Pentair Heatpump stopped heating/cooling

[csconner]

Hello all,

Hope everyone has enjoyed their summer.

My Pentair Ultratemp heatpump (heat and chill) has stopped working. Unit cycles thru water temp testing, initiates heat/cool cycle but compressor never engages, no heating/cooling.

My issue is as follow - this is a replacement unit that is just 2 years old. The original unit failed within the first season and was replaced by Pentair October/November 2020.

Back in 2020 Pentair assigned the diagnosis/repair/replace to a local commercial HVAC company. That company was purchased by another commecial HVAC service company that no longer services residential equipment. Pentair does not have a certified maintenance provider in my geographic area, and is struggling to identify an alternative service provider.

I’ve now lost several weeks of season as we are not able to heat the pool to our desired temp.

Needless to say this is extremely disappointing and concerning regarding the lack of reliability of this product. I’m ready to request a replacement unit.

Would value guidance / input on how best to proceed.

Thanks Craig

 

[ajw22]

Check the contactor…

Pentair UltraTemp Heat Pump - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[csconner]

Picture attached, I did check it appears to be ok, I see no melted wire, no burning, no smell of burnt wires, etc.

 

[ajw22]

See this thread where replacing the capacitor fixed the problem...

Problem with Pentair Ultratemp 110

Hi everyone, first time posting, but I have an issue with my heater. I have a Pentair Ultratemp 110, bought brand new in early 2021 and I have had some issue lately. It has been having problems heating my pool. For about two weeks it would constantly click on and off incessantly but heat the...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[pjt]

Check the capacitor. They do often fail, but are easy to replace.

 

[csconner]

Hey everyone, appreciate the suggestions.

I was not clear in my first posting:
1. the unit is under warranty.
2. my basic question why would I attempt to repair and void the warranty?
3. why would I not request Pentair to replace the unit?

i had assumed based upon the postings here, this seems to be a known issue with many people experiencing similar situation.

I was more interested if anyone else had similar experience? and how did they proceed?

thanks

 

[pjt]

the unit is under warranty

That's good. Pentair should cover the cost of a service visit and repair part(s). The hard part will be finding a service provider if you can't do the work yourself.

why would I not request Pentair to replace the unit?

You most likely have a bad capacitor, which costs a few dollars and can be changed in a couple minutes. It would be unreasonable to ask for the complete replacement of a $5,000 heat pump.

 

[swamprat69]

As a possible suggestion to try to resolve the problem, you might approach contacting Pentair with a possible solution. Since the Nashville area has a somewhat temperate climate, I would guess that there is an above average use of heat pumps for home heating. Because a pool heater heat pump is basically the same as a home heating heat pump with the exception of one side of the system transferring the heating/cooling to water rather than air, any service technician who is certified to work on heat pumps should be able to work on your pool heat pump (especially if the installation/service manual is available). NATE has a specific heat pump certification which guaranties a certain level of competence by the technician. Many smaller companies that use NATE certification of technicians may have only 1 or 2 technicians certified. In the Nashville area there is one company that has 5 NATE certified technicians (though I can't tell which specific certifications that they hold). If you recommend to Pentair that they approach this company with the possibility of handling all of their warranty work in the area (most companies will not turn down an expansion of their business if they are capable of handling it), both you and Pentair might find a solution to your problems. This is the company that I specifically mentioned before:
Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning-Nashvile
1134 Murfreesboro Pike
Nashville, TN 37217
Phone: 615-367-0003
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.donelsonair.com
# of certified technicians: 5

 

[csconner]

Thanks for all the great input and suggestion.

Pentair identified a local service provider that came out and replaced the capacitor today.

what Contributes to the capacitor failing?
how long should this capacitor last?

 

[ajw22]

.what Contributes to the capacitor failing?
how long should this capacitor last?

 

[csconner]

Interesting!!!
Thank you!
helps to understand.