Pentair MasterTemp 400 - How bad can they be?

[bcobb]

So I am in the market for a pool heater and for one, can't decide between gas and electric. Was all set on electric because of its efficiency but I'm just not sure how much we'll run it so gas might be a better choice (plus gas heats up the pool a lot quicker). So any other thoughts on this I'm listening!

There is a Pentair MasterTemp 400 on Craigslist right now for $1000 (new in box). I've read people have quite a few problems with these. Is this one to stay away from? Any rock solid heaters out there (gas or electric)?
Thanks in advance all!
-Bryan

 

[Killer95Stang]

You have to understand... 1000's of people own Mastertemp heaters without any problems. Even more never seek out a message board to talk good about them when they do work. What you will find is, when someone has a problem with something, they start searching the internet for a solution, and when they find a message board they post about its problems. That is why when you do a search for mastertemp heaters, you only seeing where people are having issues with them.

With that said, I am very happy with my 4 month old Mastertemp 400.

 

[bcobb]

You have a very good point KillerStang. This heater is on Amazon with only 2.5 stars...however only 5 reviews and your point is still valid, but it certainly doesn't give me that warm fuzzy feeling ya know! Thanks for your input!

I didn't mention in my original post but I have a 25,000 gallon SWG in-ground pool. I see the 400 can easily handle my pool, any issues with salt?

KillerStang, how much have you had to use it this season and what is it costing you? What's the weather like in SoCal?

 

[danpik]

I'll bet you can find complaints about all heaters out there. Best is to talk to your local supplier and see haw many they have to service, and what the service call is for. I'll bet a lot of the "problems" are owner caused.

 

[ping]

I would think you would pay a lot more in the long run for an electric heater in CA compared to a gas heater. For me being in Long Beach, there is no way I would put in an electric heater over gas.

Do you still get the warranty with the (new in box) heater? If not, your savings might not seem so great if something is wrong with it. Remember that old saying, if it sounds too good to be true, then it most likely it is.

By the way, here in my part of So Cal, the weather has been cool all summer, rarely hitting 80 degrees all summer long. We had two days that hit 90 so far, great for the electric bill, but a tad on the cool side.

 

[ps0303]

The thing to be wary is why the unit is new in the box still and they only want $1000. That is an $1,800 unit. Something doesn't seem right.

As far as whether they are good or not all depends. My business is gas pool heaters and I repair lots of these as well as the Sta Rites and the new Hayward's. Now this might be because there are so many of these put in by the pool builders and that's why so many to repair. The smallest repair bill is just under $200. When the blower motor goes you're more in the $800 range.

So with that said, make sure you do a good check on the unit if you decide to go look at it. See if they have the original bill of sale as well.

 

[HouTex]

My Mastertemp is almost 3 years old and it's worked perfectly. But I don't use it very often.

 

[ps0303]

One suggestion I always make to owners is to turn it once a month for maybe 15-20 mins. This way you might not have as many issues because its being used periodically. If you turn it on say maybe twice a year then you're not really making it do anything but just sit there 98% of the time. Plus by turning it on once a month, you hopefully won't get that huge disappointment when you decide to turn it on for company coming over and it's been 9 months since you used it last and it won't work. I get lots of calls from people saying I just turned my heater on today and it doesn't work and I need it fixed for tomorrow for company coming over or my kids birthday party. Just some words of advice.

 

[HouTex]

One suggestion I always make to owners is to turn it once a month for maybe 15-20 mins. This way you might not have as many issues because its being used periodically. If you turn it on say maybe twice a year then you're not really making it do anything but just sit there 98% of the time. Plus by turning it on once a month, you hopefully won't get that huge disappointment when you decide to turn it on for company coming over and it's been 9 months since you used it last and it won't work. I get lots of calls from people saying I just turned my heater on today and it doesn't work and I need it fixed for tomorrow for company coming over or my kids birthday party. Just some words of advice.

Agreed. I make sure to use my spa at least once a quarter.

 

[Killer95Stang]

I didn't mention in my original post but I have a 25,000 gallon SWG in-ground pool. I see the 400 can easily handle my pool, any issues with salt?

KillerStang, how much have you had to use it this season and what is it costing you? What's the weather like in SoCal?

I live right on the edge of LA County near the Inland Empire, so we tend to be a little hotter than most of Los Angeles. This summer it has consistently been in the high 80's with a few weeks in the mid to low 90's. Our 23,000 gallon salt water pool typically hovers at 82-84 degrees without a solar cover (too much work to put it on..) Although we have only heated our pool three times, we use our heater for the SPA at least once every weekend.

Knowing that I was going with saltwater, I had my PB upgrade the heater to the model with a nickel heat exchanger, which should last longer than the standard unit. Performance wise, it takes about 20 minutes to heat our spa from 82 to 100 degrees and for the pool, it takes about 30-45 minutes to raise the water 1 degree. So for parties, we will usually raise the water temp from 80 to 86 in 5 hours, then just shut off the heater. So far i think it costs about $10-$20 to heat the pool for a party.

Like mentioned above, I would be cautious when buying a $2000 heater for half the price.

 

[thadius65]

This story sounds similar to mine. I got a new in box unit off of Craigslist. I was concerned about it being to good to be true. Asked the guy for the serial number and called it into Pentair to determine if stolen, or previously owned, etc. It was not. So I proceeded to the pickup location and picked it up. The box was water damaged, but contents were 100%. I got a really good deal at $1000 for the Mastertemp 400HD natural gas unit. Been a great heater for two seasons so far. Glad I did it. Been very helpful this year since Central PA has been so unseasonably chilly. It is on currently and is giving me a 5 degree lift in 2.5 hours. Enjoy and good luck!