I am shopping online for pool heater, and pretty much decided on the raypak 400k btu unit, until I read the internet sales policy. While they do not come right out and say your warranty will be void if you purchase online, they certainly hint at it and are openly opposed to an internet retail sale. They say "An internet purchase can affect your warranty." Check this out at http://www.raypak.com/Support/Internet Sales Policy. What do you folks think? Do I buy it anyway and hope for the best? Is this just a lame attempt to support their retail outlets or do they refuse to support products sold online? Should I worry about spending $2k and wind up with an unsupported product? When you get right down to it whats the difference, if I bought it from a local retailer, they would just order it online themselves and tack on quite a few dollars and have the unit delivered to my home. Are other manufacturers like this? Thanks for letting me rant as bit. (Yes, I am having a licensed plumber bring the gas line over and install the unit)
Raypaks internet policy
- Thread starter adl6009
- Start date
This is not entirely uncommon. There are other manufacturers in the mix also.
I dont know the specifics of the Raypak warranty, so I can't comment on that.
The Brick and Mortar stores are taking a beating because they just cant compete in price. The stores and PBs have been lobbying the manufacturers to support them and so, this is one way of doing it.
Generally, if purchased online and installed properly, your chances of not needing warranty is pretty good. But there is always a a small chance that you will need it.
So the question, is, what is the warranty worth to you? Only you can answer that question.
I dont know the specifics of the Raypak warranty, so I can't comment on that.
The Brick and Mortar stores are taking a beating because they just cant compete in price. The stores and PBs have been lobbying the manufacturers to support them and so, this is one way of doing it.
Generally, if purchased online and installed properly, your chances of not needing warranty is pretty good. But there is always a a small chance that you will need it.
So the question, is, what is the warranty worth to you? Only you can answer that question.
Thanks for the response.
I think the one year warranty really isn't all that valuable if you think about it. I am in NY and optimistically my swim season is June to Labor Day. After that the pool is closed until next year, when my warranty runs out. So to me the most important part of the warranty is when I open the shipping crate and plug it in. To get a unit thats defective from the factory, however unlikely, would be the ultimate kick in the ..., if you know what I mean.
Standard consumer protection laws should protect you for the first 30 days from things like dead on arrival regardless of the warranty.
Most of the equipment companies are doing the same thing with their warranties. Raypak, while they don't sell direct to consumers, has one of the better units on the market today. As long as you are knowledgeable on plumbing/gas and electrical, you can surely hook it up yourself and not have to worry about any issues. What you could do is buy it on the net and then find a licensed person to install it for you. Although depending on where you purchase, the cost plus install might put you close to a purchase and install from someone local. Then the wouldn't be any question on the warranty. The key is though, a licensed professional(if your state requires people to be licensed for this).
I've been exclusively installing Raypak's/Rheem heaters for a very long time and it is a solid unit.
I've been exclusively installing Raypak's/Rheem heaters for a very long time and it is a solid unit.
I recently had a problem with my warranty on a Raypak heater. I had to replace the control board and I bought one on-line. A few months later, I discovered a soldering problem on the board that was affecting one of the connectors. It eventually pulled away from the board rendering the control board useless. I had had the board for about 6 months of the one-year warranty. I contacted Raypak who said that I needed to go through the online store for warranty. They explained that the on line store could return the board to their distributor for credit. I contacted the on line store, who told me that they can only take the board back for the first 30-days. After that, they said I had to deal with the manufacturer.
I ended up asking the online store to talk directly to the manufacturer. Raypak finally agreed to take the board back and the online store even paid for shipping. I would think twice before going through all that again. Especially if I was going to spend thousands of $.
I ended up asking the online store to talk directly to the manufacturer. Raypak finally agreed to take the board back and the online store even paid for shipping. I would think twice before going through all that again. Especially if I was going to spend thousands of $.
I went through this whole thought process over the winter as our heater died last fall. I was quoted a price $1200 higher from a pool store than what you see online. However they offered a 3 year warranty on the heater through them. I didn't get into the details of what that warranty included but I am willing to wager it was thorough as it is long standing family business with a handful of stores in the area.
