will just vent to the atmosphere from the tank. Also, each time you drain back the system (at least daily) you start over with the water forcing the air out all the way to the high point of the system, with little chance for air to accumulate in a U at the top.
      SunnyBoy 3000 US, 18 BP Solar 175B panels.

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