New Experiments for 2017

I just received a shipment of tubes and heat-pipes for my next series of geyser pump /heat pipe experiments. I am going to attempt to geyser pump a 30-tube collector array. I will start with a standard Apricus 30-tube header acting as an evaporator for a heat-pipe. The condenser for the heat-pipe will be the exterior surface of a parallel array of geyser-pumping lifters. Last August, I was able to pump a 10-tube collector with a single lifter, but the pump rates were insufficient for a high efficiency system.

I’ve also purchased a lot of Raspberry Pi and Arduino boards and sensors to instrument the experiments. I will try to be more diligent in my posting of developments this summer.

2 thoughts on “New Experiments for 2017

  1. Would you write a Sol Perpetua critique/review?
    BAP seems to be the only active geyser pumping solar hot water heater commercially available now.

    Perhaps this could be a paid gig that uses your expertise while raising your visibility and providing good information to prospective buyers.
    You could, it seems to me, be a great worldwide referee/judge for geyser pumping hot water.
    Within such a role, you could explain:
    1) Why solar hot water is so environmentally promising, energetically favorable and affordable
    2) Why Solar Hot water fell by the wayside lately, and what a mistake this is.
    3) How geyser pumping yields a resilient power-failure-proof water heating system
    4) How BAP’s approach compares with Sunnovations and of course Copper Cricket.
    5) What the DIY options are, and the skills and resources needed to DIY successfully.

    Maybe you could sell this as an article to Popular Science or such. I guess exploring the potential writer’s market for such an article would be a good first step. Or maybe you could sell a solar hot water geyser pumping textbook for the DIYer.

    Brian

    • Brian, Great ideas! I like the DIY idea. What I find with Copper Crickets is that owners who really own them know what’s going on with them and with just a little care can keep them going indefinitely, whereas people who buy houses on which a CC was installed by a previous owner are not as likely to know anything about it, and don’t really care about solar water heating. There are exceptions. I had one new owner that insisted that the CC be perfect as a condition of the sale.

      I haven’t had much direct experience with the Sol Perpetua except that Wilfred Sorensen was not please that we were able to patent the Geyser Pump Solar Collector while even referring to his prior patent. I just saw one near my neighborhood a few weeks ago and am going to make a point to stop by and ask about it and, hopefully, get a tour.

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