What are potential problems with a black hose
solar collector? The obvious advantage is no freeze-up problems. Otherwise it seems cost-effective and reliable.
My first black hose collector was laid out on the
lawn and connected via closed loop to my
hot water storage tank inside the house 2nd floor. Thermal syphon did the work, and my storage tank stayed between 80 and 90F all summer, adequate to preheat my copper coil inside the tank for domestic
hot water via my 30F rise in-line heater. Now I have two collectors in operation with a fountain pump (increases efficiency), glazing, insulation, and old aluminum siding with the raw side sanded to retain highly elective solar collector surface black paint. Now all my pipes are pex, the tank is cheap poly, and I use a fountain pump 120v controlled by a simple air conditioner T-stat placed in a window directly in the sun. The hose is coiled inside the collector, on top of the black aluminum, and under glazing.