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30 Year Old Solar Water Heating System still operating
This system had fallen into disrepair with a change in ownership of the house. The new owner wondered whether to have the collectors removed. With a little investigation I found the controller had failed. I replaced it with a new GL30 pump controller in May.
This is not a typical closed loop solar water heating system that uses a mixture of propylene glycol and water for freeze protection, rather this system uses tap water for a heat transfer fluid. When the collectors are hot, water is pumped from a storage tank, through the collectors. After the sun goes down the pump turns off and all the water drains back into the tank leaving the collectors empty.
If you look closely you will notice that the collector piping is sloped to accommodate drain back. These systems were very popular in the late 70's and early 80's. Many of these systems are still operating reliably throughout North America.
In October, five months after I installed the system, I asked my client how the system was working.
"Either it is working very well or the gauge on the oil tank is broken" was the reply. Turns out the gauge on the oil tank was not broken.
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