Edwards L Series 2

Leaked from day one! – Once installed on 2nd storey, leaked like seive even after calls to installation company who only slowed the leak. After 2 year one panel replaced labour charged. Then another few months later. Then again one side after 8 years, second at 10, no more, Leaks caused paint on colorbond roof to come off and rust. Have to crane it off roof as to high.… Read more

Absolutely no saving over the ten years we had and had to replace roof sheeting on second storey, take out and remove all services. Now just runs through gas instant Rheem infinity 24 L that was supposedly the back up but always was on whenever hot water was running! Was Bad advice to get this.

What a rubbish Company with a rubbish product – Edwards L305 Solar HWS has been a waste of my hard earned money. In the space of 10yrs has had two tanks and now needs a 3rd tank as well as the panels. The Company should state that you need to replace the tank every 5 yrs and be more open about the inferior product that they seem to be getting away with selling. Never again!! Show details

Great Solar HWS – Mine is an L Series (not too sure of difference between L Series and L2 Series) Trouble free system. Use off-peak electricity to warm in winter just in case not hot enough when we have visitors and long stay guests. In summer ample hot water. Only problem{?} is after 18 years the supporting frame has started to have major rust problems - that's… Read more

not to detract from the performance of the system.

Interesting to see that many people are not happy with their system.

Just read through the User Guide and system is supposed to be serviced every 4 years - mine has never been serviced must have had a poor provider / installer not to have a Service Agreement with the purchaser (or follow-up for service).

Set and forget – I got mine installed 13 or maybe more years ago. I wanted to get away from plain steel tanks and anodes. The system with a stainless steel tank has been totally trouble free. My previous 2 system of another make leaked because of corrosion, they did not have stainless steel tanks and costly electric boosters as well.  Show details

Edwards solar heater – Had 2 solar heart ,which lasted 8 yrs only in Adelaide’s water(rusted out)Edwards 10yrs old ,only replaced thermostat. Stainless steel is working .Solar Heart told me the black chrome unit (2nd one) was stainless steel WRONG..Plumer told me solarheart needs to be replaced,Iinstalled a thermostat and guest what ,all works well.Watch out what people tell you.  Show details

Quality must have changed – I have two Edwards 305 L tanks that were made in Perth in 1985 that are still going today with no issue at all. On the tank cover it states they are made out of 316 Stainless Steel. The panels were problematic in that they did corrode and leak at joints a few times however they were easy enough to fix with resoldering. They must have used thinner… Read more

stainless steel in the newer tanks for them to be leaking. The elements go every few years but you need to make sure that the plumber replaces with incoloy units NOT copper or zinc coated steel elements. It is a pitty that solar HW heating is getting a bad reputation as it can be built to be reliable in a standard setup with tank and panel on roof with passive thermocycling (no glycol or pumps). With the right thickness materials and construction I believe they could be made to last 50 years. A pity to see so many with issues.

Leaking Solar Edwards hotwater system – i had my solar Edwards hotwater system LX series installed in 2008. It leaked badly following a frosty night and frozen pipes in the first 2 years. It was installed by Mainline plumbing and now repairs are supposed to be under Rheem. In 2019 panels are badly corroded and I have a burst pipe again after a severe frost. I am totally disappointed… Read more

concerning the lack of service. Plumbers are still saying it is stainless steel and there are no anodes to replace therefore should not rust but it now has multiple leaking points. I am considering installing gas now for hotwater. Noone will touch this system repair it or remove it so an new one can be installed. it does not work well in winter and the water was too hot in Summer.

So far so good – I installed an Edwards L305 rooftop solar Hot water heater 12 years ago and are very happy with it. It replaced a homemade system and work's well. I guess it was still made in Adelaide , pre Rheem relocation It is not electrically connected and we take what the sun gives- plenty ( Sydney location ) Build an small collectors panel heater to avoid… Read more

frost damage in July Last week I had a leaking cold water inlet flat viton seal .( Part Number Rheem 345096 ) All done , no drama. Expect another 12 years , may be a little more . Could not be happier .

Garbage – Replaced a Solahart heater after 25 years of faithful service, installed an Edwards solar heater in 2008. There have been various problems over the years and am totally sick of it, EVERY WINTER when we try to use the electric booster it just doesn’t work. Had a very Luke warm shower this morning so now my 80 year old husband has to climb onto… Read more

the roof AGAIN to check it. I hate him doing that but we just can’t afford to get someone in to do the job and I’m totally over it. Would like to replace the heater altogether and maybe we’ll have to look at doing that. Not happy.

