Never posted before, here or anywhere else. (just a pre-apology for any breech of thread protocol/etiquette)
I am looking for advice on rat-proofing my pool heater. I had several battles with them nesting in my pentair mastertemp. They chewed through wiring, and jammed debris into air intake. Reading posts on this site, I was able to successfully repair the damages on (3) seperate occasions. However, this time the nest damage actually caused hardware to rust from either wet debris, or rat urine. When I tried to unbolt blower to clear it out, the studs broke off. That nest was built right on top of the moth balls and poison. I am sure that heater would have lasted longer than 5 years if not for the palm rats.
Now I have to get a new heater (natural gas), and I am wondering if there is one made with a case that excludes rats. They were coming in through the vents as well as along the water pipes on my mastertemp 250. I read about a home-spun fix of wire mesh. Is that the best solution? Would it go on the inside or outside of the unit? I don't intend to spend the money for a new one until I have a plan in place for protecting it. I am in Fla, and the palm rats are not going away anytime soon. It seems that some manufacturer would be able to make a lot of sales with a model series geared for such issues, but I don't see any. If you're listening Pentair, how about a mastertemp "Florida Edition".
I am looking for advice on rat-proofing my pool heater. I had several battles with them nesting in my pentair mastertemp. They chewed through wiring, and jammed debris into air intake. Reading posts on this site, I was able to successfully repair the damages on (3) seperate occasions. However, this time the nest damage actually caused hardware to rust from either wet debris, or rat urine. When I tried to unbolt blower to clear it out, the studs broke off. That nest was built right on top of the moth balls and poison. I am sure that heater would have lasted longer than 5 years if not for the palm rats.
Now I have to get a new heater (natural gas), and I am wondering if there is one made with a case that excludes rats. They were coming in through the vents as well as along the water pipes on my mastertemp 250. I read about a home-spun fix of wire mesh. Is that the best solution? Would it go on the inside or outside of the unit? I don't intend to spend the money for a new one until I have a plan in place for protecting it. I am in Fla, and the palm rats are not going away anytime soon. It seems that some manufacturer would be able to make a lot of sales with a model series geared for such issues, but I don't see any. If you're listening Pentair, how about a mastertemp "Florida Edition".