Brand new MasterTemp 125 not igniting

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C

Cpshockl

Bronze Supporter
Mar 28, 2020
22
New Orleans
I’ve had a brand new Pentair Mastertemp 125 installed. The board comes on, then I hear the blower. It tries to light several times then sometimes it will eventually turn the service heater light on.

While trying to light several times, I will smell some gas. I’ve tried to bleed the line from the union, and tried the turn off for 5 minutes and turn back on method listed in the manual more than 10 times. It will never ignite. And yes the toggle switch is in the on position.

The only other thing I’m wondering is maybe I have the wrong voltage plug in? The manual is not very clear on this. It says that if you use the 220v connector with 110v power “the heater will not operate” does that mean the board won’t even turn on? Or it will turn on but not light? I’m not 100% sure if it is 220 or 110 going to the heater. Could that be an issue? I don’t want to install the other plug until I’m sure it’s 110 for obvious reasons.

The gas line is the same line that was used for my old heater. A Raypak 266 btu that was over 20 years old. It’s only 3/4, but is only about 15 ft from the meter. Based on the manual and the fact that my old heater was 2x the size, I’m pretty sure it’s getting enough gas.

Any help would be appreciated. We don’t have a lot of good techs around here and some are not working and others are crazy busy with quarantined people wanting to get their pools in shape. My kids are driving me nuts to go swimming but it’s too cold!
 
Last edited:
3 things,
Confirm voltage. Heater comes from the factory set for 240V. Do not install the 120V plug unless you verified it is 120V power or you will damage Xformer.
Smelling gas does not confirm you have plenty of volume being delivered. Flow/volume should be confirmed with manometer.
If both of those are good, start with the igniter.

Actually, if this is a new heater, you shouldn't touch it, just call the installer, (if it's new) it should be under warranty. Did your installer test fire the heater after he installed it?
 
One more thing to note. I’m having trouble getting my pump to prime (challenger 1.5 hp) After a lot of working with it, I found a small crack in the basket housing where you attach the union. I melted it back together with a soldering iron as a temporary fix and it increased the pressure from 4-5 lbs before I melted it to 9lbs of pressure on average now but there are still air bubbbles coming out the returns. I’m still waiting on the replacement housing. Could that be causing the heater to not light even if I’m not getting a service pool light?
 
C,

Welcome to TFP! We have experts and pool enthusiasts in everything related to pools. We also sell absolutely nothing so you can always be assured your getting advice that's not conflicted by something we sell. You've already got some helping you.

Can you please fill in your signature with information about your pool type, equipment brands and model numbers? This helps our experts get you better advice quicker since they don't have to guess and/or ask cycles of questions to analyze your problem. Here's how to do it.

Did you install this heater yourself or pay an installer? Even if they can't come out you may want to at least call them and talk to them to preserve your warranty. We see problems like this on many brands of heaters after the first year or so of use but it's very rare on a brand new heater. Is the heater brand new or used? If your heater is going through the start cycle it's almost certainly wired for the right voltage. New heaters are almost always wired for 240 vac. You mention that it goes through the start cycle and you smell gas so that means the gas valve is opening but not igniting. This can be caused by a bad connection inside the heater, bad power connections to the heater including and especially the ground wire plus a couple of other things that are pretty rare. Please double check the power connections are good especially the ground. Can you tell us if you did anything to the power wire other than disconnect from the old heater and connect to the new heater? Were you able to use the old one as is or did you have to extend or replace it? If you're not concerned about warranty or get that resolved with your installer I would open the heater and look at the back of the panel to see what lights are flashing after it shuts down. Also, look in the glass window of the firebox to see if there's ever a orange-red glow. When you turn on the heater you should hear the blower start, then after 15 seconds the igniter gets power and glows bright orange in about 5 seconds to start the pre-heat portion of the ignition cycle then about 10 seconds later you'll hear a metallic click which is the gas valve opening and almost immediately the flame ignites. Is this happening? Is it then followed by a sound of flame igniting then shut down or is there never an ignition and then a second click and only a brief gas smell?

Chris
 
Thanks for the reply. I had my plumber install the heater and I connected the electrical. We’ve done this once before on a flip house and it worked perfectly. Everything was there from the much bigger old heater so figured it would be pretty straightforward. I guess I have no warranty so I need to figure it out myself or call someone on Monday.

There is only one gas valve and it’s open. I smell the gas when it tries to light and see the meter spinning

I had to add a junction box to extend the conduit. I tested the voltage where it connects in the heater and I get 240 on the power wires and 120 when I test either power and the ground. Is there another test of proper ground? I was wondering if I knocked something loose when looking for the on/off gas toggle switch, but I don’t see any wires haging out not connected

I’m not sure where the firebox window is. I tested the ohms of the igniter and got 38. Does that sound right?

I hear all the sounds you describe, but when heaters normally light you get a “woosh” sound. Mine just clicks, I hear what sounds like a faint “woosh”, smell the gas and hear another very faint click and the light stays blinking again to start the cycle over.

when it’s went through all the cycles to try to light that it feels like, the only LEd that lights up is the “service heater”. One time yesterday I got the 3 blink “ignition lockout”, but it has not happened again.

The heater is supposed to be brand new. I ordered it from a website of a distributor in Las Vegas.
The only other thing I have not checked is the gas pressure. I didn’t think that would be an issue as my old Raypak 266 never had gas problems and always fired right up. I need to get a manometer to do that.
 

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Try lighting it with a lighter if you feel comfortable with that level of troubleshooting. My money is on the ignitor especially since you can smell gas.
 
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Cpshockl said:
Ok so I have to remove the igniter. Is there an easy way to do it with all the Crud in the way or just have to use a bunch of socket extensions?
Click to expand...

Mine required several panels to be removed. You should be able to tell what needs to come apart. Once you get the igniter out it should be fairly obvious if it is bad or not. Mine was physically broken in 3 or 4 places. If the igniter is bad I would just order another (or 2) no real need to "test" it unless you actually want the heater running right now. Your local pool store may stock them as well. Mine had one in stock, then I got one from the maker under warranty, then I also got one from Amazon. So now I have spares!
 
I got it out, tried to light it and the flame won’t stay lit when it gets close to the hole. The igniter was warm when I took it out and multicolored like it had been burning. I did not see any visible cracks.
It’s not that I necessarily have to have the pool heating up now, it’s just that Crud like this eats away at me and I can’t focus on anything else until I figure it out. I was up til 4 am reading and thinking about it. It’s driving me nuts!
 

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