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Lookout everybody. I found the "new post" button.
I use solar evacuated tubes to provide hot water for heating my house so on my recent upgrade (to 2 140 gallon 1/2 pipe tanks) I decided to use my hot water reservoir to heat my salt water system and save on heater electricity. Also decided to use a car radiator for cooling. Here are the details:
A feed from the solar reservoir (740 gallon) is circulated thru a small metal tank that sits under my primary filtration tank. Heat radiates up into the tank. That same circuit continues on thru two home made PVC heat exchange units. One sits in the main sump (just before the return pumps) and the other sits in my skimmer tank (under my Vertex 250 skimmer).
As the water exits the skimmer heat exchange, it encounters a "T" that allows water to flow back to the solar reservoir or on and thru the car radiator. The car radiator has a simple house fan pointed at it. There is no valve at this point so water could really go either way.
The line to the solar reservoir has no valve either however, where the water is allowed to flow happens at two points. The line returning from the radiator has a "normally closed" electric valve and it returns upstream of the circulating pump. There is also an additional "normally open" electric upstream of the pump.
The heating/cooling system is controlled by my Apex and uses two outlets and here is the logic:
If the fish tank system needs heat, the power to the circulating pump is on but power to the valves is off. In this mode, water from the solar reservoir is pushed thru the small tank and two heat exchange units but it is unable to go thru the radiator. The fan is on the same circuit as the pump so it is on but having no effect on water temp.
If the fish tank system is up to temp with no heat needed, power to the circulating pump is off and power to the electric valves is on. There is zero circulation.
If the fish tank system needs cooling, the power to the circulating pump is on as is power to electric valves is on. Water from the solar reservoir is blocked (the normally open valve is now closed) and water is circulated thru the heat exchange system and the car radiator. Since the circulating pump is on, the fan is on and heat is taken from the radiator.
How "cool" is all of that ....
I use solar evacuated tubes to provide hot water for heating my house so on my recent upgrade (to 2 140 gallon 1/2 pipe tanks) I decided to use my hot water reservoir to heat my salt water system and save on heater electricity. Also decided to use a car radiator for cooling. Here are the details:
A feed from the solar reservoir (740 gallon) is circulated thru a small metal tank that sits under my primary filtration tank. Heat radiates up into the tank. That same circuit continues on thru two home made PVC heat exchange units. One sits in the main sump (just before the return pumps) and the other sits in my skimmer tank (under my Vertex 250 skimmer).
As the water exits the skimmer heat exchange, it encounters a "T" that allows water to flow back to the solar reservoir or on and thru the car radiator. The car radiator has a simple house fan pointed at it. There is no valve at this point so water could really go either way.
The line to the solar reservoir has no valve either however, where the water is allowed to flow happens at two points. The line returning from the radiator has a "normally closed" electric valve and it returns upstream of the circulating pump. There is also an additional "normally open" electric upstream of the pump.
The heating/cooling system is controlled by my Apex and uses two outlets and here is the logic:
If the fish tank system needs heat, the power to the circulating pump is on but power to the valves is off. In this mode, water from the solar reservoir is pushed thru the small tank and two heat exchange units but it is unable to go thru the radiator. The fan is on the same circuit as the pump so it is on but having no effect on water temp.
If the fish tank system is up to temp with no heat needed, power to the circulating pump is off and power to the electric valves is on. There is zero circulation.
If the fish tank system needs cooling, the power to the circulating pump is on as is power to electric valves is on. Water from the solar reservoir is blocked (the normally open valve is now closed) and water is circulated thru the heat exchange system and the car radiator. Since the circulating pump is on, the fan is on and heat is taken from the radiator.
How "cool" is all of that ....
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