Evacuated Tube, Pressurized, Solar Water Heater – UPDATE 1
It’s been almost a year since I installed this Solar Hot Water Heater to generate hot water for my summer shower. This video is an update covering how the unit is performing and holding-up. I also discuss some of the science behind how the unit actually works. A few months ago, we had a (weak) hurricane come through the area. Some small limbs blew off a nearby tree and fell on the unit. They caused no damage. If you are interested in installing one of these units, and have any questions, feel free to contact me via Skype. My user name is: john_by_the_creek. When you send a contact request, please reference “solar water heater”.
8 Responses to Evacuated Tube, Pressurized, Solar Water Heater – UPDATE 1
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Thanks! Glad you got something from it! I’m not sure of the brand name, but it was manufactured in China. There were a lot of units of this type posted for sale on ebay a few years ago. But they don’t seem as popular as they were.
watcherjohnny
November 13, 2012 at 4:27 am
Great video! What brand is this?
urgentcareguy3
November 13, 2012 at 4:52 am
I’ve seen several of these evac tube water heaters and they all seem to use a reflective outer tank surface. I wonder why they make the outer skin reflective rather than a flat black? Wouldn’t that help to even further reduce heat loss from the tank and/or raise your hot water temp?
Also, great idea for using the thermal grease to improve the heat transfer of the collector tubes to the manifold. Nice!
TradingRiskMgmt
November 13, 2012 at 5:04 am
boiling*
hickfromthetick
November 13, 2012 at 5:35 am
I had thought that this system was for heat transfer through the liquid medium. Boiling would cause pressure trauma, or a rupture somewhere. Also, boiling would cause a cooling effect wherever the change of state occurred. In this case wouldn’t you want a HIGHER coiling point??
Just my 2 cents….
hickfromthetick
November 13, 2012 at 6:29 am
wow what a great Idea. Have you thought about using R22 or R12 there boiling point is -22. Just a thought
MrAnsweres
November 13, 2012 at 7:23 am
Hey B:
My original “back-of-the-envelope” calculation put the payback at about 4 years, but a viewer of my original video on the system believes it will take longer. Based on the reduction of my LP gas consumption to date, I’m guessing my original estimate is in the ballpark.
watcherjohnny
November 13, 2012 at 8:20 am
Neat stuff. Based on the amount of money saved on LPG, how many years will it take to pay off the original investment?
bunkermunk
November 13, 2012 at 9:00 am