Draining a heater when not in use

[ntobik]

I wanted to run this past the forum and see if this is a good idea.

My brother-in-law purchased a new heater and plumbed in a bypass valve. He said when he's not heating the pool he drains the water from the heater to extend its life. His theory is without any chlorinated water the heater won't have a chance to wear out as quickly.

I'm going to be installing a new heater myself this spring. I'm going to install a bypass valve, but I'm wondering. Does it make sense to drain a heater when not heating? Last year we used our heater a handful of times to dramatically raise the temp that we then maintained with a solar cover.

Thoughts?

 

[Patrick_B]

Much trouble for no gain. Properly balanced water (including Cya/stabilizer level) isn't harmful to the heater anyway. Well maintained water chemistry will keep things right and it's more important to be worried about that.

 

[pooldv]

I installed a heat pump last fall with a bypass. I shut off the bypass and drained the heater for the winter. But, only for the gained pump efficiency of not pumping water through it all winter. I agree with Patrick 100%, I would have no concerns with continuing to pump TFP pool water through the heater all winter.

 

[woodyp]

Only benefit to a heater bypass valve I see is so that you can take it out of the system loop if it develops a leak or such.

 

[ntobik]

Thanks for the replies everyone! We keep our pool water balanced and crystal clear. I won't go through the hassle of draining, except in the fall to winterize.

 

[Nathanstl]

I'm getting ready to install a new heater and was thinking I would do the same thing(bypass). What about when slamming? Wouldn't it be better to divert the super chlorinated water away from the heater?

 

[Donldson]

I'm getting ready to install a new heater and was thinking I would do the same thing(bypass). What about when slamming? Wouldn't it be better to divert the super chlorinated water away from the heater?

SLAM levels are not a particular concern for heaters, nor should SLAMs be such a common occurrence to warrant installing plumbing specifically for them.