That being said I have decided to go direct through the Internet. Before doing that I had the uncomfortable conversation with the pool store to see if they would install in this case. The pool store was willing to do the plumbing/electric install portion for $350, but of course any warranty issue will be my responsibility.
We shall see how it goes. For my situation I felt that since the pool season is so short the warranty really is not as valuable as the money saved.
Curious if anyone has any numbers for issues with defects in new heaters or service issues in the first year? That number has to be low for a new Raypak heater I would think. Either that or I'm a bit of a gambler!
That being said I have decided to go direct through the Internet. Before doing that I had the uncomfortable conversation with the pool store to see if they would install in this case. The pool store was willing to do the plumbing/electric install portion for $350, but of course any warranty issue will be my responsibility.
We shall see how it goes. For my situation I felt that since the pool season is so short the warranty really is not as valuable as the money saved.
Curious if anyone has any numbers for issues with defects in new heaters or service issues in the first year? That number has to be low for a new Raypak heater I would think. Either that or I'm a bit of a gambler!
I bought a replacement Raypak two seasons ago off the internet. Install was easy except they moved the power inlet about a foot higher on the side which caused me some miner modifications and a few runs to the hardware store. No problems so far and we saved about $1500 from what a pool company had qouted us and I got the cupro nickel exchanger upgrade. Once these bad boys start to go they cost a lot in parts. I know the control board was about $400 bucks to replace on the last one. I should have replaced mine about a year before I did..being the old one lasted about 11 years.
I install hundreds of Raypak's a year. I get zero(0) call backs on the units I've installed with in the first year. Outside of the first year the call backs are very low and most times it's a user issue or something like a snake or tree frog took up residence inside and caused issues.
As for other brands, well I see calls on some within 18 months of install date. Bad boards and leaks are the main issues.
It's very common for the manufacturer to have the consumer to go thru where it was purchased especially in this industry. The online store should have done the replacement work without any hassle. Especially since the manufacturer will replace it for them at no cost. To me, that's just good business practice.
I know you pay a little more for a local person to come replace the item/part, but in can make a difference in situations like this. The relationships I have with my vendors sometimes allows me to take products back even past a year after purchase. Even if it broke due to the consumer.
In my opinion, manufacturers will need to understand that more and more people are buying off the internet. In my case, no one locally is going to stock a control board for a 15 year old heater. If they have t order it also, they really add no value to me. Any manufacturer should provide a warranty regardless of where it is purchased. After all, they control the distribution. Those who decide to make life more difficult for Internet purchasers may see their business decrease going forward.
These new policies are in response to more people ordering them online. 90% of internet warranty dispatch calls we get are bogus. Usually from improper installation, water chemistry issues, or improper operation. If a manufacturer has to spend $200 on every product they sell for warranty where is the value to them? At some point the profits from increased volume get destroyed by warranty and return issues (both can get expensive). The difference is that you have people that (hopefully) have been trained on installing, diagnosing, and repairing issues with their product.
As far as Raypak is concerned, they make a decent unit, but aren't very good dealing with warranties for their dealers. They even worse when it comes to direct to consumer products.
If I needed a warranty on any product a heater would be #1 because its the most likely to have an issue.
I guess it all depends on the relationship you have with your local rep.
I don't know of any company in the pool industry that sells direct to consumers, heaters, control systems, or even pumps.
I don't know of any company in the pool industry that sells direct to consumers, heaters, control systems, or even pumps.
This is the reason I m concerned about the purchase and support. Sure, for me the 1 year warranty is only good for 3 months due to my short season. But I do want a someone nearby who will repair and get parts for me in the years to come. This is why I decided to buy the unit through my installer. I havn't gotten the estimate yet, but if it is reasonable I'll spend the extra money and hope he will look out for my interests should a repair be needed.
Thanks for all the opinions and information, I thinks it's been a very helpful thread.
The final decision- I am buying the raypac unit through and having it installed by a local business that is a factory rep. Sure its costing a few hundred more but its worth getting the factory warranty, a professional install and a warm pool in June. The deciding factor was the guy who came to estimate the job knew what he was talking about. When you get right down to it, that's what you need with a gas install. Thanks to all.