Nearly there....

Well, after having plumbers and electricians climb over, crawl under and tramp through my home all day .. I still don't have solar hot water. About half-a-day's work left apparently.

I do have a shiny new and larger hot water cylinder and the element is wired in so I do have hot (currently warm, since it's still reheating) water for the morning. I'm a little concerned about the amount of heat coming off the inlets for the solar and wetback pipes - although the rest of the cylinder is well insulated I may be able to heat my dining area on a sunny day in winter just by leaving the cylinder-cupboard door open. I will have to see if those leakages can be insulated somehow.

There is also a gas bottle (like for a BBQ or heater) in the system, apparently to catch any excess pressure which may be generated. It kind of looks like a little bomb sitting there.

[oh look, my Skype proto-spammer just popped up. Speaking of raised pressure ... You'd think he'd have the hint that I don't have any work I want to outsource to India by now]

Photos when the work is finished.