Sol-Reliant OG 300-2004008A, Installation, Operation And Maintenance Manual

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auxiliary water heater to bring the water in the tank up to the desired temperature. For instance, if
the water heater element is set at 120 degrees F, and the sun has already pre-heated the water to
120 degrees or above, the element will not come on at all. If the solar pre-heated water is less
than 120 degrees, the water heater element will turn on long enough to “boost” the temperature
up to the thermostat setting.
Your solar system is fully automatic. The 12-volt DC pump is powered directly by the 30-watt
photovoltaic (PV) module. The pump is self-regulating: the brighter the sun, the faster it pumps.
Even on cloudy days there will be some solar gain. If there is no sun, the pump has no power to
operate, and the system will be in a state of rest, or “drained-back.” The solar loop is not
pressurized. In the drained-back state, the thermal collector is empty. A length of 2” diameter
copper pipe located just below the collector acts as a reservoir tank and holds enough fluid to
keep the pump primed during circulation. With the pump off, the fluid drains back into the
reservoir tank by gravity. The propylene glycol in the system protects it from freezing.
System Components
Collector
The Sol-Reliant solar thermal collector uses AET Thermafin absorber plates. These are all-
copper absorbers with a selective surfacing called Black Majic, which allows for optimum
absorption in sunny or cloudy weather. This special surfacing gives you 96% absorption when
light strikes the solar absorber
plate with less than 10% loss
through emissivity. The
absorbers are housed in an
anodized aluminum box,
insulated with high-
temperature rigid insulation
around the perimeter of the box
and on the underside of the absorber assembly. Low-iron, tempered glass allows the maximum
amount of sunlight to enter the collector (over 90%). Although we warranty these collectors for
six years, their real useful life can easily be 50 years or more.
Tank
Your solar storage tank is made by Rheem and has a capacity of either 80 gallons (Model #
81VR80HE-1) or 120 gallons (Model # 81VR120HE-1), depending on your system. It is
guaranteed for 6 years by Rheem. A DWP (double wall with leak protection) type heat
exchanger is coiled around the bottom one-third of the solar storage tank. The heat transfer fluid
circulates through the solar collector and heat exchanger, warming the potable water in the tank.
The solar storage tank, like your auxiliary water heater, is equipped with a sacrificial anode rod.
The purpose of this anode is to protect the tank from the minerals and aggressive chemical
elements in water that could reduce the life of your glass-lined stainless steel tank. The life of
both your storage tank and your auxiliary water heater can be extended considerably if anode