Harvey flooded Pentair Master Temp 400---need suggestions

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dmh

0
Jun 7, 2015
66
Houston, TX
Problems with a flooded Pentair Master Temp 400 heater:

1. No blower operation, producing Service Heater (front) and AFS (back) LED lights on the control panel. The Fenwal Ignition Control Module blinked to indicate an "Air Flow Fault." I removed the back metal cover of the blower motor and sprayed anything that moved with lithium grease. Fired it back up and the blower motor worked strongly, but made a bad bearing noise. The Service Heater and AFS LED lights on the heater control panel were still lit, and the Fenwal Ignition Control Module still indicated an "Air Flow Fault."

2. After I made certain the blower was working, I checked the hoses to/from and operation of the Air Flow Switch (AFS). The hoses were OK, and the AFS clicked when I blew compressed air through it. Based on the latter, I think the AFS is working properly.

3. I heard a strange water gurgling noise as the blower motor was running.

Based on #3 and fault codes I am getting, I wonder if there is water in the heat exchanger and/or blower. Does this make sense? I am thinking about removing the blower assembly and blowing compressed air through the blower and heat exchanger.

Comments from those with Master Temp 400 experience would be appreciated.
 
I think just above the combustion chamber. I can't explain why the blower motor would not work unless it had water on it (maybe just at the bottom of the motor?). The Ignition Control Module did not have water inside it---it was clean. I can't remember whether the bottom of Ignition Control Module box is above or below the bottom of the blower motor. I will check that.

After looking at the blow up diagram of the heater on the Pentair website, my plan is not tenable. Water could not have gotten into the combustion chamber. It is sealed with an o-ring. Perhaps water got into the flame holder? Or, maybe the blower is simply not strong to move enough air to let the system work. Again, the blower motor was dead. It is only after opening up the motor and spraying the moving parts with lithium grease did it fire up.

Additional Information: There is distinctly audible bubbling sound like air moving through water (as if you were blowing compressed air through a bucket of water) coming out of the exhaust vent.
 
Thanks. I took off the blower and found the combustion chamber completely full of water. I siphoned the water out and am letting it dry overnight. I will reassemble it tomorrow. Everything else looks ok.

Thanks for your help.
 
Unfortunately, my Pentair Intelliflo VS pool pump died (arcing on the wet computer board) before the heater was dry. I have not been able to try out the now heater because there is no flow through it. I am waiting on a new pump to arrive. Once I install the pump, I will try out the heater and report back.
 
I dried it out, replaced the igniter (I broke it trying to get it back in), and fired it up. It worked (heated up the spa nicely), but the blower is more noisy than before it was flooded. I will probably just wait until the blower dies rather than replace it now. The blowers are outrageously expensive.
 
dmh said:
I dried it out, replaced the igniter (I broke it trying to get it back in), and fired it up. It worked (heated up the spa nicely), but the blower is more noisy than before it was flooded. I will probably just wait until the blower dies rather than replace it now. The blowers are outrageously expensive.
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I am trying to get my heater up and running after the flooding of Hurricane Harvey too. I'm curious how it's working out now. I got my heater working for a bit, but now it has the Air Flow Fault. I completely disassembled it and drained the water from the combustion chamber and installed new insulation. I also had to replace the transformer to get the unit to turn on.
 
dmh said:
I dried it out, replaced the igniter (I broke it trying to get it back in), and fired it up. It worked (heated up the spa nicely), but the blower is more noisy than before it was flooded. I will probably just wait until the blower dies rather than replace it now. The blowers are outrageously expensive.
Click to expand...

I expect the blower motor would have issues after being submerged in water. The winding's and bearing are not going to be happy.
 

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ps0303 said:
I expect the blower motor would have issues after being submerged in water. The winding's and bearing are not going to be happy.
Click to expand...
Yes, I think you're right. My blower motor was seized at first, but I broke it free by hand. Then I completely dried it out and sprayed lube on the spinning parts. It actually fired up and heated the spa for about 10 minutes, and then it stopped with an "Air Flow Fault." The blower motor will spin up now when you first turn it on, but it won't stay running. Sometimes it will even ignite and start heating for a few seconds before it kicks back off. I'm torn between replacing the blower for $300-400, and hoping there are no more issues, or replacing the entire heater for $2500-3000.
 
