The tubes are made from high strength Borosilicate Glass, they are very strong. The Vacuum is what makes them very efficient, insulating the heat inside from the "cold climates" outside. If the vacuum does fail, then the performance of the tube effectively drops to that of a Flat Plate Collector!

There are 30 tubes in each of our collectors, The most likely time the tube will be damaged is during installation, once its in place, then its very unlikely to break. The tubes are warranted by the factory for 10 years from manufacturing defects.

These three videos will show you a lot of information about building and installing a system for yourself. 

The videos show installing the tubes, building the frames and custom racking and takes you though how a system can be set up for heating a 200 gallon tank.

1. The evacuated tubes are easy to install and this video shows you how to do it for yourself.
2. The operation of the Solarbloc Solar Pump Station.  Navigating the menu on the Solarbloc. Read more: How to install a solar hot water system
   Super User

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Part of the process of installing the system is to make sure there is no airlock in the pipes between the pump and the solar collector. If you get an airlock or a blockage it means the fluid cannot flow round the system correctly and the fluid (water and glycol) will sit in the collectors heating up until it boils. Once the airlock is removed the system works perfectly.  This video is just to show you can boil water with an evacuated tube solar collector.