manifold for evac tubes

[cssolar]

one for the album !!

Hi Hamish

Thats the dogs nuts !!

Well done !! that will soon have the water boiling !!

Remember to install a relief valve ( you have probably thought of that already) just in case she gets a little to warm !

Your unit looks similar to a high pressure compact unit , except the manifold in normally inside the tank.

But that doesn't matter the important thing is that it works !!

A guy I know made a batch type swh, basicly a water cylinder in an insulated glass fronted box, he has been having good results with that in the summer, but I am sure yours will out perform his in the winter as vacuum tubes work so well.

My swhs are at 90 degrees , full tanks, after we have all showered, great for October !!

Tony

[hamish]

thanks, it is a high pressure close-coupled system thats what its called here, there is a pcv combined with a relief valve at ground level on the main supply pipe before it enters the house so that all the
water in the house has balanced pressure. There is also a T&P safety valve on the geyser to neutralise murphy. The standard pressure rating here is 4 bar that matches the geyser rating. I have been running the unit for one month with the insulation over the manifold to monitor it. The function of the heat pipes in the et's is quite incredible, the amount of heat it generates is
is amazing. Im going to box the manifold now that I know its working properly.
I like your side-by-side solar set up are they combined to work as one.

[cssolar]

swhs

Hi Hamish,

My system has evolved a bit, I first bought a non pressure unit when I knew little about swhs, as you have said before they are basic but work well, the only problem was a lack of good water pressure, so I added an auto boost pump which fires up when you open a tap.

Then I decided to go into importing and selling pre heat swhs here ( the type we talked about before ) as they give good pressure without a pump, any way I added a pre heat unit to my set up. the non pressure part is connected to the other swh so now I have 300 litres of capacity, and I use the coil in the pre heat unit for hot water for my underfloor heating during the day , and switch over to a back boiler on a log burner for night.

As you said vacuum tubes are very power full, I tested a tube filled with cold water, it boiled in under 3 hours in the sun !!

Tony

[hamish]

hi tony , sounds like our local climates are very similar, sunny in winter and cold and freezing at night. I make a fire at night and have been planning to connect up a heat transfer system. Can you give me
any ideas on a simple system. What are the prices of tubes, low pressure and preheat systems where you are, I would like to compare them to here.

[cssolar]

heating

Hello Hamish,

I think the best way to heat your water would be with a purpose built stove with a back boiler.

I converted a standard wood burning stove to heat the water, I made a copper heat exchanger an placed it in the small oven compartment in the top of the stove and covered it with sand ( I have noticed that if the sand is kept wet the heat transfer is better, I think water would be better for transferring the heat, I may modify it )

also I have made 2 other heat exchangers, copper tubes set in plaster, for the sides of the stove.

I use a standard central heating pump to circulate the water ( it is very important to have the pump running all the time the fire is alight, to prevent the copper heat exchanger over heating and melting the solder joints )

I have a simple manual valve system to change over to solar during the day.

The prices of my pre heat units are

108 litre 540

[hamish]

hi tony, nice setup, what fuel do you burn in the stove. The booster pump must supply decent volume, but does the smaller supply tank restrict the volume you can use at one time.What type of central heating
system are you using, they are not done here so Im not sure what system will be best. I have made a copper heat exchanger to place at the back of the fireplace which is a metal box type built in, that will circulate to a to a 250 L geyser that will supply the central heating with a circulation pump,any ideas what do you thjnk, thanks

[cssolar]

heating

Hi Hamish,

I burn wood, in fact any crap that will burn!! old kitchen units etc.

The booster pump works ok for my domestic hot water, but the pressure is a little lower normal mains pressure

I just pump the water in a closed loop, no storage tank,

I Cant see a problem with you pumping the water though radiators.

Our house is much warmer now I spread the heat, the problem before was the heat of the fire was localised and other rooms were cold.

Hey you made a good job of the solar system, I am sure your fire heating system will fly !

Tony

[hamish]

one year later

Greetings from africa, survived winter at 1800m ( 6000ft ) above sea level.

summers here and there is a thunder storm starting I will have to shut down

[hamish]

one year later

The custom made manifold with the ev tubes with heat pipes is still working well, no leaks
and are still working properly.

I am still very impressed with the other system of glass tubes only with gravity fed supply hot water.

In fact it works so well that it has taken on a new use in the kitchen, it has become my
solar kettle. I have connected a seperate tap for filling the kettle with boiling water.
The tank is stainless steel with the glass tubes which makes sure of clean water.

cheers hamish

[cssolar]

The custom made manifold with the ev tubes with heat pipes is still working well, no leaks
and are still working properly.

I am still very impressed with the other system of glass tubes only with gravity fed supply hot water.

In fact it works so well that it has taken on a new use in the kitchen, it has become my
solar kettle. I have connected a seperate tap for filling the kettle with boiling water.
The tank is stainless steel with the glass tubes which makes sure of clean water.

cheers hamish

Good to hear all is well, yes water in tube solar water heaters are great, I also was so impressed I now import and sell them here in Spain

Best Regards

Tony