The smartpool S601P Sunheater solar heating system is nicely built, and does its job as described. They did take quite sometime for me to unroll but once I got the hang of things, it became a stroll in the park.
Smartpool S601P Sunheater Solar Heating System Heater
Each heater boasts of 2 solar panels, 4 rubber connectors with hose clamps and a couple of metal pieces about four inches long that have right-angle bend on one end and a hole to screw on the other end.
Each panel comes with small slots in the plastic close to the top and bottom edge. These hooks are mean’t to grip as you screw them down.
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Cons
- It comes with zero instructions
- There are only a few guides out there on how to fasten or plumb these down or together.
- You cannot run full water flow from your pool pump via these. It’s just not built for the pressure.
I installed valves in the line that control how much water flows to the heater and how much quantity goes straight into my pool.
Do you have ruptured connectors or a leaked connector? It could be that you’re trying to run all the flow via the heater.
Complaints that the rubber connectors won’t work because the ends of the pipe are threaded are unfounded because the pipe ends are designed to use with either hose clamped fittings or threaded fittings.
The rubber connectors slide past the threads and on to a wide groove made to seal with a clamp. If you plan to run water through one panel and then back through the next you should purchase up to four 1 1/2″ threaded pvc pipe caps and thread sealer tape.
To connect the input and output water lines I used the rubber connectors and inserted a 1 1/2″ slip to 1″ female thread reducer. Then I threaded in a male 1″ threaded to black plastic pipe barbed adapter.
I also used unions in a couple places so I could easily disconnect the water lines if needed. My system worked great on the first try with no leaks or problems.
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How to Hold this System down the Roof
Use five pieces of ½” metal conduit. Simply lay each piece down across the already assembled heater and mark the conduct just below each panel.
Next, drill a screw hole via the conduit of each mark. I cut a 3/4″ piece of 3/8″ rubber gas line type hose to use as a spacer and seal between the conduit and the roof. Then fill the short piece of hose with silicone, put it under the conduit and ran a galvanized screw through the conduit and spacer into the shingled roof.
The hose will squash down and force the silicone to squeeze out a little so you can be sure you have a good seal on the roof.
Aside the issue of lack of instructions the only quality issue I had was one of the heater panels had been trimmed too close to the last tube and that tube would have leaked.
Be sure to look for this before installing so you can fix it easily. I cut out a small piece of that last tube at both ends and ran a small screw into where it connects to both pipes.
Three factors determine how much it heats your pool – The quantity of water in your pool, how sunny the day is and how cold your water gets at night are some factors that affect the effectiveness of this device.
It raises your water temperature a little so don’t expect much. If your water temp is 60 degrees, this heater may bring it to 65 or 70. If it flows fast, you may not notice the difference and if the water trickles through, it may come out super-hot.
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