this is a far easier method than the others ive seen on here where they cut the line completely off the manifold and close off the holes with machine screws. this was great..
Absolute genius. I had a leak that was an extended crack, not a single hole, so what I wound up doing was replacing that section with standard drip 1/4" line to bypass the bad section and hooking in to the panel with connectors as shown. Way cheaper than replacing a panel.
I wondered if these parts would work, thanks so much for the simple video! I had everything on hand from repairing our drip irrigation, to cut and replace a damaged section of solar tubing.
Sharon Withheld Appreciate the comments and glad all worked out well on your repair. I can't even find the fixes I made a few years ago. Still water tight.
Clive. I don't understand everyone else's negative comments. I followed your suggestion. It took, literally, two minutes, and it worked perfectly. Possibly the folks that were complaining didn't have the same type of panel as you and I?? Thank you! You saved me some grief and most likely, some money too!
Forget the name (but I show it in the video) but do go to Home Depot - the underground lawn sprinkler section and you will find the connections there. The panels I show in the video are made of rubber, so I matched the diameters of the hose to the connector. In my case it was 1/4 inch fitting. You want a snug fit to ensure it won't leak. Hope this helps.
Depending on the type of plastic (ABS or PVC) and the size of the split, you could try and glue the crack. The pipe has to be clean and dry. Less than 50% chance it will work. Best thing to do is replace the piece. But give glue a try. For $4.00 a tin it is not a big investment.
The pipe (to carry the water to and from the solar panels) is usually made of PVC or ABS plastic. Buy the pipe and elbows (fittings) from Home Depot. The glue will be in the same section. Both the pipe and the glue will indicate either PVC or ABS (don't mix the two types). The solar panel will have special ends so you need to get that from the solar panel dealer. For repairs - cut out the leaking section and join/glue in a new section.
We recently purchased solar pool heaters. We ordered 1 panel that is 2.5x10 & a set that has 2 2.5x10 panels. The double was on backorder so it shipped at a later date. The double is 2 inches shorter than the single. We have sent them back 3 times but they continue to be wrong. They informed us that it was a manufacturing issue & that we should return them for a refund. The problem is that I cannot find anymore for sale close to the same price & I really want to be able to heat my pool. Is there a way to make them work? Can they be shortened?
Can you stand on the collection tubes like you're doing in the video? Do you have to drain the water out in order to stand on them like that? I have a leak right in the center of my panel high up that I can't reach with a ladder or from the sides
Great useful video, Clive. I just bought a house that has a system, but i'm not sure which type... is it FAFCO or differente? how can i tell if your solution applies? i have pics and videos of it, if it helps. i tried researching it online, to no avail. any help is appreciated. thanks
Sorry for the late reply. What worked for me was that I measured the diameter of the tubes in the rubber mats and that of the connectors. I knew that the connectors would fit snuggly. It worked well. You might have to try a couple of options to see what works best.
overnight my panel has incurred several holes either through vandalism or a big big or possum? First time this has occured in 14 years! It also could of been because of hail we received the night before? This may have frozen the tubes causing them to break?
If they are rubber, I doubt that hail would have damaged them. Something with sharp nails was up there. Or simple exposure to the elements. Nothing lasts forever. At 14 years you should expects some issues. Try to patch it as suggested. My are holding still years after.
Do the 12" sections of the PVC tubing just click together? There seems to be a C-clip of sorts (the partthat sicks up at each join). I have a join that has come apart.
This is a good method for repair. However some panels have different ID tubes. In my case, the 1/4" joiners were too small. However, 1/4" Poly tubing fits tightly inside of my larger tubing. So, I cut a piece of 1/4" tubing and coated it and the inside of the larger tube with silicone RTV and made my own joiner shoving the 1/4" tubing into the two cut ends of the panel tubing. I don't care if the flow in this single tube is reduced, I just don't want a leak. May 1, 2017 and my pool has jumped from 65F to 80F in 3 days. Sacramento area.
That has happened to me. The rubber pipe splits at the top of the housing, so there is no way to put in a connector. What I did was cut the rubber back and seal it with a plug. In this case, I used a 1.5" brass screw. Not very elegant, but it's watertight and has been for years.
@@clivewoodrow Do you think it might work if I drill through the header pipe to remove the broken connector, and then put a 1/4" connector you used in your video and glued it down? That way I might be able to reconnect the collector tube back to the header pipe.
