I'm still working on the pool solar heater and it is really getting frustrating. This is not a field frequented by the do-it-yourselfer, except to experiment a little with black water hoses. To connect two solar panels or to connect a panel to a pipe, a person needs a piece of hose that can handle around 40 pounds of pressure and survive in the outdoors. Automotive radiator hoses are designed for this kind of thing, but they are generally smaller than the 2 3/8 (2.375) inches diameter needed to join the panel to a 2 inch plumbing pipe. So, during a search of the web that encountered massive information overload, I found the following possibilities:
Aquatherm/Solar Industries part number 02-0070 @ $6.70 for 4 inch piece.
Dayco 76238 straight radiator hose @ $43.90 for 3 feet.
Gates 24438 straight radiator hose @ $65.00 for 3 feet.
Based on the prices, the Aquatherm hose would be appropriately priced if it wasn't for the shipping. So, the task is to find something that will hold up under the pressure, take the desert outdoor exposure and last a few years. Wrapping the hose in metal will eliminate direct sun deterioration, and if I can find thin stainless, it will help reinforce whatever I wind up with.
Sooooo, looking around the web even more I found out that Dayco is one of the companies that deal directly with Amazon.com. That means that I can order the Dayco hose through Amazon and avoid all the pitfalls of having to drive to several auto parts stores using several gallons of gas, but I still have the problem of not knowing if it will actually work. As luck would have it (sometimes) I happened on a page at Amazon that listed the Dayco hose for 13.13 with a 4 week delivery time. However, as sometimes happens, this page wasn't there in a normal search of the Amazon site for a Dayco 76238; this search turned up the 40+ price. Therefore, being the honest and forthright person that I am, I ordered it quickly before they discovered the mistake.
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