So my Pentair master temp 400 Natural Gas heater coils sprung a leak after 2 years. Anyone else ever have majors issues this early with your heater? I keep my water chemistry good and haven’t had any problems except with the heater. My pool builder is working on it but said they have never seen this issue even with much older heaters. Super concerning since the heater is not cheap and if not covered under warranty im on the hook for a new one. Seems like replacing the parts just isn’t worth it bc of cost and labor but still waiting to hear back on final cost.
Pentair Master Temp 400
- Thread starter jpatts11
- Start date
- Jul 21, 2013
- 53,107
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Welcome to TFP.
Tell us numbers about how you maintained your water chemistry?
How do you chlorinate your pool?
Anyone ever put Trichlor tablets in your skimmer?
What pool equipment do you have?
Post pics of your equipment pad.
There is a smoking gun someplace as to who killed your heater.
Tell us numbers about how you maintained your water chemistry?
How do you chlorinate your pool?
Anyone ever put Trichlor tablets in your skimmer?
What pool equipment do you have?
Post pics of your equipment pad.
There is a smoking gun someplace as to who killed your heater.
So I use the pool math app to manage my chemicals but my numbers usually run close to the following range:
FC 4.5
TA 70
CYA 60
PH 7.6
CH 280
Salt 3200
Never used any kind of tablets. It’s salt water all pentair equipment. 16 x 42 pool roughly 28K gallons.
FC 4.5
TA 70
CYA 60
PH 7.6
CH 280
Salt 3200
Never used any kind of tablets. It’s salt water all pentair equipment. 16 x 42 pool roughly 28K gallons.
Attachments
Is the pump on in this picture?
What control system do you have?
Does the heater ever run when just the deck jets are on?
What speed do you run the pump when the heater is on?
What control system do you have?
Does the heater ever run when just the deck jets are on?
What speed do you run the pump when the heater is on?
Pump speed varies when the heater is in use but between 1800 and 3000rpm. I have ran the heater with only the slide and deck jets open and bubblers. The water always flows through the heater so I assumed this would not be an issue? The pump is to the far right Pentair VS.
- Jul 17, 2019
- 3,730
- Pool Size
- 13000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I thought the Pentair warranty was 3 years when bundled with 3+ pieces of equipment that were professionally installed. Regardless I would be submitting a warranty claim on a 2 year old leaking filter.
The heater has a pressure switch and not a flow switch.
If you don’t have at least 40 gpm through the heater, then it can overheat and damage the heat exchanger.
If only the deck jets are on, there can be enough pressure to close the pressure switch while the flow is below 40 GPM.
This is why all heaters should have a flow switch and not a pressure switch.
This might be the cause of the damage.
I would install a real flow switch.
You should also use a cooldown period after the heater stops and before the pump turns off.
The pump should run for at least 5 minutes after the heater turns off to allow any heat in the heater to dissipate.
Another possibility is if the cell is on when the pump is off, which can cause chlorine gas and hydrogen gas to accumulate in the heater.
This can happen if the flow switch in the cell is bad and stuck closed.
Do you have automation?
Does the cell power down when the pump is off?
If you don’t have at least 40 gpm through the heater, then it can overheat and damage the heat exchanger.
If only the deck jets are on, there can be enough pressure to close the pressure switch while the flow is below 40 GPM.
This is why all heaters should have a flow switch and not a pressure switch.
This might be the cause of the damage.
I would install a real flow switch.
You should also use a cooldown period after the heater stops and before the pump turns off.
The pump should run for at least 5 minutes after the heater turns off to allow any heat in the heater to dissipate.
Another possibility is if the cell is on when the pump is off, which can cause chlorine gas and hydrogen gas to accumulate in the heater.
This can happen if the flow switch in the cell is bad and stuck closed.
Do you have automation?
Does the cell power down when the pump is off?
If you leave the pump on high speed for long periods of time, the heat exchanger can get excessive wear due to excessive flow.
Thanks for all the information! I run the pump 24/7 but mostly at lower speeds only high for a couple hrs a day. The salt cell does shut down if the pump is off. Is installing a flow switch easy? I haven’t researched it yet but I am pretty handy. Obviously don’t want the same thing to happen again. Still waiting to hear back from the pool builder but it does appear it should be covered under the 3 year warranty. Thanks for that information!!!
I got lucky...now I need help adding a flow switch
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