Pool heater issues

[mbrunson]

I have a Purex Minimax 250 plus natural gas spa and pool heater. It is around 14 years old. It started fine after the winter and I used it for several weeks with no issues. Recently I saw black smoke coming form the vents. I looked at the burners and the flames were extending toward the front of the unit where all the electronics are. I purchased and replaced the burners then noticed some electronic housing had melted from too much heat so I replaced them all. Less than 15 minutes it had melted again. At this point could there be an issue with the heat exchanger? I cleaned the unit but did not open the chimney area to check for blockages. Where should I look next or should I just replace the unit? Thanks. Mark

 

[rrogers]

Hi Mark. I'm having the exact same issues with my Minimax 250. It's about 14yrs old and started overheating the electronics and wires this year. The circuit boards still work and I've been able to keep it running just replacing the all the wires. I thought maybe there was too much gas pressure that was causing it to overheat (I do ok with electrical stuff, but gas is not my thing), so I closed off the gas supply a bit, but I'm still having overheating problems with black soot covering the top vents. After reading your post, I realized I should open it up and check for blockages in the exhaust. Were you able to figure out a root cause and solution? I try to do stuff myself, but I'm getting close to calling someone. -Rick

 

[Cybergy]

Unfortunate that this thread has died. I have a Pentair MiniMax 250 (probably almost the same unit) and it's doing exactly what you describe. Soot, flames that are almost unable to go up through the exchanger so the heat is exiting towards the front which is melting plastic, labels, etc. I took out the burners and had a look - they are in great shape.

AND it's about 14 years old. I suspect I may need to research "what to look for in a new pool heater".


My pool light died a few weeks ago too, but that is another thread...