Hi all, I see some discussion of both Apricus and Hills. Bit of background first, my name is Mick Humphreys, I am actually the CEO of Apricus Solar Co., Ltd. I am an Aussie from Melbourne originally but have been based in China for the past 10 years, developing and manufacturing the Apricus product for the past 6 years. Apricus is an Australian-Sino joint venture. Chris Taylor who owns and manages Apricus Australia is also a shareholder of Apricus Solar. He is based permanently in Sydney. So we are Aussies, not Chinese.
I would shed some light onto a few of the comments and questions. I understand that this forum is not a place to be promoting a brand of product. I will do my best to keep my comments clean and factual and hopefully educational.
I encourage you all to compare the information provided by each of the solar companies in the market and make a well informed decision.
1. Apricus Australia who sells the Apricus systems is an Australian company, same as Hills.
2. Apricus, Hills, AAE and I think all other evacuated tube system on the market are made in China. Apricus is the only one that has its own manufacturing plant. I know that because I own and run that factory and work there each day. AAE and Hills purchase an OEM product and have no ownership or direct control over the production or quality control.
The Apricus factory is a fully ISO9001:2008 certified operation which means it meets international management and quality control standards and undergoes regular third party audits from Australian and German inspectors.
3. The tanks used in the market by Apricus are Everlast (stainless steel) or Aquamax.. Hills use Everlast tanks too. They are both made in Australia.
Stainless steel is a quality choice but more expensive. It is not suitable for all areas those as certain type of water, particularly bore, will quickly corrode stainless steel. The warranty policy of Everlast provides details of that.
Vitreous enamel (aka glass lined) tanks don't generally last as long as SS tanks as they are protected by a sacrificial magnesium anode which corrodes instead of the steel. The problem is that hardly anybody actually replaces the anode, which you should do once every 3-4 years (depending on water quality). If you DO replace the anode the tank could last 10+ years.
4. The reason why the RECS rating are higher for some of the VE tanks when compared to the SS Everlast is due to two factors:
Firstly the heat loss values on the Aquamax tanks (for example) are lower than Everlast, so each day a little less heat is loss from the tank.
Secondly if the tank has a MID element the RECs will be much higher than a bottom element (Everlast only has bottom). This is because the bottom ⅓ of the tank (not really exactly mid) is never heated by electricity and so solar can act on that each day. This increases the contribution from solar as it is not trying to heat water that is already hot.
5. Boosting Correctly: Actual energy savings also comes back to your electric boosting schedule. I always advise that the home owners gets a timer installed (small extra cost) so the boosting can be set to 3-5pm if the majority of the showers are at night (BEST), or a night time boost for morning showers. This will ensure that come morning you have a tank ½ or ¾" full of COLD water which the solar can then act upon throughout the day. Lots of people have evening "off peak" boosting turned on, and in reality if they don't have morning showers, they have a tank that is already full (bottom element) or ⅔ full (mid element) of hot water… the result is that solar doesn't have much to heat and so the tank reaches temp by mid morning. This means you are NOT getting the real solar savings you should.
So to summarise - EVENING SHOWERS, with a later afternoon boost will maximise your solar savings. This of course only applies to electric boosted systems. Gas systems have a dedicated solar tank and so will always work at optimum efficiency in terms of solar contribution.
You can learn all about this and more by reading the comprehensive installation manual I have written:
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/103200/A7-05.2.1.9-PB-1.7--Apricus_Solar_Collector_Installation%26Operation_Manual_AUS.pdf
6. Air Vent - Hills uses them, Apricus does not. Why?
Firstly let me clarify that the Apricus system is not "closed"… as that would suggest direct mains pressure potable water is NOT circulating through the collector… it is. Both the Hills and Apricus systems are direct flow systems. Adding an air vent does not make the system "open".
Why is the air vent needed? To release steam!
When is steam formed? When water is over 100oC? NO, as the systems have a PTRV (pressure relief valve) on the tank set to 850kPa so the boiling temperature is actually about 170oC as the water is under pressure. So only once the solar collector reaches this temp will any steam form. Only during really hot summer weather the collector may exceed this level and actually form steam. When the steam forms it simply clears out the collector, pushing water back down the pipes. This expansion is only 0.7L in the case of an Apricus 30tube, and about double that for a Hills unit. That will cause a similar amount of liquid to be released from the cold water expansion valve on the cold line before the tank, or if that is NOT in place, the PTRV on the tank. The system is designed to work under pressure, so that steam does NOT need to be released - that would be wasting water.
The only time when that valve has any use is in situations where there is some noises generated by steam forming in the collector when the hot water tap in the house is turned on and the pressure in the system drops…but only when the valve is working… read on.
The AAVs used by Hills are the Caleffi 250 series - you can see specs for yourself here:
http://www.caleffi.com/en_IT/Technical_brochures/01133/01133.pdf
The valve is designed for use during the filling and purging phase of the system, releasing air from the highest point. Normally this is for glycol (anti-freeze) closed loop, used in cold regions. Apricus has experience using this valve in North America - all system installed use them. The valve is normally removed once that initial filling and pressurisation is completed. The shut-off cock is turned off and the valve removed. It is only screwed in again if the system is being maintained. It is my understanding that it is not designed to be used the way it is in Australia.
A couple of keys issues can cause failure of this valve when it is use in Australia (as has been seen in the field).
a) They are only rated to 180oC, and the collector can exceed that in strong summer sun which melts the plastic float inside - and they cease working.
b) They have a very small hole through which the steam is released… and this very quickly blocks up with scale. I know for a fact that Hills have had to replace valves that have failed for both of the above reasons… one of the reasons Apricus does not use them.
I would guess that after one summer a high % of the valves don't actually work properly anymore.
Another issue is that they are not watermarked and as Apricus strictly adheres to the Australian Standard guidelines they are not used.
7. Comparing products. I would never bad mouth Hills, they are a great Australian company. As a company Apricus, and Apricus Australia do not endorse any staff or resellers badmouthing any competition. Unfortunately Apricus seems to often be on the receiving end of negative comments by some competitors, many of which are totally unfounded.
I am very willing to point out factual comparisons, and defend unqualified claims.
"The Hills folks tell me the opposite, stating that the Apricus system i) manifold isn't as efficient as theirs, ii) doesn't have a steam release valve, iii) has poorer quality pump, iv) shouldn't offer a glass lines tank as it won't stand the 80 degree C temperatures."
i) Not as efficient. Where is the data, where is the comparison of Eta0, a1, a2 values, IAM curve and total daily system performance (I am being technical here, but if a claim it going to be made, back it up with factual, clear data please).
ii) I have addressed the steam valve above. I would be interested in receiving a technical response from other solar companies to my comments above about why they use the valve and how it is performing in the field.
ii) "Quality" - according to what criteria? What comparison has been made between the pump they are using and the Bianco used by Apricus?
iii) Correct, glass lined tanks don't like high temperatures and that is why the Apricus solar controller turns off the pump once the tank reaches 70oC thus protecting the tank against extreme temperatures. So no issues there.
I have heard many other claims too, some quite laughable. Unfortunately the average end user is not that technical and so does not heve the ability to make judgement to the validity of comments. I would simply say that if a comment is made, where is the third party testing data or report to back that up??
I hope this has been educational. I openly invite any questions you may have about solar, and of course evacuated tube products. I promise I will reply as objectively as possible as I don't want to be seen as using this forum to promote Apricus products. Rather I would like to ensure that you have the knowledge to make an educated choice.
