[RE-wrenches] Heat dump or Stagnate?
    Bill Loesch 
    solar1online at charter.net
       
    Thu Apr 30 05:22:08 PDT 2009
    
    
  
Hi Carl,
Thanks for the explanation.
Any reason why the same technique would not work with the US manufactured thermal collectors?
TIA,
Bill Loesch
Solar 1 - Saint Louis Solar
Sorry for the itchy trigger finger previous post. 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Carl Emerson 
  To: 'RE-wrenches' 
  Sent: Thursday, April 30, 2009 4:54 AM
  Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Heat dump or Stagnate?
  Hi Gang,
  We are installing our first "steam back" system with a German roof integrated array 51 SqM (flat plate) from the Wagner Company. http://www.wagner-solar.com
  The system is pressured to approx 2 to 2.2 bar.
  At approx 120 to 125 degrees the glycol/water fluid starts to go from liquid to gas and the pressure increases.
  An expansion vessel starts to compensate for the pressure.
  The temperature increases up around 155 to 160C until all the fluid is in gas form.
  The right volume of expansion vessel, and a larger 'pre vessel' and right pressures are critical to guarantee that the medium is not going to crack (become acidic) and safely transition back to its original state on cooling.
  The Wagner company stands behind this approach and we no longer need a backup UPS as for a standard closed loop system to keep things running safely during a power failure. Nor do we need to worry about the pH of the medium.
  Hope this helps,
  Carl Emerson
  Free Power Ltd.
  Auckland NZ
  -----Original Message-----
  From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of August Goers
  Sent: 25 April 2009 6:47 a.m.
  To: 'RE-wrenches'
  Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Heat dump or Stagnate?
  Hi Troy -
  We've installed a good deal of Schuco systems with Slim V collectors which
  are supposed to utilize steam back. Being a mechanical engineer, I still
  have my doubts about the steam back principle but I don't have any real
  world data proving it does or doesn't work. I can't say anything bad about
  it, however.
  Our installed systems are all relatively new so it is hard to say how
  they'll hold up in the long term. Our first Schuco systems were installed in
  2006. We routinely check the glycol ph and haven't found it going acidic yet
  although I've noticed the color (Schuco's glycol is pink) is turning a bit
  brown. We've also revamped a large system where we disassembled the copper
  piping and found quite a bit of dark pink sediment in the rooftop pipes.
  The bottom line is that the more times the system overheats the faster the
  glycol inhibitor is going to degrade in any system. Since all these systems
  are so new it is hard to say how long this will take. The danger I see is
  that it is easy to forget older systems and before you know it they start
  failing. 
  On another note, Heliodyne is also packaging closed loop glycol systems and
  they aren't touting the steam back principle. Their system operates at
  higher pressures and use Dowfrost HD. Dow's website indicates that HD is
  good up to 325 deg F which is cooking - I doubt flat plate collector
  stagnation temps will reach that high at least in our area. See spec sheet
  here:
  http://www.dow.com/PublishedLiterature/dh_0040/0901b80380040bd2.pdf?filepath
  =heattrans/pdfs/noreg/180-01315.pdf&fromPage=GetDoc
  I guess I better get back to work... Anyone else have experience with
  degrading systems?
  Best, 
  August
  August Goers
  Luminalt Energy Corporation
  O:  415.564.7652
  M:  415.559.1525
  F:   650.244.9167
  www.luminalt.com
  august at luminalt.com
  -----Original Message-----
  From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
  [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Troy Harvey
  Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 11:10 AM
  To: RE-wrenches
  Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Heat dump or Stagnate?
  Apparently this is the "modern" design method used in many european  
  systems. It scares me too. But from several sources, this seems to be  
  considered one of the most reliable design methods for closed loop  
  systems (ie. it works even without electronic controls working, power  
  outages, etc).
  Standard glycol. The main point seems to be the design of the pipes  
  and collectors need to facilitate collector draining from the steam  
  pushing the fluid back into the expansion tank, so the collectors  
  empty themselves.  Its closed loop, but effectively becomes a  
  "pressurized drainback" in over heating conditions.
  Here is a couple of links:
       http://www.aee-intec.at/0uploads/dateien48.pdf
       http://www.suterconsulting.com/CISBAT.pdf
  I'm hoping to find someone with experience with this kind of system to  
  overcome my fears
  Troy Harvey
  ---------------------
  Heliocentric
  801-453-9434
  taharvey at heliocentric.org
  On Apr 23, 2009, at 11:04 AM, Dana wrote:
  > I have only seen boiled glycol turn to a cola like syrup that had to  
  > be
  > purged and removed.
  > 
  > What kind of system & glycol is this?
  > Where would you expand that much?
  > 
  > Can you provide a link to this paper?
  > 
  > We use heat dumps.
  > 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  > Dana Orzel
  > 
  > Great Solar Works, Inc
  > www.solarwork.com
  > E - dana at solarwork.com
  > V - 970.626.5253
  > F - 970.626.4140
  > C - 970.209.4076
  > "I'd put my money on solar energy. I hope we don't have to wait 'til  
  > oil and
  > coal run out before we tackle that."
  > -Thomas Edison, in conversation with Henry Ford and Harvey  
  > Firestone, March
  > 1931
  > 
  > -----Original Message-----
  > From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
  > [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Troy  
  > Harvey
  > Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 10:43 AM
  > To: RE-wrenches
  > Subject: [RE-wrenches] Solar Combi-systems: Heat dump or Stagnate?
  > 
  > I'm wondering how many of you out there have installed medium sized
  > solar hot water systems (6-8 panel) that were designed to stagnate
  > during summertime over production as opposed to diverting to a heat
  > dump or radiator? The International solar agency has a couple of
  > papers that show a properly designed system should be able to stagnate
  > in a way that the boiling glycol mix vapors in the panels, purge the
  > panels of fluid, turning off the system without degrading the glycol.
  > 
  > That doesn't seem to be a typical way to design systems in the U.S. ,
  > we've usually gone to a heat dump. Does anyone have experience with
  > this?
  > 
  > 
  > Troy Harvey
  > ---------------------
  > Heliocentric
  > 801-453-9434
  > taharvey at heliocentric.org
  > 
  > 
  > _______________________________________________
  > List sponsored by Home Power magazine
  > 
  > List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
  > 
  > Options & settings:
  > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
  > 
  > List-Archive:
  > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
  > 
  > List rules & etiquette:
  > www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
  > 
  > Check out participant bios:
  > www.members.re-wrenches.org
  > 
  > 
  > _______________________________________________
  > List sponsored by Home Power magazine
  > 
  > List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
  > 
  > Options & settings:
  > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
  > 
  > List-Archive:
  http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
  > 
  > List rules & etiquette:
  > www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
  > 
  > Check out participant bios:
  > www.members.re-wrenches.org
  > 
  > 
  _______________________________________________
  List sponsored by Home Power magazine
  List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
  Options & settings:
  http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
  List-Archive:
  http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
  List rules & etiquette:
  www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
  Check out participant bios:
  www.members.re-wrenches.org
  _______________________________________________
  List sponsored by Home Power magazine
  List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
  Options & settings:
  http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
  List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
  List rules & etiquette:
  www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
  Check out participant bios:
  www.members.re-wrenches.org
  __________ NOD32 4034 (20090424) Information __________
  This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
  http://www.eset.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  _______________________________________________
  List sponsored by Home Power magazine
  List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
  Options & settings:
  http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
  List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
  List rules & etiquette:
  www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
  Check out participant bios:
  www.members.re-wrenches.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachments/20090430/1566f033/attachment-0004.html>
    
    
More information about the RE-wrenches
mailing list