sfa20-47 - anyone moved one?

[Moxi]

Hi list,

Has anyone dissassembled and moved one of these from one property to another?  Do the tubes come out and slide back in with the minimum of problems (assuming silicone lube and care) or am I embarking on a world of pain and dissapointment ?

moxi

[martin]

I've moved them in one piece - when drained of water they're not that heavy - if you have 4 of you lifting together, and load very carefully, you should be fine - probably easier than faffing about trying to take it apart and reassemble - we used to lump one on and off a van as demo at festivals

[Justme]

Thats interesting as I have a 20 tube SFD to sell soon & I was going to take it apart.

[Loir]

I have disassembled and reassembled a 10 tube 47mm panel.

Quite a number of the coppers inner pipes would not just slide out of the manifold.
They had to be removed (carefully!) with mole grips.

If you completely withdraw the copper inner from the glass tube then getting it back together is a bit tricky. There are 4 aluminium fins inside my ones which the copper tube has to run down the middle of. It was easiest to get the aluminium fins out and put a pair round the copper tube as I pushed it back in. Not forgetting the nylon cap first onto the copper tube!

So certainly possible but not necessarily simple.

[martin]

The device described is an "all in one" system that doesn't use heat tubes, it isn't a conventional "panel" - http://www.navitron.org.uk/product_detail.php?proID=140&catID=116 

[Ivan]

I dismantled my SFA recently. It has operated since 2003 or 2004. It came apart pretty easily. I gave all the components a good clean once disassembled (far easier than when assembled. Just use washing up liquid (or spit, if you don't have anything else to hand) on the outside top of the tubes when re-inserting. If they're difficult to extract, just twist them by hand to break the seal. I find twisting them as they are pulled out means they don't suddenly fly out and get damaged when you bang their tips against the tarmac!

[Moxi]

Thanks everyone,

Martin I need to dismantle it as I have to take it a few bits at a time to my new home in Wales where i hope to resurrect it

Moxi