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Hi, i purchased two 2x20 SunQuest solar panels last year which i connected and laid them against a west/south/west facing fence. While it heated OK, i was not getting the full value of the solar panels. I would like to move the panels to my Southwest facing roof that gets sun exposure from 10a - 6p that should definitely help with heating our pool (located in CT) The pool was recently installed a few year ago and at the time did not contemplate solar roof panels. I'm currently operating a 1HP Hayward Power-FLO Matrix pump with a Hayward Perflex Extended Cycle DE Filter. The filter is rated for 50 GPM and 50 PSI. To get the water up to the pool, i would need to run about 50 feet of PVC to the house and then up 2 stories, an additional 30 feet, and back to the pump area. I've read in multiple threads that a 1HP pump should get the water up to the second story but am hoping to confirm with my configuration. I could upgrade the pump to a hayward 1.5HP without changing the filter if needed. I've already installed a 3-way jandy valve that I used last year when the panels were against the fence (about 5 ft away). The plan was to run PVC above ground to the house (along side the pool and deck) and up to the roof with at least 1 check valve to make sure the back pressure does impact the pump. Thank you in advance for your feedback. Best, John

This is a DIY for how to fix hundreds of holes in the very expensive Fafco Revolution solar heating panels. Many lessons learned are in this DIY ... which I believe are nowhere else on the web. I write this so that YOU have the information that I never had, when I started this quest four years ago to fix my Fafco Revolution solar heating panels. Good luck and - please improve with suggestions - as I still haven't found a good supplier for the plugs used in this DIY. History: - My solar heating panel installation was designed & installed by Poco Solar at 3345 Keller Street Santa Clara (408-970-0680) about 10 years ago. - They are the only Fafco authorized dealer anywhere near me, according to Fafco (http://www.fafco.com...er/default.aspx) - They are warranted for 10 years, to the original owner only (http://www.fafco.com/shw/faq.aspx). - I bought the house about 4 years ago, and this problem has been going on since then (and clearly before then). - The 13 four-feet wide twelve-foot long panels are 15 feet below the pool (http://www.fafco.com...al_10-28-09.pdf) - They're 'drained' each winter by opening the only drain Poco solar installed and shutting off the three "Jandy" valves provided. - This is in accordance with the Fafco factory winterizing instructions at http://www.fafco.com/sph/faq.aspx - Yet, each time I start up the solar heating system, fifty (or so) leaks occur; and another dozen or so occur during the summer. - Each and every leak (mostly pinholes) is at the weak-spot 'whorl' pressed into the Fafco Revolution solar heating panels. - Fafco touts these little 'dimples' as revolutionary. I'll say. They make you want to revolt. - Prices for a new Fafco Revolution solar heating panel were quoted by Poco solar as $528 + ~10% tax. - The Fafco Sunsaver solar heating panels are the same thing, but without the weak whorl, at $370 + ~10% tax. - Obviously, the first tip to you, the reader, is save yourself ~$175 per panel by NOT buying the one with the weak whorl. - The salesman will swear the 'whorl' gives you better heating because it 'spins' the water in the tube. - Personally, I think the whorl is pressed into the tube and it is badly designed such that it becomes THE weakest point in the entire system! - The second tip is to buy a $45 Fafco repair kit with 20 repair plugs to disable each tube as it springs a leak at the whorl - The need to repair Fafco Revolution solar heating panels is so great you can also find these Fafco repair kits on Ebay for around $20 - You really need the EXACT shape of the chisel gouge that comes with the kit; and the allen-head pusher is just the right size (an allen wrench hurts your hands more) - And, before some smart aleck suggest gluing the pinholes, make sure you've tried it first. - You can try all the glues you want (I've tried at least a half dozen); they all fail ... at least they all failed me. YMMV. - What I do is what Fafco recommends which is to just disable any tube that leaks (about 50 tubes per year!) - It takes a minimum of 2 and sometimes 4 plugs to disable a single tube (so you need at least 100 plugs for starters) - The Fafco plugs are of soft rubber of a width of 1/4" tapered to a smidge over 1/8"; length barely over 7/8" with a hole in the large end - The official repair option is to buy 100 repair plugs at $0.54 each (+~10% tax) from the dealer. - These are the perfect length to go in smoothly - and they have a hole in them to keep the plug from bunching up like an inchworm - However, at 50 pinholes per year and over 54 cents per plug and with two to four plugs per pinhole, the Fafco plugs get expensive! - I found similar plugs at McMaster Carr & WidgetCo for about $.09 each, plus 10% tax + about $5 shipping - The WidgetCo part number is 7-R000000-EPDM-RS and the cost is $39.00 for 100 tapered rubber stoppers (1/4x1/8x3/4 EPDM) - The McMaster-Carr part number is "6448K88" and the cost is $8.46 for 100 tapered rubber stoppers (1/4x1/8x3/4 EPDM) - McMaster-Carr actually gets their plugs from RubberDynamics.com, PN TPE0250-0750, which sells for $5.00 for 100 stoppers (1/4x1/8x3/4 EPDM) - The only problem with RubberDynamics is you have to buy 10 packs of 100 wherease McMaster-Carr will sell one pack of 100. - These EPDM plugs are just as wide (1/4") and tapered just as small (1/8") but they're shorter at 3/4" & they don't have the hole in the large end - I have not yet found on the net a tapered rubber stopper that is the same dimensions yet longer at 7/8" (if you know of any, let me know!) - You 'could' easily melt a hole in the end by heating a small allen wrench and shoving it into the rubber - but I found it wasn't really necessary. - If you use the Fafco repair kit, you do not need any other special tools - although dish detergent & an 1/8" round 'tool' are useful when using the suggested rubber stoppers (which are shorter and don't have the extra hole). Here is a picture of the $45 Fafco solar heating panel repair kit (the shampoo lubricant and the red case are my additions): 100 plugs from the dealer is $54.00 + ~10% tax; the closest/cheapest I found is TPE0250-0750 from Rubber Dynamics at $5.00 for 100 plugs: Here is a picture of the longer $0.54 Fafco original plug with a hole in the end & the shorter $0.05 replacement plug (with a hole melted into the end): Here is what the panels look like when they're dry (notice the water stains, each one of which is a Fafco 'dimple' leak): There are perhaps 50 or more pinholes like these, all of which are at the weak-point 'whorl' specific to the Fafco Revolution panels. Notice the many varied attempts at glue, epoxy, and rubber cement. Don't even think about gluing these panels. It just doesn't work. Here's another pinhole, again, always at the whorl of the Fafco Revolution solar heating panels: The reason it's always at the dimple is graphically shown in this Fafco illustration: I could go on and on, but you get the point. Each dimple of the Fafco Revolution panel is an obvious weak spot: To "winterize" these panels Fafco recommends you shut off the three Jandy-style valves to the panels: