Hayward Heater problem

[ajw22]

An 8 month old heater should still be under warranty with Hayward. Make a warranty claim.

 

[Stevemiana]

An 8 month old heater should still be under warranty with Hayward. Make a warranty claim.

So ur understanding, u think the heater is faulty?

 

[ajw22]

So ur understanding, u think the heater is faulty?

Yes, if you believe you have adequate water flow.

I am still suspicious of your flex PVC.

 

[1poolman1]

It's a 15000 btu and I don't know the cfm

150k heater requires 150 cubic feet per HOUR of fuel (more or less). Standard residential gas meters are usually rated at 175-250 (it will be on the meter somewhere). Should be adequate.
Your heater is firing, so gas supply doesn't seem to be the issue. A 3 degree C (6 f) rise in temperature in 1 minute indicates too little water going through the heat exchanger, getting too hot, and posing a scalding danger. The heater will shut down to prevent that. There should be an error code indicated.
All that flex PVC is strongly suspect, as well as that 90 right in front of the pump.
The wall thickness of flex is larger, decreasing the inside diameter. That results in about a 30% decrease in water flow rating over the same length of rigid. Low flow might be just enough to close the pressure switch but can cause what you are experiencing.

 

[Stevemiana]

150k heater requires 150 cubic feet per HOUR of fuel (more or less). Standard residential gas meters are usually rated at 175-250 (it will be on the meter somewhere). Should be adequate.
Your heater is firing, so gas supply doesn't seem to be the issue. A 3 degree C (6 f) rise in temperature in 1 minute indicates too little water going through the heat exchanger, getting too hot, and posing a scalding danger. The heater will shut down to prevent that. There should be an error code indicated.
All that flex PVC is strongly suspect, as well as that 90 right in front of the pump.
The wall thickness of flex is larger, decreasing the inside diameter. That results in about a 30% decrease in water flow rating over the same length of rigid. Low flow might be just enough to close the pressure switch but can cause what you are experiencing.

Only 1 time I got a HS error but after that I haven't got anything.
So from what I'm understanding , ur saying I should change all my piping to rigid pvc?

 

[Stevemiana]

I add 3 new 90 degree fitting to my return line this year that didn't have last year, could that have restricted the flow enough to cause me all these problems?

 

[ajw22]

So from what I'm understanding , ur saying I should change all my piping to rigid pvc?

What we are saying is whoever did that plumbing had no understanding about fluid flow hydraulics, head loss, and manufacturer plumbing recommdations.

Manufacturers recommend you have 5X the pipe diameter in straight line pipe into pump suction to reduce water turbulence. You don’t have that.

The pipes make sharp bends that increase head and reduce flow.

You want to keep the water velocity below 6 ft/sec on the suction and below 8 ft/sec on the pressure side of the pump.

Pipe Size	6 ft/sec	8 ft/sec
1.5"	38 GPM	51 GPM
2"	63 GPM	84 GPM
2.5	90 GPM	119 GPM
3.0"	138 GPM	184 GPM

That means using at least 1.5” rigid PVC on suction and 2” PVC on all the plumbing from the pump output to the pool returns.

We don’t know what other poor plumbing practices were done below ground to the pool that we cannot see. But it looks like the substandard pool plumbing you have is restricting your pumps ability to push water through.

Replacing the flex PVC may be the solution or just the beginning of the fix. Hard to tell from a keyboard what is really going on with your pool. But we see a few troublesome areas.

 

[Stevemiana]

What we are saying is whoever did that plumbing had no understanding about fluid flow hydraulics, head loss, and manufacturer plumbing recommdations.

Manufacturers recommend you have 5X the pipe diameter in straight line pipe into pump suction to reduce water turbulence. You don’t have that.

The pipes make sharp bends that increase head and reduce flow.

You want to keep the water velocity below 6 ft/sec on the suction and below 8 ft/sec on the pressure side of the pump.

Pipe Size	6 ft/sec	8 ft/sec
1.5"	38 GPM	51 GPM
2"	63 GPM	84 GPM
2.5	90 GPM	119 GPM
3.0"	138 GPM	184 GPM

That means using at least 1.5” rigid PVC on suction and 2” PVC on all the plumbing from the pump output to the pool returns.

We don’t know what other poor plumbing practices were done below ground to the pool that we cannot see. But it looks like the substandard pool plumbing you have is restricting your pumps ability to push water through.

Replacing the flex PVC may be the solution or just the beginning of the fix. Hard to tell from a keyboard what is really going on with your pool. But we see a few troublesome areas.

I kind of knew that the pool installer was an idiot and didn't know much.
I can re pipe the pad but can someone please recommend a schematics of what to do based on the pics?

 

[Stevemiana]

So all my piping is 1,5 inch, can I change the return pipe from heater to pipe in the ground at 2" and then reduce to 1,5" to fit existing pipe?

 

[Stevemiana]

Can someone please answer this so I can get to re plumping the pad

 

[1poolman1]

So all my piping is 1,5 inch, can I change the return pipe from heater to pipe in the ground at 2" and then reduce to 1,5" to fit existing pipe?

Yes, or increase it all to 2" until it goes into the ground. Get some distance in front of the pump. Recommended is 5X the inside diameter of the pipe.

 

[1poolman1]

I add 3 new 90 degree fitting to my return line this year that didn't have last year, could that have restricted the flow enough to cause me all these problems?

How much do 90 degree elbows affect water flow? A hard turn 90 degree elbow equals 17 feet of straight pipe.

 

[Stevemiana]

Yes, or increase it all to 2" until it goes into the ground. Get some distance in front of the pump. Recommended is 5X the inside diameter of the pipe.

What did u mean by in front of pump?