NEW PENTAIR HEATER - SERVICE HEATER ERROR

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wardsntx

wardsntx

0
Jun 18, 2007
221
Spring, Texas
Well, I noticed after start up on Tuesday, they didn't fire up the heater, so I went out last night and turned it on myself and it fired up. After about 1 - 2 min. The service heater light came on. So I shut it down and then did it again. Same thing, it fires up and says heating, then the service heater light comes on again.

Any suggestions? Could this be to the size of the gas meter?
 
Ward,

I'll offer my 2 cents.... but its worth less.

You have the same heater as me. You need 400 cfh of gas (which is btu/1000).

Your meter has its max capacity stamped on it. My origianal one was 250.

If you're meter is ok, then you might want to loosen the line coupling near the heater to bleed the air out for about a minute.

After that, did you run a new line? How far and what size?

You have to have the flow (400 scfh), and the pressure (4"-11" water column), for it to work properly. The pentair guy struggled with mine quite a while. (He lives in houston...)

Hope this helps, feel free to ask more

steve
 
Thanks Steve,

I was thinking it was the pull of gas from the meter...kinda frustrating since I asked a few times during the construction to both the pool builder and the gas company if I needed to change the meter and both told me most likely not. I do only have a 250 CFU stamp on the meter, so I suppose that could be the situation...just when I thought I was done spending money on building this pool!

Thanks for the advice. I will follow up with Pentair and most likely get the gas company out here to change it out.


Just to answer your question about the line. The ran a line from the meter to the pad, about 35'. At the pad there are two gas valves, one for the heater and one for the fire pit. At first I thought the heater valve was off, but I checked and checked again and confirmed the gas to the heater was on....
 
wardsntx said:
Thanks Steve,

.just when I thought I was done spending money on building this pool!
Click to expand...

HA HA, that will never happen. Chemicals, somthing else will go wrong, you will find you want to add stuff to. like out door speakers, new patio set, chairs around the pool, pool toys, the list is endless. :x
 
My meter was only 250 cfh also.

Gas company put in a 600 cfh, no problem, no charge. (they'll make their money up with the increased usage)

With any luck, whatever size line you ran will be able pass enough flow at the right pressure. If not, you might have to have to install a regulator going into your house, and another at your heater. (allowing the higher pressure to go all the way to your heater regulator.)


Never underestimate how wrong any one answer can be from someone who has no real interest in the situation.
 
Hey, I just checked my gas meter and it also says 250 CFU. I also have the MasterTemp 400K BTU. Does that mean that when my gas house heater cranks up, I may have problems. I have run the heater several times already, a couple of times over a couple of hours without problems.
 

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ktdave,

the pressure and flow of your natural gas is dependent on a few things, and how those things add up will determine if you're reaching the the minimum requirement of your burner (heater.)

some of the varialbles are 1) what regulator in front of meter happens to be set at; all regulators have output "ranges", and yours may be set "high enough" to get enough pressure (or may not, if you're having problems). Also regulators have small orifices and can clog easily... so keep this in mind if you begin to have problems.
2) pipe size... the larger the pipe size, the more flow you will get, so if you're getting the full 250 cfh, that may be enough to operate your heater
3)length of pipe run... the longer the run, the larger your pipe size needs to be

remember, there are 2 factors... pressure AND flow. The mastertemp400 needs 400 cfh (flow) and somewhere between 4 and 11 inches of water column (pressure) (if I recall correctly from the manual.)

If I were you, I'd go ahead and change the meter. I doubt your gas company will charge you anything, and you're risking starving your heater without it. The results might show up down the road.

FWIW, I ran a large line, but I had a long run. 2" line for about 100', only used the regulator in front of the meter to drop it down. (your gas line probably comes in at about 2 psi, and needs to be dropped to ~1/3 psi) Probably not the least expensive option, but that's what I did. There are certainly other solutions.

I'll be glad to help if needed. (this is pretty much what I do all day long, but usually in industrial applications)

enjoy...
 
Jay,
sorry I'm hijacking here, but at least it's relevant.

Steve,
I did call the gas co. today to see 1) if I neede to do something and 2) if it would cost.
answer - a tech will call me back

As far as my gas run; less than 10 feet, and like I said I've had no probs. so far, but what about when my HVAC heat kicks in (more demand).

Hopefully they'll switch it out without cost (or minimal)

Thanks for the input Steve, and the air time Jay.
 
dave,

I've never read where they've charged anyone... they're allowing you to use MORE gas...

I would TELL the tech that you need 400 scfh of gas... not 250..... bring me a new meter.

(and you're right, when you use it when you're running your central heat and/or hot water tank and/or stove... none of them may work properly)

we replace regulators and orifices all day long bc people aren't able to get enough gas to their burners...(usually after they've cranked up the pressure all the way... and eventually realize that they need f-l-o-w)

sorry for the rant...
 
No prob Dave...anything for you!

I had pool school today and James and I determined that the surface ignitor easn't operating, so he is going to replace that part first before we go through the expense and effort to change the gas meter. I have 4 other people I have talked to that have not changed their meter and things work just fine with the smaller meter. I will however call t gas company to inquire.

Dave let me know if you hear sometyhing from yours!
 
Wardsntx,

It was mentioned briefly but I think it needs to be mentioned again.

Don't forget to think about the entire possible gas demand of your home as multiple items could be drawing gas from the meter simultaneously. I don't know how big your home is what kind of appliances you have is but here's an example:

Furnace ~ 90000
Water ~ 30000
Stove ~ 50000
Oven(s) ~ ???
Pool HTR ~ 400000
Clothes Dryer ~ ???

TOTAL ~ 517000+

Think about a situation where you get a wild idea to have a party at Thanksgiving and want to be able to swim. You could be running many things at once and easily exceed the capability of your current meter.
 

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