Master Temp 400 ERR SFS Just the Sensor?

[W.J.Christy]

I have a Pentair Mastertemp 400 heater that was installed late 2021 early 2022. It has been turned on maybe a dozen times since it was installed. Went to turn it on today and I get the ERR SFS after about 2 mins of run time (probably less) then it got the point where it wouldn't try to ignite at all. It would just flash the error. Given the age and lack of time the heater has been run, I am leaning towards it being just the sensor and have ordered one from the jungle website. I also have a call into my PB who is going to see the if the warranty is still in effect and get pentair out if its still covered.

If the heater is out of warranty, what is the likelyhood that I am right and its just the sensor? Is there a way for me to put my boreoscope into the conbustion chamber through the flu to check for soot? If soot is the issue, what are my paths forward?

 

[JamesW]

While running, press and hold the On button to display the exhaust temperature (Older Models).

The new models use the Menu to get the SFS.

Here is what the normal exhaust temperature should be:

• Below 250 degrees...very low
• 250 to 290 ..................low
• 290 to 350.................acceptable
• 350 to 480 ..................high
• Above 480...................error/shutdown.

If the SFS reads 80, then flashes to 40, then back to 80, then the 80/40 reading and E05 indicate that the board is not getting a reading from the sensor.

Try reseating the connectors on the SFS.

Otherwise it's a bad sensor or damaged wires.

If the sensor and wiring are good, the board is probably bad.

Disconnect the sensor and check continuity across its terminals.

Resistance should be 3.5-4.0 megaohms.

 

[JamesW]

Pentair MasterTemp Heaters - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[W.J.Christy]

The buttons on the panel seemed non responsive for whatever reason when i tried them. That and the error popped up immediately after it was given a heat command. Does the error disable the buttons on the panel?

 

[JamesW]

Maybe a bad membrane pad.

Is the heater controlled by the fireman's switch?

 

[JamesW]

 

[W.J.Christy]

Not sure what the fireman's switch is. I know the eztouch is what kicks it on and off.

 

[JamesW]

Which membrane pad do you have?

The 6 button pad uses the menu to check the SFS temperature.

 

[JamesW]

Disconnect the sensor and check continuity across its terminals.

Resistance should be 3.5-4.0 megaohms.

 

[W.J.Christy]

I have the six button panel. Ill check the resistance today.

 

[W.J.Christy]

Got into the menu finally, temp climbed rapidly then shut down. I will check the wires shortly.

Side note, when the bypass valve was replaced last summer, the tech left all the u styl fasteners out of one side. Anyone know what size they are so i can order some more?

 

[Turbo1Ton]

Any chance you can attach a picture of the fastener you speak of? Not understanding the U style fastener. Is it these?

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

--Jeff

 

[ajw22]

Any chance you can attach a picture of the fastener you speak of? Not understanding the U style fastener. Is it these?

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

--Jeff

Those are the nut plates the side screws attach to.

 

[ajw22]

Pentair sells a panel hardware kit…

474292 | Panel Hardware

Panel Hardware

www.getpoolparts.com

 

[ajw22]

Mastertemp 400 E05 error

Pool is just coming up on 1 year and the heater worked perfect all through last winter and heading into this one. Went to fire it up Monday and it kept killing after about 5 min and progressively got shorter on the time until shutdown. Was getting the E05 error. I ran it and checked the SFS temp...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[JamesW]

Got into the menu finally, temp climbed rapidly then shut down.

Climbed to what temperature?

Can you show the whole system?

Do you have an external bypass?

If yes, is it closed?

What is the pump speed and flow rate?

What is the filter pressure?

Does the water temperature on the display also go up rapidly?

Remove the thermal regulator and test it in water that is 120 to 125 degrees to see if it opens.

When you remove the thermal regulator, take a picture looking into the hole and show the top part of the hole to see if the internal bypass disc is in place.

Run the heater without the thermal regulator in place to see what the Stack Flue Temperature goes to.

Can you show a picture looking into the heater inlet?

 

[JamesW]

In your other thread, you had a bad internal bypass; did that ever get fixed?

A different thread was about installing an external bypass; was that completed and is the bypass closed?

Below is the internal bypass disc, which should by visible when looking into the regulator tube.

Heater Bypass install, (Complete)

I have a Master Temp 400 and am getting back to the project of installing a bypass using the actuator port in the heater. One of the questions I have am pondering is if the onboard actuator control in the heater has a freeze control mode similar to the easy touch where it changes the actuator...

www.troublefreepool.com

Pentair IC40 lights flashing

Ok so i have an issue woth my ic-40 that seems to have just started, the flow light is red and i get the railroad style red green flashing lights. If i turn everything off then back on again it seems to work fine. Any ideas? Not has been changed prior to this happening.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[W.J.Christy]

Alrighty, was cleaning everything pool related and it took some time to get back to this.

First off thank you for the replies. I am still waiting to hear from the pool builder about the warranty status of the heater and am hesitant to tear any further into it than i have to keep from voiding the warranty. I do have answers to some of the questions asked though

Climbed to what temperature?

Approx 480F in about 90 seconds

Can you show the whole system?

See below

Do you have an external bypass?

Yes.

If yes, is it closed?

It auto closes when a heat demand is made. The actuator is functional and I did close it it using the position switch in the back just to test to no effect.

What is the pump speed and flow rate?

Pump speed was varied between 2000 to 2800 rpm in an attempt to diagnose the issue. Flow rate was unknown at the time

What is the filter pressure?

Approx 5 psi which os typical when the bypass is closed. The elements where cleaned early last month as well.

Does the water temperature on the display also go up rapidly?

Yes

Remove the thermal regulator and test it in water that is 120 to 125 degrees to see if it opens.

When you remove the thermal regulator, take a picture looking into the hole and show the top part of the hole to see if the internal bypass disc is in place.

Run the heater without the thermal regulator in place to see what the Stack Flue Temperature goes to.

Can you show a picture looking into the heater inlet?

View attachment 496791

If the warranty is no longer valid or is parts only i will go this route.

In your other thread, you had a bad internal bypass; did that ever get fixed?

Yes last summer.

A different thread was about installing an external bypass; was that completed and is the bypass closed?

Yes see attached pics for how its run.

Again, i appreciate all the replies and will be diving deeper into the heater if the warranty is up but I do worry (probably irrationally) they will deny service of they think i have been in there monkeying with things and feel it may be best to let them do their thing if I still have a warranty.

 

[W.J.Christy]

More pics of the pad

 

[JamesW]

In this picture, the bypass is open.