Our panel fell off the roof and caused a 2 in thin split along one of the tubes and the plastic that connects the tubes. How would I go about fixing it?
That is usually PVC pipe. You can get cracks from freezing or simply weather (hot, cold, sun, etc). You can't "re-glue" joints. You have to cut them out and make new joins. Cut the old pipe back 3-5" on either side of the leak. Make sure you have solid pipe (no cracks) at the cuts. Buy some couplings and a new length of pipe and PVC glue. I always buy extra couplings just in case one cut leaks. Cut the pipe straight, clean the edges, prefit (test) once happy then glue the new section.
The panel tubes appear to be rubber. My panels have just sprung a leak but are molded plastic (SunQuest Brand). I don't want to use a plug and seal off a 20ft run so i will try this method. I'll soften the tube with hot water before inserting barbed fittings. Hope it works. if anyone else has tried on Poly type pipe i would be interested in hearing if it was successful.
Sorry for the very late reply. I have not had that problem to date. Try reversing flow of the water to see if that helps. If you can take the system apart near the suspected clog. Suspect you have fixed it by now.
Clive Woodrow thanks for responding. Mats were not clogged after all. I had the valves closed! Now I purchased the exact same 1/4“ orbit connectors on amazonand inserted them. The water leaks around the connector. My mats look like yours but maybe the internal diameter or material is different. Not sure what to try now. Maybe use silicone cement around the outside of a the hose barb? Thanks again.
Try and wrap some of the white Teflon tape around them. Typically that tape is used on plumbing connections, but it might just work on your mat / connector.
That's fine for an epdm rubber tubing solar panel leaking in the middle but try fixing that type of panel where it usually leaks which is at the oring connection header to header. Also try fixing it when it starts to cough black goo into the pool. EPDM rubber breaks down in pool chemistry. Most solar panels are rigid polypropylene and you can't really fix them. The standard is a flexible rubber plug. It aint pretty either.
My pool is chlorine based and that solar panel has been up to 10 years and has never oozed black goo. Sure other parts may be harder to fix, but the video clearly did not attempt cover "how to fix everything" re solar panel.
+Cameron Morale Sorry for the late reply. Not sure of the name. It was a local company in town that installed it. They have since gone out of business. The previous owners put it in 8+ years ago (2007) and I think it cost $4,000.00 installed. It has more than paid for itself. We are lucky because we have a great south facing roof that accommodates lots of panels.
Not that I know. They usually need to be glued together. If a joint has come apart it is best to cut it out. Buy a piece of pipe and two new joiners and PVC glue. Going from left to right - Original cut pipe | Joiner | New Bit of Pipe | Joiner | Original cut pipe. Fit it all together BEFORE you glue to test that everything will be snug. If it is good, pull it apart and apply good amount of glue and piece it all back together. Glue dries very quickly, 20 seconds tops. Good Luck.
Having installed hundreds of these systems, it's not that they randomly form leaks in the rubber. Raccoons and other rodents enjoy chewing on the panels. Repairing it will only temporarily solve the problem. You need to eliminate the pest before bothering to fix it!
I have only had 3 holes in 8 years. I'll put 30 connectors in before "eliminating" any "pests". It's just that easy of a fix. But that is me. Your comment is probably fair for some situations.
this is a far easier method than the others ive seen on here where they cut the line completely off the manifold and close off the holes with machine screws. this was great..
Oh man, I just wanted to thank you for posting this video. It saved me tons of problems.
Absolute genius. I had a leak that was an extended crack, not a single hole, so what I wound up doing was replacing that section with standard drip 1/4" line to bypass the bad section and hooking in to the panel with connectors as shown. Way cheaper than replacing a panel.
Did the bypass work well for you? I was just thinking of doing that since the 2 cracks I have are about an inch long each.
I wondered if these parts would work, thanks so much for the simple video! I had everything on hand from repairing our drip irrigation, to cut and replace a damaged section of solar tubing.
That's a much better option than using plugs, screws, etc. Well done
Thanks Clive, I did this over the weekend and it worked perfect. I couldn't get the parts locally but was able to order them on Amazon. Sharon
Sharon Withheld Appreciate the comments and glad all worked out well on your repair.
I can't even find the fixes I made a few years ago. Still water tight.
Thanks for the video. Had the same solar problem. You helped me fix it. Thanks again. Great video. JR
Clive. I don't understand everyone else's negative comments. I followed your suggestion. It took, literally, two minutes, and it worked perfectly.
