Pentair Master Temp- Cost to Install?

[familyl123]

Hello,
I am new to this forum and a new pool owner. We inherited an indoor pool with the house we just purchased. It was never maintained properly and we've slowly been bringing it up to good performance. I've had it serviced a few times by the same person who seems like he knows his stuff.
The pool heater died yesterday and our service person recommends replacing it with a Pentair Mastertemp 175,000 BTU. He says cost of the pentair plus installation and rewiring etc is $3000. I was not prepared for this and I've been doing some research online (with little success). The units sell online for about $1700 so is this $3000 price crazy? He says install is about 4 hours so that ends up being $1300 in labor. I am new to pools but this seems really high.

Any advice or info on the price quoted is very much appreciated. Thank you for your time!

 

[Melt In The Sun]

Welcome to TFP!
That sounds a bit pricey to me. What kind of heater do you have now? Are you comfortable with doing some simple wiring and piping yourself?

 

[familyl123]

Hi Mod. We currently have a Laars Lite 2 and unfortunately I am not comfortable with doing the wiring, I'm really not very handy. He said the existing gas line needs to be redone because the current heater has the line on the opposite side of the Pentair. I'm not trying to nickel and dime the guy but I'm really surprised at how much an install costs considering that all the piping and venting is already in place.
I live in NJ and I am trying to get an understanding of constitutes a fair price for this area.

 

[swimcmp]

I would be at the same price for that unit. What you have to remember is what you are paying on the internet may be lower than what he can purchase from a distributor. Also depending on the warranty administrator that you might have to deal with Pentair can refuse to warranty it if it is purchased from the internet. He may be paying a licensed plumber to redo the gas line as that is a major liability factor. You may also need to look for an ASME certified heater as it is an indoor installation, that will add to the cost of the unit.

 

[ps0303]

I don't get the gas line redo. On the Mastertemp you can position however you like to meet your needs and then rotate the top to make the controls accessible. How is the unit being vented since it's indoors?

 

[familyl123]

Thanks for replies.
I would only work with a licensed contractor, anything gas-related is too hazardous otherwise. He did give us the same explanation about why his price is higher than I can find online. I am getting a second estimate, and I admit (although I am a total novice here) I thought it did not make sense that Pentair would make a unit that can only be hooked up on one side.
We are getting a second estimate but I will update for any NJ folks interested in the neverending saga of the run-down pool/money pit we inherited!!!!

 

[swimcmp]

Wherever your current gas line comes into your current heater most likely won't be the same height or distance as the replacement, even if you replaced it with the exact same brand and model. Manufacturers have a tendency to change things from year to year.

 

[ps0303]

Pentair Mastertemp and Sta Rite MaxEtherm's are the same exact units but in different cases. I have replaced two this week already and it was a simple swap out with everything lining up.

Internet pricing always screws up guys like me. I can't come close to the prices on the net and I tell that to people all the time. However, if they buy off the net then they have to hunt down a licensed installer and pay him to install. I have a policy to not install a heater that the homeowner purchased new or used becasue if anything went wrong during the install, like the unit was DOA when shipped, they blame me. If I sell it to them and it's DOA, I run and get another one and install. You can't do that with an internet purchase. You'll have to wait for it to be shipped, again.