Pool mechanicals flooded

[marcussly27]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum and am looking for some guidance, please help! I have a container pool thats installed under ground. The mechanicals for this pool are also underground built into the container. The sump pump breaker tripped and everything was submerged underwater for about 24 hours. I'm in recovery mode trying to salvage as much as possible since everything is only 2 years old. Here's a rundown on what's working and what I'm confused about.

Everything miraculously works except for...
- The heater. It's a Pentair master temp 400k unit. When I connect it to power it trips the pool breaker, right before the breaker trips the pump flashes an error code F90052. If I leave it disconnected from power the breaker holds and the pool runs fine. What can I trouble shoot on the heater to salvage this? Do I need a whole new heater?
- Intellichem system is operational and functions aside from the acid tank pump. It wont activate when I call for acid. Replacement pump I'm guessing?
- Wifi system wont connect. Called Pentair and they suggested a new screenlogic wifi kit.
- PH reading on the PH sensor is way off. New PH sensor?
- UV system is taking power, but the light isn't on. New bulb?

 

[Bperry]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum and am looking for some guidance, please help! I have a container pool thats installed under ground. The mechanicals for this pool are also underground built into the container. The sump pump breaker tripped and everything was submerged underwater for about 24 hours. I'm in recovery mode trying to salvage as much as possible since everything is only 2 years old. Here's a rundown on what's working and what I'm confused about.

Everything miraculously works except for...
- The heater. It's a Pentair master temp 400k unit. When I connect it to power it trips the pool breaker, right before the breaker trips the pump flashes an error code F90052. If I leave it disconnected from power the breaker holds and the pool runs fine. What can I trouble shoot on the heater to salvage this? Do I need a whole new heater?
- Intellichem system is operational and functions aside from the acid tank pump. It wont activate when I call for acid. Replacement pump I'm guessing?
- Wifi system wont connect. Called Pentair and they suggested a new screenlogic wifi kit.
- PH reading on the PH sensor is way off. New PH sensor?
- UV system is taking power, but the light isn't on. New bulb?

Got any pictures of the set up? Sounds interesting. Don’t know that I have any useful advice.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP. Interesting problem you have.

How high did the water get in the heater?

Remove the side panels of the heater and show is pictures of its condition.

Other stuff your guess is as good as ours. Need to understand what was underwater for each unit and see it. Electronics boards can often be cleaned from corrosion caused by water. Depends what chips are on it. Motors are ruined unless they can be disassembled. Corrosion from water will cause GFCI CB trips.

 

[Newdude]

Can we get se pics for context ? And also because the more unique it is, the cooler it is and we wanna see!!!

 

[marcussly27]

I hope these pictures make you laugh, because the one with my mechanical room underwater almost made me cry. So here's the gist. Back on April 4th we had a huge rain storm. On April 5th I checked the pool and found the mechanical room completely submerged because the sump pump at the bottom of it stopped worked when the GFI breaker was tripped. Since then I've installed a back up wifi enabled pump so this hopefully will never happen again. Looking back the solo pump wasn't a good idea. I have a generator that I thought would prevent the main pump from failing but that didn't work when the GFI breaker tripped somehow.

It's nuts but everything in the pool is currently functional aside from the heater not working, an incorrect PH reading, the acid tank not pumping acid, a dead UV bulb, and the wifi not connecting to my phone. Considering everything went swimming in mud water for 24 hours I actually consider this a win.

The pool is a literal shipping container that was turned into a self contained "hot tub/pool" with the mechanicals built into a very tight space under the spa platform. I live in Michigan and wanted a worry free lol pool that my family could use year round. It's only 4,800 galloons and the 400k heater can easily warm up the entire pool in just a few hours in the winter, super fun Christmas pool party last year with all the nieces/nehpews swimming while it was snowing.

Obviously this pool is not designed to be buried in the ground, and the mechanical room is less than ideal with how tight everything is in there. Other than the sump pump failing recently, this pool has been a worry free year round play toy that hasn't caused me any issues.

Pool Stats...
20 foot long, 8 feet wide, only about 5 feet deep in the pool end
4,800 galloons
Intellichem system with PH/OPR readings
Pentair Mastertemp 400k heater
Paramount UV sanitation system
3.0 HP pump

 

[marcussly27]

More pics

 

[marcussly27]

More pics

 

[ajw22]

The heater gas valve looks corroded and needs to be replaced for safety.

Open up the side of the heater with the electrical connections and show us what that side looks like.

Remove the top of the heater and examine the main board and clean it up. The membrane keypad may need replacement. The LCD display may be ruined.

The motor in the air blower may be ruined.

The burner can should be opened to see if it has water.

The entire heater needs to be disassembled, stripped down, cleaned, and maybe it will eventually run, or not.

You can try putting new parts in the heater and see if you get it to run but it may be more economical to replace it.

Pentair MasterTemp Heaters - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

@swamprat69 should have a look.

 

[Bperry]

More pics

Well that looks pretty cool.

