e=,
yup I love the Aquastar = no problems in the the three years since it was installed with help by local plumber, except for the time 2D cells got wet (due to faulty sealing of flu) and exhausted themselves so they couldn't supply the spark for the flame ignition. Now there's a model that has a tiny generator in the water flow path which spins when you turn on the water and makes the spark! Genius. I plan on putting a couple of rechargeable D's in mine and hooking em up to little solar panel.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Think you take long showers? I've got my Aquastar hooked up directly to a 250 gallon propane tank, and a 3,000 gallon water tank (in turn supplied by solar-pumped well) -- what can I say? I haven't run out of hot water yet.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Does the "jibber" above actually mean something? could someone explain to me?
Binky,
well, it took a few years to accumulate all those panels, and another one to get the tracker..we don't have grid power here, so solar is a necessity..
hooray for your neighbor up the street, he gets my vote! I think once you get the water "manifold" adjusted for a somewhat even flow through all lengths of tubing, it should be forgotten about. I'd guess the tinkerers can't help tinkering with it to get one part of the room warmer..as for keeping the insulation thin above the tubing, it's true, even fiber undercarpeting is discouraged, and < 1/2" natural rubber is suggested, as well as under 1/2" carpeting.. a disappointment to me, since this heating system was supposed to be a cheap way of meeting the building code, I expect it would never be used to heat the house..that would be done by woodstove, or a small propane flame.. I am in the process of finding out if the code would allow a woodstove as part of the house heating btu's..
"Zoning" of the tubes is needed, I would guess, because the length of a run from and back to the manifold is limited to something like 200 feet..depending on the local code, the space between the tubing is 6" or 9"..an insulating layer is recommended for underneath the concrete slab foundation, and the tubing is within 1/2" of the surface..a wire grid (cheap) is placed over the rebar to hold the tubing in place during the pour....it would be a great way to go, especially hooked up to passive solar hot water heaters, it would really keep the tootsies warm on chilly nights, but will the code allow for it, noooo... sigh...