William Sullivan's posts

Tom, I had a sneaking suspicion that the risers were not all filling up with fluid. It seems as though they should have with the outlet being the high point and the amount of pressure I was using to charge. The collectors are in a landscape set-up, the risers are basically paralell with the 10 pitch roof. I think that possibly the fluid may have been circulating through the lower risers and finding it's way to the outlet without completely filling the uppermost riser(s).
The current (series) set-up is as you described, in the lower, out the top to the lower of the second and out the top, back to the tank. 
I really appreciate your feedback on this.
Thanks, Bill

Tom, thanks for the reply. I do have a drain and fill valve on either side of the circulator with ball valves on each. I have tried purging the air at least ten times. I've drained and flushed, blew air through, cranked the pressure up to 55 psi while filling... Each time I've run the fluid through until it appeared that all the air was out. No bubbles in the bucket, not even micro bubbles, just a nice clean green fluid swirling around the bucket. I didn't put the vents on the collectors until I had failed a few times. Then I did hoping that it would help. I tee'd off the top of the collectors with a ball valve, then the vent. I tried bleeding through the top just using the ball valves, until fluid poured out but still, no luck. I installed ball valves at the input and output of each collector for isolation, filled one at a time then opened the loop but still no luck.
I've installed a few systems, flush mounted, coupling the collectors together and never had this problem.
I swithed to the series configuration , basically to see if I could get the system to work at all. They are heating up within a few degrees of each other now as well as heating the water in the tank.
What are the reasons for not just leaving it in series as opposed to paralell?
Your input is greatly appreciated, Thanks
Bill Sullivan

This past September, I finally installed a SHW system on my house in Vermont. Two Sun Earth 4X10's w/ 120 gallon Superstore Ultra, Sun Earth controller and a Taco 007 pump. On a west facing roof, saw-toothed (12' apart to avoid shading) and tilted to 60 degrees.
I've had an awful time trying to get the air out. I originally charged the system with a 1/2 hp utility pump but was never able to get all the air out. I realized this when one collector would heat up while the other one wouldn't.  I put a sensor on each collector just to monitor and found that one would heat up to 130 degrees while the other would go as high as 260 degees. I repurged the system only to find that the the air would just switch from one collector to the other. I put some can vents on the top of each and tried bleeding, but that didn't work out either.
I do have a Taco air-scoop with a vent down at the manifold.
I've taken off the can vents on the collectors so I could insulate better for the winter. I re-charged the system using a 1 hp pump, cranking up the pressure hoping to blow the air out but still no luck.
Last week, I finally swithced the the collectors into a series configuration(as opposed to parallel) and recharged.
It seems to be working much better. the collectors are within a few degrees of each other and the tank is heating up.
I've installed a few flush mount systems and haven't had any problems (or call backs !).
I had taken a couple of SHW classes(Alt-e) and Bob R said to never plumb the collectors in series. Most of the Euro systems I've seen, (never installed though) seem to be in series.
Should I expect any problems because of this?
Any advice, ideas etc greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Bill Sullivan

Just wondering if anyone has tried the new Outback Smartre, contoller/inverter all in one package. Also wondering about the price range.
Thanks, Bill Sullivan

One more thing... just looked at the Buderus website again. They offer a pre-insulated copper tubing with sensor wire. You can bend the soft copper somewhat but very carefully. I just roughed in my house using a product made by Caleffi Solar. It's stainless steel tubing that is pre-insulated with the sensor wire but it's very flexable. The two tubes can be split apart with insulation still on each tube. I was able to bend this stuff and snake it through walls that I never could have done with type m copper. The ends have really simlple union fittings can be attached with a couple of wrenches. No soldering!! I paid $650 for a 50 foot roll and it was worth every penny for the ease of installation. I'm not sure what the Buderus tubing costs. Velux skylights now are also offering SHW. They use what appears to be the Callefi tubing. They have short installation videos that show how easy the tubing can be connected.
Good luck!

Hi Michael,
A plumber I work with had told me that Buderus was offering SHW systems. I do know that they make quality heating products. If you check out the Buderus website, they offer training workshops at their place in New Hampshire. I think they're just one day affairs, geared towards plumbers and HVAC but may be worth checking out if you're thinking of using their products.

"Is Pv economical?", "What's the payback time?", "Is there enough sun in my area?". These are all questions I had, and questions I hear from many people I speak with. We would all like to do our part to help the environment and become free from dependence of fossil fuels and foreign oil. But to dish out thousands on something that we can get along without gives us just reason to pause. To help myself better understand these questions (and actually find some legitimate answers!) I began taking classes, online courses, and hands-on workshops to better understand the technology, design principles and skills. Well, asking the above questions to my many different instructors, I found as many different answers to agree that PV is worth it. One argument that sticks with me the most is, "What else do we buy, that we expect a payback from?" When I bought my new truck last June ($26,00.00), what was it worth the minute I drove off the lot? Maybe $22,000? What's it worth today,  5 months later? How about the payback on a pair of shoes? Or a new computer? The other thing is that power costs will continue to rise. I live in Massachusetts too. This time of year it's often hard to believe that the sun ever shines here, but we still get more sun than Germany and look at what they've done with solar!! Good luck with your project!