Heater Advice?

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Sounds like maybe a flow issue.

Open the thermal regulator plug and remove the regulator to see if it OK.

Look into the regulator hole at the top to see if the internal bypass disc is in place.

Look into the heater inlet to see if the internal bypass spring assembly is ok.

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giajenx said:
Somebody told me that while a 200k btu would be sufficient, it would take twice as long to heat up. Is that true?
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Yes, but for a spa, it should not take very long.

How many gallons is the spa?

What is the start temperature and the end temperature and how long does it take to get from the start temperature to the end temperature?
 
JamesW said:
Yes, but for a spa, it should not take very long.

How many gallons is the spa?

What is the start temperature and the end temperature and how long does it take to get from the start temperature to the end temperature?
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If start temp is 65 and we're heating it to 102, I think it takes about 30-45 mins. We use it a lot in the winter, when the water temps are in the 40s.
 
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giajenx said:
If start temp is 65 and we're heating it to 102, I think it takes about 30-45 mins. We use it a lot in the winter, when the water temps are in the 40s.
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I don't know how many gallons the spa is. I think the pool and the spa TOGETHER are 8-10k gallons. And the spa only takes up about 1/4 of that. See pic -
 

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JamesW said:
Do you heat the pool or spa?

If you heat the pool, do you keep it warm or only heat occasionally?

For heating the pool I would go with a 400,000 btu/hr heater if you only heat intermittently.

For heating a spa, I recommend the 200,000 btu/hr heater.

When heating a spa, the return water can get up to about 120 degrees Fahrenheit with a 400,000 btu/hr heater, which can be too hot for people sitting where the return water hits people directly.

How much propane is in the tank?

Tap on the gauge to make sure that it is not stuck.

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Sorry, not sure where that "like" came from.
Every person that purchased a smaller capacity heater from me to replace the larger one they once had to save money regretted it. Every one. No one ever believed they wouldn't be happy with the extra time it took to heat a spa until too late. The only time a smaller capacity heater makes sense is when the body of water is kept at temperature. Still takes longer to get there, but it is easier to maintain temp than heat from cold.
 
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1666493503219.png

This shows the expected temp rise (Y-axis) vs. Flow in GPM (X-axis).

The minimum required flow is 40 gpm.

So, the maximum temp rise should be 16.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

103 + 17 = 120.
 
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JamesW said:
LOL. :p

It's just a picture.

Some people have complained about the return water being too hot at 120 degrees, which is dangerous.

In any case, they can choose whatever heater they like.

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No dispute there, but that can happen with any size heater. Heater Hi-Limit switches used to be set for 115F but Pentair's are 125F for some reason, with the AGS tripping at 140F. Both have a +/- 8F degree range. (If the heater was built before 2001 that AGS was 150F, crazy hot).

I always recommend that customers never set their temp to higher than 102F on both the heater, and their automation if they have it, just to be safe.
 
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JamesW said:
8 to 11 is typical.
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Thanks, James. I really appreciate your guideance on all of this. Since 8-11 is typical and ours is 13 years old I think we may just replace it -- it has not been maintained (didn't know we were supposed to have it serviced regularly!) Also, we have extremely hard water so there's probably quite a bit of sludge rolling around in there. Now, for a completely different question: where to buy? The Pentair EC-462029 is $3879 at Leslie's and $2875 on a site called Aqua Supercenter. It's also around $3100 on sites Pool Zoom and Pool Supply Unlimited. Are any of these other suppliers legit?
 
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