Not perfect or even a quality product – I purchased Solar Edwards Triton series lasted 5 years both tank and collectors replaced within weeks of each other. costing 2 installations and call outs. the replacement panel collector replaced under guarantee. has now sprung a leak 4 years 8 months I consider them a dud, Even though panels and tank are new they are not covered. $4thousand to… Read more

$5 thousand to replace, not a cost saving for the environment, used to be better until the downgraded the thickness and quality of the stainless steel, and copper panels. these companies more interested in profit than any environmental concern. exceptionally disappointed Holly Ferrara

Junk – Had a tank explode after 6 yrs, was supplied under warranty and cost $650 to install. The panels failed after 10 yrs. Replacements are thousands new. Bought second hand replacement panels and they worked for 9 months before they failed at 7 years of age. These systems are a joke. Absolute garbage. Should have got a Solahart.  Show details

Leaks, Leaks - terrible design – Got my L Series solar hot water system in 2008 after 28 years service with a Solarhart. The Solarhart with its steel tank eventually rusted out along with the collector housing. So I thought a stainless steel tank would see me out. I did not think the inlet and outlet pipe couplings would be a problem but they have been nothing but trouble. The… Read more

design is terrible and the couplings are very difficult for my plumber to work on due to the short pipe stub attached to the tank. The inlet coupling started to leak 8 years after installation and had to get it fixed. The hot water outlet coupling has now commenced to leak significantly, after 10 years. As others have pointed out, every time there is a leak from a solar hot water system, any metal that the leak is in contact with corrodes. This is of particular concern with hot water leaking onto a metal tile roof. Based on my experience I would never recommend an Edwards or today's equivalent. It seems that one has to monitor the device regularly to detect further leaks quickly to avoid corrosion and high water bills. I will be flat out getting the aluminium cover off, if (when) I have thermostat problems in the future because of all the corrosion around the coverplate. My advice to those planning to install a solar hot water system is to firstly read these reviews and amongst other things study how the pipes are designed to connect to the unit - maybe get a plumber's opinion based on the number of units he as had to attend to.

180L bought approx 12 to 15years ago – Belived the marine ss line and thought , no more trouble ever again. No trouble with home made collectors!. But the tank sprung a leak - a drip every 15 sec oosing from behind inlet of mains water. Also very slow, say a drop every minute from around the stud connected to solar flow . Wondering if repair is worth it.  Show details

Disappointing performance – Hi I live in Perth and have a 305L tank (above the panels) and 2 Edwards Titan 2A collectors installed on a west facing roof (pitch 18 degrees). The more expensive panels were recommended as due to the west aspect. The tank is 2 years (replaced under warranty) and the panels are nearly 6 years old. There are 3 teenage girls and 2 adults in… Read more

the house.

I find I have to have the electric booster on from:

4 to 6 am: fair enough as the water been used at night for 5 showers and the tank has filled up with cold water

12 to 5 pm

8.30 to 10 pm

If the booster is not on during the day, the 3rd person gets a cool/cold shower. Note the shower/length/times are not excessive.

I believe I would have been better off with a instantaneous gas System.

Leaks and leaks – After 5 years the tank had to be replaced under warranty, had to pay costs for installation. 2 years later and only 4 months out of warranty the collectors started to leak. I'm currently in discussion with Rheem (who now own Edwards) to see if they will replace the collectors as its only just past the warranty period.....even if they replace them at their cost, it is still a poor quality system.  Show details

No problems now – Our booster heater used to corode very quickly. After 2 replacements I bought one of Edwards stainless electrodes. No problems since. Only problem that I have had since, is the relay. Just fitted an external one in a waterproof box. Added a 21 glass tube solar heater in series with the Edwards panel. The electric is switched off from May through… Read more

to November. Sometimes too efficient, so have to cover some of the tubes to prevent overheating. (South Spain)

Leaks – I am the same 6 months after 6 years now found out it has rusted on both sides of tank and corroded the inside where the watergoes in and the electrics. I am going to find out if i have a case as been leaking for a long time.which the warranty should cover it. Havent heard back from them yet probably never will as they know whats the problem.  Show details

Avoid at all cost! – We are just about to replace our 300l system, as we have had enough of it. 4 booster elements and two tanks in around 7 years! Not a patch on the old Solahart system that it replaced - its efficiency is lamentable. Unless it is a full-on sunny day, we never seem to get any benefit from it. To be fair, Seasonmakers did what they could for us but,… Read more

as an age pensioner, the last thing I want is to be dipping into savings to keep a poor system going. I called up a different company (nothing to do with Rheem!) today, and will have a new system installed in two days' time.

