Jandy LX Heater - Unreliable Heater

[PWM1961]

I would like to go on record as saying the Jandy LX heater for us has been a terrible purchase. It has proven to be unreliable, complex to diagnose, and expensive to fix even if purchasing parts and self-performing the repair. In the 9 years we have suffered with this abject piece of junk we have replaced the blower twice, the air flow switch twice, fuses, and the flue. I’ve probably spent almost as much on parts and some labour as the unit originally cost. It is an absolute piece of garbage.

I also understand that service guys are not fond of this unit because it’s a pain to diagnose. I look at the threads on here with pool owners having to do voltage tests, jumping switches, scratching their heads, spending time on discussion boards looking for someone with a similar experience and hopefully a solution. Maybe I’m crazy, but it seems like a lot of us Jandy LX heater owners have been spending way too much time hovered over this hunk of junk rather than enjoying our pools.

Too much of my precious downtime has been spent dealing with this boat anchor. Next pool season, I’m shipping this off to the trash heap and going to a more reliable heater from a different manufacturer.

 

[wjr75]

Get a Raypak

 

[ps0303]

Yes get a Raypak times 1000. A far better unit. I have been using them for a very long time and they have always proved to be a reliable unit.

 

[wayner]

Are there any heaters that are inexpensive to control from a Smart Phone? I would find it hugely valuable to be able to remotely adjust the heater temperature (and also pool pump timer) from my phone but adding this functionality often costs you a premium of $1000 or more which seems kind of crazy when you figure the price of home automation devices like a Nest or SmartThings or whatever.

 

[danpik]

I will echo what Paul said with this added. Most of the rust inside heaters is not from the elements per-se, but is from running the heater when the water is too cold. This causes a lot of condensation inside the unit. Southern climates don't see this as much as the water temps down there don't get as cold as they do in the north. The colder water temps (lower than 50-55 deg F)cause enough condensation that you would think there is a water leak inside the heater. Even a Raypac heater will suffer from this corrosion. Also to keep in mind, a lot of the components such as blower fans are not made by the heater manufacturer, but are made by a third party that supplies them to all of the manufacturers. Any heater, with proper care and use, will last a long time. I will agree that some are easier to work on than others, but with good trouble shooting skills and the ability to understand the workings of these things they can all be repaired fairly easily.

 

[ps0303]

Are there any heaters that are inexpensive to control from a Smart Phone? I would find it hugely valuable to be able to remotely adjust the heater temperature (and also pool pump timer) from my phone but adding this functionality often costs you a premium of $1000 or more which seems kind of crazy when you figure the price of home automation devices like a Nest or SmartThings or whatever.

You need to buy and install an automation system to control the heater and other pool components via your smart phone.

 

[wayner]

Why don't they just put wifi and web UI capabilities on a pool heater - just like a Nest thermostat? You can buy products, like webcams, for well under $100 that have web UIs (or can be controlled with apps) that have wifi and/or Ethernet connectivity. My irrigation controller has these capabilities. It isn't rocket science these days. And it is ridiculous to have to pay $500 or more to add this functionality.

I do have a Control4 HA system but the pool interfaces are apparently very expensive and not very good in terms of functionality.