Replacing Solahart Water Heaters

Solahart, an Australian company, has sold many passive solar water heaters over the years in the United States. Solaharts have served many people admirably, but every product has a useful life, and many of these Solahart water heaters’ are leaking and at the end of their useful lives. Most often the Solahart is leaking either at the tank or collectors, and these systems cannot be repaired because they have corroded through and there are no replacement parts available.

Sunbanks have been replacing Solaharts for years now, and we have worked with installers to develop a special package for these replacements. We’re happy to walk customers through this process and to let you know why the Sunbank, also a passive thermosypon system, is the right choice for your next solar water heater.

Modern Upgrade

As we mentioned above, Solaharts have been reliable solar water heaters for many people for many years. But there are some reasons that once your Solahart fails you might consider switching to Sunbank. For many customers it was simply their inability to get a new Solahart or replacement parts to repair the Solahart because of supply chain issues. Here are some other reasons you may decide to make the switch:

Your home is already plumbed for a passive solar water heater. For many installations, getting the water pipes from the roof to the conventional water heater or into the home is the biggest challenge. With that done, installing a new solar water heater is much easier.
The Sunbank heats with evacuated solar collectors whereas the Solahart uses flat plate collectors. We go into more detail about evacuated tube collectors elsewhere on the site. We like both technologies but for different reasons. Flat plates are less expensive and not as well insulated, so they perform better when it is hot outside but no so great in the winter. This is great for large commercial installations that need to keep cost down and don’t mind uneven production. Evacuated tubes are almost perfectly insulated, so they outperform flat plates in the winter. Residential solar water heaters produce plenty of (sometimes too much) heat during the long days of the summer, but not during the short days of the winter. Since you can’t spin back the meter with the extra heat you produce, it’s much better to have more even annual production. Evacuated tubes don’t produce too much in the summer but give you more production when you need it most which means more savings.
At Sunbank we pride ourselves and continue to work toward an easier installation. This opens up the market to DIY installers and cuts down on professional installation cost. Our bracket is an exceptional example of this and the heat pipe collectors are much easier to install than charging a glycol loop. If you wonder why, look up how to charge a glycol loop.
The Sunbank heat pipes go into a manifold essentially immersing them in the water. This will of course be more efficient than a system that uses an external jacket around a tank. Surrounded by water there is only one place for the heat to go. Whereas a jacket with one side contacting the tank means a certain percentage of the heat is lost to the atmosphere.

Easy Replacement, Cost Effective

Finally, there is cost. And as far as we know, we are more affordable than a similarly sized Solahart system. All systems are eligible for the tax credit.

If you own a Solahart solar water heater and it is getting toward the end of its life, give us a call and we can talk you through the process of replacing your Solahart with a Sunbank solar water heater.

Call us! 888-385-0005

    EXCELLENT  
  16 reviews on
 
 
         
   nic maier 
 
 
 
   I don't write reviews but I have to tell others about James from Sunbank! We got an 80 gallon solar water heater and installed it ourselves. It works very well in Southern California. The installation was a little challenging for us, but James helped every step of the way and was even available to give us advice a full year after we had purchased the unit. He was always quick to respond with a thorough and helpful answer! I wish all businesses were run like Sunbank with people like James!
  
 
 
       
   Bob Billings 
 
 
 
   James, thanks for your continued support.  Our 40 gallon Sunbank water heater is the best. Installed in October of 2021 and we would not trade it. Our life off-grid has worked out well. Bob Billings
  
 
 
       
   Jonathan Bishop 
 
 
 
   My only regret is not getting the Sunbank sooner! I installed the 40 gallon system which has been perfect for 3 people. It has a 1500 watt element to heat the tank when the sun isn't shining and because of the low power demand, we are able to run it completely off-grid. James also took time to answer any questions I had and has been excellent to work with!
  
 
 
       
   Robert Thorlin 
 
 
 
   James and the team at Sunbank are exceptionally knowledgeable and willing to help.  Pre-sale and post-sale support was wonderful, even to the point of shipping a bunch of extra T-bolts I needed for my unique installation, bolts and shipping all at their cost.

I would bot hesitate to work with them again on anything... 10 stars if I could...

