Which brand of pool heater is better? Tips buying used?

[tyjustice]

We just bought a house with a pool and an entire host of problems as well. Anyway one of the issues is the old 250k BTU Lars Teledyne pool heater that is 12 years old stopped working. They hooked it up to the spa side and it started working occasionally. It needs replacing. We are thinking of buying a used 400k BTU or higher on Craigslist or ebay.

I have one guy offering a Jandy LXi 400BTU that he says is one year old for $600 and another guy selling a SR400NA Sta-Rite 400K BTU that is brand new for $750. I am not sure what year the sta-right is but it looks like the current model in the photos.

So my question is... Jandy or Sta-Rite? What should I look for in buying a used heater? Neither are currently hooked up.

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

Sta-Rite gets my vote.

Scott

 

[duraleigh]

What should I look for in buying a used heater?

Regardless of brand, a used heater that you can't observe in operation would be an issue for me. I would have to have a warranty of some type that would allow me to return it to seller if it was not operational.