Bob Ward wrote:
On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 20:11:03 -0700, "TT" wrote:

I found this diagram:

www.solardev.com/images/ho****er_r2_c1.gif

which shows an unmodified conventional tank being used
for solar heating. Instead of feeding the solar-heated
water into the middle of the tank, in this diagram it
goes into the bottom. Will that work well?

Honestly, if your solar collector system & pump are really
old you might as well just cap the solar collector off and
put a conventional water heater in. I just did that in my
home when the solar water heater went out. I spoke to several
solar water heating experts and they basically said my old
solar system (late 70's early 80's mfg. date) was useless.

- as they wrote up an estimate for its replacement...

Solar companies want about $750 for a 65 gal solar tank, and that's for
one without a heat exchanger (which I don't need).

I can understand a system from the early 1980s being worn out, but if
it's still in good condition, how it can be useless, provided it was
installed right in the first place (my neighbor's had some plumbing
connections wrong and a missing check valve)? I doubt that today's
solar hot water systems are much better, at least those made for
climates where freezing is rare (my freeze protection merely turns on
the pump).

What I don't understand about the hookup in that diagram is that it
shows water going both in and out through the same pipe at the bottom.
It's not a misprint because I saw the same for an Australian system.