What about Broken Tubes?

Flat panel salespeople love to point out that evacuated tubes are made of “fragile glass” as part of their sales pitch. Evacuated Tubes are made of extremely strong Broscilic glass, the same thing that Pyrex ovenware is made up. Just as your casserole dish can go from freezer to oven, an evacuated tube can normally handle mother natures temperature changes.

Thermomax has a slightly thicker glass than Apricus and is rated for 1-inch hail. No solar therm tube will handle fast moving baseballs, but neither will a flat plate collector, or your car window. As of1/15/2009 we have not had an installed Thermomax tube break. However, we have had a failure of an Apricus tube only weeks after it was installed.

Thermomax claims their tube is strong enough for a person to stand on. Tubes can fail from thermal shock, hail, or human intervention. In any case they are easy to replace since they snap in/out. Having a broken tube will slightly diminish the performance of your system. But it is not a crisis that needs to be promptly dealt with. The cost of a single tube runs from about $70-120. You may wish to keep an extra tube on hand.

During your warranty period you will not be charged for tubes or labor when the failure is caused by a defect. As part of your post installation training we will explain how you can replace a tube. Many people do not want to go up onto the roof to replace a broken tube and we will be happy to send a technician out to take care of it. If you want us to immediately come out, it will be billed as a standard service call. Since prompt replacement is not necessary we also offer a less expensive option.

Our “tube replacement” service allows our tech to do the work when he is in the neighborhood. Normally this is within a week or two. We can give you a pretty good idea of the time frame when you call. In this case you will be billed for the tube(s) and either $20 for a 1 story home, or $30 for a 2 story home (assuming normal access is available via ladder). We do not need to go into your home so you do not need to be present. If you like we can call before we arrive.

If the collector was damaged by a hard flying object, it almost always breaks just 1-2 tubes. There is a possibility that the actual manifold or structure could be damaged, in which case we will contact you to discuss your options. Repairs beyond the tube are not covered by the discounted service.