Getting close to adding some heat....

[Pauls234]

I lucked into a used hayward h200 NG heater from a neighbor who moved last year for super cheap ($20) though he could not guarantee that it would work - said it worked last time he used it, a few years ago.

Had a gas guy come out and give me a quote on installation, running the gas line, etc. It's a pretty long run from meter to pool, measured 105 feet though I was modestly surprised that the total cost would be only $700 as I've seen some pretty high figures on these forums.

I cleaned up the heater, which had been sitting outside, as best I could yesterday, and looking at the exchange (from the top) it didn't look too bad, a little bit of green but otherwise ok.

My questions:
Is there any way I can test the heater before hooking it up? I guess a cracked exchange would be what I am looking for, correct? Do I just put the thing on its side and run some water in the intake? And then look for leaks? Will they be obvious?

Are there various ways to plumb (cost above includes plumbing)? My set up is simple right now, just pump and filter, so I assume I would want the ability to bypass the heater altogether?

As an aside, I asked about me doing the trench and he said it would knock off about maybe $250 as it does not save him much time (not economical for me given that I would need to rent a trencher), said they use a machine that sort of tunnels its way through if I understood him correctly. Anyone familiar with this equipment? Sounds great if it does not dig up your yard!

Anything else I should think about at this stage?

 

[JasonLion]

I've seen that tunneling machine work. It has a blade that cuts a narrow slot through the ground, forcing a flexible plastic pipe down to the bottom of the slot as it goes. It works very quickly as long as you don't hit any large rocks or pipes/wires.

 

[ps0303]

There is a unit that actually bores a small hole under the ground and you don't have to dig a trench at all. You have an entry point and an exit. If they use PEX pipe, then there would be two risers, one at each end of the run. However, looking at your cost explained above, I doubt it as those risers do add a pretty good dollar to the cost.

As for testing the unit, you really have to hook it up to the pools plumbing to see if there are any leaks in the heat exchanger. The pressure in the systems will definitely show the leaks.When I see any discoloration on the heat exchanger, green copper, it can usually indicate a leak of some sort as the chemicals in the water causes the discoloration. The other thing to look at is the bypass in the header. The original one that came with the manufacturer isn't very sturdy and fails. I have a YouTube video on this issue. Watch it and you'll get an idea of what I am talking about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzHLiba3s1g

Good luck!

 

[Pauls234]

Thanks for the input, I did watch that video as well, helped me understand better how the thing works.

I'll probably open my pool in the next several weeks so I'll go ahead and plumb the heater in line and see if things leak, is that what you are suggesting as the best way to test for leaks?

Also, the current heater is a 200K BTU, install plan is for a 1.5 inch pipe. Given my pool's size, I will likely upgrade to a higher BTU heater at some point, will 1.5inch pipe suffice for 300K or 400K BTU? Or do I need to go larger on the initial install?

 

[JasonLion]

You almost certainly need a larger pipe for 400K BTU. Alternatively, if you have 2 psi gas service you could run a 2 psi line and use a smaller pipe, adding a pressure regulator just before the heater.

 

[ps0303]

If you run 1.5" from the meter to your heater and then bring it down to 3/4 with a regulator, you should be good.

I will say this, if you do not have a long run of pipe from the meter to the heater and your current pipe size is 3/4, depending on the brand you choose, you could be ok. I have installed 400K units on 3/4 pip that is about 20' from the meter and all is fine. This is on Rheem units that I install. If you go with say a Pentair unit, when you look at the manual is says no matter what size heater you have of theirs, they want 1.5" run all the way to the heater and then reduced down to 3/4 just before the unit. If you don't have it this way and you have an issue and a warranty guy comes for a problem, they could deny the repair as warrantied as you didn't follow their guidelines. I've seen and heard it happen.