Lu47Dan wrote:Lee, I have a question for you.....
In the picture of the inlet side of the sidearm, it looks like you reduced the tee from 3/4" to 1/2" than installed a valve below that. Is the valve a 1/2" full port or just a standard Home Depot valve?
In thermo siphon systems restrictions are your enemy. The problem might be right there, I would have placed the valve right off the tee with a shoulder nipple and than piped over to the side arm and reduced there with a bell reducer or a copper reducer inline to reduce the effective length of the restriction.
The whole bottom piping assembly could be considered a restriction. As you reduced the diameter at a 90° bend.
After you get the system working correctly, insulate it with Armor Flex foam insulation instead of the cheaper bubble foam insulation. The Armor Flex is better for that type of installation.
Dan.
Dan this is Bob....no out of the 3/4 inch tee is a 3/4 thread - sweat copper fitting there is no 1/2 inch fitting in this !
