- Thread starter jlw919
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Hot Water Now Now Now
Or even better just get a propane tank less water heater. Cost about 15,000 pesos at Ochoa...Works even when the power is off and cheaper as Propane is subsidized. The solar panel one looks interesting as it means no paying for any electric or propane, but the initial outlay is quiet a bit of money.
- the effect on the landscape is... dramatic.....
True Chiri, ...but then so is the effect on the electricity bill.
In the nearly 30 years that I lived not so far from where that photograph was taken, I paid next to nothing for hot water. I did have to clean the collector panels regularly to keep them hyperefficient otherwise the dust and dirt have an insulating effect, and had to flush out the entire system every year or so to stop algae and calcium from building up in the capillaries. New systems with Teflon type capillaries make that less of a problem but the cost is twice that of the regular panels.
All over the Eastern Mediterranean domestic solar hot water systems are very popular, hence an aerial view of most of the major population centres looks very much the same as that photograph although new apartment blocks have a central system so they dont have the individual water tanks but a huge array of solar collectors.
I don't understand why they are not used more here. Probably the cost factor - there has to be a way to make it more economical.....
True Chiri, ...but then so is the effect on the electricity bill.
In the nearly 30 years that I lived not so far from where that photograph was taken, I paid next to nothing for hot water. I did have to clean the collector panels regularly to keep them hyperefficient otherwise the dust and dirt have an insulating effect, and had to flush out the entire system every year or so to stop algae and calcium from building up in the capillaries. New systems with Teflon type capillaries make that less of a problem but the cost is twice that of the regular panels.
All over the Eastern Mediterranean domestic solar hot water systems are very popular, hence an aerial view of most of the major population centres looks very much the same as that photograph although new apartment blocks have a central system so they dont have the individual water tanks but a huge array of solar collectors.
I don't understand why they are not used more here. Probably the cost factor - there has to be a way to make it more economical.....
Bryanell, don't get me wrong - I don't think the effect is negative, visually or in any other way. I don't understand it when people complain about wind turbines being a blot on the landscape either. Especially when you consider the alternatives.
BTW I used to live near there as well, 30 years ago.
JD, my Venezuelan grandmother used to say the same thing - but she would have a warm shower and end with a blast of cold water - in all weathers. She believed it was good for the circulation. PS She lived till the age of 96.JDJones said:
two questions
have you noticed how things that we take for granted in your own countries (like hot water) are now a BIG DEAL?
(that is of course unless your home country happens to be uk with this crazy idea of two damn taps, why, oh why?)
anyways, our water heater... looks like it has been fixed (more likely "patched" a bit) and we now have warmish water - suitable for minovio's dominican build but not for my delicate european constitution. turned out we too have solar panels that heat the water. hence my question: how much sun do we have to have for my water to get really really hot?
and - would i have enough water to take a BATH?
(for dominicans: that means filling the bath with hot water, throwing in new bubbly bath balls and immersing myself in the foamy liquid. in reality, of course one can only "immerse" in the water enough to cover ones buttocks as most dominican houses seem to have those shallow baths suitable for dwarfs!)
ps how come that caba?as always (well, i've been there twice) have HOT water and plenty? do they use hmmm... "coital heat" as they energy source? :cheeky:
have you noticed how things that we take for granted in your own countries (like hot water) are now a BIG DEAL?
(that is of course unless your home country happens to be uk with this crazy idea of two damn taps, why, oh why?)
anyways, our water heater... looks like it has been fixed (more likely "patched" a bit) and we now have warmish water - suitable for minovio's dominican build but not for my delicate european constitution. turned out we too have solar panels that heat the water. hence my question: how much sun do we have to have for my water to get really really hot?
and - would i have enough water to take a BATH?
(for dominicans: that means filling the bath with hot water, throwing in new bubbly bath balls and immersing myself in the foamy liquid. in reality, of course one can only "immerse" in the water enough to cover ones buttocks as most dominican houses seem to have those shallow baths suitable for dwarfs!)
ps how come that caba?as always (well, i've been there twice) have HOT water and plenty? do they use hmmm... "coital heat" as they energy source? :cheeky:
Baths... thanks for reminding me, I'd almost forgotten. When people talk of showering in the DR, they say "ba?ar" which for me means to have a bath. I know it's meant in the sense of "to wash oneself" but I still say "duchar".
I spent most of my pregnancy in the DR, and from the fifth month onwards fantasised about having a nice relaxing bath. As it progressed, it got to the point when I was only completely comfortable if immersed in water, so we made lots of trips to the beach. The sea here is warm enough to provide an acceptable substitute. Once I got home to my parents house, I was too big for the bath, and after my one and only attempt I had to be helped out - the indignity!
One of our bathrooms here was supposed to have a bathtub, but I came back to find that my orders had been ignored, so it's showers all round.
The English and their two taps - drives my mother nuts when she's there - and one of the many things foreigners in the UK whine about endlessly.
I spent most of my pregnancy in the DR, and from the fifth month onwards fantasised about having a nice relaxing bath. As it progressed, it got to the point when I was only completely comfortable if immersed in water, so we made lots of trips to the beach. The sea here is warm enough to provide an acceptable substitute. Once I got home to my parents house, I was too big for the bath, and after my one and only attempt I had to be helped out - the indignity!
One of our bathrooms here was supposed to have a bathtub, but I came back to find that my orders had been ignored, so it's showers all round.
The English and their two taps - drives my mother nuts when she's there - and one of the many things foreigners in the UK whine about endlessly.
Why I need Hot water now
Nice to be able to fill it without worrying about electricity.
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Nice to be able to fill it without worrying about electricity.
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to answer my own question: you don't need much sun to heat up the water - it's boiling hot now! bless solar panels.
pressure is still rubbish thou, and this stupid way of putting the shower pipes INSIDE the wall instead of making the connection at the tap level so one could use shower (albeit crouched at the bottom of the bathtub) when the pressure is low....
but shhh, no complains, the water is nice and hot - i'm happy.
pressure is still rubbish thou, and this stupid way of putting the shower pipes INSIDE the wall instead of making the connection at the tap level so one could use shower (albeit crouched at the bottom of the bathtub) when the pressure is low....
but shhh, no complains, the water is nice and hot - i'm happy.