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I'm using solar powered water heater panels now, and I want to reuse my old gas heated water tank, as just a reservoir for accumulating hot water from solar without gas powering it (disconnected from the gas), just to save money if possible so that I dont have to buy another tank.

12345shushi
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  • A water tank is a water tank. It will not care where the water comes from. Some people also use a working hot water tank for this to have a back up/booster heat source. Solar heats the water up, but have gas/electric in case the temperature is low/drops. – crip659 Sep 20 '21 at 09:32
  • Do your solar panels heat the water directly (water goes from the cold water main through the panels and straight to the taps) or indirectly (water goes from water main through a tank to the taps and a second closed loop goes from the panels through a coil in said tank and back to the panels)? I assume the former is the case, but it's not entirely clear from your question. – TooTea Sep 20 '21 at 09:43
  • https://m.alibaba.com/product/60820119908/Vacuum-Tube-solar-collector.html – 12345shushi Sep 20 '21 at 10:03
  • Here's the link of the heater tube panels that I want to buy (havent bought them yet, but their affordable around my budget $500 and a 15 yr warranty) but yeah I think it's direct, as for my water heater, it's a natural gas Fury Gas Water Heater, serial number: RHLN0709V03554 – 12345shushi Sep 20 '21 at 10:06
  • Model Number: 42VR40-40F, 40 Gallons capacity – 12345shushi Sep 20 '21 at 10:08
  • Please feel free to [edit] all that detail into the original question. It will make it much easier for everyone to find, plus comments can get deleted. – FreeMan Sep 20 '21 at 12:03

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Depends on the old tank, some yes, some no.

Tanks that are designed for 2 sources of heating have two heating coils. The lowest coil is the one for the solar and the other is for gas, wood etc

Sometimes the solar can be connected directly to the tank, but then antifreeze can’t be used to protect the panels, a drainback system can be used. Drainback is required by law in some countries.

Solar Mike
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