solar geyser

Did any of you have a ripple relay controlling your old geyser and did the installers disconnect it or leave it inline when they installed your solar geyser?

Reason I ask is that mine was left inline and the issue is that when my timer turns the geyser on at 3pm for the afternoon 2hr element bump, it takes over half an hour for the ripple relay to turn the element on and this means the element does not heat the water for the full 2hrs. It's also a major headache if we have cold water at some stagd and need the element on immediately. we have to wait until the ripple relay allows it.
 
flashsa said:
Did any of you have a ripple relay controlling your old geyser and did the installers disconnect it or leave it inline when they installed your solar geyser?

Reason I ask is that mine was left inline and the issue is that when my timer turns the geyser on at 3pm for the afternoon 2hr element bump, it takes over half an hour for the ripple relay to turn the element on and this means the element does not heat the water for the full 2hrs. It's also a major headache if we have cold water at some stagd and need the element on immediately. we have to wait until the ripple relay allows it.
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They must have left it out on my solar geyser. No issues switching to juice to get heat when the sun fails me.
 
I had major drama one evening when I had turned off the geyser timer completely and the wife started moaning because the water was cold due to 2 days of rainy weather. Decided to snap the seal off the ripple relay box and turn the thing on myself. problem solved!
 
Been thinking of doing this for a while, but I have checked my hot water usage and it is less than R150/m. Also, if I do have one installed I would like a two geyser system in series (which does not qualify for rebate). Solar geyser that takes cold water inlet (150l) and then the existing 200l that has the inlet from the solar geyser. Install a circuit back to the solar geyser with a pump and when there is a difference of say 5 or 10 degrees, circulate the hot water between the two system for a few minutes to equalise the temperature.

Allowing you to deplete most of your 200l geyser in the evening and still have "free" hot water in the morning. Anybody have a system installed like this, feedback would be appreciated.
 
Well you could have it disconnected for the rebate. What happens after that would technically not be their problem. :whistle: Eskom has been screwing us so long it's time they get some back.
 
I had a 150l retrofit installed by Gauteng Water Heating.
The other installers quoted me between R11000 and R13000. GWH - R8 500 on a promotion. I was very suspicious about this and did a lot of reasearch first. The parts were priced commercially, the installation fee was very low. No mention on Hellopeter about any major complaints. I finally ended up asking the consultant why they were so cheap - His reply 'We keep our installation fee low to get a bigger market segment'
Took the plunge and decided to try them. Installation took 3, maybe 4 hours. Very proffesional, neat. No leaks, no complications.
A light fitting in the hallway under the geyser rattled loose whle they were working in the ceiling and they cleaned up the mess and re-imbursed me for the replacement. Its been 5 days so far - no issues yet.
 
Last edited:
2 weeks now. We were without power on last sunday (scheduled maintenance), and the system performed like expected. Warm water the whole day.
One thing I did notice is that it cools down really fast at night. Anyone else experience that?
 
Compton_effect said:
2 weeks now. We were without power on last sunday (scheduled maintenance), and the system performed like expected. Warm water the whole day.
One thing I did notice is that it cools down really fast at night. Anyone else experience that?
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Ye - mine too. Expected though with this cold (in Gauteng anyway). Kicks in with electricity at 05H00 ready for the morning showers at 06H00 so all is good.
 
Mike Smit said:
I went solar. Best move ever. Bill is down just under R1k per month.

I got mine through Teljoy Solar and paid it off over 6 months.

300L with flat panels.
Disconnected the old geyser, but there was an option to hook it up to store more hot water.

Timer is set for 3AM to 6AM for morning shower etc... and again at night from 7PM to 10PM. During winter I also have it on from 3PM to 5PM.

In summer the thing cooks and timer is hardly needed at all.
Click to expand...

My geyser is off permanently and turn it on when needed, generally only during winter. From 15 September to end of May, geyser stays off permanently. Down to about R250 a month if not less. Before electricity increases, spent R100 a month.
 
spiff said:
I'll make sure their plumber puts in an option to use the old geyser to store hot water. don't like the idea of disconnecting and emptying the old geyser.
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Normally a requirement for the Eskom rebate.
 
1. I heard a rumour that Eskom are planning to end the current solar geyser rebate program quite soon?

2. Could somebody please suggest some companies to get quotes from in the Bellville area (Northern suburbs of Cape Town) & what features to ask for?

I guess I'll need a 200l for 4 bedroom normal pitched room house.

thnx in advance
 
Cape Town is about to launch a subsidy scheme. Best wait for that.
 
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