Repair Pool Heater?

[Em0Abstracts]

Hi all. We just opened our pool a week ago and so far things are looking good. One problem continues to plague us, however...our pool heater (which is ~10-12 years old and came with the pool/home when we bough it last year) is not operational. Does anyone know if pool heaters can be repaired or if they're dead are they considered a lost cause? I know the answer is likely going to be based largely upon the issue with the unit, so it is somewhat of a rhetorical question, but mainly I'm just wondering what other people's experiences have been with inoperable pool heaters and the success rate of a repair as opposed to a total replacement?

 

[Bperry]

Hi all. We just opened our pool a week ago and so far things are looking good. One problem continues to plague us, however...our pool heater (which is ~10-12 years old and came with the pool/home when we bough it last year) is not operational. Does anyone know if pool heaters can be repaired or if they're dead are they considered a lost cause? I know the answer is likely going to be based largely upon the issue with the unit, so it is somewhat of a rhetorical question, but mainly I'm just wondering what other people's experiences have been with inoperable pool heaters and the success rate of a repair as opposed to a total replacement?

New pool heater is probably several thousand dollars so it’s probably worth repairing as long as the bill is under a few hundred bucks. If it’s rusted out or leaking from the heat exchanger, that might be expensive enough to trigger a replacement. My heater is 20+ years old and needs to be replaced, but I got it working again by replacing the igniter and figure I’ll keep it another year until all the covid taxes come back down.

 

[HeyEng]

It really depends. I had issues with mine and struggled with paying to "throw parts" at it but ultimately did. Why you ask? Well, once it is time to replace it, I would like a Raypak and guess what? I can't get one. All the local dealers here say there are none to be had and there is no date in which backorders MIGHT be fulfilled. So, about $1,000 later my heater is back to working...for the time being and that took almost 2 months due to having to wait for parts.

 

[superuser]

What kind of heater? What type of failure? Electrical problem? Heat exchanger busted/leaking? Gas valve stuck? Burner assembly rusted?

I inherited a Hayward H400 with the house that wasn't working properly either, but a little handy work and about 8 bucks later it's been great.

 

[Em0Abstracts]

The unit is a Rheem P-M266A-EN-X gas heater. I have no idea what the problem actually is, since I was told by the previous owner that it didn't work. Unfortunately, they replaced the pool pump last year and had the heater plumbed out of the circulation, so the water doesn't even flow through the heater anymore. I contacted a repair guy and he said that if it is the heat exchanger it would be ~$1,500 for that replacement. A brand new unit exactly like this would be ~$3,000 so that's still half the price.

 

[Bperry]

The unit is a Rheem P-M266A-EN-X gas heater. I have no idea what the problem actually is, since I was told by the previous owner that it didn't work. Unfortunately, they replaced the pool pump last year and had the heater plumbed out of the circulation, so the water doesn't even flow through the heater anymore. I contacted a repair guy and he said that if it is the heat exchanger it would be ~$1,500 for that replacement. A brand new unit exactly like this would be ~$3,000 so that's still half the price.

If you are handy, disassembling a few maintenance items can sometime reveal the problem. Also might be worth the effort of a $100 for someone to come look at it and diagnose it.

 

[BassPlayingDude]

It's very similar to the furnace in your house .. a lot of HVAC technicians can work on these, but it's important to make sure you pick one that has dealt with pool heaters before. Assuming your heat exchanger is in good shape, there are really only like 5 parts that can fail (igniter, gas valve, flow sensor, temperature sensor and of course the control board itself ). Before you make an expensive service call, make sure that the gas is on and you are not out of it. There is a gas shutoff on the line and usually also one on the gas valve itself that are usually closed by pool services when they winterize your pool. Another thing they sometimes do is disconnect the flow sensor so that it doesn't get freeze damaged and leave it hanging by its wire. Also, since it is outdoors, its possible for critters, spiders etc to nest in the bottom area where the burners are and leave behind webs and other debris that could block the flow of gas. If you see a mess down there, a couple of cans of dust-off or other canned air can be used to blow out any debris that might be in there. It's certainly worth a try.

Edit: You will need to remove the front panel to inspect the gas valve and burner area .. usually there is one screw holding it on and the cover just has big metal tabs that fit into slots on the frame. Mine also would not start this year, and the problem was simply that the closers ( I usually pay someone to do it because I don't have a blower yet ) had shut off the gas valve by turning the knob to "OFF". It might require several attempts before the heater will fire due to air in the gas line. I find that waiting about 10 minutes after opening all valves does the trick. YMMV.

 

[BassPlayingDude]

The unit is a Rheem P-M266A-EN-X gas heater. I have no idea what the problem actually is, since I was told by the previous owner that it didn't work. Unfortunately, they replaced the pool pump last year and had the heater plumbed out of the circulation, so the water doesn't even flow through the heater anymore. I contacted a repair guy and he said that if it is the heat exchanger it would be ~$1,500 for that replacement. A brand new unit exactly like this would be ~$3,000 so that's still half the price.

You are not going to be able to test your heater unless the water is flowing through it. A technician can probably jump out the flow sensor just for a minute to see if the unit is capable of firing at all. If you have to re-plumb to get that unit back in the flow, that might be a good time to consider adding an SWCG to your system as well if you have the $$$. If you re-plumb with a bypass valve, then you would be able to run with or without the heater in the case that you have to replace it and need to wait several months for a back-order. If you are 100% sure that you are going to want a heater in your system, I would certainly go ahead and re-plumb with a bypass valve to keep your options open. If the issue is indeed the heat exchanger and you are handy, you may be able to find one online that is considerably cheaper and install it yourself. or pay someone to just do that and avoid a huge mark-up. Sometimes the tubes inside get clogged up with calcium scale or debris, and if it is plugged but not leaking, it is possible to "ream it out" so to speak with a cleaning kit.

 

[BassPlayingDude]

Ha .. make that "Rheem" it out