Thermal Ark ARK270 Questions & Answers

They have this number 0419 397 785 on their Facebook page.

Hi Bruce, I have tried that number with no luck yet. Thanks

Hi Kali, I've found the ThermalArk people very helpful with settings. You can phone them on FreeCall 1800 44 90 30. I've had my ThermalArk in Sydney for about 6 years and it hasn't missed a beat. And they probably have suggested contacts in Canberra for a service.

Thanks Bruce will give them a call

Kali - give me a call on 0419397785 - Paul

It's still marked as $2000, which is what I paid about three years ago. It's a marvellous machine. No problems at all!

external link 

Fiona we have been importing these units from China, but have recently stopped purchasing due issues with our supplier. We have taken the decision to take our experience learnt over the last 7 years, and develop a heat pump hot water system designed for the Australian climate and manufactured in Australia. Until we go through the Australian approvals process we can't supply this new unit at the current time. Regards Paul

$0. Brilliant unit

After obtaining all the rebates available thru Victorian and Federal government the unit cost me $400 plus installation.

Hi Lawrie - thanks for your questions, see response below: a) Specification sheet and Warranty information is on our Website external link . Our Warranty is aligned with most Australian suppliers 5 years tank, with 2 years on parts ect. b) The internal tank is steel with enamel coating c) the outer covering is powder coated steel d) the insulation in Australia is covered by the watermark standard, all suppliers have to comply with these requirements. e) System is manufactured in China and imported to Australia. f) Heatpump is a Hitachi model made in China under license to Hitachi Japan. h) We do our best to respond quickly to all customers, and make certain they have hot water.

Paul

Thank you Paul. Will look for a Duplex unit with 2205 SS tank & more-than-minimum insulation. Based on your 5 star rating you are doing well so far. Lawrie

Lawrie - Stainless Steel gives longer life with gas units where there is a heat affected zone at the bottom of the tank or applications where you are using bore water etc. In our case there is no high temperature heat affected zone at the bottom of the tank with the refrigerant only being around 75deg C, so no technical requirement to use SS.

In regards to Insulation I am uncertain as to how you will assess this unless suppliers are willing to give you their heat leak reports. In our case the ARK270 has been tested to AS4692 and has a heat leak of 2.43kWh thermal per day, equivalent to approx. 1 hours of HP operation or approx. 20-25c of electricity per day.

A better measure of overall system performance is the STC calculation, and is a measure of how efficient the total hot water system is in a real environment within each Australian region, and takes into account heat leak, compressor performance etc. Each STC is equivalent to a saving of around $20 of electricity per annum assuming electricity at 20c/kWh

Paul

Hello Valentin,I was able to claim all available rebates so the unit itself cost me $400, Installation added another $600 to the price.All the related applications and purchasing was done online so I never had to go to a store to buy the Thermal Arc, delivery of the unit to my knowledge come from Dandenong in Victoria but I'm sure they have more locations. Anyway give Paul from Thermal Arc a call and I'm sure he will be able to assist you, hope this helps Wayne.

How can I get Paul's number?

Hi Valentine - email us at Sales@thermalark.com.au with your contact details and we will give you a call. Paul

Yes it like an air conditioner and a storage tank.

Hi Mat it is electric only as a back-up, and runs on the heat pump mostly which is all electric . It has been a good service to me am very happy with it Norm.

Matt the system only needs a 15amp power circuit, no gas. The system uses the heatpump to heat the water, but does have an electric element which will work when ambient temperature is less than 2 degrees, or as a fast reheat

If the Heatpump is run in Eco mode, it will aim to used the heat pump for all heating, except for the following reasons. a) If the ambient temperature is less than -5 Deg the electric element will be used. b) If the ambient temperature is between -5 and 5 DegC the electrical element will kick in as well as the compressor, when the water temperature reaches 55 Deg and will run up to the hot water setpoint. This is due to the physical properties of R134a, and will be common problem for most systems using this refrigerant. Note: a) the default set point for the hot water system is 55 Deg. b) We have ~30 units installed by a plumber in Bright, and have had no issues or complaints since these units typically operating with a 55Deg hot water set point. c) The non Eco modes use the electric element for fast reheat, for customers who have high water demand.

