[Nathanael Jones]

LOL!!

I just tested the water again,.. the hot sample is still 8 deg C warmer than the cold sample, and the TDS is down to 005 now. I'm convinced its just the heat, and not contaminated water now,.. but I will repeat the test tomorrow to be sure!

[[GQC] Tim]

Must have been scary to see that high of a tds.

[Nathanael Jones]

Must have been scary to see that high of a tds.

I got a bit of a shock,... was starting to panic!!!
It's the following morning now, and it's cooled down properly,.........the reading is 002!! Not bad,... but I prefer 000 so I'll be putting a DI vessel after the heater just to be 100% sure!

[Clear Vision]

That would be the only thing to concern me! The high tds.

Do you have tap water in your tank in the van? If so what tds is it?

Or do you have pure?

[SherwoodCleaningSe]

I've noticed with tds readings that when the water is hot the tds appears higher.  Run the hot tap for instance the tds will be high but wait for it to cool down and it will lower.  I think it's a problem with the tds meters they can't give an accurate reading at high temperatures.

Remember pure water wants to return to it's impure state not the other way around.  So if the water comes out with a high tds but looses the reading when it has cooled down then the reading must be fake.

Simon.

[Clear Vision]

So do you think the high readings are anything to worry about?

Matt

[[GQC] Tim]

So do you think the high readings are anything to worry about?

Matt

No, like said, it's a faulty reading from the meter. The water is 002, even when hot.

[Nathanael Jones]

So do you think the high readings are anything to worry about?

Matt

Nope,.. I'm not worried about it at all anymore. I re-tested this morning, and the hot sample TDS  (Only 014 this morning!) is dropping rapidly again,.. so I'm convinced that the heat is giving a false reading.

I'm spending a little time this morning finishing off the installation. I found PTFE tape is useless on some of the fittings I bought, so I had to get some plumbers jointing paste and hemp fiber,... hopefully that will fix the leaks!

[Nathanael Jones]

OK,.. here's something interesting:

I just put a DI vessel after the heater and tested the water both cold and hot again,... BOTH readings were 000!!

I was told that resin is more effective when purifying hot water,... maybe this proves it???

[[GQC] Tim]

That doesn't make any sense. How can it be that without the DI polish after the heater, the TDS goes down, instead of up? Now it's at 000 both hot and cold. So that means the meter was correct? But how can the tds go down when the temp goes down then without the DI polish after the heater?

[Jon-scwindows]

i thought it would be ideal using 2 di vessels, one after your RO, then one after the heater, this way they ensure 000 reading, and is a bit more efficient with the resin. Nomatter what doesnt make sense, as long as youve got a 000 or very low tds out of your pole brush, things should be fine.

I like the way you have set this hot system up, looks easy and cheap and it works!

[jikwan]

keep going nat
your onto something big
could cause a major revolution

[Nathanael Jones]

I finished plumbing up the thermostatic valve and the line that returns to the tank today,.. but I'm still waiting for the roof vents to be delivered so I can only use the heater with the van doors open at the moment. 

This meant I had to do a few houses cold today,.... it wasn't too bad,... but I did miss the heat!

I have to get a smaller DI vessel for after the heater,.. I only have 19 liter ones, so it takes a while for the hot water to fill the vessel and reel,.. so the first 10 mins of the day are cold. For now, I'm just going to insulate the bigger vessel, so it'll stay warm between jobs/ over lunch etc.

Also, I plumbed the DI after the thermostatic valve,... and only after realised my mistake,.. I should have plumbed it between the heater and the valve, so that adjustments to the valve would affect temp straight away,.. not 10 minutes later when the cooler/hotter water filters through the DI!

I'll have to change it pipes round tomorrow!

[Clear Vision]

Trial and error!

But I'm glad your getting there.

Oh.... cheers very much for the email the other day and sorry I didnt reply to you.

Please keep me posted on your progress.



P.S. best topic on here for ages is this one!!!!!!!

[Nathanael Jones]

I switched everything round in a rush this morning, and now I've got leaks everywhere! I REALLY HATE PLUMBING!!!

The roof vents still didn't arrive yet, so I could only use hot on a couple of houses again today,.. 1 was PVC sash windows, and the heat really helped as the top sash stopped dripping much quicker than normal,.. prob saved me 15 minutes on a house that normally takes an hour.

It was cold today, and the hose was laid out on a tarmac driveway,... the heat lost over 100 mtrs hose on a cold day is quite a lot,.. when the hose was pulled out the full distance, the water was only lukewarm. When Gardiners "Thermobore" hose goes on sale I'll defo be ordering.

I'm beginning to think that so long as the new hose can handle the heat & pressure, I'd get rid of the thermostatic valve. The heater settings are very easy to use and control the output temp,... the valve is only a failsafe to save my minibore,.. it'll be obsolete when the new hose is available. The valve it a pain to plumb, and its still leaking a little too 
I re-tested the water again this morning without any DI in the system (I put pure into the tank) and both readings were 000 again. I can only conclude that there was something in the system from the new parts or pipe sealant gunk that seems to have cleared with a little use.

[Wayne Thomas]

Hi Wayne,
                 1 said he was using 1/2 thermopure system and if i can`t remember if the other 1 said he was going to go minibore or he already had it,the other guy has a thermopure aswell.

Hello NWH,

I've tried the new, thicker walled minibore hose first time today. It allows more water flow than the older version BUT I lose a LOT more heat through this hose (into the ground when hose laid out flat), than the old stuff and it's also much heavier.
Your mate who has the 1/2 inch thermopure hose .......................... can you find out how many layers make up his thermal hose. I assume it's like 'tricoflex' but with a reflective foil layered somewhere between the layers. Can you ask him if he loses much heat through 100m of his hose, i.e. it may be very hot at the start of his reel where it's coiled up but luke warm 100 m further down the hose when it's been laid on the ground.
Basically, how efficient is the hose for keeping hot water hot because I need to make my mind up whether to buy some or not. I'm not really keen on 1/2 inch stuff but if it works good I'll buy some. I asked them at Ionics but the sales department couldn't help me out with advice. I prefer the opinion of someone (your friend), who has used this thermohose and tested it out.

[Nathanael Jones]

The one Gardiners are developing will be the same size (or very near) as standard minibore!
I can't wait!

[[GQC] Tim]

If you are finished with building it in, and having tested it all, could you update your diagram, and also take some pics of the roof vents and everything?

Many thanks.

[Nathanael Jones]

I'm still waiting for the roof vents to be delivered. 

It's kinda holding up progress at the moment, as there aren't many places I'm comfortable leaving the van open whilst I work.

I finally managed to fix the leaks today!!! I have to say, it's prob a very simple job for those who know how,.. but for me, plumbing is a nightmare!
I have a bypass valve fitted so that I can re-circulate hot water back to the main tank,.. tomorrow, if I get a chance, I'm going to try connecting the reel straight to that outlet (Bypassing the thermostatic valve) and see what happens. I'm fairly confident that it'll work fine,.. and I don't want to recommend that ppl buy an expensive mixing valve if its not really needed!

[[GQC] Tim]

So, you can actually set the temp on the heater itself? So the mixing valve was more like a safety feature, just to be certain it wouldn't be a higher temp?