Turquoise & rust grit in spa & heater problems

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pwa2003

Gold Supporter
Oct 29, 2022
47
Tulsa, OK
Pool Size
23163
Surface
Plaster
We opened our pool for the season on 4/13/2024 (just over 3 weeks ago). It took a few days to clean/vacuum/filter out the silt and get the water chemistry back in balance. On first use of the spa, we noticed the plaster felt rough (I posted about this in a separate thread). I haven't had a chance to do much more research into the rough plaster issue or really "do" anything, other than I've been trying to keep the pH from getting too high.

After using the spa with no problems several times, we noticed one day last week that the spa wasn't heating past 96 or 97 (set to heat to 100 or 101). This was the day after a thunderstorm which caused a brief power outage and made the pool lights come on for a minute or two (lights turned off by themselves). We have since lost connection to the heater from the OmniLogic app and can't seem to get that connection back.

I've been able to test the heater by running it manually using the heater's touch screen. I've verified that the max "lock out" temp is set to 104 for the spa and 90 for the pool. I've powered-down everything and left the power off for a good 15-20 minutes in hopes of re-establishing a connection with the OmniLogic, but that did not work.

In the meantime, we're having these problems:

(1) There is a bunch of this turquoise and rust-colored "grit" settling on the spa benches (mostly, but there is also a tiny bit settling on the pool entry steps). I vacuumed it up with a stick vac so I could take pictures. Using a magnet, a little bit of it does stick, so there must be something metallic in it. Putting some acic on it, there is no bubbling. The acid turns whatever it is a dark yellow, and as the stuff dissolves, the color turns a very dark blue/green color, almost black.

(2) We're hearing a rattling sound that seems to be within the housing of the blower. We almost never use the blower, but turned it on a few times to make sure it's working (and it is).

What do you all suggest we do to troubleshoot?
 

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  • Spa Grit 2 (dry - rubbed on paper napkin).jpg
    Spa Grit 2 (dry - rubbed on paper napkin).jpg
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What model heater are we discussing? I don't see one listed in your signature.
 
Does the heater display show bO?

A bO code is a normal display on the heater display when the heater is being controlled by automation. It indicates the heater is in remote control mode.

To put your heater in bypass you:
  1. Press the Mode button to place the heater in Standby Mode
  2. Hold the Down Arrow and Mode buttons simultaneously for 3 seconds for Bypass operation. “bO” will be displayed on the screen
  3. Heater must then be in the Spa or Pool Mode for operation. The heater will fire when instructed by the external control.
To remove your heater from bypass mode you:
  1. Press and hold the DOWN key and
  2. Then press and hold the MODE key
  3. Hold down both keys for 3 seconds until the indication ‘‘bO’’ is removed from the display.

​

 
What do you mean by “reconnect with the Omni”?

The heater is connected to the Omni by a 2 wire connection. Follow that wire to the low voltage relay in the Omni it is connected to. Disconnect the wire at the Omni and use your multimeter to test if the relay closes and opens when you request heat on the OmniLogic.
 
Last edited:
Finaly getting back to this... We are no longer having issues with the Omni app, but we are still having heater problems, as follows:

We set the heater -- in bypass mode (bO) -- to heat the spa to 100F.
Heater turns on, with Omni app displaying "Heating to 100," and it runs as expected until temp reaches 97.
Then, the heater turns off for about 2 minutes, Omni app still shows "Heating to 100," and the display screen on the heater unit shows LO.
During those 2 minutes while the heater has stopped, the app shows water temp rise to 98. (I'm not sure this is meaningful.)
After those 2 minutes, the LO code clears (goes back to bO), the heater turns on again until app shows 99. This on-off pattern repeats until temp gets to 100, at which point the app shows the expected message "Ready: Set point 100."

So the spa eventually gets to the desired temp, but it goes into that on-off pattern with the LO code displaying during those intermittent stops. It heats steadily from the low 70's to 97 before it goes into that on-off pattern.

And we still don't know what the turquoise/rust grit is. We're thinking it's from the heat exchanger, but don't know how to troubleshoot that.
 
A Hayward LO code is a limit string open error that occurs when any of the safety circuits on your Hayward pool heater opens. This forces the heater to shut down to protect your heater from damage.

Usual reason for the LO code is lack of sufficient flow not closing the Water Pressure Switch. Low water pressure can be due to a filter that needs to be cleaned, low pump RPM if a VS pump, open heater bypass valve, low skimmer water level, or even a stuck weir door.

Also on the Limit String is the Temperature Limit Switch, Exhaust Gas Temperature Limit Switch, and Vent Pressure Switch.

See pages 40-43 in the Universal H-Series Diagnostics Guide.
 
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