Hayward pool heater leaking water

[Bern916]

Hi - we have a 18x38x26 IG salt water pool with all Hayward equipment. Pool was installed in Spring of 2015. This year we are having heater issues. Noticed last week a steady drip of water coming from the bottom of the heater. The heater is a 200 BTU. Today we have an AO error code. Repair guy came out and said we need a new heater ... <<sigh>> ... that to repair it would cost nearly as much as a new heater. This is our first IG pool. Is it normal for a heater to go bad so soon? He wants to install a Raypac 266 heater instead of a new Hayward - anyone have good or bad things to say about Raypac? Does having a salt water pool cause heaters to go bad quicker than a non-salt water pool?

Todd

 

[mknauss]

Well, that is no good.

Hopefully this bump will get the attention of members with experience with that type pool heater.

 

[Jnet]

My Hayward 400kBTU heater had a similar issue. (Not installed level and held some water over winter, which froze... Long story) Anyway, I found a new heat exchanger on Amazon for about $800 and replaced it myself. Not too difficult and it's working fine now. That said, people here seem to love the Raypacs.