Solar water heater service

Nearly every home in Cyprus heats its water with a solar cylinder on the roof. Inside that tank is a magnesium rod, about the length of your forearm, whose only job is to corrode so the steel tank does not. It is called a sacrificial anode, and it is meant to be checked once a year and replaced when it is half gone.

Almost nobody does. The tank sits on the roof for fifteen years, nobody thinks about it, and then one day it leaks. Calpak, one of the common brands here, puts the annual check in its own manual and asks for it in September or October, after the summer has done its worst. We think that is the right time too.

While the tank is open it is the same visit to check the immersion element for scale, the safety valve, and the fittings. If the rod still has plenty left we say so and you pay for the visit, not for a part you did not need.

Typical visit: 1–2 hours