 

[ajw22]

Cleaning up that board may get it to work.

Electronics Water Damage

Liquid spills are inevitable, but you can rescue your device from the drain.

www.ifixit.com

Amazon.com

@ogdento may have ideas.

 

[marcussly27]

The heater gas valve looks corroded and needs to be replaced for safety.

Open up the side of the heater with the electrical connections and show us what that side looks like.

Remove the top of the heater and examine the main board and clean it up. The membrane keypad may need replacement.

The motor in the air blower may be ruined.

The burner can should be opened to see if it has water.

The entire heater needs to be disassembled, stripped down, cleaned, and maybe it will eventually run, or not.

You can try putting new parts in the heater and see if you get it to run but it may be more economical to replace it.

Pentair MasterTemp Heaters - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

@swamprat69 should have a look.

Throwing money at this heater when it was completely submerged seems like a bad idea? Plus I'm by no means an expert, I have slightly above average mechanical skills so I'm leaning towards just replacing it. Seems easy enough to rip the bad one out and get a new one in there? What I've gathered is there are 3 main connections holding the heater in there, the two PVC connections on the left, the gas pipe on the right, and the electrical hook up just behind the gas?

 

[marcussly27]

Cleaning up that board may get it to work.

Electronics Water Damage

Liquid spills are inevitable, but you can rescue your device from the drain.

www.ifixit.com

Amazon.com

@ogdento may have ideas.

I'll try that! Crazy thing is it was working fine a couple weeks ago, I was turning the pool on/off, changing PH/ORP levels, etc. Then it just stopped working out of no where. A replacement is 700 bucks from what I've found so I'll try cleaning it first. Thank you

 

[ajw22]

Throwing money at this heater when it was completely submerged seems like a bad idea?

Not a bad idea.

What I've gathered is there are 3 main connections holding the heater in there, the two PVC connections on the left, the gas pipe on the right, and the electrical hook up just behind the gas?

The heater NG or propane?

The gas line is the safety issue. Make sure you properly leak test the connection, especially in that enclosed space.

Talking about that, do you have an outside air vent feed for the heater and the exhaust piped outside?

 

[marcussly27]

Not a bad idea.



The heater NG or propane?

The gas line is the safety issue. Make sure you properly leak test the connection, especially in that enclosed space.

Talking about that, do you have an outside air vent feed for the heater and the exhaust piped outside?

It's natural gas. Roger on the gas leak test! I do have an air vent feed for the heater and exhaust, it's un orthodox but the vent is the small cedar planking next to the hatch.

 

[wireform]

Talking about that, do you have an outside air vent feed for the heater and the exhaust piped outside

I figured the exhaust beneath the deck is to heat the deck area for when the pool is used Christmas time

 

[ajw22]

Your pump and gas heater connected through GFCI CBs?

I would think all electrical feeding the pit should be GFCI protected.

Electrical GFCI - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[ogdento]

wow, that's a really cool setup you've got, and it really stinks that it flooded!

for your screenlogic wireless link, i don't have anything new besides using 99% isopropyl alcohol/IPA on it (90+ if you can't find 99). i don't see any corrosion, which is good.

i'd first pour some IPA on the board and clean most of the muck off with q-tips or a soft toothbrush. then once it's mostly clean, put that board in some small plastic dish/lid/whatever and pour in enough IPA to cover the board... probably not enough to submerge the pushbutton, but you can basically cover all the other parts in IPA. then you can work it some more with a soft toothbrush. might need to rinse/repeat. let it thoroughly dry before powering it up, and hopefully it works!

and if it doesn't work... ebay is a good source for replacements, but you HAVE to buy a matched pair - the indoor/outdoor transceivers must have the same code or they won't work

 

[marcussly27]

wow, that's a really cool setup you've got, and it really stinks that it flooded!

for your screenlogic wireless link, i don't have anything new besides using 99% isopropyl alcohol/IPA on it (90+ if you can't find 99). i don't see any corrosion, which is good.

i'd first pour some IPA on the board and clean most of the muck off with q-tips or a soft toothbrush. then once it's mostly clean, put that board in some small plastic dish/lid/whatever and pour in enough IPA to cover the board... probably not enough to submerge the pushbutton, but you can basically cover all the other parts in IPA. then you can work it some more with a soft toothbrush. might need to rinse/repeat. let it thoroughly dry before powering it up, and hopefully it works!

and if it doesn't work... ebay is a good source for replacements, but you HAVE to buy a matched pair - the indoor/outdoor transceivers must have the same code or they won't work

Thanks! I tried just now to clean the screen logic board and found this, see pictures. I'm guessing the black burned out area in the bottom right means my board is fried? So eBay is a good place to buy pool parts? Any others for reference?

 

[marcussly27]

also regarding the pump on the acid tank that isn't working, is there any troubleshooting that I can do there or is a replacement likely needed?

 

[ajw22]

also regarding the pump on the acid tank that isn't working, is there any troubleshooting that I can do there or is a replacement likely needed?

Replace it.