The aim of this study is to analyze the performance of a parabolic trough solar collector (PTC) for water heating and to validate the model performance. The simulated model was compared, calibrated and verified with the experimental results. RMSE (Root mean square error) was used to calibrate the convective heat transfer coefficient between the absorber pipe and the ambient air which was the main factor affecting the heat transfer associated with the PTC. The calibrated model was better fitted with the experimental model. The maximum, minimum and mean deviation between the measured and predicted water temperatures differed only $0.81^{circ}C$, $0.09^{circ}C$ and $0.31^{circ}C$ respectively in the calibrated model. RMSE values were decreased from 0.5389 to 0.4910, 0.0134 to 0.0125 and R-squared was increased from 0.9955 to 0.9956 after calibration. The temperature of water was increased from $33.7^{circ}C$ to $48^{circ}C$ in 12hour test. The thermal efficiency of the collector was calculated to be 55%. The calibrated model showed good agreement with the experimental data for model validation.