Solar Hot Water: tank replacement
sleddriver
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
Hello,
I live in central Texas and have a now 25-yr. old solar hot water system, that’s worked very well all that time. The original manufacturer (Cole) went out of business long ago, so I’ve taken care of maintainence myself. My system circulates drinking water through the panels.
I’m now faced with having to replace the 80ga hot water/storage tank as it’s leaking after 15 yrs. It uses an electric element for backup.
I’ve priced these tanks locally and no one has them in stock, they’re also quite expensive. Recently I was eyeing a standard (non-solar) 66 ga. State unit with the T&P up on top, thinking I could adapt it.
I wondered if any plumbers out there had done this and could share their advice.
Thanks in advance.
Replies
No experience, but Marathon has an 80 gallon electric hot water heater. I know that some of the solar hot water people use it as part of their system. It isn't cheap, but it is very well insulated and it won't rust out on you.
Yea, I ran across Marathon in my research. Interesting design. Pricey.
I believe your tank has a copper coil inside of the tank that allows the solar panel to heat your water. If the solar collectors are still in good shape you need to replace the tank with a similar type of tank. There are plenty of tanks available on the market. Do a google and check them out.
Don't give up on the solar ! I would love to have that in my home right now!
I will have that in my home soon!!
No,my system doesn't use a heat exchanger. It circulates drinking water through the panels.
If the solar heater circulates the potable water (no heat exchanger), I can think of two fairly easy options to use a standard water heater. First, you could just plumb the incoming water through the solar panel, and into any electric or gas water heater, basically using the solar as a preheater. Alternatively, you could buy a pump meant for recirculating hot water (ie grundig), put it on a timer, and set up a loop to circulate water from any stock water heater to the solar panels and back. Is your current system set up like either of the above ways?
Edited 8/29/2006 10:10 pm ET by Ken37
My system uses a small pump (taco) to circulate water from the bottom of the solar tank through the collectors and then back into the tank. A small check valve on the 'collector return' side makes it work. I've since found a couple of references for doing this. One is Homepower magazine, Aug/Sept 03 issue, pg. 88. The article explains just what I was looking for. I downloaded it from their website for $5. Another one was Solar Energy Resource Guide, 3rd ed., Sept. 02. I had it on my shelf and completely forgot about it. Finally after searching and calling numerous people, the best deal I found on an 80 ga. solar WH tank w/ 4 connections on top, a single 4500W element spaced about a third of the way down from the top and a metal stud at the bottom to mount the tank temp sensor was from Home Depot. My cost is $533 + tax, but no shipping, which is substantial for an approx 200# tank. They can have it at the store in 5 business days. No one else was even close, including Lowe's. Local rebates & a tax credit will bring the price down even lower.Now I'll just have to replace the shingle roof and I can get the collectors back up and working again . . . . .does it ever end?