What are some common heater repairs?

[bboehm]

I have a Laars heater. It's going on it's 7th year of operation and I haven't had to replace a single component or have any repairs. I know that I am completely jinxing myself by posting this but I'd rather do some pro-active maintenance on it while everything is working to try to keep everything in working order for as long as possible.

My PB says it's a miracle that it has gone as long as it has without anything going wrong - "a real diamond in the rough"... If so, it's the only part of my entire pool that I haven't had issues with.

Questions:

1. What is the typical life of a heater that is only used about 5 months out of the year?

2. Are there inexpensive components that can be or should be replaced proactively to extend the life of the heater?

Thanks!

 

[Denali]

Questions:

1. What is the typical life of a heater that is only used about 5 months out of the year?

2. Are there inexpensive components that can be or should be replaced proactively to extend the life of the heater?

Thanks!

I don't think there is a typical life of a heater. Mine is well over 30 years old and still going strong. Keeping a good chemical balance in the pool helps extend heater life.

I can't think of any components to replace unless they go bad.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Ours is 7 seasons too, last year ours was repaired (a bad sensor or something, can't remember) but he said it looked good for it's age.... I do recall the switch was bad the first year, covered under warranty.

I agree about the water balance being critical, so is proper winterization (if that applies to your locale).

 

[Aquaman95]

My Laars is 23 years old. I replaced the pressure switch a couple years ago but that's it.

Hope I'm not jinxing myself either.

I so rarely use it though that I'm not concerned. I heat the spa every once in a while. Only used it once for the pool for a Halloween party. The $600 gas bill cured me of that.

 

[fixit5561]

I have a Raypak RP2100 heater and talked extensively with a tech about my unit. He said that they rarely have issues and being mine is a millivolt system it is very easy to do repairs and trouble shooting yourself.

He said that everything is run on it inline, so if you are having problems with it what you do is get a jumper wire and basically take off the wires first off the thermostat and jump the 2 wires, if that solves your problem then replace that thermo. If not then rehook them wires back to the thermostat and go to the next thing in line and unhook the two wires and jump them and see if your problem is fixed, if it is then replace that component, if not hook them wires up and go down the line doing the same to each component until you find the one that *fixes* the problem with the jumper wire in place. Order that part and install and your problem should be fixed.

Hope this helps if you have a millivolt heater.
Brian