Solar water heating

[Spiny Norman]

Guys - I'd appreciate a bit of guidance on my heating system. The pool water circulates to the roof where it's heated in those black panels. The system is about 9 years old and it's been very effective. Just recently however we've begun to hear water dripping and gurgling constantly while the system is off. Is this a problem? Any idea what it might be?

Thanks

 

[jblizzle]

The panels are designed to drain when the pump is off. There is a vacuum release valve that allows air in and the system to drain. Some noise is not uncommon, although odd that it just started. Wonder if maybe the vrv is not allowing the system to drain as easily as before and thus more noise?

 

[Spiny Norman]

Yes it definitely just started doing this. Any idea where this valve is likely to be or what it looks like?

 

[jblizzle]

Often the vrv is at the very highest point, but that is not always true. They look like a short pipe that screws in and has some holes at the top.

I am not sure how you could tell if there is a problem with it. Also not really sure there is a problem. Both my houses with solar have made noise when draining.

 

[mas985]

Here are a few pictures. These can usually be seen fairly easy:

However, this type goes in the end of the panel header and can't be seen very easily from the ground:

 

[Surf Hawk]

Hi, I am a newbie too, but does your system make a gurgling, trickling sound when it is on also? I discovered our solar system makes a lot of funny noises when the filter pressure rises. When I backflush, all noises go away. I attribute it to lower flow from higher pressure but maybe I'm wrong. Since this happens even when it is off, this probably isn't your problem.

 

[jblizzle]

If the filter is dirty, that will reduce the flow and pressure to the panels. If the pressure is too low at the vrv, then it may not close and could be gurgling and pulling in air.

 

[Spiny Norman]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the help. On closer inspection it appears the noise isn't water dropping form high levels, it's air bubbles percolating up through the system. I guess I have a leak somewhere. I'm going to give the filter a good clean and inspect everything. I'll report back

Thanks

 

[linen]

If you are getting air in the system, it will be on the suction side (before the pump impeller). Common causes are, low pool volume or stuck skimmer weir causing air to be sucked in at skimmer, leaking pump basket gasket, leaking pump drain plug, leaking suction side valves/fittings. See this pool school article for help on leaks: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/leak_detection

 

[Spiny Norman]

Re: Solar water heating (SOLVED)

It appears that my filter wasn't working properly. A few of the grids were broken and it needed a good clean. So now the pressure is good and the gurgling noises have disappeared. Thanks everyone