Rheem Solar Loline (Electric Boost) 511325

Soul destroyer product- Do not buy – The system came with the house package from MacDonald Jones Homes. Installed in near perfect conditions, no scaly water, not a corrosive area, 2 person water load but failed just after 5 years with solar controller green LED off, and red LED blinking. Electric booster was running and bills went through the roof. System is a Loline with panels on the roof, and tank on the ground. Suspect pump failure as I checked the thermal overload and power supply and all seems fine. Called Rheem call centre and absolute waste of time. They offered a technician to visit and assess the problem which will take 5 minutes on site, and 10 minutes drive each way, so a mere 30 minutes at a cost of $270. The best solar technicians in town have a callout fee (which includes 1 hr on site) for $100 and these guys charge $270 for 30 minutes without even fixing the issue. What audacity after selling me and countless others an absolute LEMON. The call centre then went on to say that after paying $270 for a quick 5 minute assessment of the problem, I will then be given a quote for the actual fix which I expect to cost 2.5 x market rate if they charge people 2.5 x market rate for a basic call out fee. So I told her that I will use the no.1 solar technician in town who charges $100 call out fee including 1 hour of work on site and any basic fixes (this is the standard nationwide anyway). I will not spend 2.5 x market cost on these soul destroying thieves who sell LEMONS that last only a few years in perfect service conditions that other products would last 20 years. At least have the decency to charge market rates for your call out fee rather than RIP OFF $270 for half the time/value compared to others. Thieves is an understatement. Once I fix through a local solar expert, I will gather full details on LEMON products DODGY parts and file a claim through the legal avenues, and also take this further through their complaints team and ombudsman. A product like this deserves a CLASS ACTION.

pump and control board falures – had this system for about 3 years and have replaced two circulating pumps and control boards. now another pump and board are faulty. what can be done to fix this problem/lemon. Warranty agent blamed the tank running out of water for the first failure. which it has never done. Second time pump failure and no fuse to protect the control board so it burnt out as well. Now the third time in three years who knows the cause. Pump open circuit and board burnt out.

Great if it's installed in the right conditions – This solar hot water system was put on our newly built house as part of the builders package. It worked extremely well and kept our electric hot water costs down for almost a year. This was until the 11 month when the solar panels burst in a bad frost and nearly flooded our house. The panels were under warranty and there was no problem replacing them with Rheem. Only problem was that under further investigation on Rheems own website it states that this particular unit is not suitable for frost prone areas and is only suitable for warmer climates. The area that we live in in Victoria has a lot of frosts in the Winter. If Rheem replaced our solar panels as they were covered under the warranty they would only burst again. Moral of the story is if you get a hot water solar system installed make sure that it is a model that is suitable for the environment you live in. We are now attempting to get the unit switched over to a more suitable unit for our weather conditions. If you live in an area that is warm all year and not prone to frosts this unit works very well. Just make sure Rheem is installing the correct unit for the conditions. Research their website prior to installation. If we hadn't been home the day the panels burst to turn off our water supply I have no doubt we would have come home to a brand new flooded house. The product is very good if it is the right model for the conditions. Don't be fooled into thinking this particular unit can tolerate frosts no matter what they might try to tell you. Also it runs your electricity all night to stop the solar panels freezing. Not much of a saving in that.