Quote:
Originally Posted by Chad300tdt
Which system are you using? That site has a bunch of options. I thought you were doing a pre-heater system with a storage tank that would keep the water up to temp, but I'm thinking I may be mistaken based on your "soft copper" thread.
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I am installing a system that looks pretty much like this
http://www.thermomax.com/October2001.php
I don't know what you want to call it. A solar pre-heater might be a good description. It uses a food grade glycol solution to warm a 65 gallon water tank through a heat exchanger in the tank. My hot water goes into the 65 gallon pre-heat tank, then into my old electric tank, then to the house. In the summer, the system should warm the water enough so that my electric tank will not turn on. I actually plan on just shutting it off during the summer. In the spring, fall and winter the electric tank will work as necessary. I used a 50 foot roll of soft copper for the run through the attic so there would be no chance of leaks.
I'm not done yet, but close. I am basically installing it myself. My house is the test bed. I work with a guy and we are trying to get into domestic solar hot water. We already install solar pool heaters. (very good return on investment, by the way)