Raypak Hi Limit Error Code

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S

spudman

0
Nov 15, 2007
17
Yardley, PA
Just seeking a third party opinion here as I am having a new Pool tech out to look at my unit. Currently have a Raypak 406A propane heater which I installed myself with no diffuclty last year. Worked well from July to end of season. Only major worry was when the unit was delivered (on a rainy day with my wife at home) we signed, only to open box and there was a 2" crush on the corner of the unit. Raypak sent me a new top piece, the rest of the unit seemed ok but I was worried about internal cracking or a structural issue that may not show up for a bit.

Anyway, first time using the unit this year after opening from winter, I run the heater and get "High Limit 2" fault.

Various other posts in the interwebz says:

1. Possible low flow rate
2. Defective high limit switch
3. Possible stuck bypass valve.

I would rather not take the unit apart and look for the issue simply because I would not know what to look for. Thus I contacted a Raypak recommended tech to look. Is this something a) common; b) I can easily fix; c) possibly related to the damage in transit last year?

I am still going to pay the tech and hopefully have warranted parts if needed since the unit is under 1 year in age. Also by posting this the problem and answer are there for future lurkers.
 
The first thing to check is to make sure you are getting strong water flow through the heater. If you have a manual heater bypass make sure it is configured to let all of the water go through the heater. Check to make sure your return jets are getting a good strong flow. And so on.
 
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I highly doubt this is related to the dent you had in the unit when it arrived. Unless the unit had serious damage to the area where the board is, they are pretty hardy. Water flow or bypass issues are the usual culprits. If the unit is under a year old, you shouldn't have to pay anything if they are a warranty tech for Raypak. The warranty is one year all parts and labor included.
 
Updating the thread for all those who can learn. Tech just called me after inspecting the unit (yes they are not the speediest). He reported that the bypass valve was starting to corrode and that it could be causing the issue with insufficient flow into the heater thus tripping the High Limit fault.

What surprised me was that he said the problem was probably caused by the salt water generator. Now I did install one less than 3 weeks ago (new, before was an in-line chlorinator for tabs). He is recommending a check valve between the generator and the heater (currently have about 3' of line from the manifold to the generator) as a means of avoiding high chlorine affecting the copper header.

Makes sense? I did not see or recall any recommendation of a check valve in the installation instructions but common sense says that is a good idea. Your thoughts?
 
No point in a check valve for a SWG. The check valve for tablet chlorinators is to prevent the very acidic high FC water from backing up to the heater when the pump is off. For a SWG, when the pump is off, it is not doing anything and does not generate acidic water even if it were on.

The damage was likely done prior to the SWG installation.
 
Not beleaguering the point - - you are saying that in general a check valve is not needed in a SWG installation. If so is my tech trying to sell me some needless equipment? I am sure having it cannot hurt but things like this call into question the reliability of the service company.

In this case I may remain quiet as I installed the Raypak last year myself and did not include a check valve between the in-line Hayward chlorinator (also about 3' from manifold) and it stayed that way for about 4 months prior to winterization. I then wonder if that set-up could have corroded the bypass valve? If so then the DIY may have been part of the problem.
 
There is no point in a check valve there for a SWG system ... think what you want about the service guy.

Likely the damage was done prior to the SWG install from the chlorinator based on what you are telling us.
 
It is possible that the chlorine pucks might have caused this issue but I doubt it. Unless of course you may have loaded the Hayward chlorinator with pucks all the way to the top, then I would say it's a greater chance of the chlorine destroying the bypass. One puck at a time is generally all that is needed in those things. However look at this way, if the chlorine levels are high enough to affect the plastic in the heater, do you really think the plastic in the check valve is going to survive? Who maintains your water chemistry?

Yes it is a debate on the check valve. A SWG isn't going to harm the unit without a check valve. The cost of a check valve isn't that much and if you installed the heater you can definitely install a check valve if you wanted to.

Did he replace or suggest you replace the bypass in the heater?
 
Thank you all for your informed and intelligent responses.

The tech had to order a bypass valve and is replacing it under warranty. He recommended installing a check valve at my cost. Since I have two unions on each side of the line from the heater to the SWG, it is a really easy install so it should not be costly. BTW, I used to load up the chlorinator to the top with pucks maybe 2 times per year. Sometimes I would get a rush of chlorine gas in the spa when I would turn it on (kids would cough and run away). So it is likely there was gas build-up somewhere.
 

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I had the code hl1. Turns out I had a bunch of soot above the fire box in the coil fins. Took my compressor and blew it out. Wala. Up and running. But I did manage to snap one of the leads off the high limit switch. Thought I could get a job complete without paying for something. Ugh!
 
Yep the connections on both of my high limit sensors were completely corroded apart this year. One was off the others just fell off when barely touching them. Replaced both and blew out the whole thing as there was some debris in there. I will say that getting the old ones out was the worst part as those little screws were extremely corroded and on my unit it's hard to even get a good angle on them. Lil devils... more than a few cus words
 
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