My only fear so far after almost 2 years of running this as well is that the electronic ball valve will fail. I know it would most likely fail in the closed position but hearing it open and close it sounds like it is opening slower. You brought up a good point as I have electric eheim heaters in the sump to come on if the temp gets below 74 or 75 degrees.. it would be good to test them to make sure they are still working. It is cool to see you took this apart to look at it and it looks like everything is in perfect shape and will hold up for years to come. Thank you again for creating the first video and now an update.
It is possible you have some build up on your ball valve, causing increased friction- you might take it apart and check/clean it- ball valves do need to be maintained. I think the most likely failure mode for the ball valve would be in the on position, as the return capacitor might be weaker/more likely to fail. But the circulation pump would not be running, so it probably wouldn't cause to much excess heating. It would be easy enough to check- just unplug the pump and see if it keeps heating.
Now that you've had it running for a while, do you feel it's as efficient as you originally hoped? Have you tracked how much water is moved each time the pump turns on to heat the tank? It looked like in your first video, that the "heater" was turning on every 30 minutes or so, and would stay on for 10 minutes at a time. Not too bad. That does make me think that legionella isn't really a concern because the lines are being flushed every 30 minutes, which is way more often than most hot water taps in a house. So it seems that legionella would be even less of a concern with a hot water heating system, even if it was just done using coiled pex in a sump. Does that sound right? Or am I missing something? Also, you mentioned in your first video, that with this system you could heat your tanks even during a power outage, but I don't understand how that would be the case if the system requires the pump to make it work. Any clarity you have to offer, is greatly appreciated! Thanks for being so willing to share your knowledge!
Yes it is! it is automatic. I made a video on it but never edited or uploaded it. I may get around to it. Mine has been up and running for years. A how to is here: www.reef2reef.com/threads/build-a-diy-auto-filter-rollermat-for-60.258744/
My only fear so far after almost 2 years of running this as well is that the electronic ball valve will fail. I know it would most likely fail in the closed position but hearing it open and close it sounds like it is opening slower. You brought up a good point as I have electric eheim heaters in the sump to come on if the temp gets below 74 or 75 degrees.. it would be good to test them to make sure they are still working. It is cool to see you took this apart to look at it and it looks like everything is in perfect shape and will hold up for years to come. Thank you again for creating the first video and now an update.
It is possible you have some build up on your ball valve, causing increased friction- you might take it apart and check/clean it- ball valves do need to be maintained. I think the most likely failure mode for the ball valve would be in the on position, as the return capacitor might be weaker/more likely to fail. But the circulation pump would not be running, so it probably wouldn't cause to much excess heating. It would be easy enough to check- just unplug the pump and see if it keeps heating.
Great update! Thanks!
Now that you've had it running for a while, do you feel it's as efficient as you originally hoped? Have you tracked how much water is moved each time the pump turns on to heat the tank? It looked like in your first video, that the "heater" was turning on every 30 minutes or so, and would stay on for 10 minutes at a time. Not too bad. That does make me think that legionella isn't really a concern because the lines are being flushed every 30 minutes, which is way more often than most hot water taps in a house. So it seems that legionella would be even less of a concern with a hot water heating system, even if it was just done using coiled pex in a sump. Does that sound right? Or am I missing something? Also, you mentioned in your first video, that with this system you could heat your tanks even during a power outage, but I don't understand how that would be the case if the system requires the pump to make it work. Any clarity you have to offer, is greatly appreciated! Thanks for being so willing to share your knowledge!
Is that a DIY filter roller and is set up to your apex to rotate automatically or do you have to turn it manually?
Yes it is! it is automatic. I made a video on it but never edited or uploaded it. I may get around to it. Mine has been up and running for years. A how to is here: www.reef2reef.com/threads/build-a-diy-auto-filter-rollermat-for-60.258744/
OCD triggered