Heater insulation life

[UKjames]

How long should heater insulation last?

had my mastertemp 125 heater “serviced” today now it won’t work at all as the apparently the insulation has disintegrated.

Clearly I’m a bit peeved with the engineer as it worked before but I wondered how long I should expect the insulation to last and whether he innocently disturbed it so the heater doesn’t work or whether he is negligent.

 

[ajw22]

Where is there insulation on your MasterTemp 125 heater? I have a MasterTemp 400 and has not seen any insulation. The 125 looks the same as the 400 in the parts diagram in https://www.pentair.com/content/dam...ater-installation-and-users-guide-english.pdf

How old is your heater?

 

[UKjames]

It’s listed on page 58. Part number 77707-0008. It’s in the bit around the burner I think.
2015 ish I think

 

[ajw22]

I have never needed to dig that deep into my heater to see that insulation. I don't understand why deteriorated insulation would prevent the heater from working.

It looks like the 77707-0008 insulation kit costs around $120USD. It will take a few hours of work to remove the burner and replace the insulation around it.

@swamprat69 any thoughts about this?

 

[UKjames]

I only discovered it was an issue when the guy serviced it. Kinda wishing I’d not bothered with a service now!

 

[swamprat69]

Was the heater working before it was "serviced"? Was the "service" just for regular cleaning and maintainence or was it to resolve a problem that was causing the heater to not heat normally?

 

[UKjames]

the Heater was working before the service but had had a couple of wobbles. Once it didn’t ignite and I couldn’t here it clicking. I also think there might have been a bit of a whooomp on lighting once or twice before (I was elsewhere in the house when i turned it on remotely) and it’s not had a service for many years so I could see something maybe needing to be replaced. But last time I used it it was fine other than the flue temp being 10/20 degrees into the ‘high’ range.

I was wondering whether the insulation is a consumable part or if they might have broken it.

 

[swamprat69]

The whooomp on lighting off is called " delayed ignition" and is usually caused by lack of regular service/maintenance/cleaning. This allows dirt/spider webs and other obstructions to distort the gas/air mixture pattern so that it doesn't light off immediately resulting in a mini explosion. In the extreme I have seen a residential gas furnace blow the furnace door 20 feet across the basement from "delayed ignition". It is entirely possible that an explosion from "delayed ignition" could have caused the breakup/deterioration of the combustion chamber insulation. Most if not all NG furnaces/heaters come with a liability statement in the paperwork stating something like " annual inspection/service/maintenance by a qualified technician is required".