Hi all,
Bought a house with a neglected pool and just in the process of fixing everything up.
I'm looking for some advice regarding water pressure to an air source heat pump, as I've just discovered that it's leaking and I'm wondering if I gave it too much pressure. I confirmed that the leak is not condensation, and I can see water dripping inside the heater even when it's switched off (but water directed through it).
There IS a gauge on the heater which has always remained in the green section, but I wonder if this gauge is for the refrigerant liquid rather than for the pool water pressure.
Everything I read online said to make sure all valves directing water to the heater are open ALL the way, otherwise it can damage your heater, so that's what I did - all flow is directed from the filter to the air source heater, before coming back and into the SWG and out to the jets. What makes me wonder if this was too much pressure is that the pressure gauge on my DE filter raises from about 1 bar to about 1.4 bar when I divert the flow through the heater, vs bypassing the heater.
Now, the pressure would obviously still rise on the filter gauge if I opened the heater route valve only partially, but at least the pressure would then be controlled by that valve vs the internals of the heat pump heat exchanger.
The leak may not be caused by the water pressure at all and just be due to a bad pipe or join in the heater but I wanted to make sure again that fully open valves to the heating loop is what I'm supposed to be doing.
Ideas?
I can supply make/model of the heater if needed, but it's some French make that I doubt anyone will recognize.
I'm off to locate the leak in the heater and try to fix it...
EDIT: Found the leak. Seems to be the actual heat exchanger assembly - there is a big crack at the bottom edge of the big grey plastic housing. Picture attached below. I'm going to see if I can remove and repair that myself but honestly it's quite unlikely....don't want to be messing with the refrigerant loop at all.
Bought a house with a neglected pool and just in the process of fixing everything up.
I'm looking for some advice regarding water pressure to an air source heat pump, as I've just discovered that it's leaking and I'm wondering if I gave it too much pressure. I confirmed that the leak is not condensation, and I can see water dripping inside the heater even when it's switched off (but water directed through it).
There IS a gauge on the heater which has always remained in the green section, but I wonder if this gauge is for the refrigerant liquid rather than for the pool water pressure.
Everything I read online said to make sure all valves directing water to the heater are open ALL the way, otherwise it can damage your heater, so that's what I did - all flow is directed from the filter to the air source heater, before coming back and into the SWG and out to the jets. What makes me wonder if this was too much pressure is that the pressure gauge on my DE filter raises from about 1 bar to about 1.4 bar when I divert the flow through the heater, vs bypassing the heater.
Now, the pressure would obviously still rise on the filter gauge if I opened the heater route valve only partially, but at least the pressure would then be controlled by that valve vs the internals of the heat pump heat exchanger.
The leak may not be caused by the water pressure at all and just be due to a bad pipe or join in the heater but I wanted to make sure again that fully open valves to the heating loop is what I'm supposed to be doing.
Ideas?
I can supply make/model of the heater if needed, but it's some French make that I doubt anyone will recognize.
I'm off to locate the leak in the heater and try to fix it...
EDIT: Found the leak. Seems to be the actual heat exchanger assembly - there is a big crack at the bottom edge of the big grey plastic housing. Picture attached below. I'm going to see if I can remove and repair that myself but honestly it's quite unlikely....don't want to be messing with the refrigerant loop at all.
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