Solar pre heat tank

ScottMP

They'll get you the correct information.

You could use an indirect to pre-heat to the electric. I think you want to large on the solar tank to get the storage.

Scott

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Wayco Wayne_2

I have a customer

who has an old solar hot water system that has not run for a long time. The tank leaked and then was bypassed. The flat solar plates are falling apart, and will be replaced by some Oventrop evac tubes. The original tank was a pre-heat tank wt heat exchanger in the bottom, piped in series with the house's elec water heater. Someone told me an indirect water heater would work just fine. Seems to make sense to me, but I want to be sure I'm not missing something. What do I need to know to get him the right tank for his new system? Thanks for your help. WW

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Darin Cook_5

Wayne

There is some more information needed to answer your question.
1)How many people are in the home using hot water?

2)Are you going to incorporate some sort of "dump zone" for the evac tube system when the HO's are not using enough hot water in the summer?

3)Are you going to leave the electric tank in place as the primary?

4)Do you need an evac tube system? Do you need hot water in the 160' to 211' range? To quote solar expert Tom Lane " Don't use a bazooka to hunt rabbits".

5)A high-quality flat plate will outlast and ultimately outperform an evac tube system especially if you are looking to produce water in the 120' to 140' range when it is 0' to 32' ambient outside temp.

A great book to get and study is:
Solar Hot Water Systems - Lessons Learned - 1977 to Today by Tom Lane.
LOTS of practical down to earth knowledge and advice in it. I highly recommend it!








Darin

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hot_rod

most solar tanks

are merely indirect tanks. Lots of coil surface area is a plus, as with any hx. Good insulation, of course. Some solar tanks have small "windows" or openings to add sensors to the best spot.

Oventrops HeatFlo brand is a nice stainless tank with smooth coils. Look for solar tanks from HTP steel and ss. Rheem, Bock, Triangle Tube had a prototype at AHR. Vaughn, Schuco and many more.

A basic storage tank with an external HX is another option. Cheaper tank replacement. PAW, Taco, Helitrope and a few others have solar HX packages with controls built on.

Size the tank to the panel properly and location and over-heating on SDHW isn't too much of a problem.

Caleffi has some great solar temperature rated components if you decide to build your own pump module.

hot rod

Wayco Wayne_2

The customer has 2 people in the house

with lots of visiting grandchildren. I changed their furnace out yesterday and could here lots of whooping and laughing and shouting noises filtering down through the ducts. The grandchildren were making noise too. Their hot water needs aren't great, they just want to replace the existing solar system and help save the planet. I was looking at a kit provided by a local hvac supply house put together be Oventrop. It had 16 tubes, a pump module and an 80 gallon storage tank with 2 heat exchangers, top and bottom. I dont need 2 heat exchangers which is why I was looking into alternatives to the tank. Maybe it's over kill. I don't have any experience to draw from to know. I thought the tubes were stagnation proof since the alchohol solution in the tube can get hot and not harm the system. Thanks for any help to muddle through. WW

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