Customer Reviews

4` x 20` Solar Pool Panel System

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I first saw these heaters I had my doubts as to thier thermal absorption rate, well the first set raised my water ( 15 ft round X 48 in. dp.appx 4000 gal) by 8 degrees F ,it was good for mid Ohio area,so I bought a second set and run them in parallel series with a intex 2500 gph. filter pump ,dedicated to just the heat system,with seperate inlet and discharge nozzele w/ 1 1/2 in lines. This 2nd set provided an additional 9 - 10 degrees, my pool can be as high as 98 -100, or I can leave the solar cover off and there is substantial heat loss overnight,pumps only run from 8 am to 8 pm, 2nd pump runs a intex salt system,(Awesome in its self) ,
Well all I can say is this is a well designed product,easy to work with and if maintained properly ,should last many seasons without fail.They are of some black pvc (?) but small leaks should be easy to field repair through some sort of solvent welding process. Any way I am going to purchase 2 more kits so I can probably enjoy my pool around september with the shorter daylight hours and the heavy duty silver film 8 mm solar cover ,it should work great late into the season,
I'm usually pretty skeptical about "reasonably "priced items,But these passed the test, their easy to uncoil from the shipping mode, ( These people pack this stuff like a PRO,Solid and compact,) the box is around 50 lb,s. u s.
It is best to unroll the panels together ,and in direct sunlight,SLOWLY,as they heat alittle,then unroll alittle. I think they heat these panels then roll them with a machine,then Bandit all together under tension, and when it cools, well it gets really stiff,But they will spring a bit when unbanded,(Please use sissors to cut bands,knives could knick the panwl surface) I think you would really damage them by forcibly unrolling them cold, I just rigged up a rope over my canopy and slowly pulled them up and 1/2 way over as they hung waiting the sun to heat some more unrolled material,once heated by the sun the panels are quite fleible and HOT! use gloves! Easy to hook up, all parts included to assemble panels, EXCEPT hoses and if you buy multiple sets ,or may you use multiple sets ,you will need additional 1 1/2 in male adaptorsand 1 1/2 in hose or tubing or 2 1/2 in coolant hose,(NAPA has for 15.00 per ft. and get the bigger hose clamps for 2.00 apiece, no since doing a slipshod job from the beggining,These panels work, and I would definitly buy agin and recommend to others,
ALSO , this work can involve working at heights, use all appropiate saftey gear.
and methods ,or hire a contractor to install ,P S, please read and understand the instructions,principles of fluid dynamics ,and how to use this system ,I am quite sure you also will have a fantastic heater for your pool, DONT forget to build your system to drain in winter ,the freezing could very well cause trapped water to burst the cappilaries in the mat or end manifolds, they sell vacumn relief valves at thier storefront, Have a great summer.

REMEMBER if you are wanting to order this - it is a replacement or additional panel set for an existing solar setup. Arrived quickly and replacing our bad panel from a freeze was a snap.
Panel are working GREAT love having the nice warm pool again.

Very heavy duty compared to my older panels. One panel was damaged, but it appears to be from shipping. I patched the leak (I was not about to take these back down to return it!). The plugs worked fine. My pool is warm like a bathtub, just they way I like it!

One complaint the panels don't lie flat on the roof. I don't know if I installed them crooked, or if the manifolds are misalligned. Maybe because these are the 20' long panels, the shorter (8'-10') panels seem to lie more flat. No big deal.

I've had a set of these solar heating strips for 6 years now. They work great - they keep my 15x15' pool usable without having to resort to a blanket or gas heat - neither which I find acceptable.

I have thermometers installed on both sides of the heater so I can see the water temps going in and out of the heater (used an old radio shack wired remote thermometer and extended the internal sensor). Most of the day the water is being heated by about 1-2 degrees. The overall effect is my pool temp is usually 5-10 degrees less than the ambient air temp. During the hottest days here (95), the pool will be around 85.

Installation was quite simple. I had no experience in assembling PVC plumbing at the time, but had no trouble getting it all assembled up to the point of the existing pool plumbing, then had a pool guy do the final install.

I've picked up a few leaks over the years (I didn't make any special provisions for draining, though most of the water seems to drain out due to gravity during the closing procedure). The procedure is to take a screw and drill it into the plastic tubing where the leak has occurred. This has worked fine for me.

My only complaint with this system is it uses (or at least my 6 year old model used) nylon straps to hold the panels to the roof. When I installed them I questioned their durability. Sure enough after 2 summers the straps rotted and a windstorm snapped them. Fortunately I was hope that the time and managed to slap together some bailing wire to hold them in place temporarily.

Afterwards, I found that drain tape (used to clear out pipes) was nearly the same size. I was able to cut that to size and hold it in place with screws in the existing fittings. That steel tape isn't going anywhere and I've had no problems with this system since.