Sta Rite 400k water in the wrong place

[ejonn]

Hi folks....

Just plumbed in my used heater. Ran water through it for while and all seemed well. After about 10 minutes, water started coming out of the fan intake??? Quite a bit of water.....Call me crazy, but I dont think its supposed to do this. Have I purchased a used pos? Something inside come loose during shipping maybe? Thought I should ask the pros before I go snooping around inside it.
Thanks for any ideas/experience y'all can throw this way.

 

[guamguy]

I would open it up to see if something might have come loose, but it sounds like the heat exchanger may be shot.

 

[bk406]

Can you get your money back?

 

[ejonn]

Thanks guys...I dont think I'll get my money back, it was way too expensive for shipping (more than the heater). However I will be discussing it with the guy I bought it from. Because it ran for so long before it started barfing out the fan, I am guessing that it probably worked when he had it (it supposedly was fine) and hopefully just a silly little seal has let go. I am setting it up as a single heater for separate pool and spa systems, so to just toss out the psychotic plumbing before taking a look inside is just painful.
Great site, by the way, very much enjoying the info throughout.

 

[ejonn]

Well...the canister is full of water, and it appears when i turn on the water that the coils have sprung a leak. POO!..worth fixin? Is it possible to have maybe a radiator shop try and seal it?
hmmm

 

[bk406]

I guess if the hole is pretty small a radiator shop MIGHT be able to repair it, but I'm not sure. If the hole is bigger, or there are multiple holes, then it's probably a lost cause.

Did you get this off ebay? Is the seller local? My guess is the guy knew it was bad and sold it anyway. Used pool equipment is a Crud shoot and a heater sure enough is. I hope it wasnt too expensive an experience.

 

[waste]

Welcome to TFP!!

I certainly sounds like the heat exchanger is shot

Take a 1/2" wrench and remove the bottommost bolt from the manifold, and watch rust colored water pour out

For now, bypass the heater. Replacing the heat exchanger isn't overly difficult (I'll walk you through it, if you want to go that route) - my former boss charged $1300 for us to do it, but you can probably get a new exchanger for ~ 1/2 that price.

Sorry you bought a defective heater (the person who sold it to you most probably relied on tri-chlor pucks and didn't keep up on his pH)

Let us know how you decide to deal with this