Pool guy says I need a new pool heater, Hayward H400FDN

[artd]

Here's the story. 12 year old heater, Hayward 400,000 gas. Works ok but he says it's bad, and needs replacing. Whatever, my question is this? I NEVER heat my pool, frankly, it gets very little use as my kids are grown, and they prefer the beach. My pool has an attached 500 gal spa that I do use the heater for. Pool is 40k gallons, gets a ton of sun and temps hovers around 78 without heat.

Should I get another 400,000 or could I go lower btu to save $$$ as I just heat the spa? Would a lower btu cause issues? thx

 

[PoolGate]

If it "works ok" then why does he suggest replacing it?

BTUs are BTUs. Higher BTU heaters will heat faster with the same amount of heat used, so there is no real savings over the cost difference between the lower and higher BTU models, which isn't usually much. For your size pool, I for sure would not go any lower than 400k.

 

[cledee]

Here's the story. 12 year old heater, Hayward 400,000 gas. Works ok but he says it's bad, and needs replacing. Whatever, my question is this? I NEVER heat my pool, frankly, it gets very little use as my kids are grown, and they prefer the beach. My pool has an attached 500 gal spa that I do use the heater for. Pool is 40k gallons, gets a ton of sun and temps hovers around 78 without heat.

Should I get another 400,000 or could I go lower btu to save $$$ as I just heat the spa? Would a lower btu cause issues? thx

Get a second opinion on the heater needing to be replaced.

@PoolGate

@artd said he doesn't really use the heater for his pool. So it would be overkill to get a 400,000 BTU just to heat up at 500 gallon spa.

 

[artd]

Thanks for the input, I put a call out to the company and they said they'll talk to tech who made the note and get back to me. The tech has always been a straight shooter with me but I'll see what he says.

 

[ajw22]

@artd said he doesn't really use the heater for his pool. So it would be overkill to get a 400,000 BTU just to heat up at 500 gallon spa.

Depends how quickly he wants the spa to heat from what temperature.

Heating a spa from 60F to 100F can take a while with a small heater.

A small heater or a large heater uses the same amount of gas for the same heat. The only saving for a small heater is the acquisition cost.

 

[PoolGate]

Thanks for the input, I put a call out to the company and they said they'll talk to tech who made the note and get back to me. The tech has always been a straight shooter with me but I'll see what he says.

If you go with a 150k BTU over a 400k BTU you will save around $1500 initially. Long term if you do ever decide to heat the pool, you'll regret it as it will take forever.

 

[artd]

If you go with a 150k BTU over a 400k BTU you will save around $1500 initially. Long term if you do ever decide to heat the pool, you'll regret it as it will take forever.

I was thinking the 250 but I'll see what the tech says regarding my existing. I have to assume during closing he saw something with the heater.

 

[artd]

update: The tech said there is a CE code on the heater which means all 3 boards need replacement. Since the heater is 10+ yrs old, he said it's not worth repairing. The interesting thing is I used it a bit with the spa, not a lot but it worked fine and I either didn't notice the code or something broke after last use and closing. Does any of this make sense, esp the CE code and 3 boards?

 

[PoolGate]

update: The tech said there is a CE code on the heater which means all 3 boards need replacement. Since the heater is 10+ yrs old, he said it's not worth repairing. The interesting thing is I used it a bit with the spa, not a lot but it worked fine and I either didn't notice the code or something broke after last use and closing. Does any of this make sense, esp the CE code and 3 boards?

I would run it until it literally doesn't fire up anymore. Heaters are not in short supply I can't imagine it taking more than a week to get it and install it if/when you ever need it. If you are a DIYer you could probably find the boards on ebay and do the repair yourself.

 

[artd]

I would run it until it literally doesn't fire up anymore. Heaters are not in short supply I can't imagine it taking more than a week to get it and install it if/when you ever need it. If you are a DIYer you could probably find the boards on ebay and do the repair yourself.

I have changed a couple of sensors on the heater and a board on my Hayward Control module but I am no expert on these things. Is it true that there are 3 different boards?

 

[cledee]

I have changed a couple of sensors on the heater and a board on my Hayward Control module but I am no expert on these things. Is it true that there are 3 different boards

Ask your Pool guy if he can install for you if you buy the boards on Ebay?
Same thing happen to me on a 5 year old heater. They just took the boards of an old heater and put them in and only charged me $100 for the service call.

