Wow,
The last 24 hours I've been acting like a teenage girl in a mall with a stolen credit card...
Deal with the plumber was that I would provide the supplies. I think that just means the pex, but I went ahead and bought other things I am pretty particular about, like the ice box stubouts and laundry boxes.
Tangent alread...
What is driving this spending spree is that I now have the plumber, electrician, roofer, hvac, and foam insulator all descending on me at the same time. Top that with soon they will be starting stucco and stone on the outside and things will be pretty crazy.
So, sounds stupid, but I made a decision to go ahead and include a solar hot water heater NOW, rather than waiting. I'm thinking it's just so much easier now to place the unit and have them flash around the mounts and then dodge them with the tile.
Today I had 144 items in my "cart" with the online plumbing store, and even forgot a bunch of stuff, so will probably make another order.
Here are the highlights...
1. Solar Evacuated Tube 30 tube collector and manifold
2. Propex water distribution manifolds. (about 80 ports worth)
3. 80 gallon dual heat exchanger stainless steel hot water tank
4. 40 gallon single heat exchanger stainless steel hot water tank
5. 4000 feet of Wirsbo Propex
6. 300 feet of 3/4 inch Wirstbo Barrier Pex (Oxygen barrier tubing)
7. 2 expansion and purge kits for 2 of the 3 closed loop systems (direct hot water and radiant heat)
8. 4 supply and return manifolds for radiant heat.
9. Exhaust fans for all the bathrooms (really really really really quiet ones)
10. A lot of little other things that you will NEVER see in a normal house. Mostly pertaining to the ability to charge, purge, control, the flow of energy through the various water systems.
The tanks were a cool find. I had thought I would go with a different tank and use only a 2 tank system, but at the last minute, I found the stainless tanks and they were cheaper.... To boot, I can solve my issue with the GSHP having another layer of safety between a potential refridgerant leak and the potable water system. This of course adds another layer of complexity, and an additional mix pump. But in the end, this arrangement is more of a known quantity...
So, as I am ordering all the plumbing supplies, I basically played out everything in my mind from one end of the house to the other and ordered parts as it came up, which was changing constantly based on availability, as well as the tank changes. Again, this took almost a 24 hour nonstop period on the computer, all at one website. I was afraid my computer would crash or I would lose the shopping cart to some disaster.
I ordered a lot from this company, but the tanks from another, the manifolds from yet another, and even used ebay and saved a couple hundred dollars at one point.
Here is what I DIDN'T buy, so donations accepted...
1. Solar pumping station and controller (leaning towards the new Taco Solar station, though)
2. Flashing to get the copper tubing through the roof to the collector.
3. UV resistant wrap for the foam.
4. Temperature probe for the solar collector (has to be in place before they flash)
5. Lighting control system (just didn't get to it today)
6. Control and distribution pumps for the radiant heating system (Taco RMB mixing block system)
That last item I need 2 of, in case you are buying.
Oh, and a 50 gallon electric water heater, which won't be hooked up, but rather hooked up as a "dummy" tank that will serve as the desuperheater storage tank (waste heat off the A/C system dumped into this tank will then flow to the others so we don't have to add as much energy down the line)
That's it...
I know, you hate me.... No pictures. Don't have time and I didn't want you to think I was dead.
Have a great night...
I have to buy a torch... I have a TON of copper to put together.