Possibly the folks that were complaining didn't have the same type of panel as you and I??
Thank you! You saved me some grief and most likely, some money too!
M Charon Good to hear. Nice to know there is an easy fix for these types of issues.
Enjoy the summer and the pool.
Holy crap! That's a nice hack! Thanks
Forget the name (but I show it in the video) but do go to Home Depot - the underground lawn sprinkler section and you will find the connections there. The panels I show in the video are made of rubber, so I matched the diameters of the hose to the connector. In my case it was 1/4 inch fitting. You want a snug fit to ensure it won't leak.
Hope this helps.
Depending on the type of plastic (ABS or PVC) and the size of the split, you could try and glue the crack. The pipe has to be clean and dry. Less than 50% chance it will work. Best thing to do is replace the piece. But give glue a try. For $4.00 a tin it is not a big investment.
Well done. Thanks!!
The pipe (to carry the water to and from the solar panels) is usually made of PVC or ABS plastic. Buy the pipe and elbows (fittings) from Home Depot. The glue will be in the same section. Both the pipe and the glue will indicate either PVC or ABS (don't mix the two types). The solar panel will have special ends so you need to get that from the solar panel dealer.
For repairs - cut out the leaking section and join/glue in a new section.
We recently purchased solar pool heaters. We ordered 1 panel that is 2.5x10 & a set that has 2 2.5x10 panels. The double was on backorder so it shipped at a later date. The double is 2 inches shorter than the single. We have sent them back 3 times but they continue to be wrong. They informed us that it was a manufacturing issue & that we should return them for a refund. The problem is that I cannot find anymore for sale close to the same price & I really want to be able to heat my pool. Is there a way to make them work? Can they be shortened?
Can you stand on the collection tubes like you're doing in the video? Do you have to drain the water out in order to stand on them like that? I have a leak right in the center of my panel high up that I can't reach with a ladder or from the sides
No issues standing on the rubber mats that contain the tubes as well.
Does this work for fun in the sun panels?
Great useful video, Clive. I just bought a house that has a system, but i'm not sure which type... is it FAFCO or differente? how can i tell if your solution applies? i have pics and videos of it, if it helps. i tried researching it online, to no avail. any help is appreciated. thanks
Sorry for the late reply. What worked for me was that I measured the diameter of the tubes in the rubber mats and that of the connectors. I knew that the connectors would fit snuggly. It worked well. You might have to try a couple of options to see what works best.
@@clivewoodrow thank u
overnight my panel has incurred several holes either through vandalism or a big big or possum? First time this has occured in 14 years! It also could of been because of hail we received the night before? This may have frozen the tubes causing them to break?
If they are rubber, I doubt that hail would have damaged them. Something with sharp nails was up there. Or simple exposure to the elements. Nothing lasts forever. At 14 years you should expects some issues. Try to patch it as suggested. My are holding still years after.
How do you clean the inside of the tube mine is coming out with black residue oily like substance
Do the 12" sections of the PVC tubing just click together? There seems to be a C-clip of sorts (the partthat sicks up at each join). I have a join that has come apart.
This is a good method for repair. However some panels have different ID tubes. In my case, the 1/4" joiners were too small. However, 1/4" Poly tubing fits tightly inside of my larger tubing. So, I cut a piece of 1/4" tubing and coated it and the inside of the larger tube with silicone RTV and made my own joiner shoving the 1/4" tubing into the two cut ends of the panel tubing. I don't care if the flow in this single tube is reduced, I just don't want a leak. May 1, 2017 and my pool has jumped from 65F to 80F in 3 days. Sacramento area.
Doyle Souders I
How do you fix the leak when it's super close to the root? And not in the middle of the pipe
That has happened to me. The rubber pipe splits at the top of the housing, so there is no way to put in a connector. What I did was cut the rubber back and seal it with a plug. In this case, I used a 1.5" brass screw. Not very elegant, but it's watertight and has been for years.
Clive Woodrow thank you.. Do you have the link?
@@TOP10ZZ Link to what? The Fix? No. I simply inserted a correct size screw into the rubber hose. That "patched" the leak.
Clive Woodrow thanks a lot. You saved me $200 🙏🏼
@@clivewoodrow Do you think it might work if I drill through the header pipe to remove the broken connector, and then put a 1/4" connector you used in your video and glued it down? That way I might be able to reconnect the collector tube back to the header pipe.
