rellosk said:
How much did the system cost? How long have you had it?
I bought it in China myself for (yes, it is true!) US 150 a couple of years ago.
I took it to Miami on the ship I am working on, the transport from there was about the same.
No customs fees, solar heaters are free of charge.
Later on I checked on the Internet if they were easy available. I found the Chinese were now very organized in selling their stuff. There are lots of companies selling these heaters. In China I was told that only one or a very few manufacture the glass pipes, whereas many fit them into supporting frames with reflectors etc. All stainless steel.
The price is calculated very simple, the glass-pipe has a price so you just count the pipes in your desired model and voila!
There were two different pipe-lengths available.
The heaters are arranged in different systems:
One, for gravity use eg. a pressureless system. On top of the collecting tank is a small tank with only a floater valve inside which keeps the collector tank filled at all times. (Needs to be a little lower than your tinaco of coarse). In case you have a pump installed you can use this modell also, the floater valve controls it all.
That is the model of mine.
There are others which circulate the water through the collectortank, these are used mainly for room-heating purposes and require a accumulator tank which also would be in line with a boiler. Good for use in colder climates.
I installed my heater a few months ago (I was remodeling my house so I had it stored for more than a year) and I am extremely happy with it.
Official life length is said to be 15 years. Maybe the glass can crackle up a bit and become less efficient, I don?t know (yet) The only othe parts That could be aging are the silicone seals which keep the tubes tight inside the storage tank. (Guess they can be renewed)
As for the transport from China I was told they ship it on own vessels very cheap which I believe. (A Chinese captain makes a 150 - 200 US a month)
A few weeks ago I visited the French energy expo and one guy was showing practically the same model as I have. It was a company from Martenique and they were just checking our interest. They had none for sale.