Apricus Solar Evacuated Tube Production & Packing

[adamdarrow]

What is the price for each tube when getting 1000 or more? Can I purchase a small number of tubes to test to determine if I want to get more?



[apricussolar]

The pressure drop depends on the flow rate, but at 0.8gpm / 3lpm which is the nominal flow rate for a 30tube collector, drop is ~0.25ft of loss - goes up with increased flow. Absorber is round yes, coating on the tube. Stagnation is about 220oC - managing by using suitable heat transfer fluid and/or heat dissipation. Antifreeze we recommend Clariant Antrifrogen SOL HT which can handle the high temps. Hope that helps!!

[thelimpinmonkey]

what is the pressure drop in the manifold (main header) @what gpm? What is the velocity in the manifold, for what kind of medium (glycol, water ... oil)?

is the absorber cylindrical as well? what is the stagnation temp? do you have any method to fight stagnation? I'm in Europe.The winters here (central and east europe) are as tough as those in Ontario or Northern New York while the summers are quite hot. What kind of antifreeze do you use in your systems (recommendations?).

[apricussolar]

Our collectors are made in China yes, at our own factory. I would love to make these in the US or Australia... but the costs are so prohibitively high, it would double the cost of the product. In fact we are soon to release a collector in the US market that is more than 51% US made to cater for the commercial market, but that is far more expensive. It is not just the lower labor costs, it is also the lower cost of tooling, equipment, land, buildings and availability of components etc etc

[xadam2dudex]

I think these are made in China ..nothing is made in the US anymore..even wind turbine generators are made in China..great green jobs are in China with the rest of the US industrial base

[viol999]

Their workers are not wearing safety equipment because they are in China, where workers are cheap and expendable (emphasis on cheap).

[apricussolar]

kthma2007: For production aspects that do have safety requirements for earplugs, safety glasses and face masks they do use them. Our factory focuses on the production of the solar collector manifold, heat pipes, frames and then final assembly, packing and shipment. We have a very safe and clean working environment and are inspected about once every 6 months by international auditors from Australia, Germany and representatives of the US certification body IAPMO.

[kthma2007]

Your workers are not wearing breathing filter masks (???)

[wiscokiddd]

That is pretty technologically cool but I was evacuating tubes and combining the tube with a parabolic trough and applied for a patent I did not get because the big money boys own all. Athough your name and packaging shows English and possibly Amerikan involvement $. Your workers all look Asian. Nothing against Asians just that I am able to invent, and have experience in very trade yet I can't get peon job on your assembly line to make a buck and live the AMERICAN dream. Thanks a lot. PL&H

[apricussolar]

There is no liquid in the tube. In the heat pipe there is distilled water, which has a low boiling temp under vacuum and is stable at high temperatures - refrigerant will break down to gases at the high temps the collectors can reach. The barium is used to form a coating that absorbs and oxygen and other gases still present in the space between the glass layers, any gas leaking in over time. The blue or black coating is able to absorb 92% of the sunlight it is exposed to. Hope that helps!

[smurf06960]

Thanks, I know the Tube is Vacuum ,sorry about that! What I was referring to is the Heat Exchanger in the tube! I was wondering because chiller system use Freon to do the same thing in reverse If distilled water is used, is glycol or something added? There must be or it would freeze! Do you know what the blue coating is? I keep seeing this metallic blue color coating on a lot of High tec solar products... I want to find out what they are using?

[smurf06960]

Dag nabbit! I had to read through all this "BS" to "not" find out what liquid is being used in the center tube! Seams like freoin would be the choise? oh yea! I am assuming here, but the baruim, is used as a gas? simular to Fluorescents process?

oh yea one last thing? Whats the deal with the blue coating? Please if anyone can answer these that would be kewl!

[artysm7]

personally i'd call everest.

[apricussolar]

The water does not flow through the tubes. Heat pipes are inserted into the evacuated tubes which transfer the heat up to a heat transfer manifold. The water is circulated through that manifold, carrying the heat back to the storage tank.

[YouAdamNazzkl0wn]

very nice- are the center tubes empty as well?? or it that where the water flows??

These look a whole lot safer then saaaay- NATURAL GAS. lol

shut up you asshat.

[apricussolar]

Who overseas installs?? Certainly in Australia where I am from, and definitely in most of Europe it is LAW that such systems are installed by authorised people. Same for electrical work - need to have an electrician. It is also LAW to wear a harness if working on a roof, and all the plumbers I know do that - it is called OH & S. If you are allowed where you live to do such work yourself then feel free, just read the instructions carefully and don't fall off the roof :)

[blueskip]

Well considering a great deal of these are made in china (not necessarily the Apricus brand), I'm pretty sure they are installing there too. :) It depends on where you live in all of those locations. Oh I left out India. So that's four Continents not counting Canada - which is where I almost ordered one from because I couldn't get a local dealer to give me a price. I don't buy anything if the person selling it isn't VERY straightforward about what it cost.

[artysm7]

i'll get you one 8k mate fully installed.

[blueskip]

This isn't rocket science. It's heating water with the sun. It has all the same dangers of heating water using electricity or gas. I've also installed both of those. Again not that difficult. People like you are why it cost so d*@#ed much to do everything anymore!

Stop scaring people for no reason.

I don't know how all those uneducated people overseas manage 2 install solar water heaters, with them being vaporized and the whole house blown 2 bits everytime they make a mistake and all.

[blueskip]

1. Yes.

2. Never saw a roofer using safety equipment.

3. I can get a plumber to look it over when I'm done to make sure it's not going to leak or burst from overpressure. But I probably won't.