Mike
  
 
 
       
   Elsa Hennings 
 
 
 
   Living in the Mojave desert, I've wanted to "go solar" for our home's energy needs for a long time (I like free stuff). We put in a solar electric system in 2004, which has long since paid for itself, and bought a plug-in hybrid car to use our "free gas" several years ago.  I finally decided to heat our water with the sun, and after looking at a number of systems, I chose SunBank Solar based on it having no moving parts (I don't like to fix stuff). I mounted it on the ground since we have no shading on the other side of the wall from our old electric water heater, which made the plumbing pretty simple. For overheating protection in the desert, I painted half of each heating tube with reflective silver paint as James recommended (see photo on right), so when we leave on vacation I just rotate each tube to prevent heat absorption, turning the system off. The instructions provided, along with some how-to videos on youtube for using pex tubing, allowed me to get it all put together with no prior plumbing experience.  James was an invaluable resource when I had questions, which was often!  The system has now been running for over a month, quietly generating all the hot water we need!  I highly recommend not only the system but the company for the high quality materials and excellent product support!
  
 
 
       
   debra covey 
 
 
 
   Installed the Sunbank 40 water heater 12/2019. We didn’t install the controller until 8/2020 in case we needed it in the coming winter, but still haven’t needed supplemental heat in south Florida as of 4/2021.  Love this thing! Works great for the 2 of us in our small (1000 sq ft) home.  So glad we installed it.  Company was very responsive to all questions prior to ordering through install.  Highly recommend!
  
 
 
       
   Jim Feldhan 
 
 
 
   I rarely write reviews; however, I am very happy and impressed with the Sunbank solar hot water heater. It appears to be made from top quality material. I was replacing a Solarhart which was not a stainless steel tank and the heat exchanger developed a leak. I started with a 40-gallon system and installed it myself. I’m very handy with DIY projects.
The Instructions online were clear, and James was very helpful with any of the questions I had.
Being in Phoenix I thought a 40-gallon system would be enough. Once Witter arrived, I realized that I use more hot water than I thought and wanted to have 100% solar hot water. Thus, I installed a second 40-gallon system to boost my capacity to 80. I also install a couple of radiators to heat the master bath and home office allowing me to heater those room in the fall, winter, and spring with excess hot water.
In summary, I am very happy and give Sunbank 5 stars for quality and service.
  
 
 
       
   Timothy Clayton 
 
 
 
   I installed the Sunbank and the water temp went from 50F to 101F in 4 hours the 1st day.  By the 3rd day I was up to 160F.  It only loses approx 5 degrees overnight.  It is awesome!  James at Sunbank is one of the best support guys I've dealt with.  Definitely recommend buying this for solar hot water.
  
 
 
       
   Cuyler Smith 
 
 
 
   Our family purchased a 40 Gallon Sunbank Solar Water Heater just over a year ago and we are VERY pleased with its performance, ease of installation, and energy savings!  We have it installed on top of our spring house roof, located about 125 ft. away from our house.  When combined with the Federal Tax Credit and the savings associated with the solar offset of electrical usage for heating water, this Sunbank system quickly pays for itself and is a great investment.  I was able to install the system on my own and it has performed flawlessly during its first year of use.  James at Sunbank Solar has been more than helpful in responding to any questions I have, even after the initial purchase, which says a lot!  I would recommend the Sunbank Solar Water Heater to anyone wanting to save money and reduce our environmental impact!
  
 
 
       
   tutti hacking 
 
 
 
   I recently installed two 40 gallon Sunbank solar water heaters - one on my garage and one on my ADU. They have been awesome! Water is super hot and now I don't have any qualms washing my laundry with warm, solar heated water! I have wanted a Sunbank system for almost four years now, and James has patiently helped me through the process. I used my local solar panel installer to get the job done. Took 3 days to fully install (I did need some reinforcement for 2x4 rafters) and inspection was quick and easy. James steered me to a great structural engineer to get what I needed for City Planning. It feels great to have gotten rid of my natural (fracked) gas water heaters! And the 30% tax credit, along with the California Solar Initiative rebate, really makes it affordable.
  
 
 
  
 
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