2 year old Janby pool heater

[new_pool_user]

We have a small Soake (spa-type) pool with Janby heater, which was installed only 2 years ago. Unfortunately the heater is not working. The inlet and outlet of the heat exchange was found to be making and there was soot buid up in the heater (see photos).

I'm told that this is not covered by warranty and a new heater should be installed. Thoughts on what caused this? It seems that replacing the heater is not going to fix the underlying problem?

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Too high gas pressures causing the heater to burn rich will cause sooting. Clogged burners can cause sooting. Poor air flow into the heater can cause sooting.

Was the heater installed indoors?

Show us pics of your equipment pad and the heater.

With the heater opened like that I would think the soot can be cleaned out, the heater reassembled, and then if it runs figure out the root cause of the sooting. The pool company may figure it is not worth all the effort they would need to charge you for that compared to installing a new heater.

heater whining and sooting

I have a Hayward H1501 gas heater that earlier today I fired up for the first time this season. It is ony 2 years old. It was making a whining/whistling noise and the top of the chimney part (not sure what it is called) has black soot on it. Is this what is called "sooting"? Are both of...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[swamprat69]

Not familiar with that heater from the photos but that appears to be the water side of the heater (at least in the second photo, water header?). Not sure about the first photo (pathways obscured), but can't picture and combustion/flue pathway configured like that??? Water chemistry problem??

 

[swamprat69]

Doesn't really look like sooting unless the heat exchanger was leaking and introducing water.

 

[new_pool_user]

Welcome to TFP.

Too high gas pressures causing the heater to burn rich will cause sooting. Clogged burners can cause sooting. Poor air flow into the heater can cause sooting.

Was the heater installed indoors?

Show us pics of your equipment pad and the heater.

With the heater opened like that I would think the soot can be cleaned out, the heater reassembled, and then if it runs figure out the root cause of the sooting. The pool company may figure it is not worth all the effort they would need to charge you for that compared to installing a new heater.

heater whining and sooting

I have a Hayward H1501 gas heater that earlier today I fired up for the first time this season. It is ony 2 years old. It was making a whining/whistling noise and the top of the chimney part (not sure what it is called) has black soot on it. Is this what is called "sooting"? Are both of...

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks for your help! The heater was installed outside.

The heater is a JXI 260. The heater has been removed by the pool company for evaluation, so I don't have current photo, but I'm attaching some install photos.

The installer felt that there wasn't a chemistry problem, but I'm not sure exactly how that was determined.

 

[swamprat69]

Like I said, the photos look like the inside (water side) of the heat exchanger. The water side of the heater will not soot up.

 

[ajw22]

We really don't know what is going on with the heater as we can't see how it looked as it was opened up.

@swamprat69 makes the point that the pic showing the soot is on the water header. I assumed the guy taking things apart used the header as a convenient tray to brush the soot from the burner can and show it to you. So we really don;t know where the soot was found and what things looked like when it was opened.

With the heater being "removed for evaluation' you are at the mercy of the company and their explanations.