flat plate collector specs [RE-wrenches]

[solarpro at aol.com]

Tom:

I agree with you on every point.  Finally someone encapsulated the 
characteristics for the perfect collector.  BUT...

I have come to the conclusion that a black chromed absorber can be somewhat 
of a curse for its owner.  The blessings of such an absorber are multiple, 
but climates such as ours (SoCal) lead to stagnation during the dog days of 
summer.  Black chromed or selective surface nickel plated panels can stagnate 
to unbelievable temps, in excess of F 200.  This leads to expansion problems 
and liming of the water ways, valve failure and accelerates insulation 
degradation.  Even the tank and its connections are severely affected, 
despite high limit temp protection. The first systems that froze after the 
solar frenzy of the early eighties were the installations without freeze 
protection, but the next to go (in short order) were the black chromed high 
performing panels with small waterways that had limed out because of trapped 
fluid in the waterways.  Hence I agree that large (0.5" min) waterways are 
key to reliability.  Although located in So Cal, we had been installing 
almost exclusively panels made in Florida during the eighties because for 
some strange reason the makers in FLA understood that half inch risers were 
important, while most western manufacturers did not seem to think so.  Almost 
all of our flat plate problems have occurred with Novan, Sun Resource and 
Colt, whose designers' philosophy was bent to high performance by multiplying 
the shear number of risers without increasing their diameter, and black 
chromed absorbers for better D+ SRCC ratings.  

Our experience with black chromed panels induced our firm to become a Gulf 
Thermal dealer.  The KYSM series was built like a tank, and the absorber 
coating was a semi-selective black paint.  The higher than average insulation 
characteristics allowed the GT to compete with and exceed the performance of 
BC panels right up to the F 160's.  Although low profile (no way was the air 
gap between absorber and glass 1.5") these panels not only kicked ass, we 
have had to repair (braze) only one in the twenty years since we installed 
them.  Still waiting for that second panel to fail.

Another cupla pennies.

Patrick A. Redgate
AMECO
www.amecosolar.com
(562) 595-9570

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