Why does one service a solar geyser?

My Dad was born in 1930 and lived during the time of World war 2, where he had vivid memories of the hardships his family had to endure during this time. The scars from this experience shaped his personality to want to save anything and everything in case he would need it in the near future. Truthfully, this made him into a bit of a hoarder.

I remember as a child, that my Dad would not take his car to a garage for repairs or a service because he believed this was not value for money. He had the philosophy “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”. The big problem is that he never had the time or expertise to fix his car when it did break. I have scars from this experience of always driving in broken cars, getting stuck alongside the road, embarrassed that my friends would see me always having to push my Dad’s cars.

People often ask me, “Do I really need to service my solar geyser?” A service on a solar geyser, if done on a regular basis, is mainly for preventative maintenance. Here is a list of what we do here at Solartech West Coast. I have also included some photographs of systems that were not serviced regularly.

The tank needs to be flushed to remove a buildup of water sediment and sludge. The condition of the tank is looked for decay, inside and outside.
An Indirect system can need the glycol refilled because there is the loss from evaporation.
A direct system needs the water to be flushed to cleanse the collector from any

sediment buildup. From the picture below one can see the dirty water being released.

The thermostat setting is checked that it is set at a maximum of sixty degrees, in our opinion it lengthens the lifespan of thermostat if not set to the maximum. If the thermostat is malfunctioning or damaged, it is then replaced. From the picture below, you can see there was an electrical short that damaged the thermostat that had to be replaced.

The Element connection is checked, that it is power at the element and working correctly. It will be replaced if damaged or not working.
The Flange gasket is replaced if damaged. From this picture, one can see the flange gasket was torn and this will cause water leakage.

Excessive dust buildup on the collector is removed.

Lagging is checked for perishing from the UV rays of the sun that damage’s the lagging. The damaged lagging will be replaced.

The timer is checked to see if it working properly. The settings are checked. To ensure the minimum water temperature is not too high. Ideally, the timer should run between two hours and a maximum of four hours per day.

The solar geyser is checked for any damage or potential problems. From the photograph below, one can see the water was leaking onto the electrical element, that we noticed during a service.

Brackets are checked to ensure the tank is secure, that there are no screws that are badly rusted or broken.
The anode by design is sacrificial to prevent the element from being damaged from the chemicals in the water. The anodes are checked for wear & tear and replaced if required.

There is natural wear & tear on the valves, this is checked to see if there is any malfunctioning of a valve. Valves & shut off valves are checked for any leaks and tighten if required. Broken & damaged valves are replaced if necessary.

Summarize

Why do you need to service a solar geyser?

Solar geysers have working parts and if it is not serviced yearly, the geyser could possibly stop working, a valve leak’s or gets stuck open.
Preventative maintenance always costs less than emergency call outs and repairs.