These solar evacuated tubes are for replacement when one of your tubes has been broken or has failed because your system overheated or they are no longer working up to your expectations. These tubes are super high tech devices and like any "fast race horse", they are somewhat fragile. It is easy to find out which of your tubes are not working up to speed by simply grasping the tube with your hand when the sun is shining brightly and determining what the surface temperature is. If the tube feels cool to the touch even in the hot sun, then the tube is most likely doing its job. If any tube feels warm to the touch, then the tube is not working up to its capability. The warmer the tube, the less efficient it is in heating water. The reason for this phenomenon is that the space between the interior
tube and the exterior tube is at high vacuum so heat cannot easily
escape, once it has heated the interior (absorber) tube. So the less
the vacuum the more heat that is escaping back out through the exterior
tube. Obviously this means that the tube is working inefficiently. Before you decide the tube has failed, you should investigate some probable causes. Straightaway you should look at the bottom of the tube and determine if the vacuum has been compromised. If the tube has a white milky color around the bottom of the tube the vacuum has escaped. psst! Can a vacuum escape?
Next you should check to see if the thermal connection between the copper nib of the tube and the socket in the collector's manifold is good. Did you put adequate thermal grease on the copper nib before installing the tube in the socket of the manifold? A poor thermal connection between the tube and the manifold can cause the tube to overheat and reduce the efficiency of the tube. If the tube has not seriously overheated, then you may be able to correct the problem by CAREFULLY removing the tube from the manifold, adding some thermal grease and re-seating the tube into the manifold's socket.
You should check your tubes at least every six months to be sure none have lost their vacuum and that all are working up to your expectations. Order a new tube(s) for any that are not working correctly.
A word of caution before ordering these tubes. We check all tubes for loss of vacuum and do a controlled test on all tubes to be sure they will heat before we ship. Because these tubes are extremely fragile we ship them in a custom designed box which does an excellent job of protecting them so that they arrive at your place in good shape. Since we go to extremes to try and assure safe delivery; the box should be opened when the truck makes the delivery to be sure none are broken. We cannot guarantee that they will not be broken in shipment. If any are broken or damaged in any way; you should file a claim with the carrier.
Since we have no control over the critical step of installation, nor control over the manifold in which tubes are installed; we CANNOT REPLACE tubes which do not function correctly in your application.
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