Ongoing repairs negate any savings – When it works great however every year our hot water stops and we have to call a plumber to replace the valve. Several hundreds dollars later Ive spent my savings in gas for the year. This year three visits, two valve changes and a three day result of obvious pressure drop. Sick of it. Going to circumvent it and use the gas booster only. Disappointing and expensive.  Show details

These are solar seives – Had a solar Edwards L series 3 installed 2006 and by 2010 it was leaking badly ,had it fixed again 2013 now gushing water in 2016. Took the cover off the electrics and saw the interior was so badly corroded I might as well bin the lot, panels and all. The materials they use mustn't be marine grade stainless!! As a retired boat builder I haven't… Read more

seen such corrosion with good quality SS. I might as well bought a second hand chip heater.

I will disconnect the unit and just leave it to rot (SHOULDN'T TAKE TOO LONG)

Thermostat – I don't work for any company other than drive a bus for the Government. I bought this unit in 2009. From day 1 the thermostat didn't operate and was replaced by the installer. "disappointing" As time goes on I'm now up to my 4th thermostat. The current one was fitted 1.5 years ago and only used 3 times for a total of less than 6 hours as I was… Read more

very wary about the previous failures, it was only on long enough to heat the water on cloudy days to an acceptable temperature. Every time it rains for several days it trips the breaker on my circuit board and takes days for what I assume is some sort of moisture creeping in and earthing the thermostat, to dry out. I'm tired of doing without hot water on days when I need to boost, waiting for the thing to dry out. When the guy that installed it pulled out the old thermostats the have all looked fried around the seal. I would never buy one of the Edwards products again as they sure as hell are aware of this thermostat issue and are not modifying their product to fix it or come to the party and admit there is an issue. My solar savings have vanished in the repair costs and it's not going to be fixed any more. It's going on the scrap heap.

7 years trouble-free – Bought system in 2009, installed without electric booster as we also connected our kitchen slow-combustion stove as a booster. Fantastic. Not sure why everyone has problems - shonky plumbers? Or maybe some of there reviewers are actually trying to sell you a different brand? Not sure if they have maintained their quality since Rheem bought them out, but ours is great.

Never Ever Buy Edwards – We built a new home & spent the extra money to have an Edwards system installed rather than a gas or electric system. The week we moved into our new home we noticed water leaking from the Edwards system. I went to the place we bought the system from & was told we had to put it in writing. I hand wrote the issue & took it into the store rather than… Read more

post it as I wanted the problem fixed asap to stop the water leaking. A person came to fix the system he was up on the roof for a very short time, he left without a word. After some months went by & the system leaking I went back to the place of purchase to see when the guy was coming back to finish, I was told it had been fixed. I asked why the water is still leaking from the system & was told if there was another issue I had to put it in writing. Although it was the same issue I wrote another letter & delivered it myself. More months went by still no one had come out, it was winter now & I also found the system was not getting warm by the wood heater that was connected to the system. I wrote another letter of complaint. No response I found Edwards head office in my state & complained. The manager visited my home only to say because we didn't have window dressings or floor coverings is why the wood heater was not heating the water. After many complaints nothing was ever done by Edwards, the leaking water has rusted our roof & gutters. The gutters have big holes & need replacing. The water system is still leaking has NEVER been fixed, has leaked since it was installed it is completely stuffed & is peeling open. I am now having to buy a new system. Stay away from EDWARDS!

Far from happy – Like others we have had our Edwards system for some time now (approx 8 years), and have had on-going problems with leaking of glycol out of the solar panel but more significantly water leaking from the pipes. The repair bills to fix leaks and to top up the glycol have put paid to any savings anticipated and so the system has not been cost… Read more

effective. We are stuck with it so will need to persist rather than paying to change back to electrical heating. Grrrr!