4. Insurance doesn't cover flooding in MANY homes. Although I'm being a little bit of a smartie there because it usually covers plumbing breaks unless you do it yourself incorrectly.

5. I'm pretty sure also that if I do it MYSELF I can't hold you responsible for the outcome.

[apricussolar]

It is about us being responsible and ensuring the product works. I don't make a cent out of the installation. I make the same margin if you install it or a plumber.

[apricussolar]

Certainly we always require that installlers are qualified and the installation meets local regulations. If a system is installed incorrectly, apart from not performing well or being unreliable, it could leak water everywhere or even scold people if for example a tempering valve is not installed.

[blueskip]

Wow SCALD me eh? That's a huge step down from vaporizing me.

An idiot could install a solar water heater with a good kit. I don't care what you say, you're doing nothing but frightening people for no reason except so you can make out like it's really difficult and you need to be paid some astronomical fee for something made overly difficult.

In the end all you do is scare off potential buyers who become afraid of their water heaters.

[apricussolar]

Have you tried installing a solar water heater? Will your insurance company cover flooding if the system is not installed by a professional? Do you have safety equipment for working on roofs?? Sure you can do it, but not something we want the average person doing - when the system has problems they will blame the product, not the installation!!!

[CYCROFT]

You know, if the water heater in every US household were replaced with one of these, it would keep approx. 63,000,000 metric tons of CO2, produced by coal power, from entering our atmosphere every year. With state and federal subsidies a 5 year payback on the retrofit costs is feasible in many states. It just makes sense to do it from economic and environmental perspectives. If Uncle Sam ever lets me keep enough of m y own money to buy a house, I'm defiantly installing one of these.

[blueskip]

You know, If these companies would list their prices they might actually be able to sell them too....

[CYCROFT]

It's not something you can buy off the shelf and install yourself; not like buying a refrigerator. You need a trained professional technician to install it, a professional plumber to install the water heater or you end up infected with legionella. I suspect that's why. They have dealers who sell and install it and nobody works for free or charges exactly the same price.

[blueskip]

That's B.S. ANYbody can install these. All it takes is a hot water recirculation pump (off the shelf) and a pop-off valve (off the shelf). Ok maybe not that easy but TONS of companies sell kits for OTHER hot water systems FAR more complex.

[CYCROFT]

Manufacturers don't sell direct because they want to avoid legal suites from yahoo's who don't install things properly and injure other people.

[blueskip]

Horse hockey, people buy cars everyday. Do manufacturers get sued because people use them to drive like idiots?

Plenty of manufacturers sell to the public but ONLY ONE supplier of these tube systems sells to the public and if their customer service wasn't so bad I would mention their name.

[CYCROFT]

Take it from a designer; you may be able to install it, but the average Joe; I seriously doubt it. There are calculations to determine correct system etc. The actual installation procedures involve construction and plumbing. Strict observance of building codes is essential to avoid injury. Installer competence makes a life or death difference; ICC, IAPMO, AHJ's and legislatures around the country acknowledge this. BTW cars are sold to dealers, dealers sell them to you; for several reasons.

[CYCROFT]

If you installed something like this yourself; that was mistake #1. I urge you to have it inspected and/or reinstalled by competent professionals for your own safety and product satisfaction. I've been in the construction and design industry for several years; if you want a good install you get professionals to do it.

[blueskip]

I'm sure I will, really. Stop scaring people. The manufacturers of these KITS sell them with instructions a 10 year old could perform. Nice try.

[CYCROFT]

Example: Did you know that not all hot water tanks come with a T&P valve? What's a T&P valve you ask? Well, it keeps your water heater from turning into a bomb by relieving water when the pressure or temperature reaches a set-point. Why? Because a small 40 gallon water heater could easily destroy your average 2,500 SF house. I mean like Hiroshima-destroy. Do a search on water heater detonation; the severity of the blast varies. Watts also has videos if you find this interesting.

[blueskip]

REALLY??? No duh. Although Hiroshima is a little out there. Most people call it a pressure release valve though.

[blueskip]

I'm surprised there aren't dead people everywhere from installing these in other countries! Perhaps you didn't notice but in a lot of countries hot water is a luxury. Solar water heaters are a necessity if you want hot water where there is no electricity as well.

Back to the Hiroshima comment. That's flat out wrong. Look even a large boiler has limits to what it can destroy. A 180 gallon hot water heater can do a lot of damage but that's utterly ridiculous. It's going to vaporize me??

[apricussolar]

All hot water systems have a pressure relief valve set normally to open at 800kPa. They are very reliable and only if one blocks do you get a "bomb". Even then you are more likely to get leaking taps or other connections before the tank blows. The tank would need to get to like 2.5MPa to blow which is massive pressure. In Australia for example the relief valve will dump some water everyday as their is a check valve on the cold mains water line.

[CYCROFT]

Look, when I wrote Hiroshima it was intended as an obvious exaggeration meant to emphasis the fact that an improperly installed water heater, even in a residence, can cause a catastrophic explosion and even be lethal. I can see nothing is going to convince you how unknowledgeable you are about the subject, though you're doing a bang-up job convincing me and probably everyone else, so I'm done with you. Have a nice day.

[blueskip]

Piss up a rope.

I've been working in maintenance for 30 friggin' years. I forgot more than you will ever know moron.

[GODofthePURPLEgrapes]

why?

it would expoled!!!!!

OMFG

[clubsnapperuk]

no,, a vacume would IMPLODE you idiot

[pbradley68]

They don't explode or implode because they have a pressure release valve to prevent that.

[blueskip]

ROFL

[nitroburn]

I would love some of these to test some solar projects with. I wish I knew how/where to buy just individual tube and not a full setup.