thinking about replacing heater... jandy legacy or raypak? What size?

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Z

zimm

0
May 6, 2013
434
Fort Lauderdale, FL
I have a 1997 Teledyne laars gas heater, 250k. The home warranty paid for a new gas control unit and pilot assembly, so now at least it works. But the temp knob does nothing, so it's either on or off. I almost had a catasrophy when the pump shut off with the heater still going. It did shut down, but when turning pump back on, super-heated water caused 3 PVC leaks and even hurt a little kid who was swimming by the pool return. Never again... So currently, I have to take the "off" stops off the pump timer if I use the heater as a failsafe.

Anyway, I'm tempted to just install a new unit that has a digital control. The Jandy legacy is the direct replacement for what I have- footprint and plumbing location look the same. Or the forum recommended Raypak- it also has the plumbing about in the right spot. Recomendations?

What size? My pool is 45x12 and gets a lot of shade. I'll only run it the day before I'm going to use the pool, so a friday in order to swim for the weekend.
 
I like RayPak, though the difference between brands are fairly small.

I recommend getting the largest heater your gas service can handle. The additional cost is minimal, and the water heats up more quickly. Unfortunately, chances are you would need expensive upgrades to your gas line to get a larger heater, which is probably not worth the extra expense.
 
Raypak! The Jandy has a blower motor and a few other extra components that could cost you more down the road on repairs. The Raypak is a very simple straight forward heater with no extra bells or whistles that will cost you down the road. Installing the unit will only take minimal PVC pipe.

How far away is the gas meter from the heater? Does the line going to the heater come directly off the meter, if close, or does it go inside the house to feed other things first and then back out to the heater? The distance and the number of gas appliances on the same line can affect the supply to the heater if the line isn't large enough.
 
zimm said:
The home warranty paid for a new gas control unit and pilot assembly, so now at least it works. But the temp knob does nothing, so it's either on or off. I almost had a catasrophy when the pump shut off with the heater still going. It did shut down, but when turning pump back on, super-heated water caused 3 PVC leaks and even hurt a little kid who was swimming by the pool return. Never again... So currently, I have to take the "off" stops off the pump timer if I use the heater as a failsafe.

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Click to expand...

What?? I say save your money and MAKE home warranty replace or fix it right, or (tell them) you will be talking to your lawyer. I'm not kidding! you have a case against that repair guy and home warranty. I don't ever deal with them just for this reason. They never want to spend the money to fix things correctly. I dealt with them when i bought a house, and had to push every time i had a claim.
Unfortunately their work makes YOU open for a lawsuit.

Make them fix it!
 

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