Apparent thermostat Failures caused by overtemp cutout – There are a lot of reports of thermostat and booster element failures on the Edwards Solar systems. I would anticipate that most of these are bad fault finding by the electrician. The thermostats have an over-temperature cut-out of 95C (some a bit lower than this), and it’s not uncommon for the cut-out to be activated on solar system,… Read more

particularly if the house is vacant for a few days in summer. The reset button takes a lot of force to reset, normally need to push it with something like a screwdriver, almost too painful to push and reset using your finger.

Anyway a typical scenario is.....some week or months after some really hot weather, you get a run of overcast days and there is no hot water. You call the electrician, he measures with his multi-meter that there is no power output from the thermostat, tries to push the reset button with his finger but its does nothing so he changes the thermostat, and it works. The real inexperienced electricians, measure the resistance of the element, it reads between 60 and 70 Ohms (on a 2400w element), concluded that it should be about 25Ohms and changes the element, finds that it still does not work so also changes the thermostat as well and claims that the thermostat and the element were both faulty (when really they were both ok). So....if you don't have any hot water on the first overcast days following some very hot days, and you know your way around mains power, try to reset the thermostat with something solid like a screwdriver, you might just save some hassle and a sizable electrician’s bill.

non stop problems with myEdwards Lseries 2 – had mine installed in 2008 and have had 9 thermostats, and a few pressure release valves, various washers etc replaced over the past 8 years, warranty bandaged the problems until it ran out, i did have to pay for the call-outs however...it costs me about $600.00 per year to own it !! i am very unhappy

Absolute rubbish – I had the Edwards L32 solar hot water since November 2009 and so far it has cost me, (yes cost me, seems warranty doesn't really mean warranty) around $2k in repairs! It is now leaking AGAIN. What a dud. I thought I was investing in my future so I could reduce costs when living on the age pension. I'm not paying any more for repairs and would any advice of what to do next.

Edwards L180 - no problems for 15 years – Our L180 system came from Edwards in 2001, long before Rheem got involved. Edwards arranged installation by a local plumber and an electrician, which took one day. The plumber rang a few times after installation to check that the system was working as expected. The system has worked perfectly from day one. We've only used the booster after… Read more

lengthy rain periods in our Nth. Qld. wet season, maybe half a dozen times in 15 years.

The system was moved about 6 years ago to avoid winter shade from neighbouring trees which had grown substantially.

A small leak has now developed at one of the pipe joints on the tank which hopefully will be easy to repair.

Very happy with the system, it has paid for itself several times over.

trouble – I have an Edwards solar hot water system installed 2011.Its 2016 and I have had three elements since being installed and now the whole system,tank and solar panels are stuffed.It is under warranty but still have to pay $1,200 to install the new system.Will i be paying this every 5 years. Not Happy Edwards!

Absolute crap edwards system – I shudder when i hear the name Edwards. My solar system has a floor mounted tank and pump. At night it pumps the warm water from the tank to the panels to prevent freezing, in the tropics mind you, resulting in excessive power bills to keep the tank warm. Have fitted timers to cut the circulation pump out at night. PCB controlling all this is not… Read more

programmable. Now the solar collector glass is all dis-coloured. Edwards in Perth were "no help" and said they never had any problems. Now will fit a Chinese "Misol" PLC and circulation pump using edwards collector and tank.

11+ years and finally it starts to leak – well the unit never got charged up for 4 years dodgy plumber..still that was 2003..now 2015 and the unit finally leaks, never changed the filter though,now i plan to remove the end of the tank and fiberglass,let it die a slow death..as long as it does not leak im happy ,got instantaneous gas hot water to back up and when all else fails will just put a end cap on the inlet and be done with it  Show reply

Sad, just sad – Never Again, after moving into a house we purchased, the existing hot water system broke down so we replaced it with the same newer Edwards product and have had nothing but problems. So far in 2 years we have replaced the heater element no less then 5 times. Its now going to go to the tip and be replaced with Gas.

Nothing but problems – I have five Edwards Solar HWS at my resort and am totally unhappy with them. They leak continuously. I also have a few Beasley Solar systems which have been much more reliable. The plumber seems to be here every few weeks replacing washers and tightening connections but still the Edwards HWS keep leaking. In Vanuatu we don't have the protection of a warranty. I am going to replace the lot of them....hopeless.

dont buy – Trouble from day 1 leaking seals etc thermostat craps itself twice a year do not buy