Your heater must have been in deeper water than mine. In my case, I siphoned out the fire box, replaced the igniter, dried out the wiring, and sprayed lithium grease on the moving parts of the blower motor that I could get to easily. The heater now works fine except the blower motor is a bit noisy.

If you take off the squirrel cage cover on the blower, there is a nut that can be removed to free the motor from the blades. Unfortunately, the nut will undoubtedly be corroded and difficulty to remove. Try spraying the nut with WD40 and using an impact wrench to remove it. Once you have the motor out, you can lube it up and/or take the cover off and clean the internals.

Good luck.
 
bradyipock said:
Yes, I think you're right. My blower motor was seized at first, but I broke it free by hand. Then I completely dried it out and sprayed lube on the spinning parts. It actually fired up and heated the spa for about 10 minutes, and then it stopped with an "Air Flow Fault." The blower motor will spin up now when you first turn it on, but it won't stay running. Sometimes it will even ignite and start heating for a few seconds before it kicks back off. I'm torn between replacing the blower for $300-400, and hoping there are no more issues, or replacing the entire heater for $2500-3000.
Click to expand...

Did you by chance have any other damage to your house? If so maybe with this you get above the deductible... just a thought.

Chris
 
dmh said:
Your heater must have been in deeper water than mine. In my case, I siphoned out the fire box, replaced the igniter, dried out the wiring, and sprayed lithium grease on the moving parts of the blower motor that I could get to easily. The heater now works fine except the blower motor is a bit noisy. As I mentioned in my reply above, I have decided to wait until the blower gets worse before replacing it (or try disassembling it to replace just the motor). If you have a air flow fault, make sure your blower is running when you call for heat. I would also check the air flow valve (gently blow compressed air into it to make sure it clicks open. The routing for the plastic tubing may have gotten screwed up when you reassembled it too. If your blower is running, it has to be the air flow valve or a tubing routing problem. There isn't much else there.
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My heater was completely submerged. Yes, I've checked the air flow valve and tubes--they all stayed nice and dry inside and it clicks when you blow in it. I'm thinking my blower motor may just not be running as strong as it is supposed to.

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setsailsoon said:
Did you by chance have any other damage to your house? If so maybe with this you get above the deductible... just a thought.

Chris
Click to expand...

Yes, we had a LOT of damage to the house, but unfortunately we did not have flood insurance. Home owner's won't cover any of it either.
 
bradyipock said:
My heater was completely submerged. Yes, I've checked the air flow valve and tubes--they all stayed nice and dry inside and it clicks when you blow in it. I'm thinking my blower motor may just not be running as strong as it is supposed to.

- - - Updated - - -



Yes, we had a LOT of damage to the house, but unfortunately we did not have flood insurance. Home owner's won't cover any of it either.
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I figured that. So sorry to hear about your situation. I know a lot of people in your situation and really feel for y'all.

Chris
 
When units are submerged in water like this expect that you could probably be facing a new unit if not expensive repairs. Even if you dry it out and clean things off it most likely has already developed an issue. If the unit had power to it when the water covered it you will find all sorts of issues.

Yes if the blower isn't running at the correct RPM it will cause air faults even though to your ears the motor sounds fine. Even I and others who do this for a living have been fooled a time or two.
 
ps0303 said:
When units are submerged in water like this expect that you could probably be facing a new unit if not expensive repairs. Even if you dry it out and clean things off it most likely has already developed an issue. If the unit had power to it when the water covered it you will find all sorts of issues.

Yes if the blower isn't running at the correct RPM it will cause air faults even though to your ears the motor sounds fine. Even I and others who do this for a living have been fooled a time or two.
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Thank you. I am pretty certain the blower is just not operating efficiently enough, but I think I may just buy a whole new unit. I suppose I can keep the old one for spare parts.
 
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