Heater: Raypak vs Pentair Mastertemp 300s and 400s

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ionizer

ionizer

Gold Supporter
Jun 7, 2016
254
Marlboro, NJ
So I am waiting on a gas plumber to help me figure out if my line is big enough to support 300k btu or if I can go up to 400k btu.

However, until then, I keep hearing different opinions from local installers about whether Raypak or Pentair is better.

Many say Pentair newer units are great. Some say they attract rodents.
Some say Raypak is just as good, but the amazon reviews seem a bit scary.

So, given the chance to buy either and prices about the same for both, which one should I go with? (Note: Gas source = natural gas)
 
Raypak heater’s are simpler in their design (no forced air blower) so overall they are likely easier to diagnose and cheaper to fix. TFP’s resident heater experts all say they’d much rather work on a Raypak than any other brand. It’s kind of like refrigerators - LG and Samsung make nice looking models that function just as well as a GE, but if you talk to the repair guys, it is a lot easier to fix and work on a GE and parts are easier to come by.

Either one will heat your pool just fine, it’s more a matter of which one is easier to fix when something goes wrong....and something will ALWAYS go wrong.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
Raypak heater’s are simpler in their design (no forced air blower) so overall they are likely easier to diagnose and cheaper to fix. TFP’s resident heater experts all say they’d much rather work on a Raypak than any other brand. It’s kind of like refrigerators - LG and Samsung make nice looking models that function just as well as a GE, but if you talk to the repair guys, it is a lot easier to fix and work on a GE and parts are easier to come by.

Either one will heat your pool just fine, it’s more a matter of which one is easier to fix when something goes wrong....and something will ALWAYS go wrong.
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Ok, so it seems like Raypak might be the better brand to go with then. I don't want something that will eventually break and have it be a huge PITA to fix. Though I've heard some concerning reviews on Amazon about the raypaks breaking 3-4 years in. It's not clear if that's because of bad maintenance of water or truly fickle parts.

I also read with Pentair about mice getting inside them (and i saw someone post there is a site that sells fabricated pieces to cover it up), so maybe that's not a good thing.

for now, i wait for the plumber to confirm an appointment so i can get a proper riser where the gas line is as well as confirm the size of the pipe underground and whether i can do the 300s or 400s.
 
I don’t put much stock in online reviews. Most people that write them already come from a biased standpoint and rarely provide enough information to accurately assess what happened.

And yes, heater failures are definitely caused by poor chemistry. Considering how many people use pool services that just dump concentrated chemicals right into the skimmer, it’s no wonder that the heat exchangers rot out within a year.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
I don’t put much stock in online reviews. Most people that write them already come from a biased standpoint and rarely provide enough information to accurately assess what happened.

And yes, heater failures are definitely caused by poor chemistry. Considering how many people use pool services that just dump concentrated chemicals right into the skimmer, it’s no wonder that the heat exchangers rot out within a year.
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speaking of dumping concentrated chemicals right into the skimmer - i hope that using a sock + CYA granular sitting in the skimmer is excluded from that statement?

Ref: Test - Do I remember what I am doing? - new liner installed at end of last season
 
As long as the pump is constantly running while you do it then it should be fine. CYA is not very acidic, trichlor pucks sitting in a skimmer are far worse. Trichlor sitting in stagnant water can drop the TA to zero and cause the pH to go below 4.5 as well as raise the FC levels very high. Then that concentrated slug of acidic and highly corrosive water gets pulled into the pump, filter and heater. Over time, that constant exposure will cause corrosion of the copper tubing inside the heater.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
As long as the pump is constantly running while you do it then it should be fine. CYA is not very acidic, trichlor pucks sitting in a skimmer are far worse. Trichlor sitting in stagnant water can drop the TA to zero and cause the pH to go below 4.5 as well as raise the FC levels very high. Then that concentrated slug of acidic and highly corrosive water gets pulled into the pump, filter and heater. Over time, that constant exposure will cause corrosion of the copper tubing inside the heater.
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well, i no longer use pucks thanks to this site - unless im going on vacation and i have an out of line chlorinator for that purpose anyway.

and i have a variable pump, so I actually run it 23 hours out of the day. obviously not at full speed that entire time, but enough to keep the water flowing.
 
I have a Raypak and I found a mouse's nest in the top portion upon opening the past two seasons. The first time I removed it, the mouse was till in the nest. The second time, it was abandoned...or maybe he heard me coming. Besides clearing out a cantalope sized swab of white nest fluff and clearing a few cobwebs in the bottom section, it's all good. I did have an intermittent problem with ignition, but it turned out to be a flaky thermostat. The previous heater was a Raypak and it lasted about 15 years, so they seem to be built well.
 
skimmerswimmer said:
I have a Raypak and I found a mouse's nest in the top portion upon opening the past two seasons. The first time I removed it, the mouse was till in the nest. The second time, it was abandoned...or maybe he heard me coming. Besides clearing out a cantalope sized swab of white nest fluff and clearing a few cobwebs in the bottom section, it's all good. I did have an intermittent problem with ignition, but it turned out to be a flaky thermostat. The previous heater was a Raypak and it lasted about 15 years, so they seem to be built well.
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thanks, any idea if that site that sells cover-ups has one for the raypak as well and whether you think it would help/prevent mice from coming in?
 

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I went with the mastertemp over raypak. My choice was based on my city and the only one raypak dealer I was not comfortable with. I installed myself and accept the lack of warranty.
I bought the screens to cover the openings to keep the mice out as I have lots of them. In fact the screens actually help push me more to the mastertemp.
After the first winter nothing got in.2017-05-30 12.31.14.jpg
 
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avspin said:
I went with the mastertemp over raypak. My choice was based on my city and the only one raypak dealer I was not comfortable with. I installed myself and accept the lack of warranty.
I bought the screens to cover the openings to keep the mice out as I have lots of them. In fact the screens actually help push me more to the mastertemp.
After the first winter nothing got in.View attachment 78412
Click to expand...


thanks, at the moment i am going to go with raypak for the reason that i hope the person who installs it is more reliable than the company who would install the mastertemp

cost seems to be about $2750-$2800 installed for the 406k BTU raypak which was maybe $100 more than the pentair

right now, waiting for plumber to come out Friday to address gas line issue not having the thing that comes out of the ground properly - forgot the term
 
We just put a Raypak 406 in and let me tell you it was worth every penny! Our gas line was not big enough so we had to do some special plumbing on the line and the gas company installed a small commercial regulator (no charge to us) at the box. It was expensive but we are getting around three degrees an hour out of that heater. We couldn't be happier.

You got a great price we paid $4,600 for our heater.
 
Chrissykr said:
We just put a Raypak 406 in and let me tell you it was worth every penny! Our gas line was not big enough so we had to do some special plumbing on the line and the gas company installed a small commercial regulator (no charge to us) at the box. It was expensive but we are getting around three degrees an hour out of that heater. We couldn't be happier.

You got a great price we paid $4,600 for our heater.
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Wait what? Was that $4600 with the new line? Why so much ?
 
They raypak quote I received was 4600 installed. Installling the mastertemp myself cost me 2100.
 
Chrissykr said:
No, we paid $4,600 for the heater installed. The plumbing was $2,000, yeah my hubby was not happy. We bought it through our pool company and that is what they charged us.
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ok, so i feel better knowing the unit was $2600. was scared i wasnt on the same page with my pool guy about what i was getting.

plumber came today and said i have sufficient output for 400k btu. they put in a new riser.

now just time to get the pool guy to come out next week!
 
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