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  • #16
    Solar Tank setup

    My tank is 1700mm high, the fittings on the left are from the bottom up; cold water in 210mm, solar manifold return line 580mm, hot water out 1530mm. On the right side; circ pump inlet 210mm, relief valve 1550mm. It is a new commercial tank made by Aquamax USE325SM36 and is a 315 litre tank. It is an elecreic boost solar tank but as I have instant gas, the element is not used. I removed the thermostat and used instant foam to fill the void as its a good area for heat loss. I am considering putting the thermocouple there to measure tank mid temperature. Anyway thats the way the commercial guys do it. Hope that helps. Sorry for the metric figures (we are upside down here of course in Aus)

    Oh forgot to say that your thermostat should be at least half way up your tank or you will be heating the whole tank at night and the solar will do little during the day as it will already be hot, particularly if you shower at night.

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    • #17
      Can I use my existing 40 gal elec. water tank with a solar water heater system? I see some people have roof top storage tanks, IM assuming that they have a standard water tank? thanks

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      • #18
        Originally posted by kimo View Post
        Can I use my existing 40 gal elec. water tank with a solar water heater system? I see some people have roof top storage tanks, IM assuming that they have a standard water tank? thanks
        Yes, maybe. If you never see freezes, you can run domestic water thru the roof and then into your tank, disconnect the lower element, and you greatly reduce the workload on the heater. May need circulation pump , timer, thermostat .....
        Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
        || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
        || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

        solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
        gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

        Comment


        • #19
          Originally posted by kimo View Post
          Can I use my existing 40 gal elec. water tank with a solar water heater system? I see some people have roof top storage tanks, IM assuming that they have a standard water tank? thanks
          The 'roof top storage tank' is part of the thermosiphon arrangement.
          [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

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          • #20
            Originally posted by russ View Post
            The 'roof top storage tank' is part of the thermosiphon arrangement.
            I thought for thermosiphon to work, the tank had to be above the heat collector ? If tank is below, there needs to be some sort of pump ?
            Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
            || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
            || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

            solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
            gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

            Comment


            • #21
              Originally posted by Mike90250 View Post
              I thought for thermosiphon to work, the tank had to be above the heat collector ? If tank is below, there needs to be some sort of pump ?
              It does but I believe the 'on the roof storage' talked about is the thermosiphon tank.
              [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

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              • #22
                Yes, some of the systems I've seen in use on Kauai Hi, have the tank above the panel. Now I understand why, Thanks

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by kimo View Post
                  Yes, some of the systems I've seen in use on Kauai Hi, have the tank above the panel. Now I understand why, Thanks
                  No moving parts or pumps - the simplest of all systems - just a bit ugly.
                  [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Use of 40 Gallon tank

                    Originally posted by kimo View Post
                    Can I use my existing 40 gal elec. water tank with a solar water heater system? I see some people have roof top storage tanks, IM assuming that they have a standard water tank? thanks
                    yes you can but there are some issues you need to consider. First is the connections. You will need to fit a pump and controller, cheap off ebay and work well. The suction of the pump would have to be fitted low in the tank. if there are no available connection points, there are special fittings you can buy that allow a multiple of inlets and outlets from the one point. The return would need to also go low in the tank 9the multiple fitting will alow all this. Then there is the issue of backflow in the panel at night, if all suction and returns are low in the tank this is not a problem, if however the return is high in the tank then a non return valve must be also fitted to prevent heat loss at night from reverse flows. Then there is the issue of where the existing heating element is fitted. if it is low then the element will heat the complete tank at night and thus not allow the solar to heat during the day. If the tank has twin elements (normal heating low down and day boost high in the tank) you can switch off the lower element and just use the boost element at night. If only one low fitted element then a switch needs to be fitted to just allow some heating at night and perhaps a timer fitted (this is a poor setup though).

                    then there is the issue of your solar panels freezing if you are in a very cold area. If only the occassional frost then the pump controller will allow some hot water to be pumped up in the mornings to prevent frezzing. If you live in very cold areas (snow etc) then you need a better setup and I am not able to suggest the best way forward, perhaps a drain back system or something??

                    If you need any further info let me know if I can help further.

                    Peter

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Originally posted by Peter69_56 View Post
                      yes you can but there are some issues you need to consider. First is the connections. You will need to fit a pump and controller, cheap off ebay and work well. The suction of the pump would have to be fitted low in the tank. if there are no available connection points, there are special fittings you can buy that allow a multiple of inlets and outlets from the one point. The return would need to also go low in the tank 9the multiple fitting will alow all this. Then there is the issue of backflow in the panel at night, if all suction and returns are low in the tank this is not a problem, if however the return is high in the tank then a non return valve must be also fitted to prevent heat loss at night from reverse flows. Then there is the issue of where the existing heating element is fitted. if it is low then the element will heat the complete tank at night and thus not allow the solar to heat during the day. If the tank has twin elements (normal heating low down and day boost high in the tank) you can switch off the lower element and just use the boost element at night. If only one low fitted element then a switch needs to be fitted to just allow some heating at night and perhaps a timer fitted (this is a poor setup though).

                      then there is the issue of your solar panels freezing if you are in a very cold area. If only the occassional frost then the pump controller will allow some hot water to be pumped up in the mornings to prevent frezzing. If you live in very cold areas (snow etc) then you need a better setup and I am not able to suggest the best way forward, perhaps a drain back system or something??

                      If you need any further info let me know if I can help further.

                      Peter
                      So it sounds like it would be best to put in a tank built for the solar system with a pump etc. than to do all that modification to an existing tank that probably has a short life span left anyhow?
                      Thank for all the info

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