Johandup Posted November 14, 2022 Share Posted November 14, 2022 The price of lpg forces me into this direction. Can anyone please share their experiences with this combination. My concern is feeding high temperature water into a Paloma that regulates the water temps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buyeye Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 Why not a solar geyser with gas back up? hoohloc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johandup Posted November 15, 2022 Author Share Posted November 15, 2022 Just now, Buyeye said: Why not a solar geyser with gas back up? Capital layout. I have a solar panel inverter setup where I get power for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoohloc Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 (edited) The price of lpg forces me into this direction. Can anyone please share their experiences with this combination. My concern is feeding high temperature water into a Paloma that regulates the water temps. You are approaching the problem in the wrong direction. The gas is supposed to be the one boosting your temperature when you do not have enough solar. My combination is 150l electric geyser with Geyserwise dual power 1500w PTC element feeding Paloma 26L/min forced fan water heater. I have now connected my heating element to both AC and DC input power. DC connected directly to my battery bank, using SONOF to power ON/OFF through a 3phase relay. The AC is connected to a CBI Astude smart switch/controller, to power ON/OFF. The element uses 900w if DC powered and 1500w when AC powered. During the day when I have enough solar power, I use both AC and DC to heat my geyser at 2400w. Early mornings, I use what is left in my battery bank to power the 900w element for morning showers. When its cloudy like it has been in JHB, I only use the DC to power the element at 900w. Gas will only heat or boost the temperature if it is below 50degrees Celsius. this is the best combination so far, still using the 48kg gas bottle which was bought in April, to cook during loadshedding and to boost the water temp I only use the AC power when I have enough solar or when I want to speed up my water heating. Benefit of dual powered element. In two hours, the water is hot enough for one adult and two school kids to take a proper shower in the morning, when only using 900w DC power. Combining both DC and AC, it takes 45min to an hour to get enough hot water. My geyser and water pipes are also insulated and now i hardly use the AC supply to the geyser Edited September 17, 2023 by hoohloc gramma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johandup Posted November 17, 2022 Author Share Posted November 17, 2022 @hoohloc thanks for the reply. I’m looking at the way forward now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buyeye Posted November 17, 2022 Share Posted November 17, 2022 On 2022/11/15 at 9:47 PM, Johandup said: Capital layout. I have a solar panel inverter setup where I get power for free. In that case it sounds much easier. Yes you power your electric element on the essential or non essential side. The gas geyser only comes on when the water is below a set temperature which would only happen if you have no grid in very bad weather for a few days. The geyser is made to heat water so I don't see it being damaged by hot water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulcupine Posted November 19, 2022 Share Posted November 19, 2022 I have my Paloma set up to get its input water from the electric geyser and I use excess solar to run the electric geyser to preheat the water. The Paloma correctly reduces the gas usage depending on the input water temperature so that the output water temperature is correct. It even shuts off the flame entirely if the electric geyser is providing water at or above the Paloma setting. As an added extra I had the plumber install some extra valves so I can feed the Paloma directly from the cold water, or bypass the Paloma and feed the bathrooms with hot water directly from the electric geyser. With this setup I run: 1. gas only water heating in mid winter when I don't have enough solar to run the electric geyser at all (about 6-8 weeks of the year); 2. preheated but not hot water from the electric boosted by the gas in the mid seasons (about 6 months of the year); 3. electric only water heating when there is abundant solar (about 4 months of the year); If the gas prices are really high it can make sense to even run the electric geyser off the grid a bit. If you have the roof space, it makes more sense to buy PV panels and use them to generate electricity that can be used to heat water or for other purposes, than to get a flat plate collector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johandup Posted November 19, 2022 Author Share Posted November 19, 2022 8 minutes ago, Paulcupine said: I have my Paloma set up to get its input water from the electric geyser and I use excess solar to run the electric geyser to preheat the water. The Paloma correctly reduces the gas usage depending on the input water temperature so that the output water temperature is correct. It even shuts off the flame entirely if the electric geyser is providing water at or above the Paloma setting. As an added extra I had the plumber install some extra valves so I can feed the Paloma directly from the cold water, or bypass the Paloma and feed the bathrooms with hot water directly from the electric geyser. With this setup I run: 1. gas only water heating in mid winter when I don't have enough solar to run the electric geyser at all (about 6-8 weeks of the year); 2. preheated but not hot water from the electric boosted by the gas in the mid seasons (about 6 months of the year); 3. electric only water heating when there is abundant solar (about 4 months of the year); If the gas prices are really high it can make sense to even run the electric geyser off the grid a bit. If you have the roof space, it makes more sense to buy PV panels and use them to generate electricity that can be used to heat water or for other purposes, than to get a flat plate collector. Big difference between the Highveld and the Cape seasons. But this is the way to run my system. I am totally shocked by the replacement costs of a new 150l geyser. And to think I discarded it when I bought the Paloma I use solar to heat the kitchen 150l geyser. The 2kw element increase the temperature by 14 deg C per hour. A geyser is a nice way to use excess solar power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimsza Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 Going down this route and need some installation advice: Currently have a 150l electric geyser with a 2Kw element powered off my solar system (8kw SunSynk supplies the whole house). GeyserWise controls times when the water is heated (set at 65 deg due to small geyser size) We have added a 2 bedroom cottage as an AirBnB but still only have the 150l geyser. Have purchased a 24l/min Ariston fan force geyser, and want to connect it as follow: Main cold water supply -> 150l electrical geyser -> gas geyser -> hot water supply. I see some companies (Dewhot) uses a Solar to Gas Valve to direct the hot water flow (This valve is designed to be used in conjunction with solar water heating systems. This valve is used to divert water to the gas geyser, in order to further heat the water if the water entering the valve is not at the desired showering temperature) but don't understand if it will serve any real value such as saving on gas (i.e. will it save me R1200 on gas over 12 months (R100/pm))? All input and advice is appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KZNFarmerBrown Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 I have done the above setup with a 20 L Paloma, On the Installation guide, it states no problem to run hot water into the Gas geyser as long as its less that 75 degrees. When its been a sunny day and solar has heated my Geyser the paloma simply lets the water through and does not ignite. If water gets cold ( lots of showers / baths) the gas geyser heats the water to a set 60 degrees. Seams to be working very well so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buyeye Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 17 hours ago, KZNFarmerBrown said: I have done the above setup with a 20 L Paloma, On the Installation guide, it states no problem to run hot water into the Gas geyser as long as its less that 75 degrees. When its been a sunny day and solar has heated my Geyser the paloma simply lets the water through and does not ignite. If water gets cold ( lots of showers / baths) the gas geyser heats the water to a set 60 degrees. Seams to be working very well so far. Good to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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