Our panel fell off the roof and caused a 2 in thin split along one of the tubes and the plastic that connects the tubes. How would I go about fixing it?
When I was fixing the leak, the leak became bigger and the connecter doesn't reach all the way. Any suggestions of how to repair it now
That is usually PVC pipe. You can get cracks from freezing or simply weather (hot, cold, sun, etc).
You can't "re-glue" joints. You have to cut them out and make new joins.
Cut the old pipe back 3-5" on either side of the leak. Make sure you have solid pipe (no cracks) at the cuts.
Buy some couplings and a new length of pipe and PVC glue. I always buy extra couplings just in case one cut leaks. Cut the pipe straight, clean the edges, prefit (test) once happy then glue the new section.
What glue can we use?
The panel tubes appear to be rubber. My panels have just sprung a leak but are molded plastic (SunQuest Brand). I don't want to use a plug and seal off a 20ft run so i will try this method. I'll soften the tube with hot water before inserting barbed fittings. Hope it works. if anyone else has tried on Poly type pipe i would be interested in hearing if it was successful.
Thanks. Any advice on how to unclog the mats?
Sorry for the very late reply. I have not had that problem to date. Try reversing flow of the water to see if that helps. If you can take the system apart near the suspected clog. Suspect you have fixed it by now.
Clive Woodrow thanks for responding. Mats were not clogged after all. I had the valves closed! Now I purchased the exact same 1/4“ orbit connectors on amazonand inserted them. The water leaks around the connector. My mats look like yours but maybe the internal diameter or material is different. Not sure what to try now. Maybe use silicone cement around the outside of a the hose barb? Thanks again.
Try and wrap some of the white Teflon tape around them. Typically that tape is used on plumbing connections, but it might just work on your mat / connector.
Clive Woodrow ok, I’ll give it a try. Thanks
Hi, Clive. I am an engineer and I wonder, weather-wise - in which part of the Country do you live?
Boris Belfer Southern Ontario, Canada.
You should patent your idea. Your idea saves money and time - no more expensive plugs.
That's fine for an epdm rubber tubing solar panel leaking in the middle but try fixing that type of panel where it usually leaks which is at the oring connection header to header. Also try fixing it when it starts to cough black goo into the pool. EPDM rubber breaks down in pool chemistry. Most solar panels are rigid polypropylene and you can't really fix them. The standard is a flexible rubber plug. It aint pretty either.
My pool is chlorine based and that solar panel has been up to 10 years and has never oozed black goo. Sure other parts may be harder to fix, but the video clearly did not attempt cover "how to fix everything" re solar panel.
Hello Where do you buy these solar panels please
It was a small company in Ontario Canada. They have since gone out of business. :(
My panels leak at the large distribution tube where it connects with the smaller tubes. Wonder if the same method would work there?
what company solar heater is that? what did it cost? looking to add more solar heat to my house i just moved into.
+Cameron Morale Sorry for the late reply. Not sure of the name. It was a local company in town that installed it. They have since gone out of business. The previous owners put it in 8+ years ago (2007) and I think it cost $4,000.00 installed. It has more than paid for itself. We are lucky because we have a great south facing roof that accommodates lots of panels.
Not that I know. They usually need to be glued together. If a joint has come apart it is best to cut it out. Buy a piece of pipe and two new joiners and PVC glue.
Going from left to right - Original cut pipe | Joiner | New Bit of Pipe | Joiner | Original cut pipe.
Fit it all together BEFORE you glue to test that everything will be snug. If it is good, pull it apart and apply good amount of glue and piece it all back together.
Glue dries very quickly, 20 seconds tops. Good Luck.
This only works if you have the rubber style if it’s the harder plastic good luck
100% Correct. Plastic - cheaper - harder to fix.
These appear to be Heliocol or SunTec panels
Having installed hundreds of these systems, it's not that they randomly form leaks in the rubber. Raccoons and other rodents enjoy chewing on the panels. Repairing it will only temporarily solve the problem. You need to eliminate the pest before bothering to fix it!
I have only had 3 holes in 8 years. I'll put 30 connectors in before "eliminating" any "pests". It's just that easy of a fix. But that is me. Your comment is probably fair for some situations.
fuck this not only did it ruin my solar panels it made the hole bigger
I showed how I stopped the leak. Sorry to hear you did not have the same success.
I know more about diy from Avasva handbooks!
Try some new solutions from Avasva solutions.
Go to avasva page if you want to learn how to build it yourself