Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Dec 12, 2014 2:32 pm My builder is putting in a solar hot water system. its going to be a rinnai with the solar panel up on the roof and tank plus gas boost on the ground. when i look at product review the reviews are terrible. Is anyone out here happy with their solar hot system and what make is it. should I stick with rinnai? thanks Mixo Re: Solar hot water system 2Dec 12, 2014 6:53 pm I am personally not a big fan of having the tank on the roof - your trusses etc would need to be strengthened to take the extra weight (although they should be strong enough as is) and if your hot water system needs to be replaced in the future, you'd probably need a crane to get it into the roof. But other than that, having the tank on the roof is more efficient. Have you looked at using evacuated tubes rather than a solar panel? The tubes are up to 40% more efficient and if a tube breaks, you only have to replace a tube rather than the whole panel. My house will have a Thermann evacuated tube solar hot water system with electric boost as we dont have piped gas in our region. House not finished yet so cant comment on how good it is, though Dale - Building Newbie Proserpine, QLD Re: Solar hot water system 3Dec 12, 2014 9:21 pm It helps a lot if you state where you are. I'm guessing that you are in Melbourne; are you in an estate and if so, does it have recycled water supplied? If so, you are not required to have either the solar HWS or the RWT, the choice of HWS is yours. If not, then be aware that many builders will supply a minimum spec single panel solar HWS. If this is your situation, then dig your heels in because you are the one who has to live with it, not them. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Solar hot water system 4Dec 13, 2014 1:53 pm I've always had solar hot water, with the tank on the roof, and cannot complain. Although I'm in QLD, plentiful sunshine makes a massive difference. I personally am happy with the tank on my roof, cos my northern roof is on the back of my 2 storey house. I can walk around the house and not worry about looking at a storage tank. And as Dale said, it's more efficient as it requires less piping. Never had the vac tube system before. There are brands more well-known than Rinnai, did you search for reviews on Solahart or Rheem? Home is where the lot is Construction commenced 3rd November 2014 Re: Solar hot water system 5Dec 13, 2014 2:05 pm i'm in melbourne, no recycle water single double story house on block. I like the idea of solar hot water and the one i am getting(or builder is supplying) will be panels on roof and tank on ground with booster. Just wanted to know if people who have such a system are happy with the system they have and to pass on what model they have.reviews so far are not good that i have seen. mixo Re: Solar hot water system 6Dec 14, 2014 12:53 am I have a Rinnai close coupled solar hot water in Melbourne that is less than a year old and it has had many problems . The first cold day in June and the solar panel burst and I spent hours on hold trying to talk to someone at Rinnai after 2 hours I gave up and had my builder contact them. We were 3 days without water and had to get our own plumber to bypass the solar so that we could get water in the house. Rinnai arrived on the 5th day and said the panel would need replacing and that it would take six weeks to get a new one. We now have a ladder permanently left up against the wall as when it has been a hot day the pressure relief valve gets stuck open and pours hot water into the garden until you climb on the roof and fiddle with it. Again Rinnai can't be contacted and we gave up and had our own plumber replace the valve. It is now gurgling and spitting out of the taps inside and I am too busy to sit on the phone for hours waiting for Rinnai to answer so I will just have to put up with it. Terrible customer service, try a different brand. Re: Solar hot water system 7Dec 14, 2014 7:50 am I thought that brand was OK ? We have one (not Rinnai) - but tank on ground. Seems to go OK. Not sure it saves that much - but who knows. Water always hot - but we keep the booster switch on. We have tank water - for gardens, toilets etc - but not hot water. Re: Solar hot water system 8Dec 14, 2014 8:11 am dreamin thats how the reviews go on "product review website". But looking at the other brands, seems to be the same no more than 2 out of 5 stars. i'll see if anyone has anything good to say about them. mixo Re: Solar hot water system 9Dec 14, 2014 9:38 am I have a close coupled solar hot water system (Solar Hart) with 2 panels on my north facing roof (in Adelaide). The first unit lasted nearly 30 years. during that time the tank was replaced once and the anodes replaced every 5 years. I only replaced it (with another identical unit) when the original solar panels developed a very small leak and dripped water into the box gutter. Initially I did nothing as the amount of water lost was small, however the box gutter never properly dried out and eventually rusted. During a severe thunderstorm, the gutter leaked water into my living room. I then replaced the existing unit and also installed a new box gutter. I have been very satisfied with the amount of hot water I get out of it. The electrical booster is normally switched off except for about 4 months during winter. The exception is when I have visitors staying with me. At these times I turn the booster on. My observations are that for 2 people, 2 off solar panels will provide hot water for more than half the year. If there is a house full of teenagers that each take 20 minute showers then 3 off solar panels would be required as a minimum. Even then you may still need to switch of the electric booster. (My booster is connected to K tariff which is less than half the price of normal electricity) Re: Solar hot water system 11Dec 14, 2014 3:02 pm i have a rheem solar hot water system . i could have got gas but opted for electric boost only because i had a solar electric boost in other house for years with no problems. the tank is on the ground with the rheem. 18 months old now Re: Solar hot water system 12Dec 15, 2014 12:19 am I think you'll find Solahart give you a choice of either electric (standard) or gas boosted. Gas boosted will obviously cost more. All electric-boosted SHWS should be fitted with a thermostat. If your booster is left on, the thermostat will only allow the booster to turn on if the water in the tank drops below a certain temp. And hooking it up to the correct tariff is important too. If I had a SHWS installed, I'd be checking my bills to make sure it's working-otherwise why have one? I'd take note of how much KW energy I use with my current system if it's electric. Rheem have a good service and maintenance division- I had a problem with my heat pump hot water system and they we're out the next business day - Brisbane metropolitan. I don't think you can go wrong with bigger brands like Solahart and Rheem. I'm still singing that damn jingle ...'install a Rheem...install a Rheem' Home is where the lot is Construction commenced 3rd November 2014 Re: Solar hot water system 13Dec 15, 2014 12:47 pm I would look at either Apricus or Thermann. They are tube style, not panel heated. Check the reviews on efficiency of both styles, ie panel vs tube. Either of these brands can have gas or electric boosted. We have a Thermann, electric boosted, 4 people, the boost is currently turned off until about April, as we do not need it. Even then it is on a timer to only operate if required for a max of 2 hours per day. One early morning, one late afternoon. We have never had cold or only warm water. I think you will find that Apricus are the largest retailer/manufacturer of the tube style solar hot water. Thermann are available through Reece Plumbing. Settlement 1/2/12 New Shed 23/3/12 Slab poured 27/3/12 Frame complete 4/5/12 Roof complete 1/6/12 LOCKUP 29/6/12 Our new build blog http://kareenhillsownerbuild.blogspot.com/ The time to heat is purely a function of the distance between the hws and the faucet. There are many options for hot water, you can also have a circulating circuit of hot… 1 8670 I want to build a decking to the drawn shape outlined in black. The problem is how close can I build to the gas hot water unit? Will I be able to build around it and be… 0 16174 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair Hi, I've got a brand new (2nd hand) Bosch Hydropower 16H tankless hot water heater. Since it was installed I have noticed it leaks a lot. I took the cover off and it looks… 0 18093 |