Solar Thermal Systems Components FAQs
How Do I Balance The Flow of My Collectors?
avwFm87mDz2012-12-05T11:57:44+00:00How Do I Balance The Flow of My Collectors? I have 2 arrays of 6. Use balancing valves, 1 on the cold side for each array. This will allow you to adjust the flow in each array and optimize your collectors output. SunMaxx Carries these for a variety of applications from small residential (2-7 Gallons Per Minute) all the way up to Large applications (12-50 Gallons Per Minute). Available SunMaxx Balancing Valves:
XMaxx-HW-BV-2-7-34F : 2-7GPM XMaxx-HW-BV-3-10-1F : 3-10 GPM XMaxx-HW-BV-5-19-54F : 5-19 GPM XMaxx-HW-BV-8-32-64F : 8-32 GPM Xmaxx-HW-BV-12-50-2F : 12-50 GPM
Do I Need To Mix The Glycol I Purchased From SunMaxx With Water?
avwFm87mDz2012-11-26T16:04:44+00:00Do I Need To Mix The Glycol I Purchased From SunMaxx With Water? No. You can commission your system with glycol strait out of the container. Our XMaxx Glycol Solution is not only premixed with distilled water but also made with bio-based raw materials and uses 20% less energy to produce than standard propylene glycol!
I Just Got Finished Installing My Solar Thermal System, Its About 3pm and The Sun Has Been Shining All Day. Should I Begin Commissioning The System With Heat Transfer Fluid?
avwFm87mDz2012-11-26T15:19:21+00:00I Just Got Finished Installing My Solar Thermal System, Its About 3pm and The Sun Has Been Shining All Day. Should I Begin Commissioning The System With Heat Transfer Fluid? NO!!! This is dangerous. If your collectors have been sitting in the sun all day they have been heating up. As soon as you introduce the Heat Transfer Fluid in the system it will immediately steam and could cause personal harm. Wait till early the next morning when the collectors are cool to commission the system.
How Do I Mount Solar Collectors To A Metal Roof?
avwFm87mDz2012-11-15T15:09:53+00:00How Do I Mount Solar Collectors to a Metal Roof? SunMaxx makes it easy! No need for roof penetrations. We have clamps that mount directly on the seam of a metal roof, making installation quick and painless!
What Are My Options For Heat Exchangers?
avwFm87mDz2012-10-22T12:04:09+00:00What are my options for Heat Exchangers? SunMaxx offers a wide variety of Heat Exchanger options for your solar system. External Brazed Plates are available for applications from 50,000 BTU's to 160,000 BTU's. SunMaxx also offers Air to Water Heat Exchangers from 60,000 BTU's to 220,000 BTU's allowing your solar system to be utilized in central forced hot air applications. If Internal Heat Exchangers are what you are looking for we got those to! Available in Copper and Stainless Steel, these exchangers can be utilized in our non-pressurized tanks and piped in parallel or series to achieve desired tank stratification.
What Is A Pump Station And How Do I Size It?
avwFm87mDz2012-10-22T11:57:26+00:00What Is A Pump Station And How Do I Size It? SunMaxx's Pump Stations are an all in one solar hot water component featuring a circulator pump, a digital controller and valves engineered to keep your system circulating the solar heat transfer fluid through the collectors and into the storage tank. SunMaxx will size a pump station specific to your needs. No need to do the math!!!
What Is The Difference Between Flat Plates And Evacuated Tube Collectors?
avwFm87mDz2012-10-22T11:41:55+00:00What is the difference between Flat Plates and Evacuated Tube Collectors? While both types of collectors capture the suns energy and convert it to hot water each have there own advantages. Evacuated Tube Collectors are best used in northern climates where freezing can occur and can be utilized in areas where temperatures drop down to -60°F. Evacuated Tubes are are extremely efficient by virtue of the Tubes themselves. Each Evacuated Tube is hermetically sealed meaning it is highly insulated due to the fact that it is a sealed atmosphere nearly impervious to outside temperatures. Evacuated tubes can also be replaced if damaged, simply by plugging it in, no need to replace the whole unit. SunMaxx Flat Plate collectors use a highly efficient flat absorber material called Tinox which transfer heat to a series of copper tubes which circulate a 50% glycol/water mix. The collectors themselves are in essence a a sealed insulated box which captures the suns energy and transfers it via the Tinox, then through the pipes filled with glycol and into the storage tanks.
MORE ABOUT EVACUATED TUBE COLLECTORS
The sight glass on my drainback tank is broken. What do I do?
avwFm87mDz2012-10-01T15:40:35+00:00The sight glass on my drainback tank is broken. What do I do? SunMaxx has replacement sight glasses for the drainback tanks we currently sell. Call your sales rep.
What type of splice should I use when joining sensor cables to system wiring?
avwFm87mDz2012-09-21T12:18:28+00:00What type of splice should I use when joining sensor cables to system wiring? Do not use wire nuts or connectors. Solder all wire connections, and cover them with shrink wrap tubing. Additionally, since most shrink wrap tubing is not rated as high temp or UV resistant, make sure that those connections are tucked inside UV sheathing, but outside the pipe insulation. See the SunMaxx “Sensor to Wire Connections” installation guide for the entire step-by-step process.
Sensor to Wire Connections Installation Guide.pdf
