Raypak RP2100 - won't spark

Jump to latest Follow Reply
V

vinniemeatball

0
Mar 3, 2013
37
Unit shows SPK and I hear it clicking - I also smell gas. However I see no spark. I removed the pilot assembly to get a better view and no spark. Should I be seeing a spark ? Like a car spark plug ?

The pilot assembly is completely rusted. The Hi Tension Wire and Pilot Electrode however look fine.

Before I start dumping money I wanted to see if anyone knew which part(s) I should try to replace?

thanks
 
Has it been a while since you used the unit?

The spark is sometimes isn't very pronounced. If you hear it sparking, then it is. If you smell gas then I would say that the pilot is OK and not clogged.
 
ps0303 said:
Has it been a while since you used the unit?



The spark is sometimes isn't very pronounced. If you hear it sparking, then it is. If you smell gas then I would say that the pilot is OK and not clogged.
Click to expand...

I bought the house about 7 years ago and it's never worked. I thought i'd take it upon myself and try to figure it out.

Yeah I hear clicking for sure - but it sounds like it's coming from the control unit. I surely smell gas.
 
ps0303 said:
Well if it's been 7 years and it has never worked, you could be in for a long ride. What is the model number?
Click to expand...

P-R405A-EN

Here is what I know - when I tried it over the years I remember it always saying CFH Call for Heat. It also would attempt to spark. Twice years ago I had it looked at. One company told me I had too much gas pressure going to unit and the other told me I didn't have enough! I didn't think either of them knew what they were talking about.

Anyway last year when i went to open the pool I had a leak coming from the heater and it was the pressure switch. I replaced it and didn't try the heater.

This year I tried the unit and originally was getting PRS and HL-1 codes. I opened up the unit and adjusted the PRS which made that error code go away and also one of the hi limit switches was corroded so I just bypassed it. That took care of the HL-1 code.

That brings me to my original message. The screen does at times flash FFL and IGN but once it starts to make the sparking noise it shows just SPK.

The unit underneath is very very rusted but it seems to be just the very base of the unit. The burners are rusted but look to be in ok shape.

Any ideas ?
 
Just because you can hear it spark, doesn't mean that it is sparking in the right place! You should try to see exactly where the spark is. Maybe in the late afternoon when the heater is in good shade, you should be able to see where the spark is jumping. The pilot doesn't put out alot of gas, and if you can smell it, you might have something going on with the pilot (mis-directed gas flow), or the gas valve (Over regulated).
 
I'm not sure on your model but on the Raypak 407A I tested the spark quality by pulling the igniter assembly out, laying it on the frame and with the gas supply completely OFF, set the heater to on. You should see a nice healthy spark jumping the gap from the igniter to the pilot assy.
Also, over the years I have found my pilot tube gets blocked occasionally. Inside the main pilot tube (R407-A) is a small brass insert that has a tiny hole that feeds the pilot gas to the heater. Assuming yours is similar you can remove that insert by carefully poking a piece of wire from the 'mesh' end of the pilot tube. This will push the brass insert out. Make sure that pilot hole is clear, I have used solvent to clear out any crud and also using a single thin strand of ....14AWG or similar, pass that through the hole to clean it. It sounds like you have the Raypak manual? If not these can be downloaded from Raypak or INYO pools. If you do get her running can you post back as to the fix(es)?
 
vinniemeatball said:
P-R405A-EN

Here is what I know - when I tried it over the years I remember it always saying CFH Call for Heat. It also would attempt to spark. Twice years ago I had it looked at. One company told me I had too much gas pressure going to unit and the other told me I didn't have enough! I didn't think either of them knew what they were talking about.

Anyway last year when i went to open the pool I had a leak coming from the heater and it was the pressure switch. I replaced it and didn't try the heater.

This year I tried the unit and originally was getting PRS and HL-1 codes. I opened up the unit and adjusted the PRS which made that error code go away and also one of the hi limit switches was corroded so I just bypassed it. That took care of the HL-1 code.

That brings me to my original message. The screen does at times flash FFL and IGN but once it starts to make the sparking noise it shows just SPK.

The unit underneath is very very rusted but it seems to be just the very base of the unit. The burners are rusted but look to be in ok shape.

Any ideas ?
Click to expand...

Yeah yours is an old model and there are a few things different with it.

A couple. of things. Although already done,m you should never have to adjust the pressure switch. The only time anyone should do that is is the pool equipment is much lower than the pool and then you adjust it so the pressure of the water when the pump is off is not allowi9ng the switch to think there is flow still. That is the only time you should adjust it.

As for the bypassed limit, well you need to fix that as well as it can be a safety hazard. I'm sure you know that they are there for a reason.

If you are smelling gas, you might have a larger issue. The pilot hole that lights is small and would not be pouring out gas. I suspect you have something that needs to be looked at or, get a new unit. I'd consider the new unit as you will probably spend lots of $$ to fix this unit, possibly.

The only way to determine if you have the proper flow of gas with with a manometer.
 
Sounds like you have a control board issue. When the unit thinks the gas valve is open, GVO, it's usually because of the control board. Also the FFL fault is a board issue. Also, you really need to fix the hi-limit you bypassed.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
ps0303 said:
Sounds like you have a control board issue. When the unit thinks the gas valve is open, GVO, it's usually because of the control board. Also the FFL fault is a board issue. Also, you really need to fix the hi-limit you bypassed.
Click to expand...

thanks for the info - I was worried that's what it was. The only thing that is weird is that supposedly right before I moved in the control board was replaced. It looks brand new as well. For $300 it's probably time to just have the darn thing removed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply