Apricus Solar Hot Water System Questions & Answers

Thank you for the reply, but as I wrote, "water runs from the...pipe", so much so that there is not enough pressure building in the tank to allow forceful water from house HW taps. I had a punt and replaced the PTRV. That has worked.
Before inserting the new valve I pulled up the handle and noticed that a mechanism within the valve was shifted. Doing the same to the old valve produced no effect.
I can only assume that the old PTRV had failed, and was in a continued "open" position which allowed water to constantly run out of the tank when the inlet tap was 'on' which created pressure within the tank.
I am not a plumber, so if my thought process if wrong, please respond so I can have my thinking straightened in case this incident repeats in the future. Thank you once again. Stay safe.

I struggled with this throughout the time I had this system. It was always difficult to find someone willing to service it. Even the people Apricus recommended wouldn’t get back to you.
I wish you luck with it.

Thanks Phil. Not the answer I was looking for though. Cheers.

You can forget about the warranty after installation as anything related or not can and will void it. Dont anticipate your calls to be returned. Buy something else.... Don't believe the hype the salesman comes up with.

Is the pump functioning to push water up to the roof? I have three of these. Also is the controller still functioning. I had one of those replaced

Hello Phil, How do I ascertain that the pump is working? The controller has digital display so I assume it is working.
How do I tell? Sorry but not very tech or mechanically savvy.

The elements in the heater sometimes degrade and crack. They are not that expensive and a replacement should solve the problem

That's a good question i don't know? i guess the main concern is that the tubes dont get too hot?

Yes you can but best to just leave it on as it wont hurt. Make sure you turn washing machine and dishwasher taps off though> We have never turned ours off for our 9 week holidays

kno Don't know if my answer went to you or not. Please tell me,I'll answer it again if no.

Geronimo

You have water hammer so get plumber to fit a water hammer arrestor in the pipes

I'm no plumber Do you have ants when it's cold they like warm on the side of water tank sensor shorting circut my plumber cleaned and puffed a little baby powder anound ants do like it. If your panel shows SSD instead of temp more than likely pump.

You should be able to hear the pump cycling. Stand outside the heating system and see if you can hear it. When it does cycle the float value which is yellow and has some kind of spring in it rises to the top. When the pump is off it sits on the bottom. It cycles all day. Last cycle will be when theres not sun.You can also see the temp of the water by taking the cover off the box. This is helpful as it shows what temp the water is. Press the plus sign to record the temps. One temp is whats cycling through, one temp is the heat on the tubes and one temp is what the temp of the water is.If you have any further questions Ill go and tell you exactly what the readings mean by having a look at ours. You should have hot water all year round in QLD. Have you called Apricus? Forget the plumber go straight to the company.
How old is the system?

Ours was over $6000 then we got a $2000 rebate. We worked out that after 5 yrs of using this system that this would be the breaking point if we had converted to gas hot water heating. Almost at the 3 year mark.

I cannot remember do some research on line. Sorry

Hi Stuart sorry for delay we are in sunny Darwin where the Apricus system would work a dream!!! Sounds like your thermostat has gone. Ours did this. System was 2.5 years old. We had it replaced by electrician $150. All back on track now. Could I ask what your electricity bill is with having your system on all day. We are trialling this to compare it against boosting 2 hrs every day. Louise

What do you mean by adjusting the water temperature? Our programe was adjusted by an Apricus installer and a regulator was installed by them as well . Our water is quite hot still as the weather has been very warm here during the day and the sensor and gas does not need to be on . I was advised that winter will be the time that the gas will kick in but it is still very cheap hot water. We have had this system for over a year 1 to 2 people using the hot water and still using the same Gas bottle! I would say thats very economical ! If your having a problem get in touch with Apricus they were extremely helpful and fixed all our problems with their own Installer
Regards Lucia.

Hi Tony

The maximum temperature permitted at your Bathroom fixtures is no greater than 50 degrees Celsius but no such restriction at the Kitchen and Laundry tub - as per the Plumbing Code. If you are experiencing temperatures below that then the most likely cause would be that the Tempering Valve (temp control valve) is either faulty or just needs a slight adjustment, it is very unlikely but low hot water temperatures could be VERY dangerous and you should get the issue addressed immediately - same applies to any hot water system. Feel free to call us and we can talk you through some simple troubleshooting steps and there's a good chance we can diagnose it over the phone.