Using solar pipes as shadebars - Any visually nice options?

[Sunny Solar]

The paint stays 100% over time? Bad idea!

But nothing stays forever.Even if he used stainless steel tubing its shown that even that does not have a long lifespan.
It would be a simple task to repaint the tubing every 2yrs? 5 yrs. ??? And cost and effort of repainting a few lengths of tubing is minimal.

Anyway, what about flexible tubing used for farm sprinkler systems. ?? That is black and must have a reasonably long life as its designed to be used constantly in all weather.??

[russ]

But nothing stays forever.Even if he used stainless steel tubing its shown that even that does not have a long lifespan.
It would be a simple task to repaint the tubing every 2yrs? 5 yrs. ??? And cost and effort of repainting a few lengths of tubing is minimal.

Anyway, what about flexible tubing used for farm sprinkler systems. ?? That is black and must have a reasonably long life as its designed to be used constantly in all weather.??

That is UV resistant - using the PEX was not a good idea from Build It Solar - They tell you not to even store PEX in the sun.

[inetdog]

That is UV resistant - using the PEX was not a good idea from Build It Solar - They tell you not to even store PEX in the sun.

Store it safely in your nice dark wall cavities, crawl spaces, attics and basements.

I knew of a radio station which generously stored somebody else's surplus communication cable for them, safely in underground ducts, and even connected it to their communication system to allow its condition to be constantly monitored.

[Sunny Solar]

Anyway, what about flexible tubing used for farm sprinkler systems. ?? That is black and must have a reasonably long life as its designed to be used constantly in all weather.?? OK,, as you say its UV resistant and I thought it must be then it is a good candidate ? And it cant be very expensive either.

[russ]

Anyway, what about flexible tubing used for farm sprinkler systems. ?? That is black and must have a reasonably long life as its designed to be used constantly in all weather.?? OK,, as you say its UV resistant and I thought it must be then it is a good candidate ? And it cant be very expensive either.

That is what the DIY pool heater coils use. Don't know the composition - seems like 20 years back they called it PBS but that is a long time back

[inetdog]

That is what the DIY pool heater coils use. Don't know the composition - seems like 20 years back they called it PBS but that is a long time back

Most pipe consumers see these days is either:
1. ABS (flexible, suitable for moderate pressure, but thermoplastic and so no use at all for hot water.) The black form contains UV protection. Even in irrigation uses, if left standing in the sun with no water flow it can deform. Can be used for pool heating as long as it is kept below its temperature limit. Not suitable for Domestic Hot Water (DHW) temperatures even in a low pressure system.
2. PVC (rigid, suitable for high temp use such as DHW. Not UV resistant unless painted. Requires solvent welding with fittings.)

For commercial irrigation and for home drip irrigation, the main choice these days is black polyethylene. It is generally connected with barbed fittings or heat fusion methods rather than cement. It has less abrasion and puncture resistance than ABS.

I can't find a reference for PBS pipe.

[green]

I used the black poly-pipe as an irrigation tech. The OP say asthetics are important. That stuff comes in rolls and never staightens out. Good luck making that look good enough for the wife. I hated the stuff, Major pain in the ass to get it the way you want without kinkining it. It's supposed to make things easier, but I found PVC to be much better to work with. We used a lot of both Poly and PVC so I can tell you first hand PVC will cooperate and look nicer.

Green

[MikeInSoCal]

Green is right, my wife won't go for semi-curvy pipes.

My contractor made an interesting comment today. He said back in the old days, brass, copper and steel was all that pool contractors had and somehow pool water circulation systems seemed to have survived, at least for a while. What was it they did back in the day that made it so the metal pipes survived?

[inetdog]

Green is right, my wife won't go for semi-curvy pipes.

My contractor made an interesting comment today. He said back in the old days, brass, copper and steel was all that pool contractors had and somehow pool water circulation systems seemed to have survived, at least for a while. What was it they did back in the day that made it so the metal pipes survived?

They survived, but not forever. And the pipes (except for the pool heater) were not carrying hot water. And they did not throw as many chemicals into the pool back then, or try to keep them open for as much of the year.

Things like heat exchangers are cheaper and exchange heat better with thin walled pipes. But to withstand pool chemicals they were built thicker and cost more.

[Sunny Solar]

How about first putting either wood slats over the beams about 1in x1/2in and clip the flexible pipe to that? Or run aluminium? channel across the beams 1in high x width of pipe and sit the flexible tubing in that. Paint it black. It may also help collect heat? and reduce wind cooling the pipe?

[inetdog]

How about first putting either wood slats over the beams about 1in x1/2in and clip the flexible pipe to that? Or run aluminium? channel across the beams 1in high x width of pipe and sit the flexible tubing in that. Paint it black. It may also help collect heat? and reduce wind cooling the pipe?

It all depends on whether the tops of the slats (and the curvy pipes!) will be visible from the patio or from inside the house somewhere.

[Sunny Solar]

But if the clipped at reasonably close spacing that should hold the tubing straight. how about the other idea in a metal ..aluminium channel??

[russ]

The water in the pipes adds up fast - slats have virtually no load carrying capacity.

[Sunny Solar]

True the water in the pipes is reasonably heavy (Using 2"dia tube you would have about 5.5lb of water per 4ft.)but I dont think it is going to sag much even if no slats used. the slats would be really there to keep the tubing in a nice straight line and provide a small amount of support. That flexible tubing is actually quite strong and not that easy to bend. And we are not talking about a 6in dia tube but 2in or less,and its only one tube per slat obviously.
Its only a suggestion same as using aluminium channel. Now that should not sag much.
Im just throwing out ideas that may be used or improved on..

Russ you have some better ideas you have not yet posted?

[russ]

Send the wife on vacation and have it done before she comes back?