Which gas heater should I buy?

[WaterlooMom]

We are replacing an old RP2100 185k btu natural gas heater, and not sure which is the best heater for the cost. I'm in Southern Ontario.

We are considering these two models which are the best prices I've found so far:

http://www.discounterspoolandspa.co...tural-Gas-with-Electronic-Ignition-P1106.aspx

http://www.discounterspoolandspa.co...ater-Electronic-Ignition-P-R266A-EN-P842.aspx


We are sick of dealing with lighting a pilot, so want to move to electronic ignition. Are there any issues there that I should be aware of? Does the heater plug in (like the pump) or need to be hardwired?

Pool is 33'x16.5' on ground (1/2 in ground) approx 20k gallons.

Thanks so much for the help!!!

 

[jblizzle]

Time and time again when people on the forum ask for a heater recommendation, the answer is always the same ... get the Raypak.

I have an older heater that just plugs in, although I imagine they can be hardwired as well.

Will your gas plumbing be able to handle raising from 185k to 266k BTUs?

 

[danpik]

The only other advise I can offer to what jblizzle said is to find out what type of service is available in you area for the model you are going to purchase. It really sucks to have a heater go down and nobody in the area has parts to fix it.

 

[jblizzle]

From what I have read, the Raypaks use more "common" parts and are easier to service than other brands.

 

[WaterlooMom]

Can I tell how large the gas line is by measuring? I couldn't find any markings on the line itself with a size. The line is about 17' between the meter and the current heater. It looks to me like the line is either 1.25" or 1.5".

The RP manual says I need <50ft at 1" for the 266k.

 

[jblizzle]

That is probably 1" or 1.25" inner diameter and a very short run, so should be fine.

 

[ps0303]

You are concerned about the I.D, inside diameter. If you're as close to the meter as you say, it's 3/4". A 266K will run just fine. I have also run a 400K unit off of 3/4 at 20ft with no issues.