May 31, 201313 yr Hi Guys, Been looking to expand my solar water heating system. I have seen some good 2nd hand deals on Gumtree regarding flat pannel collectors and vacuum tube collectors. One I am looking at now, the seller does not know if the vacuum tubes is from a low or high pressure system. How can I check myself when I look at them? Thanks
June 3, 201313 yr Author Flipping drove 300km this week-end to go and collect the collectors, only to find both of them had broken tubes What a bloody waste! Offerd them 50% of their asking price, but they would not budge.
June 3, 201313 yr Thats terrible! Are you able to return them? What are your thoughts on heatpumps? Regards E
June 3, 201313 yr Author Naw, no need to return, as I never took it after I saw the condition of it. If they come down with the price I might be tempted to take it and experiment on it a bit. Regarding Heat-pumps.... Allthough they use much less electricity than a normal geyser, they still use electricity to heat!!! Solar only need electricity in winter, so I much prefere solar. By going solar you have to make some lifestyle changes. I actually think it is the lifestyle changes that makes the biggest diffrence regarding saving energy. With solar you need to constantly look at your consumption, but with a heat-pump, you do not really care!
June 5, 201313 yr Naw, no need to return, as I never took it after I saw the condition of it. If they come down with the price I might be tempted to take it and experiment on it a bit. Regarding Heat-pumps.... Allthough they use much less electricity than a normal geyser, they still use electricity to heat!!! Solar only need electricity in winter, so I much prefere solar. By going solar you have to make some lifestyle changes. I actually think it is the lifestyle changes that makes the biggest diffrence regarding saving energy. With solar you need to constantly look at your consumption, but with a heat-pump, you do not really care! "Lifestyle changes" not so easy for everyone. My wife will not go with a lukewarm bath. She will go without lights but the bath is VERY important for her. I found a bargain of a heatpump on gumtree. R4000 and still wraped in plastic. The problem was that heatpumps only heat till 60 deg. The 150L geyser was allways set to max (70 deg). She was worried because the heatpump only heats to 60 deg. That is why I now have the geysers in series and she now has 300L @ 60deg. She is happy and we are saving electricity. I have installed the Heatpump above the ceiling below the roof tiles because I am renting. When I leave I can reconnect everything as it was and take my heatpump with me. So, there is different setups to suit different households.
October 11, 20187 yr I assume that yo figured the difference but just for fun the Low pressure geysers is the ones with a "open tank" or ball valve to fill the geyser. The one I have will blow up like a balloon if you put pressure on it. It is usually also a direct system where by the water is heated directly in the tube. Just had a look at mine and it was sitting at 92 deg. (Keep in mind I used the 1kw element in the morning to boost the temp). By far the best and first conversion that one should look at before you move to solar.
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