Turning sunlight into hot showers: best kits or hacks?

“every spring it’s like my setup’s got a new personality.”

Yeah, I hear you. Stainless is solid but moving those tanks around is a pain. Anyone tried lining a steel tank with epoxy or something? Wondering if that helps with leaks or just adds another thing to crack down the line.

Epoxy lining’s a mixed bag, honestly. I’ve seen folks have luck with it on old steel tanks, but it’s not a magic fix. If you prep the surface right and use a good quality epoxy, it’ll buy you some time - maybe even a few years if you’re lucky and don’t bang the tank around too much. But once that lining gets a chip or hairline crack, water sneaks in and rust starts up again under the surface. Then you’re back to square one, sometimes worse.

I get wanting to avoid lugging stainless tanks - they’re heavy as hell and awkward, especially if you’re working solo. Still, I’d rather wrestle with the weight than mess with patch jobs every spring. Had a customer try an epoxy kit last year; looked great at first, but by fall he was chasing leaks again. Not saying it never works, just that it’s more of a temporary patch than a real solution in my experience.

If you do go for epoxy, just make sure everything’s bone dry and super clean before you start. Any moisture or rust left behind and it won’t stick worth a damn.

I get where you’re coming from about stainless, but honestly, I’ve had better luck just going with plastic tanks for solar setups. They’re way lighter, don’t rust, and you don’t have to mess with lining or patching. Yeah, they’re not as tough as steel, but for holding hot water off a roof rig, they’ve held up fine for me. Maybe not the “forever” solution, but less hassle than chasing leaks every year.

I hear you on the plastic tanks - less weight, less rust, and you can haul them up a ladder without breaking your back. Still, I’ve seen a few crack after a couple of years in direct sun, especially if they’re not UV-stabilized. If you go that route, just make sure you’re using food-grade plastic rated for high temps. I’ve patched more than one melted tank after someone tried to save a few bucks with the wrong material... Not fun when you’re standing in a puddle at 7am. Stainless is overkill for some setups, but it’s hard to beat if you want something that’ll last through anything short of a tornado.

Not fun when you’re standing in a puddle at 7am.

Been there - except mine was a slow leak that turned into a full-on drip right over my work boots. I tried one of those black poly tanks once, thinking it’d be fine tucked behind the shed. Two summers later, spiderweb cracks everywhere. Now I stick with UV-stabilized or just bite the bullet and go stainless if it’s a long-term setup. The upfront cost stings, but I haven’t had to mop up since.