I am a tenant in a house with a Rheem gas heater for pool and attached spa. The heater has been throwing the HL2 and HL1 codes and whooshing after it has run for a while. Sometimes, if I turn off the heater and let it sit, I can get it to run again, and reach the spa target temp. I opened up the unit and cleaned out the leaves, but that did not resolve the problem. A tech said that the heat exchanger is "sooted out," and that the whole unit should be replaced. The heater is 13 years old. I doubt that my landlord will replace the heater; he is trying to sell the house "as is." Is there anything I can do to get this heater to limp out for the remaining 6 months of our lease? We may end up buying the house, but we don't want to buy a heater until we own the property.
"Sooted out" Rheem heat exchanger, codes HL1 and HL2
- Thread starter stephcheff
- Start date
You can try to clean the heat exchanger. It's a big job to do though. You have to take the heater apart so you can spray the heat exchanger off.
What does the inside of the unit look like? At 14 years it's running, if it does run, on borrowed time.
What does the inside of the unit look like? At 14 years it's running, if it does run, on borrowed time.
This may assist you if you're mechanically inclined but as a landlord myself, I would not want the liability of a tenant working on a project that involved gas combustion or was this complicated. If your cleaning efforts cause the exchanger to leak and you don't have a shut-off bypass, you'd be taking the pool out of commission and would have to plumb an emergency bypass valve. If you already have a bypass valve, then the consequences aren't quite as problematic.
However, since its at the end of its life span, you can look at this and see what's involved and then discuss the way forward with the owner. Eg. Maybe split the cost of having a good hvac guy familiar with the process do it. Note - this may not be the right model but it gives you an idea of the process. I think these instructions are for a smaller model then what you have.
Heat Exchanger Removal; Tube Cleaning Procedure; De-sooting Procedure - Raypak 106 Installation & Operating Instructions Manual [Page 30]
However, since its at the end of its life span, you can look at this and see what's involved and then discuss the way forward with the owner. Eg. Maybe split the cost of having a good hvac guy familiar with the process do it. Note - this may not be the right model but it gives you an idea of the process. I think these instructions are for a smaller model then what you have.
Heat Exchanger Removal; Tube Cleaning Procedure; De-sooting Procedure - Raypak 106 Installation & Operating Instructions Manual [Page 30]
Those instructions have you doing way more than you really need to. You can leave the heat exchanger in place and then just hose it down with a strong spray nozzle. Spray it down from the top side and then stick the hose up under where the burner tray goes and spray upwards. Cover the top with an old towel or you'll get wet and very dirty. I've never removed a heat exchanger when I've cleaned them.
It is a challenge to do though if you've never done one before. And yes, the landlord needs to know you are doing this and is OK with it.
Thank you for the excellent advice!
I'm thinking of trying an old "no scrub" remedy for removing soot... though I'm not sure if it would work on a heater. I would turn off the heater and the gas, set a shallow bowl of ammonia at the bottom of the heater, and let the fumes do their thing for a couple of days. Then hose down the unit from the top without disassembling anything.
I'm thinking of trying an old "no scrub" remedy for removing soot... though I'm not sure if it would work on a heater. I would turn off the heater and the gas, set a shallow bowl of ammonia at the bottom of the heater, and let the fumes do their thing for a couple of days. Then hose down the unit from the top without disassembling anything.
Don't do that. All you need to do is hose it down correctly and it should be ok. Without doing it like we have told you, you won't get all of the soot out and you'll have the problem still. No need to use any chemicals.
Before you do all of that, what kind of "whooshing" is it doing? When our heater was throwing those codes, but it was kinda shaking a bit when it would try and heat up, the resolution was a unitherm governor, which is basically a thermostat like those used in car radiators. You might want to remove yours and see if the issue resolves before spending any money.
Pool Clown
In The Industry
Older Raypak heaters (more than 20yrs) had a cast or more of a brick like composition they called fire brick, and could or will tolerate water better than the newer fiber like material that they now call "refractory". I have seen this stuff after an exchanger has been leaking on it, and it doesn't do well being exposed to water. Now granted, washing the exchanger with water is not constant day after day exposure to water, and if you were to run the heater to dry out the material after the washing, who knows, maybe you will be ok. My opinion? would be to remove the exchanger to clean it. This is how we clean them, there is no water involved, and we can verify visually that the underside of the exchanger has gotten clean. Removal is not brain surgery, but i can see how it could be a bit overwhelming for the first time.
Now, having said that, some things to ponder as you move forward...
Exchangers soot UP, not OUT. There is nothing terminal about an exchanger that has sooted up, unless of course it has not been addressed for an extended period of time. Even then, the heaters protection switches can save the exchanger from running in that condition (heat). Also, 13 years is not necessarily terminal either. It all depends on the condition of the heater.
Another thing to address is how the heater got this way. Heaters don't soot up from age. They soot up from incomplete combustion or improper combustion (wrong air/fuel mixture). Sooted heaters generally suggest not enough air (indoors), or not enough air getting to them (high wind, or high altitude). If this heater is indoors, you should check for appropriate openings to the outside where the heater can draw air from. These openings have dimensions that need to be met. IOW, you can have an opening, but not a large enough opening. If outdoors, check for an equipment enclosure that while it has an open roof or ceiling, has four walls that are sealed at ground level by perhaps dirt, and extend a couple of feet above the heater.
And as Swampwoman stated, this all may be a mute point as you are (for now) the tenant, and really should not touch the heater other than to set the desired temperature. Perhaps, the best you could hope for is to get the landlord to pay for service, or if you were to get permission to have the heater serviced, and pay yourself.
Now, having said that, some things to ponder as you move forward...
Exchangers soot UP, not OUT. There is nothing terminal about an exchanger that has sooted up, unless of course it has not been addressed for an extended period of time. Even then, the heaters protection switches can save the exchanger from running in that condition (heat). Also, 13 years is not necessarily terminal either. It all depends on the condition of the heater.
Another thing to address is how the heater got this way. Heaters don't soot up from age. They soot up from incomplete combustion or improper combustion (wrong air/fuel mixture). Sooted heaters generally suggest not enough air (indoors), or not enough air getting to them (high wind, or high altitude). If this heater is indoors, you should check for appropriate openings to the outside where the heater can draw air from. These openings have dimensions that need to be met. IOW, you can have an opening, but not a large enough opening. If outdoors, check for an equipment enclosure that while it has an open roof or ceiling, has four walls that are sealed at ground level by perhaps dirt, and extend a couple of feet above the heater.
And as Swampwoman stated, this all may be a mute point as you are (for now) the tenant, and really should not touch the heater other than to set the desired temperature. Perhaps, the best you could hope for is to get the landlord to pay for service, or if you were to get permission to have the heater serviced, and pay yourself.