Any suggestion for an inexpensive rubber stopper such as these (see pic) for Fafco solar panels?

[Arklin K.]

I would agree with that assessment, although I think the warrantee is for much longer than that (to the original owner only).

[Arklin K.]

Yes. Of course. They quoted a 'great deal' at a 'reduced price' which came to about 5K dollars to replace the 13 panels.

[Arklin K.]

I 'am' chasing leaks! :)

[Arklin K.]

I think it was me who didn't have the facts straight. I mis-remembered the length of the warranty but in the end, it didn't matter because the warranty didn't transfer, even during the warranty period of 10 years.

At the moment, I've plugged six more holes and have a few more to go (had a party so I had to stop when guests arrived).

[Caesar Romano]

On Tue, 29 May 2012 04:55:44 +0000 (UTC), "Arklin K." wrote Re Re: Any suggestion for an inexpensive rubber stopper such as these (see pic) for Fafco solar panels?:

Wow! There goes 10 years of energy "savings".

[gonjah]

And he could get a Raypak Nat Gas heater installed for less than $3k

[gonjah]

I think it's probably a waste of time and effort unless you can get it to get the pool started. Sounds like it was improperly maintained. Froze?

I'm surprised the panels cost so much. Do they look like this?:

And have you seen this?:

[Arklin K.]

I bought fifty drip system hole plugs from Lowes, part number 646050 as shown in this photo below with the Fafco solar heating panel rubber plug measurements.

The potential issue is the shape and material is all different as can be seen in this comparison photo:

Given the Fafco solar heating rubber plug (stopper) measurements:

- Width 1/4" tapered to a smidge over 1/8"; length barely over 7/8"

Here is the original picture of the plug kit:

I think these 50 cent plugs just might work (free shipping over $40): The measurements are:

- Widgetco Part Number: 7-R000000-EPDM-RS

- Top Diameter: 1/4" | .250" | 6mm

- Bottom Diameter: 1/8" | .125" | 3mm

- Length: 3/4" | .750" | 19mm

- Durometer: 55

- Material: EPDM

[Arklin K.]

Drat. After all that research, I called Poco Solar just now at 3345 Keller Street Santa Clara (408-970-0680) and they charge 54 cents plus about 10% tax for the plugs.

I don't know how many pinholes there are, but, each pinhole takes at least two plugs (sometimes more). I'd guess there are about 50 holes, so that's about 100 plugs. They have the repair tool kit (comes with 20 plugs) for $45 + about $5 tax.

I really wish I could find a rubber string to fit. I'll have to check the McMaster Carr site again.

BTW, Poco Solar said the "Revolution" panels are $528 but those are the ones I have which have the 'whorl' pressed into them which creates thousands of weak points (all the leaks are at the whorl!).

So if I'm going to replace the 12 feet by 4 feet solar heating panels, I'll need the "Sunsaver" style. Luckily it's better and cheaper at $370 each. (It's amazing that people pay about 150 dollars more for the weaker, more troublesome Fafco solar heating panels.)

[Grumpy]

A few years back I have attended seminar on solar panels, it all sounded so nice but when I confronted OEM Representative with how long it will take to recover initial investment he tried to avoid the answer finally he admitted about 15 years and that is not considering on any repairs that is when I said? "BUCK STOPS HERE" he did not appreciate my comment. Perhaps some southern States may have much more successes then northern or some place in between sill it is a gamble.

[Arklin K.]

The suggested McMaster-Carr plugs were the best deal:

" x 1/8" x 3/4" PN: 6448K88, $8.46/100 plugs

That comes out to about 9 cents a plug, with shipping.

They're the same size and material as the Fafco solar panel plugs except for two things (which matter - but which can be worked around).

1. They shorter (3/4" versus 7/8")
2. They don't have the hole in the large end

Personally, I 'wish' I could find longer tapered plugs because the longer the taper, the easier they plug the tube - but the muuuch cheaper plugs do work. They're just harder to get inside the tube.

Likewise, I was easily able to create the hole in the large end of the plugs I bought simply by heating an allen wrench in a flame and using it to punch a hole in the end of the tapered plugs.

While that worked, it wasn't really necessary so I stopped melting the hole. The only reason for the hole is to keep the pressure at the center of the plug when installing so that it doesn't 'bunch up' and bend like an inchworm as it tries to go into the hole.

The workaround is to use a 1/8" round-tipped tool to push the plug into the tube hole. It takes more force than with the official Fafco plugs - but it works.

Here's a picture of the plugs being installed in a lousy Fafco solar panel:

[Arklin K.]

Interestingly, the package from McMaster-Carr said it was from Rubber Dynamics (rubberdynamics.com) which has the plugs (in bulk) cheaper than McMaster-Carr

The problem with Rubber Dynamics is that you can only buy 10 packs of 100 each, whereas at McMaster Carr you can buy 1 pack at 100 each. They're $5.00 for 100 at Rubber Dynamics (but you need to buy ten packs which is $50 for 1,000 plugs.

[Arklin K.]

I forgot to list the Rubber Dynamics part number in case someone needs this in the future.

TPE0250-0750 100 PER PACK EPDM 45 DUROMETER A=0.125 (the small end is 1/8") B=0.25 (the large end is 1/4") C=0.75 (the length is 3/4") TPE-7

The only difference between this 5 cent plug and the 54 cent Fafco repair plug is that the Fafco plug is 7/8" long and it has a tiny hole in the large end for the Fafco allen wrench tool to fit inside.

The hole is easy to make with a heated allen wrench but I really wish I could find a plug that was 7/8 inch long.

Does ANYONE know where we can buy, in bulk, a standard stopper that is

7/8" long (and 1/4" at the large end, and about 1/8" or so at the small end)?