So I have 2 issues and I'm hoping someone here knows how to solve this or perhaps what could be causing the issues.

 

1) My geyser burst. Insurance replaced it but the people they sent obviously have no idea how to work with solar geysers. For some reason, my geyserwise says the temperature is above 65 but when I shower I get about 20 seconds of hot water and then cold water the rest of the time. Weirdly, the other taps in the house can give very hot water. The temperature on the geyserwise doesn't drop during showers like it used to before the geyser burst. These guys have no idea what to do so have completely disabled the solar and now my geyser is running off the element only. 

 

2) My geyserwise control box keeps blowing up. I've had to replace it 3 times now. It's always during some weird situation as well. The last time it blew, the element was on and pulling 3kw. All of a sudden it demanded 6kw and then died.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

On 2021/10/22 at 4:06 PM, pranam said:

1) My geyser burst. Insurance replaced it but the people they sent obviously have no idea how to work with solar geysers. For some reason, my geyserwise says the temperature is above 65 but when I shower I get about 20 seconds of hot water and then cold water the rest of the time. Weirdly, the other taps in the house can give very hot water. The temperature on the geyserwise doesn't drop during showers like it used to before the geyser burst. These guys have no idea what to do so have completely disabled the solar and now my geyser is running off the element only. 

They clearly have no idea what they are doing.  Have you thought about getting someone else in?

On 2021/10/22 at 4:06 PM, pranam said:

2) My geyserwise control box keeps blowing up. I've had to replace it 3 times now. It's always during some weird situation as well. The last time it blew, the element was on and pulling 3kw. All of a sudden it demanded 6kw and then died.

Looked online, Geyser Wise state that their "relay" is rated for a maximum of 4kW.  Why 6kW, is the Geyser very large volume (litres)?

1) You should have a valve on the return from the solar collector. That should be closed to ~20-30%. If it is not, water will flow from the cold inlet, through the collector and bypass the geyser altogether.

2) There must be some wiring issue - you will have to get someone to fix.

There are a few things to take into account and all need qualified people:

• There is a new 2017 SANS code for Plumbers that specifically related to Geyser installs... Horrified me initially, but I can see the point.
• A blender valve is now compulsory - This connects the cold and hot water "exits" to your house and limits the max temp through pipes to +- 60 degrees max
• You need an intake vacuum valve, some non-return valves, cut-offs, pressure release valves and a whole host of things we never need to worry about before

I am not a plumber so please bear with some of this advice:

• No matter the size of a Geyser (unless attached to 3 phase and completely different for industrial purposes), you shouldn't need anything more than a 4kW element (even up to 400l)
• Correct as above, GeyserWise (all versions) are limited to a 4kW output. Is there any chance that the might have connected a second geyser to the same electrical line?
• Since I am often off-grid, but still need electrical power to my geyser sometimes, I try use a 1.5kW or 2kW element for short periods so that my batteries don't get killed
• If the water to shower is cutting of alone, make sure there is no pressure loss between systems, and more importantly make sure the shower pipe is connected to the same/same place as where the working taps are connected
• Geyserwise Max systems should have a pump connected on the Panel side, but this also sometimes needs a "one way" valve if the geyser is at a much lower level than the panels (can happen even with a bad thermosyphon setup)

Suggestions:

• If you can disconnect your solar panels & Geyserwise from the system for a day or two via valves: See if the problem still exists, this could indicate another issue not related to Solar.

Good luck

Regards
KLEVA

My geyserwise system failed twice within one year. The control box was replaced in both cases, the second time at a cost exceeding R2000. Is there a simpler method to control the geyser as this complex system seems to be very effective but unreliable?

 

I gave power going into the control box, but no power goes to the element. Could it be a failure in the controls or a component 

On 2023/12/30 at 3:18 PM, Rgr said:

I gave power going into the control box, but no power goes to the element. Could it be a failure in the controls or a component 

My guess would either be that the element has blown or a relay in the control box is no longer working

Edited January 4, 20242 yr by Gambit

On 2021/11/03 at 7:59 AM, P1000 said:

1) You should have a valve on the return from the solar collector. That should be closed to ~20-30%. If it is not, water will flow from the cold inlet, through the collector and bypass the geyser altogether.

2) There must be some wiring issue - you will have to get someone to fix.

Thank you kind stranger on the Internet from 4 years ago. You have made my day. I moved into a new house with this setup about four months ago and was unable to shower between 09h00 and 15h00 when the collector gets sun. The valve on my side sits at the cold water exit (well actually it is just connected to the geyser's cold water inlet). When showering and the pump went on, there would be a sudden inrush of extremely hot water followed by water too cold to shower in (even on full hot open). Now that I have partially closed that valve (even though I am a bit worried that it is on the "vacuum" side of the pump), I can still feel the effect when the pump kicks in (slightly colder), but is is much more bearable. The only way I can explain it it my mind, is that the municipal pressure overcomes the the water pump pressure and runs in reverse through the collector. Does anyone here know if the pump blocks flow when not powered? The water pressure in my area is quite low (3.5 Bar at the meter) so I have a suspicion that the battery on the 12V side or the pump might be on it's way out.

I am sitting here watching the app temperatures like a hawk hoping the whole setup doesn't explode. Wish me luck and thanks again for the advice.