Pool Heater Leaking and Bypass

[jonmar]

The ongoing saga of my leaking Hayward Heater took a new turn today. My one year old unit was swapped out today by an authorized Hayward service tech which really just mean a local HVAC company. Anyhow, within two hours, the new heater was leaking an unmissable stream of water. It was diagnosed by the installer as a bad weld on the heat exchanger. The previous heater that was removed this morning was functional and only leaked drips. The company wont bring the old one back cause they don't work weekends. I know it will take at least a week for Hayward to get these guys a new one since I can't even talk to them until Monday.

So, I don't want a green pool. How difficult would it be to install a temporary bypass to avoid the leaking heater? Is it necessary if I can live with the amount of water leaking and lastly if I can, can I operate the heater? Thanks.

Update: The guys showed up with the old one and are putting it back in. Surprised and impressed.

 

[ps0303]

Is this a Hayward FD model?

If I were you, I would add in a bypass for future issues where the heater needs to be taken offline.

 

[FamilyGuy]

It would probably be in your best interest to install a bypass loop for future problems that may arise. Its a simple plumbing job that most DIYers can handle in a hour or so.

 

[MNPoolDreamer]

I absolutely agree with putting in a bypass. After recent storm cracked our plumbing (the heater moved) I wished I had a bypass so I could keep my pool filtering. Instead it was shut down a few days while we fixed it...didn't need the heater but without a bypass we were stuck!

Glad they provided excellent customer service!