Hi - ThermalArk has a plumber who has installed around ~60 units in the Bright region without issue, I believe that Canberra is slightly milder. In the worst case below -5 deg the system will stop the compressor and use the electric element to heat the water. In a colder area they are not quite as efficient but heaps better than an Electric element hot water system. Paul

Hi, I installed an ARK270 this year i am approx 700 m from the beach at Seaspray in Vic . So far i have had no issues what so-ever & am very happy with its looks & its ability to produce more hot water than i need Norm B

We are 100 meters from Rutherford inlet and it has presented no issues so far. In fact it is an advantage in that we don't get frosts, so the nights are no so cold.

I do not live that close, but only my concern would be the salt eating up insulation inside and rust on metal parts. I am very happy with the unit so far, my on ECO and it produces enough hot water for 3 of us...

no , the heat pump works fine with cold air temperature .

probably not. you will still heat the water at night to take advantage of the off peak rate. So facing North is no advantage at night.

Hi, we are very happy with our Thermalark. Ours is electric as we have no gas supply. We have had up to 10 people in the house over Xmas. New Year and did not run out of hot water. This week we received our first electrical bill since installing the Thermal Ark and found a 50% reduction in our off peak power cost. So far we are very satisfied, the installation and support received was great, we received the full government rebate, bit of fiddling around to get the rebate but guess the government does not hand out the rebate unless you complete the required forms etc

Hi, we have a 4 bed house on the Mornington Peninsula which we holiday rent. We got the Thermalark last April and we had a problem in May when the whole tank froze up with unhappy guests. I rang Paul that morning and he replaced it by 3pm that day. I could not believe the after sales service we received and we did not even have to put pressure on to get it. The Thermalark has worked perfectly ever since and we never run out of hot water any more. Paul rescued us and made our guests happy and I could not recommend him more highly. Barry Thomas

Hi Ros / Barry - thanks for your support, trust we are all sitting at home being careful at this time. . Olga - The Pricing varies depending on what Rebates are applicable current pricing would be $700 if we can claim the Vic Solar rebate. You need to review conditions see external link  If this doesn't apply in your case the price is $1700.

Paul

Hi Paul, what would be the life spend of the unit? we looking at 15-20 years. Do you need to service every 5 years what the warranty?

Hi Olga , since we have put in our solar ark we have not ran out of hot water . We currently have 6 people in our house . our electricity bill has dropped by $2 a day and that is running our hws on peak power . We do not have gas but from my research a heat pump is cheaper to run . The hsw can be timed to run when the sun is out instead of running at night., i have not used that yet , it just runs when ever . Paul from thermal ark is full of knowledge , speak to him if you have any queries .

I would ask that of the retailer, I found them to be very helpful and informative. Their email is sales@thermalark.com.au

Jo - No it doesn't connect to a Solar Hot water panels on your roof, in Australia this needs a special tank. Our unit has the same efficiency as a Solar Hot water system and receives the same rebates, it can be setup to use timers so that you maximise the use of your Solar PV.

This is a hard question to answer, it depends on the number of consecutive / simultaneous showers/baths. I think the system would work well, but there maybe times when you will run out of water. The system has 270l of water and can reheat at 75l per hour. Sorry for the delayed answer to this message, I obviously missed this enquiry.

There is nothing special or tricky about the installation of heat pumps, water in, water out, normal drain plus electrical connection, any licensed plumber and electrician should be able to install.

The unit is manufactured in China, and imported by ThermalArk to comply with the Australian regulations. The manufacturer sells into the USA, Europe and is a large supplier in China. The heat pump will run down to -7 degrees, if it’s colder than this it will utilise the electric element so you will always have hot water . If you want more details please contact via external link 

Give me a call if you want to discuss 1800 44 90 30

Jason - absolutely the system is designed as a direct replacement for any gas or electric storage hot water system, but has the advantage of being very efficient (cheaper to run than 5 star gas or any electric hot water system). People typically setup the system to run on the switchboard time clock or to use the timers in the ARK270 to control when the unit consumes off peak electricity, There is an added saving if utilise Solar PV to heat the water during the day, since you are using power you would otherwise sell into the grid which you receive 11c/kWh.

Regards

Paul