Recent content by el_steak

I'm glad it worked for you as well! The repair on mine is holding up, not a drop of water on the roof since the fix and a pool that reached close to 90 degrees last weekend :) I wish I had known about plastic welding before, there are so many plastic things (especially toys) that I could...

I used a cheap no-name 60w iron and a hammer head tip with a large flat spot. The hammer head tip is designed to solder battery cells end-to-end. It worked fine for this job, but I think pretty much any tip with a large flat surface would do. I had to do some touch ups the next day however...

:p It's fixed! Thanks Ike for directing me to the plastic welding thread. After a bit of googling, I found out that the Technosolis (and Vortex) panels are made of polypropylene (PP). Glue, epoxy, silicone and other adhesives do not bond really well with Polypropylene (PP) and Polyethylene...

Thanks Ike, I see you have the same type of panels as me. The DIY plastic welding trick seems like a good approach and I'll give it a try. The leak is coming from under that piece of seam material which I'm not sure is plastic itself so I might not be as successful. Still worth a try. It's...

After 6 years of trouble free solar heating, I got my first leak today. It's a slow drip leak, no spraying. It is coming from under one of the 3 long seams in the panel. There's no leak under the panel, just on the top. Unlike the tubular type solar panels, you can't just plug one of the...

We have the same panels (Techno Solis with 2 inch headers). "Techno Solis" is also printed (in yellow) on my couplings. But as you said it's probably an outsourced part. I'll see if I can find a suitable replacement locally. BTW, if you have a shingle roof you might want to consider some wear...

Yes I have a release valve. It's location was a source of debate in my original installation thread (linked above). I can hear the fairly loud suction noise when the pumps shuts down and air enters the panels, but I guess they don't drain completely. BTW, the leak is with the coupling between...

I installed my solar heater 5 years ago. It's the best investment I could have made for my pool. With the help of a solar cover that I always put on at night, my pool sticks to 90F+ all summer long. The kids and their friends love it and they spend all their time in the pool instead of playing...

The flex pipe is the brand "TigerFlex". I got some left overs from the pool builder so I didn't have to buy any. The temps sensors came with the Aqua Logic P4 panel.

I haven't used "ribbed" or "tubes" type panels so I can't directly compare. That being said, I don't think there are huge differences in efficiency between the 2 types of panels. I have the general impression from my unscientific reading of this board that the cheaper panels are more prone to...

I think they are the same panels as the ones from TechnoSolis (which I have). The instruction sheet that came with my panels had the word "Vortex" left in a few spots. I also have the larger 2 inch headers, although my pool plumbing is only 1.5 inches. Instead of being a bunch of small pipes...

A 1.5 hp pump has a _LOT_ of suction. Be careful if your Intex pool doesn't have a proper skimmer. On many of these pools, the intake is just a hole in the side of the pool 12 inches or so under the water line. A few summers ago, a 13 year old girl drowned in Quebec when her long hair got...

There are many posts on the forum showing installations. You can see my installation here: http://www.troublefreepool.com/solar-panel-installation-pic-t5823.html There a nice thread of a step by step installation of solar panels here...

If you have a large enough sunny area on your roof or in your backyard, solar panels are a cheap and effective way to go, especially for a small pool like yours. You only have to pay once for the panels and then the heat is free. With propane, you'll get instant heat (and lots of it), but you'll...