 

[artd]

Ask your Pool guy if he can install for you if you buy the boards on Ebay?
Same thing happen to me on a 5 year old heater. They just took the boards of an old heater and put them in and only charged me $100 for the service call.

Based on the feedback that it won't be worth it to repair I doubt it. Might be a sabotage job with zero recourse. I will ask though. I also just thought of something. I went away the day prior to closing the pool and unplugged my remote (Hayward PS8 loc inside house) which I usually do not do. Any chance this would have showed a COMM error (CE) on the heater? Note that the outside controller was still functional as I only unplugged the remote unit.

 

[ajw22]

. Any chance this would have showed a COMM error (CE) on the heater? Note that the outside controller was still functional as I only unplugged the remote unit.

No.

CE code on the display indicates a display failure. Water gets in around the display and causes the keypad to be non-responsive. The thread Design Flaw in Hayward Pool Heaters Causing CE Error Codes goes deeper into the problem and its causes. The fix is an expensive replacement of the display boards.

Design Flaw in Hayward Pool Heaters Causing CE Error Codes

I have been a pool owner for about 20 years now. I have a 21' diameter above ground pool. It is heated by a Hayward 250 unit. The unit is the 2nd one we have had over a period of 20 years. I too experienced problems with the control panel on the and ended up replacing it on the first unit. The...

www.troublefreepool.com

Hayward H-Series Heaters - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[bligh]

Based on the feedback that it won't be worth it to repair I doubt it. Might be a sabotage job with zero recourse. I will ask though. I also just thought of something. I went away the day prior to closing the pool and unplugged my remote (Hayward PS8 loc inside house) which I usually do not do. Any chance this would have showed a COMM error (CE) on the heater? Note that the outside controller was still functional as I only unplugged the remote unit.

CE ..Communication error

I have a Hayward 250 NG heater. Some years back I had a persistent CE error. I removed the boards and sprayed a drying agent on them. Sprayed an electro clean on the connectors and it worked, until the next rain.

Solution....I keep the unit covered all the time except when in use.

It's worked fine all year

Best of Luck

 

[artd]

CE ..Communication error

I have a Hayward 250 NG heater. Some years back I had a persistent CE error. I removed the boards and sprayed a drying agent on them. Sprayed an electro clean on the connectors and it worked, until the next rain.

Solution....I keep the unit covered all the time except when in use.

It's worked fine all year

Best of Luck

What do you use to cover it? Tarp?

 

[cledee]

What do you use to cover it? Tarp?

You can use a tarp but I believe there's covers similar to grill covers that you can use on your pool heater.

 

[PoolGate]

You can use a tarp but I believe there's covers similar to grill covers that you can use on your pool heater.

I would strongly recommend not covering your gas pool heater. The risk of fire if you forget to remove it is pretty high. Automation can turn the heater on as well as a person. My automation is currently acting up and randomly turns my heater on without me calling for it.

 

[cledee]

Based on the feedback that it won't be worth it to repair I doubt it. Might be a sabotage job with zero recourse. I will ask though. I also just thought of something. I went away the day prior to closing the pool and unplugged my remote (Hayward PS8 loc inside house) which I usually do not do. Any chance this would have showed a COMM error (CE) on the heater? Note that the outside controller was still functional as I only unplugged the remote unit.

An electrician might be able to do it for you. Since CE is communication issue, call an electrician and ask them if they work on Hayward pool heaters and give them the error code.

 

[artd]

I would strongly recommend not covering your gas pool heater. The risk of fire if you forget to remove it is pretty high. Automation can turn the heater on as well as a person. My automation is currently acting up and randomly turns my heater on without me calling for it.

I also heard that it may in fact cause condensation actually making the situation you are trying to avoid worse. Who the heck knows...Darn if you do, Darn if you don't. I never thought about accidental turn ons though

 

[cledee]

I would strongly recommend not covering your gas pool heater. The risk of fire if you forget to remove it is pretty high. Automation can turn the heater on as well as a person. My automation is currently acting up and randomly turns my heater on without me calling for it.

Good call. My heater is not on automation so I have to manually fire it up.