Trouble Bubble/Wonder Dome STARLOG:
- It was indeed the transformer AND something on the board...certified raypak tech swapped out same. Our working theory is that the wire nut on the red wire fell off and caused short.
It took about the full 24 hours to get back up to temp...about four hours longer than my calculations for the heater so I checked my math and discovered that choosing the cupronickel exchanger means I only get 240,000 btu instead of 266,000 btu, which accords with the time it took to recover the heat.
In terms of cost, the heat was about a wash...didn't heat from Friday night til Monday afternoon, so saved about $30-36 but the 24 hr run up cost about $34 in gas.
Also learned that in winter emergencies with pump running and "slightly" below freezing temps I can go 72 hours and only lose about 20 degrees. Not interested in finding out how fast it would drop in seriously low temps
At any rate, happily swimming again and curious to see how we'll do in coming deeper freeze.
Did find out from the Raypak guy that one of his long term clients in town has been using air domes on his pool for years. I think I will keep this tech's number handy as he thus understood immediately the stakes on temp loss and drove to his distributor immediately for the board when the transformer swap still left the board dead
Btw, this whole crazy experiment started over my need for physiotherapy (restricted to water) after a combined meniscus tear, bad arthritis and exacerbation from a cipro reaction. For the first time in six months, I've been walking without a limp or pain for almost 2 weeks now.
My massage therapist said Sunday this is "the healthiest" she's seen my tissue since June, so to keep up what I'm doing.
For me, the dome has been totally worth all the shenanigans. While I certainly could have done aqua therapy at a local pool, I don't think I'd be nearly as compliant.